Marcela de San Félix (1605–1688) was a Spanish

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

who worked as a prelate, a teacher to novices, and housekeeper among several other jobs. However, Sor Marcela was also a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, an actress as well as a

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

. For many women of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, and

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

periods to live a life completely retired from the world implied that they could live a life not only fully committed to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, but it also meant that they were able to devote time to their own writing, to their community and perhaps they could even have a place in the administration of their own convents. This is exactly what happened to Marcela del Carpio. She was the illegitimate daughter of

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

and the actress

Micaela de Luján Micaela de Luján (c. 1570–1614), was a Spanish actress.Huerta, Javier; Peral, Emilio; Urzaiz, Héctor (2005). Teatro español de la A a la Z. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe. pp. 426–7. She was among the first professional actresses in Spain, being act ...

. She adopted the name of Marcela de San Félix and lived in the convent of St. Ildefonse of the Discalced Trinitarians in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

since age sixteen until her death at the age of eighty-two years old.

Bibliography

Centro Virtual Cervantes (2020). CVC. Tan sabia como valerosa. La escritura desde el convento. https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/sabia/01_03_convento.htm Lewandowska, J. (2019). Marcela de San Félix. Escritoras Monjas de los Siglos de Oro. https://escritoras-monjas.al.uw.edu.pl/marcela-de-san-felix-o-ss-t/ Marcela de San Félix, Arenal, Electa & Sabat de Rivers, Georgina, Díez Borque, José Ma., (1988). Obra completa : coloquios espirituales, loas y otros poemas (1a. ed., Ser. Colección ediciones y estudios. estudios, 3). PPU. Marcela Lope de Vega y Luján. (s. f.). Rah.es. https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/6234/marcela-lope-de-vega-y-lujan Migueláñez Daniel. (2020). Cenizas de fénix : sobre vida y obra de lope de vega y sor marcela de san félix (1. ed., Ser. Pigmalión candilejas, 14). Pigmalión. Muro, D. C. (2018). Silenciadas en sus propias carnes y hábitos. El caso de Sor Marcela de San Félix y María Jesús de Agreda. Las inéditas: voces femeninas más allá del silencio, 51-64. Navarro, Ana (1989). Antología poética de escritoras de los siglos XVI y XVII. Madrid: Castalia-Biblioteca de Escritoras. Sabat de Rivers, Georgina, y Arenal, Electa, (2016). Voces del convento: Sor Marcela, la hija de Lope. https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/nd/ark:/59851/bmc5q6w3

References

External links

Complete work of Sister Marcela de San Félix online
via intratext.com
Biography by Georgina Sabat de Rivers
via cervantes.es 1605 births 1688 deaths 17th-century Spanish women writers 17th-century Spanish writers Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish women dramatists and playwrights Spanish women poets 17th-century Spanish nuns Trinitarians {{Spain-reli-bio-stub