?Throughout Women in Colonial Spanish American Literature Johnson shows that the images of women in these literary works were often a reflection of society's attitudes. During the three centuries of literary production, therefore, it is her conclusion that, as attitudes changed, the characterizations of women changed as well. Her book perceptively charts these mutuations that occurred throughout the colonial period. Like a number of scholars that deal with the various literary forms written in Spanish America during this era, Johnson has had to work with nontraditional narrative structures in her research. With the insight of a thoughtful literary critic, as well as the thoroughness associated with historical investigations, Johnson has made a significant contribution to the burgeoning field of colonial studies.?-South Atlantic Review