Self-pity as a Dominant Emotion in Sor Juana's Reply to Sor Filotea de Research Paper

Self-pity as a Dominant Emotion in Sor Juana's Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz - Research Paper Example . Some of her works include This Sex Which Is Not One, Empenos De Una Casa (The Trials of a Household), Primero Sueno (first dream), Carta Atenagorica and Respuesta a Sor Filotea (response to Sor Filotea). In her response to Sor Filotea De La Cruz, Sor Juana brings out the dominant emotion, pity that reveals her feeling about the states of affairs in the society at that point in time. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz wrote Respuesta a Sor Filotea (response to Sor Filotea) in Spain. This was a reply to Sor Filotea De La Cruz (Cruz and Rappaport 314). Throughout the reply, we find heavy groveling to the feet of the bishop with apologies that include explanations of the pains that De La Cruz goes through at that time. Sor Juana wrote the reply at a time when her society favored men to women. Women were seen as incompetent and an inferior group in the society. They were given subordinate roles and were supposed to be submissive to men. Sor Juana was motivated by the betrayal of women in the soc iety. She wrote with the intention of inspiring women not to succumb to the unfair treatments they were subjected to by the society (Cruz and Rappaport 314). One major aspect that Sor Juana used to push her idea forth was irony. Throughout the reply, she has used irony as her most important tool. Perhaps it was influenced by the place of a woman in the society. For example she states that, â€Å"†¦The first and to me the most insuperable is the question of how to respond to your immensely learned, prudent, devout, and loving letter† (De la Cruz 39). She uses this to show her feelings towards the dreadful deed that the bishop had done. She uses this ironical statement to show that despite the fact that the society thinks of women as stupid and incompetent people, they are intelligent and knowledgeable. Sor Juana decided to show her intelligence though a polite manner often apologizing and taking the submissive role just as a woman was supposed to behave (Cruz and Rappapor t 314). Women were not allowed to talk. They were to do what men told them to do. De La Cruz says, â€Å"†¦I.  .  .  was sorely tempted to take refuge in silence. But as silence is a negative thing, though it explains a great deal through the very stress of not explaining, we must assign some meaning to it that we may understand what the silence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (De la Cruz 8). In the reply, Sor Juana tells the reader about the ways in which the society was determined to ensure that women remained helpless. The society did this by ensuring that it bound and suppressed them by maintaining a male dominant environment. The society discouraged women from attending school because they were supposed to sit at home, do home chores and take care of children. In her reply, Sor Juana shows that she had the desire to learn but the society could not support her because she was a woman. She says that, â€Å"no teacher besides books themselves.† (De la Cruz 53) She had to study bo oks on her own without the help of teachers. On the other hand boys of her age went to school and were taught be teachers. It is because of her intelligence and hard work that she managed to pursue her goals. Sor Juana shows the reader the struggle she passed through teaching herself several subjects that she lists throughout the text. (De la Cruz 53). The society did not allow women to be educated or put their ideas in writing. The society did not find anything useful that women would write. Her reply clearly shows the society’s position on the right of women to study and their courage to affirm

The World of Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The World of Hamlet - Essay Example The imaginary world, the play's world, is thus a self-contained world in which everything is as it should be. That said, he finds this play to be the most elusive of all of Shakespeare's work. He paraphrases a Mr. E.M. W. Tillyard, stating that, No one is likely to accept another man's reading of Hamlet, that anyone who tries to throw light on one part of the play usually throws the rest into deeper shadow, and that what I have to say leaves out many problems-to mention only one, the knotty problem of the text (Mack, 1952: 87). The purpose of this essay is to determine whether Mack's assertion that three attributes of the play are, in fact, reasonable foundations for determining the popularity and the endurance of this play. To this end, this essay will examine the three attributes posited by Mack and argue that these attributes are indeed aspects of the imaginary world which do explain the power and the depth of the play. The first attribute refers to the mysteriousness of Hamlet's imaginary world. Mysteriousness, as Mack sees it, has long been an element associated with unique artistic endeavors. In Hamlet, this mysteriousness is manifest in many ways and pervades the text of the play rather than functioning as a sporadic or fleeting element. Mack cites the nature of Hamlet's madness, the ghost, his behavior toward Ophelia and Polonius, his clothing, and the manner in which his madness affects the other characters. There is, in effect, an extreme element of unpredictability which serves to fascinate rather than to discourage the reader of the play. This mysteriousness is engaging rather than unacceptable, and it functions to pull the reader into Hamlet's world. The lack of logic, the riddles, and the unexpected reactions and twists cannot be questioned in this imaginary world; quite the contrary, they function to unite the characters and the events more persuasively than if logic and reason had prev ailed. Mysteriousness, in short, is certainly one reasonable explanation for the emotion which the play generates. The second attribute refers to the tension between realties and appearances in the play. There is a problem which arises in the play in terms of distinguishing reality from appearances. This element of the play exacerbates rather than constrains the mysteriousness of the play. The ghost, for instance, is symbolic of this second type of attribute. The ghost is, in Mack's words, a "vehicle of truth" and yet its motivations and true form is uncertain. Realities spill forth from an apparition which itself is suspect. The reader of the play is thus confronted with more mysteriousness. Moreover, there is a constant second-guessing as to the real substance of the characters. What, for example, do Polonius and Ophelia truly desire Claudius repents. The King desires salvation. Much of what is learned is learned indirectly. Words are overheard and people are hidden. There is a sense that what is hidden is real and what is apparent is mere appearance. The language employed by the characters is deceptive and sincere. There are real questions as to what is the truth of many matters. What is the truth of Ophelia What is the true nature of the apparition and do his words convey reality or something less This second attribute, the layers of realities and appearances which are interwoven so seamlessly, certainly reflect this imaginary wo