Essay on Mexican Literature: Juana Ines de la Cruz

Introduction

Juana Ines de la Cruz is a unique personality in the history of the Mexican culture: a poet, a writer, a scholar, a religious figure and a proto-feminist activist, she managed to strike an incredible balance between reality and fiction, science and imagination, creative writing and scholarly precision, love poetry and being a nun. This diversity of her life and talent is perfectly reflected in her works. Her multifaceted poems have played an important role in the formation of the cultural identity of the Mexicans and were the first literary works to be printed in Mexico. In them, de la Cruz created a passionate and inspired account of the psychological adventures of a lover but also touched upon serious social problems, namely gender inequality and hypocrisy of the church. Her writings offer an emotional, profound and meticulous analysis of the peculiar psychological condition of an individual of her age: both deeply religious and striving for more spiritual as well as creative freedom. De la Cruz's works accentuate the inner duality of the man of her age: he is both a devoted Catholic and a liberated, free-thinking artist. She lived in an environment, where her whole behavior was dictated by the possible negative reaction of the clergy, and yet managed to pursue her passion for writing love poetry. There are three major biographical influences that shaped de la Cruz's love poems as an embodiment of her questioning, inquisitive mind and free spirit: her relationship with religion, her life at court and her feminist views.

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The key biographical influence that impacted De la Cruz's work was her religious millieu. In her times, religion defined the framework within which culture developed as well as the limits it was not allowed to cross. Thus, on the one hand, religion allowed De la Cruz to pursue science and writing without having to get married and lead the life of a wife and a mother. On the other hand, religion limited De la Cruz's creativity as the church censored all her works and ultimately burned them. Religious motives are present even in her most passionate love poems. For example, in a poem "My Lady" devoted to the Vicereine, de la Cruz intertwines the notions of the earthly and the heavenly love in the lines:

In this strange, ingenious fashion,

I allowed the hope to be mine

that I still might see as human

what I really conceived as divine (de la Cruz, "My Lady").

In the same poem, she also uses such religion-related notions "sacred fire" and "secure sanctuary" to describe her love. In the following lines she employs the images of a prayer and a confession to convey the depth of her love and sincerity of her feeling:

With this confession in hand,

I pray, be less stern with me (de la Cruz, "My Lady").

Resorting to religious terms when talking about love and passion, especially of this dangerous relationship between the two women, de la Cruz manages to poetically purify and defend love as a divine beginning that cannot be stained by the human judgment.

The second major influence was de la Cruz's life at court. This is where the young woman could get access to court culture, music, books, including romance literature. This is where she could observe and even experience the intricate art of courting and flirting, of worshipping and breaking one's heart. Life at court, bright, glamorous, and dramatic, could not but inspire her love poetry. Many of her poems are devoted to the Vicereine. In "My Lady" de la Cruz offers an extended poetic love confession which shows that her patroness encouraged Juana's feelings and poetic endeavors:

... But now, at your solemn bidding,

this silence I herewith suspend,

for your summons unlocks in me

a respect no time can end (de la Cruz, "My Lady").

It is obvious that without such support and guidance de la Cruz would not have been able to go on with her creative career.

Finally, one more important source of influence was the atmosphere of the epoch in which De la Cruz was born, lived and worked with its daring, adventurous spirit and feeling of liberation. Juana Ines de la Cruz was a typical homo universalis endowed with various talents which she often used to expose the problems of her age such as, for example, gender inequality. In her poem "You Foolish Men," she blames men for not knowing what they really want and expecting too much of the women who never manage to live up to their unrealistic expectation:

You foolish men who lay

the guilt on women,

not seeing you're the cause

of the very thing you blame. (de la Cruz, "You Foolish Men")

This poem is a bright manifestation of de la Cruz's free spirit that could not be broken even by the criticism of the church.

Conclusion

Poems of Juana Ines de la Cruz have shaped the face of the modern Mexican culture. Their secret lies within unique, synergistic combination of the genuine, personal perspective, vivid imagery and linguistic richness of the narrative and profound psychological insight. This comprehensive, holistic approach is what sets her poems apart from its peers and turns the reading process into a fascinating journey to the very cradle of the Mexican culture. .

Reference

De la Cruz, Juana Ines. My Lady. Retrieved July 19, 2018, from https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/my-lady/

De la Cruz, Juana Ines. You Foolish Men. Retrieved July 19, 2018, from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/you-foolish-men