Sor Juana Day Three

In my creative writing class I was told that, historically speaking, the writing of poetry by women was accepted because it didn't require much education. I think this helps Sor Juana because it allows her to be more open. In the prologue poem she basically says, I don't care if you like it nor am I expecting you to, this is my poem, take it or leave it. She also speaks to the relationship and dynamics between men and women. This seems to be a prevalent theme throughout this poetry. She addresses how men aren't good for women. An example is in Poem 165. "Why do you woo me first with flattery only to spurn me next with mockery?" This is similar to the Disenchantments of Love. How many stories did we read where the man flattered the woman constantly until she married him only then to turn cold and abuse her? In class you had asked how could a nun know of romantic love? I think she has taken the images she has read or seen. It is possible to have a sense of romantic love without actually experiencing it yourself. In poem 149 she addresses choosing a life "one must endure until death." (This can be seen as Sor Juana's own struggle with life. She didn't want to get married so she chose to become a nun. This is a lifelong commitment- until death. Was she praising herself for her choice or regretting it? I am not sure of this. What I do think is that she is praising the bravery of women who choose a path like this. She attacks men and accuses them of bringing women down in poem 92, Philosophical Satire. "You foolish and unreasoning men who cast all blame on women, not seeing you yourselves are cause of the same faults you accuse." This can also be related to The Disenchantment of Love. Men were destroying women's honor in most of the stories. Because of their actions these women were "ruined". Common themes in these poems are religion and the arrogance of men.

Sor Juana Day Two

"Well, and what then shall I tell you, my Lady, of the secrets of nature that I have learned while cooking? I observe that an egg becomes solid and cooks in butter or oil, and so on the contrary that it dissolves in sugar syrup. Or again, that sugar will flow freely one need only add the slightest bit of water that has held quince or some other sour fruit. The yolk and white of that very same egg are of such a contrary nature that when eggs are used as sugar, each part separately may be used perfectly well, yet they cannot be mixed together. I shall not weary you with such inanities, which I relate to give you a full account of my nature, and I believe this will make you laugh. But in truth, my Lady, what can we women know, save philosophies of the kitchen. It was well put by Lupercio Leonardo that one can philosophize quite well while preparing supper.I often say when I make these little observations, "Had Aristotle cooked, he would have written a great deal more." I declare that all this is so continual in me that I have no need for books."
     In this paragraph she is using the skills that 'all women should know' and showing that even while she is cooking, she is philosophizing. Even without books or the means to learn, she can learn through observation. Not only does she know what women are supposed to know, she credits it to helping her learn. If Aristotle had cooked (a great philosopher) he would have written more. Cooking (a woman's job) helped her to learn. She also shows her intelligence (and humility) by even mentioning Aristotle. The fact that she knows such a great philosopher shows how learned she is. I also liked how she says that she won't bore "her lady" with the talk of cooking. Not only is she learned and a keen observant, she can cook! This is just another way she shows her intelligence along with humility (and sarcasm).

"Nevertheless the many books that I have read have not failed to help me, both in sacred as well as secular letters. For there I see a Deborah issuing laws, military as well as political,and governing the people among whom there were so many learned men. I see the exceedingly knowledgeable Queen of Sheba, so learned she dares to test the wisdom of the wisest of all wise men with riddles, without being rebuked for it; indeed, on this very account she is to become judge of the unbelievers. I see so many and such significant women: some adorned with the gift of prophecy, like an Abigail; others, of persuasion, like Esther; others, of piety, like Rahab; others, of perseverance, like Anna the mother of Samuel; and others, infinitely more, with other kinds of qualities and virtues." 
     First, she mentions how she has read many books, further showing her intelligence, which have helped her in her letter writing. She blatantly goes into conversation about women who make political and military laws, women who have are persuasive, who persevere, and with "other kinds of qualities and virtues." Women are capable people, the Queen of Sheba made laws. Women are full of admirable qualities (one even tested the wisest of men. Women are capable of standing up for themselves. By mentioning these women, she is also (again) showing her intelligence. The fact that she knows of all these women shows her education and that she is well-read.

