We discussed a lot in class about whether Margery Kempe was meant to be taken at face value or not. Whether we believe her, or whether we believe she believes her. I would however go so far as to posit that it's entirely possible that neither of these readings are correct. Her life and her experiences, though spectacular or maybe not as grand as feeding 5000 with two loaves of bread and a fish, or wandering the desert for forty years, but they are certainly in line with our miraculous events depicted in the Bible. She speaks to God, and learns lessons on her life from it. Had her story been in the good book, I doubt we'd be debating her relative level of sanity.
I'm not suggesting that her depiction of her life is as significant as the Bible, but rather we ought to read them the same way: not necessarily as a strict recollection, but as another to story to read and interpret and know the facts of it are less important than the intent and the effect of it. The fact that this whiny lady devotes her life to spiritual endeavours and learns something about herself in the process far outweighs the fact that we'd put her in the crazy house in modern times.
I agree with you, wrote something similar on my post as well. And yes, she was a bit whiny and pompous but she is human. Having character flaws and experiencing revelations are not necessarily exclusive. I could go on for awhile about the character flaws and mistakes made by prophets and disciples in the Bible. I agree, think the bigger picture is that there definitely is something to be taken from Kempe and her spiritual journey, if you read the text without looking for a scapegoat or excuse.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on the matter. We should read this with the mindset of gaining knowledge. We need to take into consideration the time period and this woman's life. Margery Kempe does seem hypocritical when talking about her virtuous interventions; however, we have to interpret this a reflection of her character and what that says about her as a person. I don't think we should go so far as to take read this as we would the bible but we should recognize it as a piece of factual historical text.
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