Sor Juana Inés de la CruzSor Juana Inés de la Cruz, born in Mexico in 1651, was a poet and intellectual who secretly taught herself how to read and write as a child, defying restrictions against girls’ education.
Her private study raised her to such a level of proficiency that she began to gain admiration and fame for her learnedness and skill as a writer, and she wrote a public letter, “Respuesta a Sor Filotea,” arguing women have a right to pursue education.
Unfortunately, her political progressiveness conflicted with her devout Catholic faith.
Juana became a nun in 1669, and after increasing pressure from the Catholic hierarchy, she seemingly gave up her literary pursuits in the 1690s -- though not before making remarkable achievements in her field.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/02/beach-reads-summer_n_7699708.html?ir=Women&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046
