House of Desires facts for kids
Los empeños de una casa (House of Desires) is one of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's dramatic literary pieces. It was first performed on October 4, 1683, during the birthday celebrations held for the first-born child of the Viceroy Count of Paredes; of which coincided with the entry of the new Archbishop of Mexico City, Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas.
The tale centers around two couples pining to be together but are prevented from doing so by uncontrollable circumstances. This comedy of intrigue is deemed one of the most famous works from late-Baroque Spanish-American literature. It has the unique characteristic of having the leading lady be a nun, of whom is strong-willed, determined and openly expresses her frustrated wants and desires. This archetype is portrayed by Doña Leonor, the protagonist of the story.
This work is considered in many circles to be the pinnacle of Sor Juana's pieces both in verse and throughout all Mexican literature. From the manner it handles intrigue, to the representation of the complicated system of conjugal relationships and the vicissitudes found within urban life, each aspect intertwines to make The House of Desire a rare theatric piece of colonial Latin America.
Contents
Synopsis
At the beginning of the piece Doña Ana of Arellano and her brother Don Pedro are residing in Madrid, but must move to Toledo for business opportunities. In Madrid, Juan of Vargas meets Doña Ana and follows her to Toledo, where all the following comedic story arcs take place. In Toledo, however, Doña Ana believes she is falling in love with Carlos de Olmedo, who does not reciprocate her affections, because he is in a romantic relationship with Doña Leonor de Castro, whom Don Pedro has claimed for himself. Don Rodrigo, Leonor's father, disapproves of his daughter's engagement to Carlos, and for this reason Carlos and Leonor set up a plan to run away together in order to force the marriage to be accepted.
Ana then discovers that she and Leonor love the same man, and shortly afterwards Don Carlos and his servant Castaño arrive at the Arellano's house as fugitives from justice. Ana provides them with asylum, and the plot becomes more entangled when Celia, Dona Ana's trusted maid, also brings Juan de Vargas into lodge in their home. In the dark, Juan rebukes Ana for her lack of love, however because he cannot see, he does not realize that it is not Ana but Leonor. Carlos hears Juan's voice and leaves, but each one of them speaks with different people without realizing that they are talking to other characters. When the light comes back, carried by Celia, everyone is in a state of confusion and Juan and Leonor assume that Ana is Carlos's lover. However, Carlos' chivalry prevents him from doubting Leonor's love, which will be a constant theme throughout the entire work.
Carlos then sends his servant, Castaño, under threats, to explain the dismal situation to Leonor's father. In order to not be recognized, Castaño dresses in some of Leonor's clothes, which leads to more moments of comedic confusion. Outfitted as Leonor, he encounters Pedro, who is baffled by the odd behavior, and at first perceives it as a mockery of his beloved. Then the servant changes his approach and pretends to be Leonor and attempts to escape by promising Pedro that she will be his wife by the end of that very night. After many humorous scenes of mistaking individuals for each other, the story ends happily for the majority: Carlos and Leonor remain together, as do Ana and Juan and Castaño and Celia. However, Don Pedro remains single, primarily as punishment as he caused the main deception in a vain effort to steal a woman not destined for him away from her significant other.
Festival Theatre
Sor Juana penned The House of Desire in celebration of José, the son of Tomás de la Cerda y Aragón and wife María Luisa Manrique de Lara y Gonzaga (nicknamed "Lysi" by the nuns in her community), who were Marquises of La Laguna and Viceroys of New Spain, as well as significant patrons of the poet. In the words of Francisco Monterde, the piece poses "...a comprehensive program of Mexican baroque theatre...". The short works of the stage performance maintain a close stylistic and thematic relationship with the drama itself, which makes separating the performance piece from the original drama almost impossible.
The performance, written for a cultured public accustomed to lavish performances like those of Pedro Calderón de la Barca, opens with a loa. The characters present throughout the loa are Fortune, Diligence, Merit, Chance, and Joy. In addition to this, though its initial objective was to celebrate the birth of the viceroy's son, the final verses of the piece extend congratulations to Archbishop Aguiar, with whom Sor Juana would later have conflict.
Throughout the play, Sor Juana interspersed three songs meant to praise Lady María Luisa Manrique, of whom she held in high esteem These scores are titled "Divine Lysi, Let Pass", "Beautiful María" and "Tender Beautiful Flower Bud". Each work was composed in the style of eight-syllable couplets, resulting in thirty-two verses.
