“I want to know what my situation will be: single, married, widowed or nun“, girls sang on the rope in the 60s, when religious vocation was still considered an option to be considered, and nuns were not imported from other latitudes so as not to close institutions. Although we have had decades of secularization since then, old thought Convent as a place of isolation for single mothers and women escaping abusive husbandsor situations that directly disturb family members have recently been subjected to a new evaluation. a curious, spiteful look and feminist.
Of course, the monastery was in many cases a place of punishment for them, but not always. Today, the perspective on forgotten women has changed. Suddenly, in the 21st century and Me too In this way, the old monastic life is shown to be attractive, or at least the nun is viewed from a new historical perspective. Different novels and even a podcast called ‘Philip’s Daughters’, directed by two women in their thirties who have a PhD in Baroque Literature from Brown University, vindicate women, and especially nuns, during the Counter-Reformation in a style that is as entertaining as it is wise. In other words, the 16th and 17th centuries were the period when they gained the most power. Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita tell What can current feminism save from the hands of these religious people?: “There are many things, for example, the way we relate to each other, care for each other, and visit each other. “They also represent a pedigree of celebration that encourages us to do the same now.”
freedom in prison
The thesis here is that nuns, despite their seclusion, knew how to create an environment. The paradoxical freedom space of imprisonment. In monasteries, nuns could also have their share of power and devote themselves to writing, music, or research if they wished. Argentinian writer Mariana Cabezón Cámara, whose last novel, ‘Daughters of Naranjel’, was inspired by the figure of Catalina de Erauso, a nun who dresses as a man fighting as a standard-bearer during the conquest of America, explains that choosing a convent was “the only way to escape the state of the birthing machine into which marriage has led you. devote yourself to what you choose”.
Latin America also has an indisputable symbol: Mexico Sor Juana Ines De La CruzA 17th-century nun who transformed her cell into one of the greatest philosophical libraries of the time, free from the dictates of the Church and a center for intellectual debate. From him we now recover ‘Against the Ignorance of Women’ (Taurus), a small book which brings together two indisputable letters, one to Sister Filotea de la Cruz, the pseudonym of a bishop who rejected the study of philosophy for women, and the other “loaded”. Portuguese Jesuit António Vieira “with feminist demands”. His famous poem “Stupid men who blame / women without reason / without seeing that you are the occasion / the same thing you blame” already places him in this field as ‘avant la lettre’. Additionally, her figure has also been considered. perspective LGTBI Viewed through this prism, numerous poems addressed to the Countess of Paredes, viceroy of New Spain, friend and protector. “Using the old trick of presenting herself as the ‘worst of all’, Sor Juana could say the most forbidden and inappropriate things for a woman of the time. This is what is called the tricks of the weak,” adds Cabezón Cámara.
Teresa of the Roads
In Spain, and a century ago, the great icon was Teresa de Jesús, and her film adaptation of Juan Mayorga’s play, ‘Teresa’, will be released this weekend. He is an intellectual of the first order and also a saint who was persecuted by the suspicions of the Inquisition for his determination and independence. In 2015, when the 500th anniversary of his birth was celebrated, the saint gained such a place in bookstores that five novels were published about him. The most original and radical view was that of the anti-system writer Cristina Morales. In ‘Bad Words’ (later picked up by Anagrama as ‘Últimas afternoons con Teresa de Jesús’) Ávila wrote an apocryphal diary in which she impersonated the mystic and reflected on her place in society as a woman, ruled by men with an iron fist and forcing religious women into obedience . How could an order be created under such adverse conditions? “Convents were extremely porous places – go on ‘Daughters of Felipe’ – in You can figuratively break walls with letters. There were many more visits to the halls than believed. “St. Teresa did not stop traveling throughout her life, despite the closure order.”
Returning to Latin America, Peruvian Santiago Roncagliolo, in his latest novel, ‘The Year the Devil Was Born’ (Seix Barral), deals with Rosa de Lima, the patron saint of the new world, another saint who narrowly escaped the crime of witchcraft in the viceroy Peru. , but this does not constitute an obstacle to its consecration later. Roncagliolo’s drawing on the wall is not forgotten either Disturbing aspects such as sexual life in the monasterySometimes what turns out to be a male fantasy has little to do with reality. All you have to do is watch Paul Verhoeven’s latest film, ‘Benedetta’, which takes aim at the old-fashioned ‘exploitation’ that proliferated in movie theaters in the 70s. female alienation, lust, and demonic possession, created for the male gaze. The ‘Benedetta’ case was inspired by a real possession case because that’s how they experienced it. We tried to reconstruct this simple view from our podcast. “We try to see beyond the instrumentalization of priestesses when it comes to demonic possessions.”
Most requested book
Urbita and Garriga are preparing the book ‘Monastic Wisdom’ on the subject, which will be published under the Blackie Books label in early 2025 and was one of the most desired projects at the last Frankfurt Fair. Received more than 25 offers from eight different countriesin addition to an auction by seven American publishers.
“Not all of the nuns came to the convent to demonstrate their vocation, others just wanted to live quietly,” they say. We are currently investigating the case of some saints, Cañitas, who had an affair that forced them to flee from town to town. one of them created a house of saints that allows them to have an independent life outside of marital obligations and the dangers of childbirth.