Sor Juana’s works went through publishing thanks to her friendship with the Viceroy and Vicerine who published her works in Spain. However, many of the 17th c. nun’s works have been lost, while some just haven’t been rediscovered yet! In 1980, her letter the Carta de Monterrey (1682) was discovered. In this letter, she fired her confessor because of his remarks and concerns about the fame she was gaining. A previous letter found two decades earlier in the 1960s, Carta de Serafina de Cristo, is widely accepted as being written by her in 1691.
Carla Fumagalli makes an important note that, “[i]n principle, the signature that certifies the authenticity of the texts that can be integrated into the work of an author and giving them the character of truth is a particularly frequent problem when it comes to the Mexican nun. Thus, we can not forget the discussions about some found papers and the difficulties of securing their authorship.” That being said, several more discoveries where made in the 1990s. The ending to a play attributed to Sor Juana, La segunda Celestina, along with a couple essays that underwent authentication efforts before they were released to the public in 1995.
Because Sor Juana sold her library close to the end of her life due to pressure from the church, there may be more of her works floating around. Here’s hoping.
- http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/sor-juanas-life-and-work—open-texts-0/html/04a66031-7e5e-48d6-9335-338ba951b0a3_2.html
- Fumagalli, Carla Anabella. “Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: linkage between work and archive in the preliminary texts of her original editions.” Anclajes [online]. 2018, vol.22, n.1 [cited 2019-04-05], pp.37-53.
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Database 