Resumen de ‘¡O estado altísimo!’: Resounding Virginity in New Spanish Convent Sources
If virginity had a sound, it would sound like the Virgin Mary, according to devotional sources from New Spain intended for the indoctrination and spiritual contemplation of cloistered nuns. This article traces that allegory from its inception in reflections on biblical narratives of Mary’s life to some of the most complicated theological musings on the nature of the Virgin’s soul. Through the lens of gender and voice studies, this essay examines rare literature, music manuscripts, and visual art of New Spain and shows how virginity was socially constructed and deployed as a type of sonic instruction of Mary’s essence.
