“I, The Worst of All” showed the seventeenth century as a period in Mexico when women were extremely oppressed. There was no place for those of them who were interested in knowledge and philosophy. Moreover, patriarchal and ecclesiastical tyranny prevented women from realizing themselves. It remains a mystery to many researchers whether Sor Juana “exhibited homosexual tendencies” or not.1 “A loving friendship between women” was more permissible than the same forceful relationship between a woman and a man.2 Women were forced to obey the rules in that world; otherwise, they could not survive. The film director also showcases the image of a queer woman challenging conventional notions of how society should be run. Watching the movie allowed me to understand how the oppression of women was arranged and the general mindset of the people of Mexico in the seventeenth century.
For Senora Bemberg, the biopic genre was a means to show once again the injustice of a masculine world toward talented women who were not willing to put up with the existing world order of the seventeenth century. The main character is much more involved in conversations about literature, philosophy, and science than those about prayers and psalms. Sor Juana lives only for knowledge; she has no interest in life outside the convent. This movie made me realize how dramatic the Mexican poet’s fate was. The film’s script adheres rather strictly to the facts of her real biography. It includes the conflict between Sor Juan and the archbishop and her trusting relationship with the viceroy. However, it is worth agreeing with the position that even after the biopic was filmed, this heroine “remains an enigma” in many ways.3 In her writings, Sor Juana has never sought to speak about the hardships of her fate, and therefore little is known about her experiences.
Reference
Ramirez, Susan E. “I, The Worst of All: The Literary Life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.” In Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies, edited by Donald F. Stevens, 47-62. Wilmington: SR Books, 1997.
Footnotes
- 1-Susan Elizabeth Ramirez, “I, The Worst of All: The Literary Life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,” In Based on a True Story: Latin American History at the Movies, ed. Donald F. Stevens, (Wilmington: SR Books, 1997), 58.
- 2-Ramirez, “I, The Worst of All,” 60.
- 3-Ramirez, “I, The Worst of All,” 47.