(Español)
Hombres necios que acusáis
a la mujer sin razón,
sin ver que sois la ocasión
de lo mismo que culpáis:
si con ansia sin igual
solicitáis su desdén,
¿por qué quereis que obren bien
si las incitáis al mal?
Combatís su resistencia
y luego, con gravedad,
decís que fue liviandad
lo que hizo la diligencia.
Parecer quiere el denuedo
de vuestro parecer loco,
al niño que pone el coco
y luego le tiene miedo.
Queréis, con presunción necia,
hallar a la que buscáis,
para pretendida, Thais,
y en la posesión, Lucrecia
¿Qué humor puede ser más raro
que el que, falto de consejo,
el mismo empaña el espejo
y siente que no esté claro?
Con el favor y el desdén
tenéis condición igual,
quejándoos, si os tratan mal,
burlándoos, si os quieren bien.
Opinión, ninguna gana:
pues la que más se recata,
si no os admite, es ingrata,
y si os admite, es liviana
Siempre tan necios andáis
que, con desigual nivel,
a una culpáis por crüel
y a otra por fácil culpáis.
¿Pues cómo ha de estar templada
la que vuestro amor pretende,
si la que es ingrata, ofende,
y la que es fácil, enfada?
Mas, entre el enfado y pena
que vuestro gusto refiere,
bien haya la que no os quiere
y quejaos en hora buena.
Dan vuestras amantes penas
a sus libertades alas,
y después de hacerlas malas
las queréis hallar muy buenas.
¿Cuál mayor culpa ha tenido
en una pasión errada:
la que cae de rogada
o el que ruega de caído?
¿O cuál es más de culpar,
aunque cualquiera mal haga:
la que peca por la paga
o el que paga por pecar?
Pues ¿para quée os espantáis
de la culpa que tenéis?
Queredlas cual las hacéis
o hacedlas cual las buscáis.
Dejad de solicitar,
y después, con más razón,
acusaréis la afición
de la que os fuere a rogar.
Bien con muchas armas fundo
que lidia vuestra arrogancia,
pues en promesa e instancia
juntáis diablo, carne y mundo.
(English)
Silly, you men-so very adept
at wrongly faulting womankind,
not seeing you're alone to blame
for faults you plant in woman's mind.
After you've won by urgent plea
the right to tarnish her good name,
you still expect her to behave—
you, that coaxed her into shame.
You batter her resistance down
and then, all righteousness, proclaim
that feminine frivolity,
not your persistence, is to blame.
When it comes to bravely posturing,
your witlessness must take the prize:
you're the child that makes a bogeyman,
and then recoils in fear and cries.
Presumptuous beyond belief,
you'd have the woman you pursue
be Thais when you're courting her,
Lucretia once she falls to you.
For plain default of common sense,
could any action be so queer
as oneself to cloud the mirror,
then complain that it's not clear?
Whether you're favored or disdained,
nothing can leave you satisfied.
You whimper if you're turned away,
you sneer if you've been gratified.
With you, no woman can hope to score;
whichever way, she's bound to lose;
spurning you, she's ungrateful—
succumbing, you call her lewd.
Your folly is always the same:
you apply a single rule
to the one you accuse of looseness
and the one you brand as cruel.
What happy mean could there be
for the woman who catches your eye,
if, unresponsive, she offends,
yet whose complaisance you decry?
Still, whether it's torment or anger—
and both ways you've yourselves to blame—
God bless the woman who won't have you,
no matter how loud you complain.
It's your persistent entreaties
that change her from timid to bold.
Having made her thereby naughty,
you would have her good as gold.
So where does the greater guilt lie
for a passion that should not be:
with the man who pleads out of baseness
or the woman debased by his plea?
Or which is more to be blamed—
though both will have cause for chagrin:
the woman who sins for money
or the man who pays money to sin?
So why are you men all so stunned
at the thought you're all guilty alike?
Either like them for what you've made them
or make of them what you can like.
If you'd give up pursuing them,
you'd discover, without a doubt,
you've a stronger case to make
against those who seek you out.
I well know what powerful arms
you wield in pressing for evil:
your arrogance is allied
with the world, the flesh, and the devil!
