"From woman sprang man's salvation"

title quote from jane anger, an angry woman.

not all of this week's readings were angry, but a few of them were. it's refreshing to finally get a female perspective who doesn't seem to be kowtowing to male sensibilities. that anger can say, "from woman sprang man's salvation" signifies not just that she's had enough of men telling her she's crap, but also some more religious sentiment, something akin to what my friend julian of norwich might say. julian wouldn't be so angry about it, but that salvation is got from a woman (christ the MOTHER) seems pretty well documented in her writing. the time for women has come (maybe)!

since mentioning julian, it seems only fair to also talk about the other religious lady i covered in my presentation: sor juana ines de la cruz. her assertion that "in me the desire for learning was stronger than the desire for eating" coupled with her candid thoughts on why she went in to the convent at all (to learn more...religious reasons were nearly terciary) make her another strong woman, and provide yet another connection to julian. here, though, the "religious" woman is not all about having visions and reporting them. instead, sor juana envisions a world where women might not have to go to the convent if all they want to do is learn, especially when they, like her, enjoy the pleasures of life outside the convent walls. both working at a kind of "equality," though julian's is solely religious, and sor juana's seems quite the opposite.