Lieutenant Nun by Doña Catalina de Erauso

“From Lieutenant Nun,” a memoir written by doña Catalina de Erauso, tells an intriguing story of a young Spanish female and her advantageous journey through Spain and the New World. Her family intends for her to become a nun but, that is not the life she seeks for herself. Therefore, she breaks away from the convent in hopes of finding somewhere to make her fortune by passing as a male. Catalina’s story is noteworthy because it gives readers another perspective of exploration focusing on self-discovery during the seventeenth century emphasizing how passing as a male is the only thing that secured her ability to explore. In the memoir, Catalina repeatedly reminisces about clothing and, whether she consciously or unconsciously does so, she allows the reader to see that this is an important aspect of her exploration. Throughout Catalina’s journey, clothing plays an increasingly important role not only in her travels but, also her personal life because it symbolized ones status, role, gender and privileges.

Catalina first shows her transformation, when she breaks away from the convent and quickly disguises herself as a male. In her initial transformation, Catalina is forced to take the clothing she is presently wearing and turn it in to something that would pass for a male until she was able to acquire more desirable garments. She describes this transformation stating, “With the blue woolen bodice I had made a pair of breeches, and with the green petticoat I wore underneath, a doublet and hose- my nun’s habit was useless and I threw it away, I cut my hair and threw it away”(Erauso 49). This particular scene is important to the whole work because it provides a vivid description of Catalina’s first transition from her old life to tha...

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...personality develops throughout her journey through her battle to survive in a world, which she did not belong. Her ability to overcome the stereotypical role of females of the seventeenth century contributes to her lingering recognition. Throughout her story clothing is a distinct symbol of status, role, gender and privileges. All of these aspects being things she wanted to have control over in her life. In life individuals have to develop their personalities and define themselves according to what they value. Catalina valued status, role, gender and privileges and thus she decided to live a life that would allow her to attain all of those things.

Works Cited

Erauso, Catalina. “From Lieutenant Nun.” American Literature. Volume 1. 2nd Edition.

William E. Cain, Alice McDermott, Lance Newman, and Hilary E. Wyss. New York: New York, 2013. 48-53. Print.