Sor Juana Day One

1. In the beginning of the letter, Sor Juan a definitely expresses both humility and superiority. She expresses humility when she says, "I can answer nothing more to the first obstacle than that I am entirely unworthy of your gaze... I can offer nothing more than amazement, instead of thanks, declaring that I am unable to thank you for the slightest part of what I owe you. It is not false humility." She expresses superiority when she says, " “For ever since the light of reason first dawned on me, my inclination to letters was marked by such passion and vehemence that neither the reprimands of others (for I have received many) nor reflections of my own (there have been more than a few) have sufficed to make me abandon my pursuit of this native impulse that God Himself bestowed on me.”  Since she is a nun, she knows her place and knows the doctrine she is to follow. At the same time I think she is proud of the fact that she is a nun and feels she should be honored in some sense. Since the letter she is responding to is from man I think she has to take extra care. While I do see a sense of sarcasm in some of her writing, I think she had to write differently than if she were responding to a letter written by a woman. She uses sarcasm to convey how remarkable she is instead of just gloating about her intelligence and education. She only learns so that she can "become less ignorant." The way she says this shows that she is proud of her intelligence yet knows not to boast about it, especially when she is responding to to a criticism by a man.


2. A quote I found interesting was " I do not study in order to write, nor far less in order to teach (which would be boundless arrogance in me), but simply to see; whether by studying I may become less ignorant. This is my answer, these are my feelings." Isn't that the entire point of learning? To become less ignorant? The way I read this was that she was trying to suppress her intelligence. 
Another quote was, "I began to study Latin, in which I believe it took fewer than twenty lessons. And my interest was so intense, that although in women (and especially in the very bloom of youth) the natural adornment of hair is so esteemed, I would cut off four to six finger lengths of my hair, measuring how long it had been before." Here she is kind of boasting of her intelligence, that it only took her 20 lessons to learn Latin. That she defied what women normally did. 

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I think the telephone represents the constant miscommunication between the characters throughout the film. Pepa had big news to share with Ivan yet it took her the entire film to finally tell her. She was in love with him but he didn't return that love. No one was really communicating with each other. On the other hand it is also the means of communication between the characters. Pepa waits for a call from Ivan. Candela tries to reach Pepa. In the end, the telephone is broken representing the failed communication. Pepa never did tell Ivan her news, she just broke it off with him. 

I think the title really speaks to the fact that women are constantly trying to keep up with what society and the world expects of them. At some point or another a woman may just have a nervous break down! What is expected of women is often oppressing and a woman cannot flourish in that environment. In this film the women are quite feminist. Throughout the film Pepa thinks that she just has to have Ivan in her life. By the end, she realizes that he isn't worth it. He is a womanizer. Instead of Pepa telling Ivan that she is pregnant and 'trapping' him into loving her, she doesn't tell him. This is quite a feminist action. To take on that responsibility alone. I think this movie really speaks to women empowerment.The women in this film represent how women feel and act in real life - to the extreme. It shows that women have their own problems. I think that the comedic factor was needed because this altered reality was so extreme. In order to deal with all the frustrations and plot twists there needed to be a comedic factor. 

The Disenchantments of Love 3

     I think story ten definitely has an effect on the overall book. In this story the main characters switched roles in a sense from the characters in the previous stories. Florentina commits terrible acts of betrayal and causes a mass murder in her home while don Gasper does nothing wrong. (Besides perhaps 'loving the ladies' a bit too much).I think de Zayas ended the book with this story because it illustrates that will many men deceive women, some women also deceive men. In the end of the book it says, "In a machine as wide and vast as this world, there must be a mixture of good women and bad just as there are men both good and bad... There are in this day and age more loose and viscous women then there have ever before been, but that doesn't mean there aren't more good women than bad." I think that although this book is meant to defend women, it couldn't be left out that there are  some women who give "motive to men for their widespread lack of regard for women." After all, de Zayas writes these words in the paragraph that directly follows the tenth story. I think she wanted to emphasize that while there are some women who give men reason to deceive, the good women outweigh them. For this reason, women should be defended and protected from these deceitful men. The female gender shouldn't just be generalized as viscous and deceiving.

