The Right to Self-Definition Against Systems

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz explicitly defended her right to intellectual pursuit and self-directed learning against patriarchal and ecclesiastical authority, asserting her autonomous identity. This concept recognizes that poverty often involves not just material deprivation but also the erasure of agency—being defined by others as victims, statistics, or problems to be solved. In her writings and correspondence, Sor Juana modeled resistance to limiting categorizations, claiming space for complexity, ambition, and intellectual authority. For individuals experiencing poverty, this framework validates the act of self-narration: telling one's own story, naming one's own values, and rejecting external definitions. The right to self-definition becomes an essential component of dignity, enabling people to see themselves as agents of their own identity rather than passive subjects of circumstance or institutional judgment.