San Jerónimo en el eje de la polémica en torno de la Carta atenagórica de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Abstract

This article explores the polemic around Sor Juana's Carta atenagórica of 1690 and its consequences for her last years. The texts participating in this controversy—both favorable and unfavorable to Sor Juana—base many of their arguments on Saint Jerome's authority and tradition, which promotes the right of women to study under the strict observance of a pious life. Saint Jerome is a key figure for the understanding of the polemic since his thought on the participation of women in Christian intellectual life is used by the authors of La fineza mayor, the Discurso apologético , and by Sor Juana herself in her famous Carta al Padre Núñez . The conflictive nature of Sor Juana's studies during her last years and Saint Jerome's authority are also reflected in new testimonies such as the recently discovered Carta de Puebla of 1691.