The Sainete primero de palacio, sung in between the end of the first act and the beginning of the second, depicts —in the course of 202 verses— life according to Sor Juana's peculiar perspective from within the viceregal court, which she experienced first hand during the governmental reign of Antonio Sebastián of Toledo Molina and Salazar. The Second Interlude differs little from the first, however, the literary value of both reside in that they are deemed as excellent testimonies of palace life at the time, and they introduced a theatric device which was previously unheard of in Spanish-American theater: substituting simulated gossip on stage for public comments. The Segunda sainete uses the well-known technique of the "play-within-the-play", and in the same breathe alludes to the great struggles and labors of that time. In addition to this, the piece makes several allusions to classical Spanish literature. For example, reference is made to La Celestina, a piece that was written by Agustín of Salazar and Torres, and of which Sor Juana herself wrote the ending for (this was not the work by Fernando de Rojas that was banned). Sor Juana also affectionately pokes fun at another contemporary playwright of the monk, Francisco de Acevedo. Both sainetes are deemed magnificent examples of literary irony and Sor Juana's admiration for the Spanish theatre's finest.
House of Desire concludes with Sarao of Four Nations, which consists of three hundred sung versus in which Spaniards, Italians, Mexicans and Black citizens dance and praise those in the seat of honor to conclude the festivities. The Italian scholar Alexandra Riccio writes that Sor Juana, indirectly criticized various socio-political aspects of the colonial system, of which ended with her receiving orders and reproaches from her superiors to stop writing. An example of this can be observed in this evening party scene, in which, according to the Italian scholar, the New Spain caste order is subtly critiqued. Riccio herself also suggests a parallel between Sor Juana and the insurgent Friar Servando Teresa of Mier, who was censored in the same manner as Sor Juana, after a controversial sermon regarding the origins of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1794.
Editions
Old editions
- Segundo tomo de las obras de sóror Juana Inés de la Cruz, monja profesa en el monasterio del señor San Jeronimo de la Ciudad de México, dedicado por la autora a D. Juan de Orúe y Orbieto, caballero de la Orden de Santiago. Sevilla, Tomás López de Haro, 1692. Reprinted in Barcelona, 1693 (tres ediciones). With the title Poetic Works, Madrid: 1715 and 1725. Including the auto sacramentales, la Athenagoric Letter, The Efforts of A House and Seventy More Poems.
- FAMOUS COMEDY / THE PAIRS OF VNA HOUSEHOLD / BY / IVANA INES / DE LA CRUZ / MONJA PROFESSA EN EL MONASTERIO / OF Señor San Geronimo in Mexico City. Barcelona, Josep Llopis, 1725.
- LOS EMPEÑOS DE VNA CASA / COMEDIA FAMOSA / DEL FENIX DE LA NVEVA ESPAÑA / SORORJUANA INES DE LA CRUZ. Sevilla, Tomás López de Haro, circa 1730.
- O COMEDIA FAMOSA / LOS EMPEÑOS / DE UNA CASA / DE SOR JVANA INES DE LA CRVZ, / Phenix de la Nueva España. Sevilla, Imprenta de José Padrino, 1740.
- LOS EMPEÑOS DE VNA CASA / COMEDIA FAMOSA / DEL FENIX DE LA NVEVA ESPAÑA / SORORJUANA INES DE LA CRUZ. Sevilla, Printing of the Widow of Francisco de Leefdael 1750.
Modern editions
Editions: Complete works and compilations
- Obras completas, four volumes, edition and notes by Alfonso Méndez Plancarte, México, Fondo of Economic Culture, 1951–1957. Reissue of the first volume, Personal Lyric, by Elva Ginazo, 2009. Los empeños de una is included in volume IV «Lírica y fama».
- Obra selecta: romances y otros poemas, villancicos, Neptuno alegórico, El sueño, Los empeños de una casa, El divino Narciso, Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz, edición by Luis Sáinz de Medrano, Barcelona, Planeta, 1987.
- Obras completas, prologue and edition by Francisco Monterde, México, Porrúa, 1989.
Recent editions
- Los empeños de una casa, edition by Roberto Oropeza Martínez, México, Ateneo, 1962.
- Los empeños de una casa, edited by Eva Lydia Oseguera de Chávez, México, Fernández, 1991.
- Festejo de Los empeños de una casa, México, United Mexican Editors, 1998.
- Los empeños de una casa, Alexandriaera piruja mayor, Alexander Street Press, 2007.
- Los empeños de una casa / Amor es más laberinto, critical edition, introduction and notes by Celsa Carmen García Valdés, Madrid, Cátedra, 2010.
See also
In Spanish: Los empeños de una casa para niños
- Feminist Reading of the Work of Sor Juana Inés de la Cuz
