This thesis addresses the epistolary work by Novo-Hispanic writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to place it in the literary and discursive context of the end of the 17th Century. I will take as theoretical background the concepts of dialogism and the carnivalesque by Mikhail Bakhtin, as well as Michel De Certeau’s reflections on what he calls the practice of everyday life. Other aspects of my theoretical approach will be drawn from Michel Foucault’s concepts in The Archaeology of Knowledge; his ideas about power, knowledge and social control, which will be useful for contextually addressing Sor Juana’s work and that of her intellectual contemporaries. Particularly, I will analyse the circumstances in which these Novo-Hispanic discourses were produced. This contextualization will allow me to incorporate not only the cultural (everyday life) practices that surround the production of these texts, but also other less notable or unpublished documents written by some of Sor Juana’s contemporaries. My aim is to widen the discursive spectrum of authors and critics of the prose of this author, and to this end I make use of documents from the 17th Century as primary source. This thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first, I will place into context the Novo-Hispanic discourse and the generic forms of the time: sermon, satire, libel, letter and inquisitorial censure, and the function of ideological control exerted by the Novo-Hispanic Holy Office. In the second chapter I will make a textual and contextual revision of three epistolary documents by Sor Juana: Carta al Padre Nuñez (Letter to Father Nuñez, 1682), Carta Atenagórica (Letter Worthy of Athena, 1690) and Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz (Reply to Sor Filotea of the Cross, 1690); as well as the antecedents, development and the result of the critical-theological conflict caused by these private letters, their replies and other collateral documents, namely, Carta de Serafina de Cristo, and Carta de Filotea de la Cruz (1690). Both drafts of these letters, found in Puebla in 2010, will also be refered in this revision. In addition to this I will study Defensa del Sermón del Mandato (1691) and Discurso Apologético contra la Fe de Erratas de un Soldado Castellano (1691), documents found in Lima in 2002 and published in Mexico in 2004. The third chapter consists of the study of three contemporary preachers of Sor Juana: Francisco Xavier Palavicino Villarrasa, Pedro Muñoz de Castro and Pedro de Avendaño Suárez de Sousa, whose theological and literary activities were denounced by the Holy Office. My aim is to show the reach of inquisitorial control and its consequence on the writing and literary activities of the contemporary intellectuals of Sor Juana, to contextualize Sor Juana’s epistolary work and confront the possible isolation and singularization that may place her life and work apart from the kernel of the intellectual scene in the New Spain at the close of the 17th Century.

The thesis focuses on two letters written by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: The "Carta Atenagorica" (1690) and The "Respuesta a sor Filotea" (1691), as well as on the "Carta de sor Filotea de la Cruz a sor Juana Ines de la Cruz" (1690), written by Manuel Fernandez de Santa Cruz, bishop of Puebla. The "Respuesta a sor Filotea," inspired by the "Carta de sor Filotea," presents an elaborated defence of the "Carta Atenagorica" and the right to discuss theological principles that the author claims on her behalf. / The thesis was inspired by the main theme of the "Respuesta a sor Filotea" as well as the polemical content of the other two letters. The introduction briefly presents the historical context in which the polemic took place. It also explains the objectives of the thesis and comments some of the critical work related to this theme. Chapters one and two analyse the "Carta Atenagorica," focusing on the theological discussion. / Chapters three and four analyse the "Carta de sor Filotea." Chapter three examines the intentions of the bishop of Puebla when he published Sor Juana's letter under the title of "Atenagorica." The analysis of the bishop's letter is in chapter four. / Chapter five examines, in the light of the preceding chapters, the "Respuesta a sor Filotea" and presents the conclusion.

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