History's "worst" nun - Theresa A. Yugar

翻译人员: Chen Pince 校对人员: Yizhuo He

Juana Ramírez de Asbaje sat before a panel of prestigious theologians,

胡安娜 · 拉米雷斯 · 德 · 阿斯巴耶 坐在著名的神学家、

jurists, and mathematicians.

法学家和数学家小组面前。

The viceroy of New Spain had invited them to test the young woman’s knowledge

新西班牙总督邀请他们提出 能想到的最困难的问题

by posing the most difficult questions they could muster.

来测试这名年轻女子的知识。

But Juana successfully answered every challenge,

但是胡安娜成功地回应了所有挑战，

from complicated equations to philosophical queries.

从复杂的方程到哲学疑问。

Observers would later liken the scene

见证者们后来将现场比作

to “a royal galleon fending off a few canoes.”

“一艘皇家帆船 挡住了几只独木舟。”

The woman who faced this interrogation was born in the mid-17th century.

面对询问的这个女人 出生于 17 世纪中叶。

At that time, Mexico had been a Spanish colony for over a century,

当时，墨西哥成为西班牙殖民地 已有一个多世纪，

leading to a complex and stratified class system.

形成了一个复杂而分层的阶级制度。

Juana’s maternal grandparents were born in Spain,

胡安娜的外祖父母出生于西班牙，

making them members of Mexico’s most esteemed class.

这使他们成为了墨西哥 最受尊敬的阶级成员。

But Juana was born out of wedlock, and her father – a Spanish military captain –

但胡安娜是一个私生女，她的父亲—— 一位西班牙军事上尉——

left her mother, Doña Isabel, to raise Juana and her sisters alone.

离开了她的母亲多妮娅 · 伊莎贝尔， 使她不得不独自抚养胡安娜和她的姐妹们。

Fortunately, her grandfather’s moderate means

幸运的是，祖父的和蔼态度

ensured the family a comfortable existence.

使家庭得以和睦。

And Doña Isabel set a strong example for her daughters,

多妮娅 · 伊莎贝尔为她的女儿们 树立了一个强有力的榜样，

successfully managing one of her father’s two estates,

尽管她目不识丁，而且身处 那个对女性偏见盛行的时代，

despite her illiteracy and the misogyny of the time.

她依然成功地管理着 父亲的两个庄园之一。

It was perhaps this precedent that inspired Juana’s lifelong confidence.

也许正是母亲的例子 塑造了胡安娜终生的自信。

At age three, she secretly followed her older sister to school.

三岁时，她偷偷地跟着姐姐去上学。

When she later learned that higher education was open only to men,

在她得知高等教育只对男性开放时，

she begged her mother to let her attend in disguise.

她恳求母亲让她假扮成 男性的模样去上学。

Her request denied, Juana found solace in her grandfather’s private library.

在她的请求被拒绝后，胡安娜在祖父的 私人图书馆中找到了慰藉。

By early adolescence, she’d mastered philosophical debate, Latin,

刚进入青春期时， 她就已经掌握了哲学辩论、拉丁语

and the Aztec language Nahuatl.

和阿兹特克的纳瓦特尔语。

Juana’s precocious intellect attracted attention

胡安娜年纪轻轻 就展现出过人的聪慧，

from the royal court in Mexico City,

引起了墨西哥城皇家法院的注意，

and when she was sixteen,

在她十六岁时，

the viceroy and his wife took her in as their lady-in-waiting.

总督和他的妻子邀她入宫 成为侍从女官。

Here, her plays and poems alternately dazzled and outraged the court.

在那儿，她的戏剧与诗歌令人叹服， 但同时又惹怒了法院。

Her provocative poem Foolish Men

《愚蠢的男人》这首颇具挑衅意味的诗，

infamously criticized sexist double standards,

由于批判了对于性别的双重标准， 使社会陷入了惶恐和恼怒，

decrying how men corrupt women while blaming them for immorality.

