She leaves but later joins the Hieronymite nuns. Yet Núñez uses the pretense of scandal to drive Juana Inés to a Carmelite convent. The vicereine’s interest in Juana Inés soon becomes a romantic one, and though she has penned poems of praise for the vicereine upon request, she sees her elder more as a mother than a lover. Núñez tries to nudge her toward heresy with lines like “Love is not an exercise of the will but of obedience,” but she turns the questions on him, asking to whom she should be obedient-men like him? “If you would have me choose between obeying God and obeying you, Father, with no desire to offend, I choose God.” Portrait of Sister Juana Ines de la Cruz by Andrés de Islas. She passes a rigorous “test” in which intellectuals and priests bombard her with questions about philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and theology. (“If it’s on the Index,” he says of a book, “it burns.”) When the vicereine wants Juana Inés to tutor her daughter, Núñez rebukes the non-traditional choice.īut Juana Inés is too clever for him. In addition to being the royal confessor, Núñez is tasked with ensuring that secular knowledge never stains reverence for God. Father Antonio Núñez, a stodgy and ambitious Jesuit, is her foil. The other women are immediately jealous of Juana Inés-and so are some priests. “If you would have me choose between obeying God and obeying you, Father, with no desire to offend, I choose God.” The vicereine offers a standing ovation and a request: “I want her as my lady-in-waiting.” Juana Inés interrupts the scene and recites a comical poem for the audience. Upon her arrival in the royal court, she discovers a room where the viceroy and vicereine of New Spain are being entertained by musicians. She is precocious, curious and brilliant beyond her years. The daughter of a Creole mother and a Spanish father, Juana Inés has struggled to find a personal identity, guided instead by the desire to gain knowledge. “The court is a perfect place for you to find a husband.” She scoffs at the idea but not simply to be rebellious. “You're young, beautiful and intelligent,” they say. In the first scene of the show, her aunt and uncle want to send Juana Inés away. This new series pushes boundaries and forces viewers to consider how intellect, desire and faith intersect. A longtime favorite of the secular literary world for her remarkable range-known as the “first feminist of the new world,” she was equally adept writing love poems and plays as she was penning theological essays-Juana Inés remains a complex figure for Catholics. “Clear the way for the entrance/ of the bold adventuress/ who undoes injustice/ who smashes insults.” The poetry and passions of the 17th-century Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz are given new life in “Juana Inés,” a Netflix original series now available in the United States.
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