The Book of Margery Kempe

Margery wed John Kempe, a burgess from King’s Lynn, when she was approximately 20 years old. She soon fell pregnant and was frequently ill. She was a pious woman who regularly performed penance on her own, like fasting. Nevertheless, there was one unnamed sin that she refused to reveal in confession. Demons tormented her after the birth of one of her children so that she defamed her husband and spoke “sharp and reproving words” (12) to those around her. Her first vision of Christ relieved her of these troubles and comforted her spirit.

Margery viewed herself as Christ’s “servant” after her vision but continued to behave in a worldly manner and chastised her husband for his lesser status. She sought her neighbors’ admiration and took up brewing, later running a mill. The latter venture was short-lived when the horses refused to cooperate. Gossips claimed it was God’s retribution while others said, “it was the high mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that called her from the pride and vanity of this wretched world” (15). This experience transformed Margery, who performed penance to gain absolution for her pride.