Denial of equality is a crucial cornerstone of the rise of violence by men against women in history. During the 17th and 18th centuries, women in western countries were viewed as weak gender and denied the opportunity to engage in various social and political activities. Activities related to politics, leadership, and writing were the role of men role, and women were not allowed to engage in such activities. Women who managed to get educated were denied the opportunity to write, share their knowledge express their view on important matters. Sor Juana, one of the renowned nuns and poet, wrote several poems in defense of women's knowledge in society. Juana and other female writers used their experiences to explain the opportunities and limitations faced by women during the early modern period. The writings showed the challenges faced by female writers like Juana, who were labeled as feminists. Across the poems of Juana, the theme of gender, race, nation, language, the body is explored. Other female writers Veronica Franco in her poem Terze Rime and Mary Wollstonecraft in the poem A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) , explore the theme of gender, race, nation, and body in the 17th century.
Women in the 17th and 18th centuries in Western Europe faced high discrimination in a male-dominated society. Discrimination was based on gender and race, where Mexican women like Juana gained privileges compared to other women. Juana faced several opportunities and limitations in her writing career as a woman and nun. Juana was a Spanish, and her family was middle class, which gave her freedom, which many women lacked. As a woman, Juana did not attain formal education but made use of her grandfather’s library to study and gain knowledge (de la Cruz, 2014). As a Spanish woman, Juana was not allowed to enter a convent. In the era of Juana, single women and those born out of wedlock suffered more since they had little protection under the law, and those women who got married lost their legal identity. After marriage, the legal existence of women was suspended and was placed legally under their husbands. In her work, “Terze Rime," Veronica Franco explained the struggle she faced as a courtesan in the early modern period Terez used her body to satisfy men and gain a material advantage (Rosenthal,1989). Juana's lack of interest for men led to her decision to become a nun, a decision that helped her avoid some of the gender manipulations faced by married women. As a nun, she has adequate time to concentrate on developing her career in writing. Juana used the knowledge of theology and philosophy to fight against racism and gender discrimination in Mexico. Very few women's voices emerged in the written history of Latin America in the 17th century; therefore, Juana, Franco's, and Wollstonecraft's writings brought a significant impact on society.
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Gender and racial discrimination were intense in Latin America in the seventieth century. Various writers, among them Juana, wrote poems and other pieces of literary work to defend women's knowledge and end racial and gender discrimination. As a woman, Juana faced discrimination from society, which put discriminatory policies and norms, preventing women from engaging in writing, politics, and other economic welfares. Juana wrote several poems challenging societal values, and she emerged early proponent of women's rights. In her work, brave and clever women, and "Hombres necios" ("Foolish Men"), Juana accused men of criticizing women and defended the rights of women in the society (de la Cruz, 2014). Mary Wollstonecraft was a sensational writer whose work was similar to that of Juana in defending the knowledge of women and fighting for gender equality. In her work , A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) , Wollstonecraft declared that all gender is endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Wollstonecraft encouraged women to get educated and venture into business and professional careers similar to men. "Let woman share the rights, and she will emulate the virtues of man, for she must grow more perfect when emancipated" (Wollstonecraft,1792). Through her poems, Wollstonecraft brought significant change to gendered education in Europe. Wollstonecraft believed that education is the only salvation for women in male-dominated societies. "The exercise of their understanding is necessary; there is no other foundation for independence of character; I mean explicitly to say that they must bow only to the authority of reason, instead of being the modest slaves of opinion” (Wollstonecraft,1792). Another renowned feminist writer was Veronica Franco's whose works criticized the ideology of gender system. In her work “Terze Rime," Franco fought for the right of women in pursuit of private and equal representation in social and political sectors (Rosenthal,1989). The studies represent the issue of gender ideology and system in most European nations in the Early Modern Period.
