The movie I, the Worst of All chronicles the life of Sor Juana Inézde la Cruz, a 17th Century poet, scholar, and nun active in New Spain (colonial Mexico). A prodigy, Juana proved from a young age that she was adept in multiple languages, mathematics, science, music, and theology. Despite the recognition she gained for her ability, Juana was barred from entering university and instead entered a convent where she was free to exercise her able to study and create. Although her works were well-received in royal courts (she was popularly known as “the Tenth Muse”), her tendency to focus on “hard theology” and the importance of women's education meant that they were also considered borderline heretical. After being reprimanded by Church authorities in New Spain and facing further censure, Sor Juana ceased writing, sold her books for charity, and devoted herself to caring for her plague-stricken sisters before succumbing to the disease herself.
Sor Juana's story seems unique – after all, it was no small feat for a woman to get published and achieve fame for her intellect in Inquisition-Era Spain – but despite this, it does not seem to be one that most people know (at least not in the US). Perhaps she is not well known because of how she was censured by the Church, or because her works are in Spanish and Spanish texts are not often studied in curriculum in English-speaking areas, but there is something to be said for the power of the “tradition of silence” and its affect on repressing women's works. The “tradition of silence” is a term used by Chicana author Gloria Anzaldúa in her book Borderlands/La frontera to refer to the assumption that being “respectable” or “good” is tied into how much you speak – at least, if you're a woman or a girl. This assumption, while undoubtedly changing, still exists in cultures all over the world. English has a lot of terms that refer to people who talk too much – gossip, flirt, yenta, busybody, etc. – and they often have female connotations. It's a subtle way that our own language reinforces what the ideals are associated with genders. The notion of an ideal woman throughout history is often associated with being polite or soft-spoken.
One of the saddest things about “the tradition of silence” is that we aren't given to realize how often women have defied expectations of their day and gone on to speak of wonderful things. Sor Juana is one such woman, but she is not the only one. Another is Hildegard von Bingen, a respected German abbess and mystic who wrote about medicine, botany, theology, and composed poems and some of the most innovate liturgical music of the time – all in the 1100s. Catherine of Siena, the patron saint of Italy, is credited with convincing Pope Gregory XI to reinstate the Papacy in Rome, and who served as an adviser to his successor and multiple European regents, all while writing theological tracts. Shortly after her, in the late 1300s, the English Juliana of Norwich wrote theological texts about her visions of the Passion of Christ. Juliana met with another Englishwoman named Margery Kempe who wrote what is considered the first autobiography in the English language, which documented her religious experiences and many pilgrimages throughout Europe and Asia – and she was married with 14 children.
It is worth noting that the church provided space for all these women to demonstrate their intelligence and opinions – as it is worth noting that they came from wealthy families and are all linked to Europe. But surely they are not the only women to have proven themselves despite the “tradition of silence” - and they certainly won't be the last. Now if only we could make that clearer to people today.
