Sor Juana: the portrayal of a golden-age writer in 19th century Spanish press

Abstract

This article studies the reception of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in nineteenth-century Spanish press, based on news and biographies published therein. Focusing on the biography and engraving of the author published in Semanario pintoresco español, a popular magazine of the time, we analyze how she is represented, which qualities are highlighted when offering readers her image as a literary figure, and which ones are omitted. This study also proposes to show the transformations occurring in the literary world during those years and how literary history, through the construction of the authorial image of the nun, (re)evaluates the past, organizes it, and relates it to the patterns of its time. The analysis consists of three segments: the main elements constituting Sor Juana's biography, the critique of her literary production, and her place in the literary canon as a woman from the nineteenth-century perspective.