This study reports on computer-aided investigation of salient differences in the essay idiolects of the Mexican writers Octavio Paz and Rosario Castellanos and suggests that some of them may be linked to gender. It describes use of ready-made software and computational strategies requiring no tagging and minimal ocular scan. It suggests some parameters that can be searched and in most cases quantified to explore characteristics posited by linguistic and literary scholars, taking into consideration the particular language and culture of the authors.