     I think that fact that there is such a high body count in the tenth story (almost all women) is that if you deceive there will be a consequence. In this case, two women were a part of the deceiving yet anyone who got in don Dionis' way was killed. Once you have lost your honor or deceived your punishment is to die for it. don Dionis believed in his mind (party due to the society at the time) that if a woman betrayed her husband she was to be punished. Death by a husband wasn't uncommon. After all, Florentina's maid suggests that they get don Dionis to kill Florentina. Her justification behind it is, "I think the best way, so that neither of us is in danger, is to get her husband to kill her. That way nobody will be blamed." When don Dionis comes home to find Fernando in his wife's room he immediatly kills them both without thinking twice. In our society today it wouldn't matter whether it was the husband or a stranger that killed dona Magdelena. Either person would be held accountable and it would matter a great deal. This just goes to show a husband's hold on his wife; his ownership. He can do what he wants to her.
     In the beginning of story seven I got that feeling that dona Blanca was unhappy despite her control of the situation because she didn't actually want to get married. She wasn't the one who arranged this marriage. She wanted a husband that she actually knew, hence the one year courtship. She says, "I'm in even greater despair because the time is running out so quickly and if they think it's too long, I think it's too short." I think that dona Blanca is different than most women we've seen in that she wants a courtship. She doesn't want to just marry a man she knows nothing about for this would bring about despair. "All too often women who get married without pleasure, and without pleasure they go from life to death, never really living during all the time of their marriage." I think this condition of a courtship was in part she didn't think she had the courage to do it. She said, "It took great courage for a woman to marry a man about whose nature and habits she knew nothing simply for the convenience and pleasure of others." This would end in one of them being deceived. "When a marriage is not founded on love, you can blame no one but yourself."

The Disenchantments of Love 2

     In the sixth story Esteban conceals his identity by dressing as a woman but I don't think he actually takes on a new gender role. When he arrived at the house as a maid everyone spoke of 'her' beauty. They saw what they wanted to see, not as it actually was. They wanted to believe Esteban was a woman so that is what they saw. Esteban didn't experience a role change, he was still a man he was just dressed as a woman. "Since she was a woman in dress only, she didn't know the meaning of shame." Unless he had grown up as a woman he wouldn't have known how a woman really feels in society. Even when all the women were crocheting, he remarked on how he wasn't good at it. I think people today are still fascinated with this topic because the male and female gender are so incredibly different. Not to mention the extreme gender 'norms' that are forced on each by society from the moment a child is born. Blue for a boy, pink for a girl. Trucks for a boy, dolls for a girl. To see people cross the borders of gender is fascinating and often quite humorous. Esteban acts as a woman is supposed to in the society. That is the only way in which he changed genders. Biologically (and mentally) he was still a man.
     In the beginning of the story she tells us"Men have always been the authors of deception, scriptures and history tell us that." If we follow this statement and choose to believe it than Esteban was truly a man, both in biology and in mentality. He deceived Laurela by dressing and acting as a woman. He tricked her into falling in love with him only to abandon her once her life was in shreds. He was sick of the chase, he was married already. If you ask me, he was a master of deceit. If we follow this statement, that men are the deceitful ones, then Esteban was definitely  a man through and through. 
     In the poem that Esteban recites he speaks of a jealousy fueled by love. Many of the examples he uses come from his actions with Laurela. For example, "follow after her footsteps and pursue her with your heavenly light... cause her a thousand annoyances, keep her from enjoying her love." Esteban was with Laurels constantly. When she would go out with even her mother and sisters he would cause her anguish when she returned home. He would cry and act jealous. (Hardly the actions of a normal chambermaid). He wanted to keep her from don Enrique, the man she was supposed to marry. "Heart do you not love? Then bear patiently these bonds." Perhaps he is speaking to the fact that he is bonded to Laurela. He is so in love with her that he lives a lie, he has bonded himself to her household as her maid. He also speaks quite violently within this poem about the other man in this woman's life (perhaps don Enrique). This jealousy he feels enrages him.