Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World was written about Catalina de Erauso during the 16th century. Throughout the story she becomes a whole new person, in order to escape the confines of not only the nunnery, but the limits her gender puts on her. So, when she left the abbey to enter into the real world, since not many people knew her, she understood she could be whoever she wanted to be. However, she was also smart enough to realize that even if she runs away from the cloister, it would not be enough. A woman during this time period does not have many rights. So, she decided to dress and act as a man. While at first the disguise was just that, as she continued to pretend she eventually stopped pretending and really took the characteristics of a man.
