I.

In the Middle Ages men had greater influence than women; thus women’s role in society was m In

this book, Margery Kempe recounts her journey of faith and mainly depicts it, instead of sharing her

experience as a mother. This way, Margery Kempe’s book defies society’s expectations of women.

In 1501, for women, the ability to bear children was “a primary duty, either elite or poor, the failure

of said duty would have profound social consequences” (Jones 4). Therefore, motherhood was

considered women’s main interest. Margery Kempe’s work emphasizes her religion instead of her

experience with her children.

The Book of Margery Kempe focuses on Kempe’s experiences and her faith. After the birth

of fourteen children, one would consider that Margery Kempe’s children would occupy a major role

in her autobiography, contrary to this belief, Kempe’s sons and daughters are briefly mentioned.

Although Margery Kempe’s children are absent throughout the book, Kempe sheds light to

womanhood in a different perspective to the one that was expected from her.

II. Margery Kempe’s social status allowed her to focus on her religion more than on her children.

Despite Margery Kempe’s social context and the images typically related to womanhood, she portrays

a different approach to motherhood. She narrates her traumatic experience with childbirth and then

only mentions one of her sons in Book 2 when she tries to save him. The lack of scenes with her

children on them can evoke the sense of rejection to motherhood, although it can also be interpreted

as a rejection of the stereotypical expectations of women.

Margery Kempe allows herself to become the main theme of her autobiography, even when

she was expected to be only a mother and a wife, she defies these roles by not talking about her

children and breaking away from her “duties” as a wife. Kempe bends the rules of religion in order

to obtain what she wants. An example of this is Book 1.1 1 where she rejects the idea of having to

have intercourse with her husband and ends up committing to God and being a celibate. For Margery,

her main interest is God. Kempe’s physical separation from her children allows her to focus on herself

and her journey, Margery is liberated when she decides to break away from the idea that her children
must be her one and only preoccupation. Moreover, Kempe obtains the authority to make her own

decisions when she separates from the social expectation that were given to her: She is not defined

by her motherhood, she is her own individual person, and the core of her book is her religion.

Motherhood appears to be an important matter to Margery Kempe, an example of this is the

mentioning of it a few times through her book. Focusing on mainly herself shows a new perspective

of womanhood, where women are not defined by the people that surround them, and their own

personality and experiences become the main focus.

Works Cited

III. The work is well written and resumes the important aspects of Kempe’s work as long as it shows

her intention of creating a new perspective of womanhood trough the use of faith and religion. The

main focus on Kempe’s faith and her intention on becoming the main theme in her autobiography is

portrayed on the paper. Kempe’s work convays a new perspective in womanhood while it is

mentioned on the paper . Faith was important in 1501 when the book was written but the role of

women was defined by society and in Kempe’s work it is highlighted how she center the story in

herself and how it changes. In this sense, it is right to mention that she obtains what she wants by

manipulating the rules of religion. With this egocentricity she changes women’s main interests only

focused on having children and being mothers.