这首诗谴责了男性如何在亵渎妇女 的同时还谴责她们的不道德行为。

Despite its controversy, her work still inspired adoration,

尽管存在争议，她的作品 依然使她令众多男子倾慕，

and numerous proposals.

并引来了无数的求婚者。

But Juana was more interested in knowledge than marriage.

但是胡安娜对知识的 兴趣远胜于婚姻。

And in the patriarchal society of the time,

在当时的父权制社会中，

there was only one place she could find it.

她只能在一个地方找到它。

The Church, while still under the zealous influence of the Spanish Inquisition,

教会，虽然处于西班牙 宗教裁判所的狂热影响下，

would allow Juana to retain her independence and respectability

但将允许胡安娜在未婚的情况下

while remaining unmarried.

免受于他人的控制并得到尊重。

At age 20, she entered the Hieronymite Convent of Santa Paula

20 岁时，她进入圣保拉圣像修道院，

and took on her new name: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

并改名为： 修女胡安娜 · 伊内斯 · 德 · 拉克鲁兹。

For years, Sor Juana was considered a prized treasure of the church.

多年以来，胡安娜被认为是 教会的宝贵财富。

She wrote dramas, comedies, and treatises on philosophy and mathematics,

除宗教音乐和诗歌之外， 她还撰写了戏剧、喜剧

和关于哲学和数学的论著。

in addition to religious music and poetry.

She accrued a massive library,

日积月累所构筑的藏书库，

and was visited by many prominent scholars.

引来了许多著名学者参观。

While serving as the convent’s treasurer and archivist,

在掌管修道院的财务 和保管档案的同时，

she also protected the livelihoods of her niece and sisters

她还维持侄女和姐妹的生计，

from men who tried to exploit them.

使其免受来自男性的剥削。

But her outspokenness ultimately brought her into conflict with her benefactors.

但她直言不讳的性格 最终导致了她与赞助人的冲突。

In 1690, a bishop published Sor Juana’s private critique of a respected sermon.

1690 年，一位主教发表了修女胡安娜 对受人尊敬的布道的私人批判。

In the publication,

出版物中，

he admonished Sor Juana to devote herself to prayer rather than debate.

他告诫胡安娜修女 应致力于祈祷而不是辩论。

She replied that God would not have given women intellect

她回答说， 若上帝不希望女性使用智慧，

if he did not want them to use it.

就不会将之赋予女性。

The exchange caught the attention of the conservative Archbishop of Mexico.

此次谈话引起了 墨西哥保守派大主教的注意。

Slowly, Sor Juana was stripped of her prestige,

慢慢地， 修女胡安娜被剥夺了威望，

forced to sell her books and give up writing.

被迫卖掉她的书，放弃了写作。

Furious at this censorship, but unwilling to leave the church,

她对这种审查制度感到愤怒， 但不愿意离开教会，

she bitterly renewed her vows.

她痛苦地重述着自己的誓言。

In her last act of defiance, she signed them

在她最后的反抗行为中，

“I, the worst of all,” in her own blood.

她用自己的鲜血签下了 “我，最糟糕的人。”

Deprived of scholarship, Sor Juana threw herself into charity work,

失去了学者身份，修女胡安娜 全身心地投入到慈善事业中，

and in 1695, she died of an illness she contracted while nursing her sisters.

1695 年，她在照顾姐妹时 因感染疾病而死亡。

Today, Sor Juana has been recognized as the first feminist in the Americas.

如今，修女胡安娜已被公认为 美洲第一位女权主义者，

She’s the subject of countless documentaries, novels, and operas,

她是无数纪录片、 小说和歌剧的主题，

and appears on Mexico’s 200-peso banknote.

并被印在了墨西哥 200 比索的钞票上。

In the words of Nobel laureate Octavio Paz:

用诺贝尔奖获得者 奥克塔维奥 · 帕斯的话说：

“It is not enough to say that Sor Juana’s work is a product of history;

“修女胡安娜的作品 不该仅被视为历史的产物；

we must add that history is also a product of her work.”

我们必须补充说 历史也是她作品的产物。”