Sor Juana and the vanishing nature of beauty

Sor Juana, she wrote in her defense, in the defense of her mind and work before she renounced and succumbed, as a little girl cut off all her hair, because a head so bereft of information dare not adorn itself with such glorious a crown.

Me? I just cut my hair off because I can't seem to finish my work. Unworthy? certainly, but in different ways. Self-effacement, or defacement can be soothing, and so much weaker than actually hurting oneself. Six inches of hair falling around my feet, and the fleeting thought that I might just finish the work I promised. And isn't the most beautiful of crowning jewels a piece of work, put to rest?