Lieutenant Nun, the memoir of Catalina de Erauso, who escaped the convent she was raised in from a young age and carried out the rest of her life disguised as man and travelling the Americas, I found both surprising and fascinating. Her story is surprising from a current perspective because of the uniqueness of her identity at the time, as a transgendered and by most accounts homosexual person. In addition, the details of what took place during her time living as a male are extraordinary for anyone of the time – regardless of gender. It is fascinating because of how she kept her secret and her life against all odds. During her time as a male she travelled the Americas, which would have been an extremely unique opportunity for anyone of the time. In her travels she also astonishingly encounters several family members while maintaining her disguise.

It seemed clear to me that there had to be more motivation behind her running away from the convent. While another, larger nun attacking her may have been a catalyst; she goes on to fight in battles in the face of so much more pain and danger fearlessly. She seems to fuel off this other kind of violent danger, and she lives a good portion of her life electively fighting battles throughout the Americas under a series of different captains. At one point in battle, after losing men of all ranks, she persists to overtake the indigenous chief, “trampling an killing and slaughtering more men than there are numbers”.  Perhaps her secret was so grand that she fought in battle as though she had nothing to lose, making her an incredibly fearless and savage warrior. Catalina de Erauso lived as such a heroic man that when her identity was ultimately revealed the King and Pope were so impressed they actually awarded her for her efforts. I am curious as to whether she wanted to live as a man, or if that was the only opportunity she could take to escape her circumstances in the convent.

Casta Paintings was a fascinating read, as it showed the discrepancy in values between the Spanish elites, and those living in the Americas of all ethnic combinations including European. The opinion of Dr. Andrés Arce y Miranda, that Spaniards would consider the creoles inferior was not unfounded, but it was unpopular with fellow Mexicans who instead embraced the “no te entiendo” racial blending in the New World. Whether people collected the pieces because they identified with the muses or were amazed by them, the paintings were extremely popular throughout the colonies and Europe, particularly among the elites.

Both pieces show another side of history – one that defied social norms. LGBT, and racial groups are still considered marginalized groups in society today.  I think it is a fairly recent phenomenon that we can absorb this history in its entirety. History with narratives, which were accepting of these kinds of differences, was previously more stigmatized in a way that is not actually reflective of the time it represents and what was possible for different people.