Post date: Feb 5, 2017 3:55:35 AM
I have to admit while reading The Book of Margery Kempe, every time the writer used "creature" (google books tells me at least 91 times) instead of Margery, you know her name, I kept picturing a Gollum / Smeagol like creature who worships Jesus instead of the One Ring. It really didn't help me much in taking the book seriously. My first overall impression of Margery is that I wouldn't want to travel with her either. I mean I'm hardly religious so hearing about Jesus 24/7 from a constantly weeping lady does not sound like a fun deal. At the same time, the fact that she was so steadfast in her faith, despite the fact that almost everyone she met turned against her, takes guts. It's this, as well as the repetition of the idea that Margery spoke "boldly in [Jesus's] name" (61) and Margery was "bold enough to go where God willed" (137) that makes her a similar person to Jeanne d'Arc, both a threat to male and traditional religious power.
Margery's story has the typical feminine weakness seen in other religious women's tales but she is also curiously self reliant. Her trust in God and Jesus was so absolute that she didn't hesitate to follow his words, or if she did, not for long, nor did she shrink from approaching strangers or speaking her mind. I think her power also comes from her weeping as well. Weeping - something that the Wife of Bath said all women were given by God - is something that defines women across literature, from Penelope to Cho Chang and me during finals week. In many ways, it's a symbol of a women's lack of rationality - if she cries at the slightest thing, she can't really be in control of her emotions. (To which I respond, my dude. Men have started how many wars because they've felt insulted?) With Margery though, her weeping is a symbol of her religious power. It's an outward sign of her deep connection with Jesus and her faith in him.
Page 109 sums up this idea with the lines "therefore, dear daughter, don't be ashamed of him who is your God, your Lord and your love, any more than I was ashamed when I saw him hang on the cross - my sweet son Jesus - to cry and to weep for the pain of my sweet son, Jesus Christ. Nor was Mary Magdalene ashamed to cry and weep for my son's love. And therefore, daughter, if you will be a partaker in our joy, you must be a partaker in our sorrow." I like the idea that to be overcome with weeping as Margery is is not a weakness but rather a sign of her great strength and unity with past holy women like the Marys. Margery has power because she, as a woman, allows her less rational side to be at the forefront, but also because she has a connection to Jesus wherein He favors her and loves her - dangerous to the status quo. Many accept her, but more abandon her and ridicule her for demanding that her feelings and revelations be taken seriously. Because of her faith, and her womanly status, Margery became an outsider. Her relationship with Jesus did not fit the norms nor the accepted Church teachings and so therefore were seen as out of bounds and potential heresy if not just lunacy.
In many ways this reminds me of Jeanne. Jeanne's voices took outside the realm of acceptable womanly practices, into a war and into men's clothes. She gained power through her religious devotion and, like Margery, was considered possessed or lured by demons. Jeanne transcended gender roles, as the goddesses of old were want to do, and in doing so broke the social taboo. Due to politics and the fact that she, as both a symbol and a woman, could be more easily tried and found guilty, Jeanne was executed for heresy and witchcraft. Margery had a quieter life, but her religious legitimacy was questioned and dismissed due to her outsider status and weeping.Both Jeanne and Margery led very different lives, but both suffered due to the same social restrictions placed upon them. Woman who gained independence could not be tolerated in this time because society no longer accepted strong, mystical women as valid expressions of Christian faith. To exist in a time where who you are is so utterly rejected, is brave. To do so boldly is an inspiration to us all.
*Yes, I did steal this from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's Sorting Hat song, thank you for asking.