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

譯者: Dai-Yun Wu 審譯者: Bruce Sung

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

胡安娜坐在一群有聲望的神學家、

jurists, and mathematicians.

法學家，和數學家面前。

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

新西班牙的總督邀請他們來 測試這個年輕女人的智識；

by posing the most difficult questions they could muster.

請他們提出能想到的 最困難的問題來測試她。

But Juana successfully answered every challenge,

然而胡安娜成功回答了每一道題目，

from complicated equations to philosophical queries.

從複雜的方程式 到哲學問題都答對了。

Observers would later liken the scene

觀察者們後來將此比擬為

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

「一艘皇家大帆船 擊退幾艘獨木舟。」

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

這個面對審問的女人 出生於十七世紀中葉。

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

當時，墨西哥已被西班牙 殖民超過一世紀，

leading to a complex and stratified class system.

社會分層階級制度複雜。

Juana’s maternal grandparents were born in Spain,

胡安娜的外祖父母在西班牙出生，

making them members of Mexico’s most esteemed class.

這讓他們成為墨西哥 最高社會階級的成員。

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

但胡安娜是私生女， 而她的父親——一名西班牙軍官——

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

離開了她母親多尼雅·伊莎貝爾， 讓她獨自扶養胡安娜與她的姊妹。

Fortunately, her grandfather’s moderate means

幸運地，她祖父中等的家業

ensured the family a comfortable existence.

確保了家族舒適的生活。

And Doña Isabel set a strong example for her daughters,

而多尼雅·伊莎貝爾 也成為女兒們的典範，

successfully managing one of her father’s two estates,

儘管她不識字， 以及當時社會對女性貶抑，

despite her illiteracy and the misogyny of the time.

她仍成功地管理她父親 兩個地產其中的一塊地。

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

或許就是她激發了胡安娜 終生的自信心。

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

三歲時，胡安娜偷偷地 跟著姊姊去上學。

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

當她後來得知高等教育 只開放給男性時，

she begged her mother to let her attend in disguise.

她央求母親讓她喬裝去就讀。

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

她的請求被母親拒絕，胡安娜 在祖父的私人圖書館中找到慰藉。

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

在她青少年前期時，她就已經 精通哲學辯論、拉丁語，

and the Aztec language Nahuatl.

以及阿茲特克語言──納瓦特爾語。

Juana’s precocious intellect attracted attention

胡安娜早熟的智慧引來

from the royal court in Mexico City,

墨西哥市內皇家宮廷的注意，

and when she was sixteen,

在她十六歲時，

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

總督與其妻子召她入宮成為宮女。

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

在那裡，她的劇本與詩作 使宮廷讚嘆，但同時也激怒宮廷。

Her provocative poem Foolish Men

她帶挑釁意味的詩《愚蠢的男人》

infamously criticized sexist double standards,

聲名狼藉地批評 性別歧視者的雙重標準，

decrying how men corrupt women while blaming them for immorality.

抨擊男人如何使女人墮落 同時譴責他們的道德敗壞。

Despite its controversy, her work still inspired adoration,

儘管有許多爭議， 她的作品還是激起許多對她的愛慕，

and numerous proposals.

也被求婚無數次。

But Juana was more interested in knowledge than marriage.

但比起婚姻，胡安娜 對知識更有興趣。

And in the patriarchal society of the time,

而在當時的父權社會下，

there was only one place she could find it.

她只能在一個地方找到知識——

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

教堂，雖然仍倍受 西班牙宗教法庭影響，

would allow Juana to retain her independence and respectability

但還是能讓胡安娜在未婚的身分下，

while remaining unmarried.

維持體面與獨立性。

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

二十歲時，她進入 聖保拉哲羅姆派女修道院，

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

並取了新名字： 胡安娜·伊內斯·德·拉·克魯茲。

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

有好幾年，胡安娜被視為教堂的珍寶。

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

她寫戲劇、喜劇， 以及哲學與數學的專書論文，

in addition to religious music and poetry.

還有宗教音樂與詩歌。

She accrued a massive library,

她累積了一個很大的圖書館，

and was visited by many prominent scholars.

許多著名的學者都曾來訪。

While serving as the convent’s treasurer and archivist,

身為女修道院的會計與檔案管理員，

she also protected the livelihoods of her niece and sisters

她同時也保護她侄女與姊妹的生活，

from men who tried to exploit them.

讓她們不被試圖 剝削她們的男人傷害。

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

但她的直言不諱最終 將她捲入與贊助人的紛爭。

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

1690 年，一位主教公布

胡安娜私下對於一場 受人敬重的佈道所做的批評。

In the publication,

在文章中，

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

他責備胡安娜應將心力 奉獻於祈禱而非辯論。

She replied that God would not have given women intellect

她回覆，如果上帝 不要女人使用智慧，

if he did not want them to use it.

那祂就不會給予女人智慧。

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

這場意見交換引起 墨西哥保守派主教的注意。

Slowly, Sor Juana was stripped of her prestige,

慢慢地，胡安娜被剝奪了聲望、

forced to sell her books and give up writing.

被迫賣掉她的書籍，並放棄寫作。

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

胡安娜雖對這審查制度感到憤怒， 但在不願意離開教堂的情況下，

she bitterly renewed her vows.

她痛苦地重新立誓。

In her last act of defiance, she signed them

在她最後的反抗中， 她以自己的鮮血簽署，

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

「我，最糟糕」。

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

胡安娜被剝奪了學者身分， 她投入慈善工作。

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

1695 年，她在照顧生病的姊妹時， 染上了該疾病而死去。

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

今日，胡安娜被視為 美洲的第一位女性主義者，

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

她是無數紀錄片、 小說，與歌劇的主角，

and appears on Mexico’s 200-peso banknote.

並出現在墨西哥兩百比索的紙鈔上。

In the words of Nobel laureate Octavio Paz:

諾貝爾得主奧克塔維奧·帕斯曾言：

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

「將胡安娜的作品 形容為歷史之作並不足夠；

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

我們必須補充，她也創造了歷史。」