The Book of Margery Kempe...weird.

Sarah Scheidel
ENGL 2200

First and foremost, this story was extremely odd and dramatic.  The book begins with the birth of Margery's first child; this birth was extremely complicated and scared Margery.  The main character basically ended up going crazy for awhile.  She was mean to others, depressed, and scared.  She eventually clung to her religion and belief in Christ to get her through this terrible, frightening stage of her life.  After deciding to be a devout Christian, Margery pledges her celibacy.  She attempts to get her husband to do the same but fails.  She truly becomes celibate along with her husband after having numerous children (fourteen to be exact).  As a devout follower, Margery decides to leave her home in Lynne, England, and travel the world. She makes pilgrimages to places such as Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Jerusalem seemed to be the most strenuous on Margery.  She began having visions of Jesus and Mary; these visions led to spastic crying fits.  This obnoxious outburst of tears would generally take place whenever she thought of Christ; therefore, the fits occurred in Church and near religious historical sites. People began to look at her in an odd way; they made fun of Margery and did not like her.  I can definitely sympathize with these people because random crying fits would bother me, too.  Margery even had visions of Christ where he would speak to her.  Margery gave up all of her money and continued to travel and devote her life to God.  This way of life definitely must have been difficult.  I found this story to be extremely odd and difficult to read because of the old English writing.