Smithsonian Recalls 'Wise and Valiant' Women Authors of Spain's Golden Age

Smithsonian investigates Instituto Cervantes's recent exhibition, “Wise and Valiant: Women and Writing in the Golden Age of Spain,” which displays poetry, diaries, plays, novels, and travelogues by women writers including Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Ana Caro. "For the most part, women in 17th-century Spain were illiterate and relegated largely to domestic tasks. But a select few forged their own paths," writes Theresa Machemer at Smithsonian. Further: 

According to Bibliophile, the institute’s director, Luis García Montero, said during a press conference that the show “invites us to reflect on women” and “helps us to recover our memory and dynamite the canon.”

The exhibition borrows its name from the work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a nun born near Mexico City in 1648. She contributed significantly to intellectual life in Spain’s colonies and is one of the best-known writers featured in the display.

But as “Wise and Valiant” demonstrates, Sor Juana was far from alone. The exhibition also, for instance, explores the work of playwright and poet Ana Caro, who was one of the earliest writers to pursue her craft not as a hobby, but as a profession.

Per Sam Jones of the Guardian, the show includes records of a payment made to Caro in 1638—a full two years before England’s first female professional playwright, Aphra Behn, was even born.

Caro’s work highlighted female characters who actively shaped their destinies by following their dreams or seeking revenge.

Read more at Smithsonian.