Identity as Non-Transferable Property

Sor Juana's resistance to being reduced to a single identity (nun, poet, muse, heretic) reflects a libertarian insight: identity itself is property. She refused to allow others to define her solely by their needs or expectations. Whether pressured to become a spiritual exemplar, a courtly ornament, or a penitent sinner, she asserted the right to self-definition. In libertarian terms, identity is inalienable property—it cannot be legitimately transferred, owned by others, or disposed of without consent. Unlike physical property, identity cannot be ceded or exchanged; it belongs exclusively to the individual. This principle protects against forms of control that operate through identity imposition: being forced into roles, stereotypes, or narratives that contradict self-conception. Sor Juana's intellectual work was fundamentally an act of identity assertion—claiming the right to be a thinking, questioning, autonomous being rather than conforming to prescribed female identities. This framework shows how libertarian property theory extends to protect the most intimate domain of human freedom.