The Book Of Margery Kempe

Some skeptics such as Audre Lorde: may, argue that the focus of Larsen’s novella focused primarily on the juxtaposition of race and sexual identity of Black feminism in the early twentieth century. However, Larsen makes use of unstable identities that can been seen through the passage via Brian Redfield and John Bellew. The husbands’ envelope the extent of male privilege and contrarily shows their means of working against it. By exploring these men, it offers a more critical view to understanding Clare and Irene

In modern day rarely are women illiterate, although it was not always this way. During Medieval Times, women were hardly ever taught to read or write and Margery Kempe was not a special case. Even though she is considered the first person to ever create an autobiography, she was not the one to actually hand write it, nor did she read it in order to make sure that it was made exactly as it was told. She had to dictate her story to a priest who could have possibly altered her words in order to create a storyline that might seem more, in a certain way, “acceptable” for the religious beliefs that were followed during this time period. In “The Book of Margery Kempe” we are able to understand how the women during this time period were treated by society and see how they were at a great disadvantage since they were seen as inferior to men or “the weaker sex”.

Kempe writes her autobiography in the third-person perspective, which is indicative of society's influence on her writing. Referring to herself as "this creature," Kempe puts the reader in a situation where she/he more likely associates with the "creature" as a character than a real person. Also, the focus chapters 3, 4, and 11 is primarily on Kempe's spirituality, illustrated best by her diction: 'God,' 'Heaven,' 'sin,' 'temptation,' and an array of other religious jargon characterize her speech, as opposed to 'sexual' or 'spiritual' 'liberation' or 'subjective truth.' Because of the time in which she wrote this, Kempe's work must have been of religious significance, not an example of feminist or existentialist theory. Furthermore, Kempe seems to have internalized the condemning voice of the church, as she chastises and demonizes herself. For example, "She thought she was worthy of no mercy, for her consent was so willfully done, nor ever worthy to do Him service, because she was so false to Him" (22). Even if she really felt this way about herself, Kempe seems to be stating readers' reactions, especially when she quotes her husband, who told her, "Ye are no good wife" (23).

There was nothing wrong with this scene nor it’s language morally society expects one to wait for marriage to do as Polly described. One may feel Morrison’s purpose in adding this piece to her novel was to persuade the audience was to save being sexually involved for marriage. Others may have felt a little awkward because of what was being

In the “Book of Margery Kempe”, the reader can notice how poorly John Kempe treats his wife Margery throughout the book. If this book is looked at from a feminist point of view, they would notice the objectification from John Kempe towards his wife Margery Kempe. Feminist objectification is defined as the seeing or treating of a person, usually a woman, as an object (Papdaki 1). Within this context, the different types of objectification shown throughout the “Book of Margery Kempe” is categorized under the realm of sexual objectification. Within the book regarding her life as a mystic, Margery Kempe makes use of feminist devices such as denial of subjectivity, reduction to body, and silencing in order to show the treatment received from her abusive and over bearing husband throughout their marriage.

Reduction to Body, “the treatment of a person as identified with their body, or body parts” (feminist perspectives on objectification), can be seen throughout Medieval England and Margery Kempe’s autobiography. The female body especially, has undergone immense scrutiny for simply existing, genitelia often referred to as “shamefuls”(Allen 191). Margery’s disinterest in being sexual is based on the idea that God will love her more if she were to refrain from sex, just as a virgin might. But this may not be her only encouragement because “there are certain occasions when the women’s shame is strictly social” (Allen 193). Margery may be choosing to live chastely with John for the

As a clergyman, this priest would have been seen as the intermediary between Christ and the people. She is here again asserting her deep connection with God and the lack of need for a male clergyman to intervene in her interpretations. One has to wonder if Margery Kempe was as emotionally outrageous as she is made out to be in her book. As male figures would have been the ones to transcribe her dictation, it is entirely possible that certain exaggerations and mischaracterization could have been applied in an attempt to discredit something that so obviously threatened the patriarchal system of the church. Though Margery very much was corralled and suppressed by the constraints of the time period, she questioned and even created her own authority with her personal relationship with

Nowadays, a couple having sexual intercourse is normal and very common. Masturbation and sexual intercourse were taken very serious in that time

At the beginning of the novel Kempe goes on to detail the extent of which she would go in order to avoid having sex with her husband, John. Ways that Kempe would avoid sex with her husband included creating a shirt of flea infested hair and wearing it beneath her clothing (Kempe 11). The outlandish nature of ways Kempe would attempt to avoid sex with her husband supports the idea that the autobiography is actually fabliaux. Kempe’s stories come off as ridiculous hijinks rather than a woman actively learning and experiencing her newfound creed. She has an obsession with being desired and worshipped and uses anyone to get this.

