1998/10/01 by Elizabeth Rhodes · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Early Modern Women Writers #Latin American history and culture #Reformation and Early Modern Christianity #Piety #Guardian #Counter-Reformation #Disadvantaged #Religious studies #Theology #Sociology #History #Art #Law #Political science #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.2307/2901749
openalex publication_date 1998/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/03/25
Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza, a wealthy Spanish noblewoman, lived as a missionary in London preaching, teaching, and doing charitable work on behalf of the Catholic underground from 1605 to 1614. Although the early loss of her parents and other close family members in rapid succession and the abuses she suffered at the hands of her guardian uncle might appear to have disadvantaged her, Carvajal transformed her misfortunes into advantages by using them to intensify her embrace of penitential piety and traditional Catholic virtues as exemplified by saints' lives. Her manifestation of those virtues inspired religious authorities to accept her as a missionary, against substantial odds. She thus provides evidence of how Counter-Reformation practices and beliefs facilitated some exceptional women's achievements.