I, the worst of all, depicts the story of Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz, who was a nun who advocated for equal rights in the 17th century, and died of the plague in 1695 in the New World. This paper draws on secondary sources from Paz, Lavrin, and Ramirez to argue that Sor Juana’s death is ultimately the consequence of systemic sexism within the Church and society. The Church allowed, in the 17th century, women refuge and a livelihood in an era where they had few other opportunities outside of marriage. However, women took part in an institution fully dominated by men who believed that women were biologically and intellectually inferior. These men used women within the convent to control their will. The film depicts Sor Juana as a strong protagonist being restrained by the Church due to her outlandish beliefs for the time.
Despite her limited circumstances Sor Juana pursued an education and chose religious environments because they would allow her to focus on her writing. During the 17th century, the convent was less seen as a privilege and duty to God, but as
…show more content…
She was different because she was not humble like other nuns and she continued to write against the injustices committed against women in society: “ If I refrain even from that which is permissible for women—to teach by writing—because I know myself to lack the abundant talent needed for it, following Quintilian 's counsel: ‘Let each one learn, no so much by the precepts of others, as by following the counsel of his own nature’? ” (Juana 15). These types of writings put her in a vulnerable position with her fellow nuns and the patriarchy within the Church, but as long as Marquis de la Laguna ruled Mexico, Sor Juana and her creations were safe. However when he left, the Church did not tolerate Sor Juana’s backlash (Juana