Sor Juana’s initial interest in the church as a vehicle for intellectual enlightenment, and her final resolution to abstain from this pursuit for the sake of the church, beg the question: can we ever truly commit if our world is polarized by two contrasting realms?
In learning of Sor Juana’s decision to give up intellectual pursuits after being rebuked by her religious superiors, I immediately thought of Asher Lev and Chaim Potok. In Potok’s novel, he tells the tale of a young Jewish boy, Asher, whose amazing artistic ability confounds his spiritual journey—a tale with remarkable similarities to Potok’s own life. In each story, that of Sor’s, Asher’s, and Potok’s, a choice was made—as though religion or worldliness was the ultimatum posed.
But, I am not so sure that it has to be one or the other. I’m always wary of any ‘either/or’ option because there is always a third choice. I do concede that intellectual and artistic pursuits are more worldly and secular than religious and they can cloud the path to religious enlightenment. That being said, I do think the two can coexist, however, inharmoniously. And I am not saying that Sor, Asher, or Potok really had much of a choice given the times in which they lived but, can we not have our cake and eat it too? I still hold that when two contrasting forces drive us, it won’t be easy to commit to both but, it is tensions like these that make our commitments stronger.
