SOURCE: "Sor Juana's Gaze in Romance 48," in Mester, Vol. XX, No. 2, Fall, 1991, pp. 1926.

In the following essay, Carrasco discusses Juana Ines de la Cruz's treatment of sexuality in Romance 48.

The essence of Sor Juana's Romance 48 is situational: it is a response, the other half of a conversation. It invokes a dialogue and brings into focus the Peruvian who apparently inspired it. In the advertencia that precedes the poem, we are advised that Sor Juana is "respondiendo a un caballero del Perú, que le envió unos barros diciéndole que se volviese hombre." Even without the clarification, the text itself represents an existential reality in relation to an Other as well as in relation to another's text.

The advertencia allows us to imagine that Sor Juana receives word that a gentleman has come to see her or has left her something. She accepts what probably were indigenous artifacts from...