Margery Kempe Flashcards
when?
1372-1438
what type of book is it?
spiritual autobiography
motifs
Use of third person
Margery speaks of herself in third person, as “this creature”
Her purpose is to tell her story, not to become famous
She comes to see herself truly in terms of her created nature, her “creature-hood”
Conversations with God
Margery is also trying to teach us to see our thoughts as being in constant dialogue with God (and the devil), and to be open to prompting from above (and wary of temptation from below).
Physicality
tears - the most physical expression of her religious emotion
Visions, hears music, smells delightful odours, feels pleasant warmth
Embracing Christ physically, culminating her ‘marriage’ to him
What dies her tears show?
Her tears; outwards signs of Margery’s deep love of Christ; show the depth of Margery’s faith; the suffering of Jesus; symbolic for of prayer, worship and teaching; complete dependence on God, showing her that Margery is just a “creature”.
what does the use of third person do?
Third person and use of ‘creature’ distances her own voice from the text, acting as a defence against heresy. Also male ecclesiastical writers not only acted as narrators to women, but by doing so gave authority to women‟s texts and therefore their lives.
