Neither Saints Nor Sinners

Kathleen Myers brings together the portraits and autobiographical texts of six 17th century Latin American women, drawing on primary sources that include Inquisition and canonisation records, confessional and mystic journals, and legal defenses and petitions. She show s that the ideal model for 17th century Hispanic women was that of the woman religious--silent, obedient, cloistered, and virginal. This role, which was a reality for as much as a fourth of all white women, is the common ground for all six women studied.