Defending Women's Rights

With Sor Juana's growing renown, however, came disapproval from the church: In November 1690, the bishop of Puebla published (under the pseudonym of a nun) without her consent Sor Juana's critique of a 40-year-old sermon by a Portuguese Jesuit preacher, and admonished Sor Juana to focus on religious studies instead of secular studies.

Sor Juana responded with stunning self-defense. She defended the right of all women to attain knowledge and famously wrote (echoing a poet and a Catholic saint), "One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper," justifying her study of secular topics as necessary to understanding theology.