In the Book of Margery Kemper, it is claimed that one should think differently about what s/he experiences so that s/he could understand the presence of Holy Trinity in his/her soul. In a way, one should consider the physical experiences, which are visible, as a token for something more spiritual. That’s why, for example, Margery changes the way of thinking about her physical experiences in order to grasp the holy presence, especially after her so-called marriage with Jesus Christ. When they are bound with each other, Margery claims that she finds a some kind of comfort as God guarantees her and to prove this, she focuses on some physical processes. One of those is related to olfaction. She claims that after their marriage, she feels “sweet

The Life of Christina of Markyate tells the story of a young girl and her vow of virginity to God. Throughout the story she is faced with temptation and outside sources pressuring her to conform to societies standards of what her life should be. Christina of Markyate chose to go against her parents wishes, her husbands wishes, and societies wishes by choosing to remain chaste for life and to become a hermit living only for God, which was not always something females did. By doing that, she found her own happiness outside of societies expectations.

In chapter 1, Margery falls prey to postpartum depression after giving birth to one of her many children. During this psychotic episode, devils threaten her and compel her to renounce Christ, and she has lascivious affairs with strange men. As a result, Margery feels as though she is going to die and go to hell; culminating in Margery savagely biting her own hand to keep from killing herself (Kempe 6-7). It is reasonable to assume that the prospect of being a mother absolutely horrifies Margery; making her resent her role as wife and mother, and question her purpose for existing. Here, Margery Kempe is having an existential crisis―a point in time during which an individual questions if their life has meaning, purpose, or value―which produces

How would you feel if you were treated as if you lack the ability to feel, speak, and decide on your own behalf? An object would have no issue with this due to its lack of emotions, however, as a human being and a woman, it is considerably distinct. In Margery Kempe’s The book of Margery Kempe¸ her character is consistently undermined and harassed by aggressive male roles to uphold their dominance. Women are more than functional tools for men’s egotistical benefit; this idea of an independent and successful female is not portrayed within the text. Margery Kempe’s The Book of Margery Kempe uses the constant denial of subjectivity through her husband, the reduction to body, and the Holy Trinity’s silencing of Kempe to convey the maltreatment she endures by the male characters so as to demonstrate their masculine, aggressive ways.

Because Margery’s husband allowed her to practice chastity, God instructs her to take care of her husband regardless of her previous sexual desires. Even though the women contain different forms of sexuality, I

She did not report much about her youth, but the readers get to know that she was not capable of reading and writing. Most noticeable evidence is the fact that she dictated the book to a priest. In 1393, Margery was married to John Kempe at the age of twenty. Soon afterwards, she became pregnant (she altogether had twenty children). Following the birth of her first child, she became mad. This period is described in the first chapter and finishes with a vision of Jesus, who spoke to her: "Daughter, why have you forsaken me, and I never forsook you?" This vision had the effect that Margery was sane again. She reverted back to life in a glamorous way, by wearing extravagant clothes and starting her own businesses, which both failed. Shortly after these failures, it came to her mind that God wanted to punish her for her sins. Her life changed some more, when she started to hear sweet melodies at night: "This melody was so sweet that it surpassed all the melody that might be heard in this world, without any comparison, and it caused this creature when she afterwards heard any mirth or melody to shed very plentiful and abundant tears of high devotion, with great sobbings..." From now on she had no longer the desire for sexual intercourse with her husband and decided to lead a life in chastity. She also attended church longer and more often and started to fast. Moreover she had more and stronger revelations, e.g. in chapters 6-7 she became Mary's handmaiden and