In the Early Modern Period, women were denied opportunities to engage in writing and poetry. Women who began writing poems and other literary works began using persuasive and gendered sensibility language. Women used gendered language to defend their rights and knowledge. Juana made use of her gender to explore the theme of equality rhetorically. Juana incorporated various genres of communication among them letters, spiritual treaties, and judicial writings to defend and persuade her knowledge as a woman. Juana's writing involved the language of both Christianity and secular, which draw a lot of critiques, especially in her text, where she criticized the sermon of a 40-year-old Portuguese Jesuit preacher. In her defense, Juana used persuasive language the rights of women to attain knowledge, "One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper" (de la Cruz, 2014). Women who managed to write and publish pieces of literary works faced harsh criticism and comments from both males and females. Another writing which had persuasive gendered language was "Terze Rime” by Veronica Franco (Rosenthal,1989). Terze used a feminist language to address the social and problems faced by women who ventured into writing. Such language made it easy to explore the issue of gender and race inequality faced by women. Across the poem, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) , Wollstonecraft how to utilize the knowledge acquired to fight for women’s rights. Similar to Juana, Wollstonecraft language involved genres of judicial and religious treaties, " Taxes on the very necessaries of life, enable an endless tribe of idle princes and princesses to pass with stupid pomp before a gaping crowd” (Wollstonecraft,1792). Since women were not allowed to go public, they had to struggle amidst limitations by using sensitive language that would win the support to publish their works.
Over the centuries, women have been misrepresented in Latin American History. In the 17th and 18th centuries, women played a crucial role in the growth of nations both on political, social, cultural, and economic sectors; unfortunately, they never received any credit. Most of the reputable female writers and poets struggled by breaking many barriers to bring changes in the nation and elevate the status of women. Juana explains her experience where she got the support of the Vicereinas to break the barrier of nun and woman and get her books published in Spain. Another female writer Franco explains how she struggled to gain an education in a male-dominated society in Italy (Rosenthal,1989). She took advantage of the Noblemen in society to get knowledge and later publish her books. The emergence of feminism in the 17th century revealed women’s struggle designed to elevate their status politically, economically, and socially. Across her differing poems, Juana was one of the earliest female poets who advocated for change in a social and cultural setting. Juana brought a lot of changes in Spain across all sectors, especially in politics and religion (de la Cruz, 2014). Unfortunately, instead of getting recognition, her philosophy became a scandal. The work of Juan, Franco, and Wollstonecraft's changed their nations significantly by bringing changes across various sectors and recognizing the rights of women.
Women in defense for their knowledge used the notion of the body. In her philosophy, Sor Juana argued that women had equal rights to participate in scholarship and that her body should not be used to silence her pen. In the poem To the Gentlemen of Peru, 1689 , Juana says, “ Of one thing I'm sure: that my body disinclined to this man or that, serves only to house the soul— you might call it neuter or abstract" ( de la Cruz, 2014) . According to O’Donnell (2015), Juana's writings and thinking went beyond the societal and religious notions of the human body. Juana's poetry was analyzed based on the connection between knowledge and her position as a woman. In defense of her capability and knowledge, Juana defended the rights of women to make use of their minds and also employs her discourse politically to show the power structure and religious institution which bound her. The Catholic church in which Juana served as nun expected her to focus on the word of God, and women were not allowed to write theology. In her poem, Juana wrote, “My Body ... Serves only to House the Soul” ( de la Cruz, 2014) . The phrase reflected the notion of feminists writing of that time who defended the rights of women in society. The writings of Juana, Wollstonecraft, and Veronica Franco shared passionate will for knowledge and belief that women's access to education was given freely by God (Mendoza, 2007). The three writers showed the ability of women to overcome the notion of body and gender in transforming society.
In summary, Sor Juana, Mary Wollstonecraft’s and Veronica Franco were three significant women writers who brought changes in society through their writing. The writers managed to overcome gender and racial discrimination of the 17th century, where women were denied the freedom to express their ideology. The writings took the dimension of gendered communication where they used their feminism language to speak for the women in the society. The work differs from feminists writing in that they based they refereed to previous male work to strengthen their argument. These writers took advantage of masculine discourse to further their feminism ideology on economic, political, and personal purposes. However, the preceding feminist writers of the 19th and 20th centuries based their ideology on the works of these three female writers of the 17th century.
Référencés
de la Cruz, J. I. (2014). Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works . WW Norton & Company.
Mendoza, B. (2007). Juxtaposing Lives: Mary Wollstonecraft and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Women's Studies Quarterly , 35 (3/4), 287-291.
O'Donnell, R. (2015). Gender, Culture, and Knowledge in New Spain: Sor Juana's "To the Gentleman in Peru." Women's Studies , 44 (8), 1114-1129.
Rosenthal, M. F. (1989). Veronica Franco's Terze Rime: The venetian courtesan's defense. Renaissance Quarterly , 42 (2), 227-257.
Wollstonecraft, M. (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, ed. Ulrich H. Hardt (New York: Whitston, 1982) , 359.
