ABSTRACT
The Jesuit passion for study was purely homosocial affair that went beyond the obvious association of a male-only order with strictly masculine activities. Nez de Miranda sees all aspects of Sor Juana's scholarly life as an incursion into what he considers to be public life, masculine territory, and thus an affront to his carefully calibrated male authority. Sor Juana challenges this authority, appealing, as she does in other of her works, to the concept of the alma racional, which is not exclusive to men. Nor does masculinity guarantee erudition. Sor Juana accuses Nez de Miranda of overstepping the boundaries of his role, wondering at his desire to push her toward sainthood when this is not his decision to make, and upbraiding him for usurping a role only God can play. Just as he constrains women's authority by denying them access to knowledge, she constrains the authority he has over her.
