ABSTRACT

Sor Juana expressly addresses early modern conceptions of queenship and kinghip. The topic of queenship and depictions of powerful women are more frequent in the Mexican nuns occasional verse. The collection of essays edited by Theresa Earenfight, in particular, contains a number of useful studies by scholars investigating queenship in medieval and early modern Spain. Throughout her literary career, Sor Juana dedicated numerous occasional works to the Spanish Crown and its representatives in the New World. In contrast, it appears that commissioned or private occasional works were a gender-appropriate means of expounding upon political issues. The topic of birth was intimately tied to royalty, as it relates to the legitimization of the Crowns authority through blood lineage. Thus, by creating a political platform for herself and advancing positive representations of queenship, she attempted to create a role for early modern women in the public sphere of governance.