A Feminist Devotion
Rachel Paese

The modern feminist ideal: a woman carrying her laptop, professional heels clacking quickly on the pavementof a busy city. She is successful, she is independent, she is professional. She has made a bold choice. This is the ideal that has been formed when many people think about feminism. Her worth as a feminist is built on her productivity, her quest for economic independence, and her presence in spaces that have previously been exclusively reserved for men.

And yet, the “ideal feminist” has developed in an unfortunate way that condemns women who do not take a path that has been historically been denied to women. Suddenly, a stay at home mom is less autonomous than a woman in medical school. Not only is the current idea of the perfect feminist completely unattainable for most women, it is also, more importantly, not derived from official feminist thought. One prominent example of a lifestyle that is subtly condemned, particularly by those with more progressive ideologies, is the lifestyle of a nun. It’s easy, by today’s standards for feminist women, to look down upon those who choose a life of what seems like submission and passivity. Despite this view of them today, nuns have a long history of displaying very feminist and forward thinking traits, particularly in the 17th century.

They continue with their devotion to the betterment of the condition of others both in publicly defiant ways as well as quiet and devoted ways. Therefore, the assumption of lack of agency within the lifestyle of nuns not only ignores their current influence and broader historical context, but also does not align with true feminist thought. Examining this reflexive erasure can be instructive.

Nuns of the 17th Century

During a time when women were considered intellectually inferior, being a nun was a significant alternate life path that would award women with education. Nuns were given the opportunity to develop their personal skills like reading, writing, or the arts (Schmidhuber de la Mora). In a time when the options for women were limited and education was not prioritized, becoming a nun was a window into more agency in society for women in the 17th century. In fact, because of the education nuns were given, some went on to express early feminist thought in writing.

One of the most prominent and studied of these early feminist thinkers is Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. She is described by scholars as being a “pioneer of feminism in Mexico” (Rodríguez). It is clear that feminist philosophy was not defined as such during Sor Juana’s time. However, her ideas are reflective of a defiant culture within feminism that exposes the faults in patriarchal society and elevates women and their strengths. Sor Juana’s poem, “Hombres necios” is reminiscent of these defiant feminist ideals. During a time when it was radical to question men’s authority and the use of women as a stepping stool for power and moral superiority, Sor Juana wrote about the faults of men. Her brazen philosophy and poetry continue to be studied today.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is a stark example of how the lifestyle of a 17th century nun represented modern day feminist thought because of its defiance to societal standards as well as the opportunities it provided to be critical of patriarchal society. It was a pathway to education, a respected position, and was used by some to express thoughts about inequality. Being a nun in the 17th century was a way to defiantly live with agency and intellect during a time when the expectation for women was the opposite. Because nuns in the 17th century took on a somewhat defiant female role in society, it is easy to respect them through the lens of modern day feminism, but the way nuns are viewed in the modern day are not awarded this same sort of reverence.

The nun perched on the side of the convent, looking out into the ocean, rests her head in her hand and expresses a forlorn glance. All three nuns look downward in submission to their lifestyle. The painting is full of dark colors, and the nuns themselves are unrecognizable because of both their body language as well as the dark colors which blend their facial features together. They completely lack identity. The entire painting conveys emotions associated with forced submission and discontent. Even the physical placement of the convent is representative of the lack of agency these women are perceived to have. In comparison with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the perception of the lifestyle of nuns held by the painter is starkly different. Rather than placing them in positions of power, surrounded by literature, facial features evident, and looking directly at the view, the nuns in this painting are stripped of identity and agency with color and perspective.

It is not clear due to the violence they experienced, but rather with the juxtaposition of the nuns with the character ofthe female doctor. The French doctor is self-sufficient, resilient, lives with sexual agency, and is successful in her career, representing the perfect modern feminist ideal. In contrast, many nuns in the convent feel dissatisfied, trapped, and deeply unhappy. Although these emotions are nuanced and layered, the representation of the lifestyles of nuns was represented in a way that portrayed lack of agency in their decisions. At the conclusion of the movie, one nun secretly left the convent to start a new life, and was celebrated by the French doctor.

Nuns Push Back On These Assumptions

It is clear that modern ideology tends to not cast a reverent light on the lifestyle of nuns, particularly for being far from the standard of the modern feminist. Because of this, there are often assumptions made about their autonomy. However, there is research to corroborate the idea that nuns actively resist representations of them that suggest a lack of agency. During a study conducted interviewing of Apostolic Orders in Australia and New Zealand, nuns described themselves as called by God, self-sacrificing, loyal and docile. However, they also described themselves as “autonomous normal women exercising personal agency as nuns” (Brock). The presence of both of these qualities creates a more nuanced understanding of their lifestyle, and reinforces that even nuns themselves feel they have autonomy.

Although it is important to recognize that nuns do operate under the patriarchal system of the Catholic Church, which has a problematic history that extends to the present day, and do not share one universal experience (particularly across different cultural, geographic, or demographic realities), it is essential that we examine why our society may assume that a choice to serve automatically suggests a lack of agency. The idea that women must achieve the standard of the “ideal feminist” is a manifestation of culture, not derived from feminist principle. Feminists have historically fought for access to spaces traditionally guaranteed for men, but those that do not actively occupy them do not inherently lack autonomy.

Although there is valid autonomy in a quiet life of devotion, there are nuns today who carry the progressive spirit of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Nuns on the Bus is an activist organization aimed at tackling social justice issues and policy change. The organization is led by nuns and is a means of enacting change on a variety of issues like voting, immigration reform, medicaid expansion, or economic justice (Nuns on the Bus) — a bold yet perfect extension of their spiritual mandate. Nuns are also becoming quiet forces in corporate circles, asking that CEOs and corporate boards consider how their business decisions impact others— employees, the poor, the environment, racial equity — when leading their companies. The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia lobby powerful corporate leaders to do better (Roose). Truth to power is a feminist ideal, and something some nuns throughout history have been able and willing to do. While even the most outspoken and politically active nuns still fall short of how the modern ideal feminist is conventionally understood, the way they use their agency provided to them to devote themselves to the betterment of the condition of others is feminist.

We must examine why we are able to recognize the balance between agency and devotion within 17th century nuns, but we do not allow it now. It is easy to consider the nuns in the 17th century to be prominent examples of strong, defiant, and counter-cultural feminists. They were given education during a time when it was not available to women, criticized society, and expressed their grievances in writing. These women balanced a life of defiance with a life of service. Even though nuns in the modern day fulfill this same role of service, both in quiet devotion and public activism, we question their agency and in various cultural spaces, and we label them weak and lacking in agency. These ideas manifest themselves into art, film, and other forms of culture, and they misrepresent an extensive history of influence. Consistent with their history, nuns hold to their devotion of the betterment of society in varying levels of open defiance. To reject the legitimacy of their choice or to assume weakness is not reflective of feminist ideology and ignores a broader historical context of balancing autonomy and service. Just as nuns of the 17th century were assertive in their autonomy, they remain that way today.