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  • Essay / The Biography of Catalina De Erauso - an Outstanding Woman of 16th Century Spain

    Catalina de Erauso was a woman leading the life of a man in 16th century Spain and ultimately to the New World. Her journey began as a young woman in an alliance of nuns, where she herself was training as a nun. As anyone can imagine, gender roles in the 1600s were not very flexible. Catalina was a trailblazer and challenged rigid gender roles by dressing and living most of her life as a man. As readers, we see Catalina distancing herself from the identities typically associated with being feminine. She shows very little emotion, which is typically feminine, and becomes very insensitive to his violent acts. Catalina also distances herself from people. She doesn't take the time to allow herself to connect with others. She doesn't spend more than a few months in town at the risk of being discovered. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayCatalina has a very complex relationship with the Church. Growing up in Spain, she spent most of her young life in the Church. She was training to become a nun but left the process halfway. She felt like it was too restrictive to always be questioned. In the introduction, it is explained that after killing her brother, she finds solace in the church. She grew up in the church, so she feels like that's the only community she has. She never forms close attachments during her travels, which is why the church is all she has. However, Catalina often finds herself returning to churches. After leaving Panama, she went with her master to the port of Paita where she found herself in conflict. She then stabs a man in the side and then states, “I ran straight into the church, followed just as quickly by the sheriff” (14). She goes through court and she's released, and she goes back to church because it gives her some comfort. After attending her brother's funeral, she stayed in the church for eight months while she was prosecuted. She finds comfort there while awaiting her punishment, as she has no other close attachments until she flees the area with the help of don Juan Ponce de León. At the end of her autobiography, she returns to church, where she reveals to the senior bishop that she is a woman. Before she reveals this information to him, he promises to keep it a secret, but she only feels comfortable telling him inside the church. Catalina, even though she feels like the church is what held her back at the beginning of her life, she can't help but return to churches since that's all she knows. As Catalina continues on her journey, the reader begins to notice that she becomes really comfortable taking on masculine roles and begins to identify as a man. The reader can see his pride getting in the way and starting the battles as soon as he arrives in Panama. She goes to the theater and Reyes sits in front of her. When Reyes refuses to move, she is furious. She sees him again later that week and she cuts him ten times and stabs her friend. She helps her friend in a battle by fighting two other men, and one of them turns out to be her brother. She stabs him and ends up killing him. She regrets him immediately after finding out who he is. This doesn't stop her though, as she is later arrested again after getting into trouble with the natives. His pride and inflated ego could come from his overcompensation. Since she is a woman, she..