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Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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Nothing Really Changes
From guest Joy (contact)
If we consider the poem was written in the 16th century and we are moving into the 21st century - really men have not so much changed their minds only their ill-fated ways of savage behavior. -
As a native Spanish speaker
From guest XT (contact)
and fluent English speaker, I agree that this is the best translation of the poem I have seen to date. Excellent work! -
Timeless thoughts
From guest J (contact)
I am an English teacher and was looking for something I could use in my World Literature class. I came across this poem and recognized the timelessness of her thoughts. I also have two years of Spanish and this is one of the better translations I have seen (some are so far off it becomes criminal). It cannot be translated word for word - it is the meaning that becomes important - and it's there. I plan on pairing this with with Christina Aguilera's "Can't Hold Us Down" to help my students comprehend that literature is a way to communicate about the culture in which it is written and how many similarities there are among different cultures because it is all about humans - and there is much commonality; with gender roles being just one aspect of this. I will say that I do believe there is a bit of venom to it - and rightfully so. To be intelligent and capable but restricted on the basis that you are a woman was just as criminal then as it is now. I'm not saying we haven't made progress in that regard - but we still have a long way to go. There are still parts of the world in which women are not allowed to pursue education or other means of living up to their potential - and only because they were born female and are not considered to have the same value. Although many women have done remarkable things, the same double standard applies. In essence, a man and a woman can both participate in a relationship that shouldn't be - but the man is exalted for it while the woman is condemned - but neither was in the right. Such a patriarchal mode of thought is so antiquidated - and yet it still manages to survive. -
From guest Brittany (contact)
I agree that it would have been nicer to use the actual words Sor Juana used, however I think the translation you derived gets the same meaning across. I disagree with the person that said Sor Juana wouldn't write so aggressively. She was trapped with this great mind in a female body, when being a woman meant you couldn't achieve much more then being a wife or nun. The church was forcing her to get rid of her books and scientific lab, she had to deal with the entreaties of men prior to joining the convent; i think she was fed up with men ruling the world and therefore trying to rule her. She grew up in a poor family, born out of wedlock with an absent father. I think every bit of venom was intended. -
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From guest Anonymous (contact)
The poem probably could have been translated better if the words that fit the meaning were used, not just a rhyme scheme. If it accedentally came out that way, that's amazing! -
From guest eliza (contact)
well nice nice this si nice but y blame men of there needs and there ways mans cant help them seld they must be mans gay...jotillos..never let there feelings out -
From guest briana (da best) (contact)
I too have enjoyed reading this woman's poetry. It is truly astounding! I had to reasearch her and do a projct on her for my spanish class and she is truly amazing! -
amazing.....im doing a spanish project on sor juana...and her poetry has astounded me....just blown me away!
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I'm from Argentina. I'm 16 years old. I'm studyng English and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz. I Think that in the traslation looses the beauty and that Sor Juana wasn't write it in an agressive form. Nothing else. Jorgelina.
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I too speak and understand spanish and for me, the translation looses the beauty of this work. Sor Juana wasn't trying to sound angry or bitter. She was just stating the truth of her times. She was highly inteligent yet was ostracised for her knowledge and learning. She learned to read at the age of three without the permission or knowledge of her mother. Now, that is one determined lady.
Edited on Mar 28, 8:35 p.m. because ''. -
I'm a Spanish teacher and I love Sor Juana's works. She was well ahead of her time, but must have felt trapped in her own body. How wonderful to be a woman, but not so during her times. She only chose to become a nun so as not to have to become a wife and endure the hardship of marriage to an uneducated man. She was an amazing woman, and this is one of my favorites of her works. She was terribly brave to have had these thoughts during those days, and even braver to have made them known. Woman, still today, confront these issues, especially young girls. They are confused as to what young men want. They try to stay pure, but then the boyfriend begs for her to let her guard down. Then, once she has done the deed, she is labeled, though in her mind it was an act of love, for the young man it was a roll in the hay, a conquest. He is more of a man, and she is less of a woman.
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I speak high school level spanish ... and the poem in spanish is just remarkable. Its beautiful.
I think that the comments she makes are still relavant to today's world, however the belittlement of women is in much more subtle ways. -
I agree, the ending is my favorite part too. I also don't speak Spanish, so I'm going on just the translation too. These are my favorite stanzas:
"So where does the greater guilt lie
for a passion that should not be:
with the man who pleads out of baseness
or the woman debased by his plea?
Or which is more to be blamed--
though both will have cause for chagrin:
the woman who sins for money
or the man who pays money to sin?"
The last stanza got a bit too venomous for my taste. Although from what I have observed, I can't say I disagree with it for the most part.
As for musika's comment on how the world is run, I've wondered that myself. I think some of the world's problems might be solved if more women were in charge but I don't think it would solve anything. Either way, neither men or women are perfect. And in my opinion, I don't think there is anything stopping women from becoming say...the president of the US or something like that. Except for money - men make more money on average than women do and thats really all politics is about when it gets boiled down to the basics: the person with the most money is most likely to win the election. I personally like that idea that was made up a while ago, I don't remember where, but it was someone saying that a test should be made to see if someone is fit to be the president. The first thing that disqualifies them is if they actually wanted to be president. -
Well I like it .. a lot.
I haven't seen too much older poetry with this kind of theme, just goes to show it goes way back. Ha ..I laugh at the idea of critically reviewing this ..
When really, it only helps reaffirm me in my strenght, because.. it really isn't just me or the women of today who suffer these demons
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well, i promoted this and so far no comments, thought it might spark some discussion. I don't speak Spanish, so the translation was all I have to go on, but I still think it's a remarkable poem. Circuitous and thorough, strident writing. I love the ending which is just spitting venom and I believe truth. The motivational/psychological insights are amazing, and in my experience hold for men today
When it comes to bravely posturing,
your witlessness must take the prize:
you're the child that makes a bogeyman,
and then recoils in fear and cries.
Like that too, that seems to be where the trans. gets the most poetic.
I often wonder what it would be like if a few more women had a say in how the world runs or how it has been run. I think these observations are spot on, and imply a pretty strong answer that question
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