The Politics of Silence and Withdrawal

Sor Juana's eventual renunciation of her intellectual work—selling her library, ceasing her writing—has been read as tragedy, but it can also be understood as strategic withdrawal in the face of overwhelming institutional pressure. In intersectional contexts, silence and withdrawal are not always signs of oppression's success; they can be acts of self-preservation, refusal, or redirection of energy. A person might leave academia not from failure but from recognizing its extractive nature; step back from activism to heal from burnout; pause visibility work when conditions become dangerous. This concept moves beyond narratives that valorize constant resistance and public labor, recognizing that marginalized people must manage finite emotional, physical, and intellectual resources. It examines how to honor both persistence and rest, both visibility and privacy. Sor Juana's later years, spent in spiritual work and community care within her convent, may represent not silencing but a different form of contribution. This framework helps practitioners understand their own rhythms and cycles without internalizing shame about temporary or permanent withdrawal from certain spaces.