Margery Kempe and Religion: An Essay

The following is an essay submitted for one of my classes…

In our fifth week of class we were asked if knowing that Margery Kempe’s book was autobiographical and not a work of fiction changes the way in which we read or interpret the work. In my response, I had stated that having such knowledge did not have any real impact on how I read the stories. In this essay, I would like to take the opportunity to further explore that discussion prompt and expand upon the response I had given.

We cannot deny that Kempe led an interesting life with her varying religious experiences and journeys. Kempe, we are told, had been possessed in some manner following a difficult pregnancy and delivery, was imprisoned for her depression and erratic behavior, was visited by Christ and subsequently relieved of her demons. Kempe continued to have experiences and visits which she attributed to her failures in being wholly faithful—she believed that the failures of businesses which she had involved herself in came from her lapse in faith and morality during those periods. Kempe had attempted to become a stronger follower and believer, and began to fast and practiced chastity—much to the chagrin of her husband. After having been visited once more by the Lord, Kempe agreed to break her fast and lay with her husband, as well as pay her husband’s debts, so that she may embark on a religious pilgrimage.

The way in which these stories are presented may cause the reader to believe that he is reading a work of fiction—a thought which may be amplified through the “knowledge” that these sort of experiences do not occur today. Yet, similar tales have been told and have become the basis of religion the world over. Let’s examine one such story:

A young man named Joseph Smith claimed to have experienced visits by religious entities in the 1800s. Smith, having taken note of all the varying Christian denominations found himself perplexed in trying to find the “right” church—to which God came and told him in a dream that all of the current churches were “wrong”. Having prayed on the matter for some time, he was greeted by an angel that directed him to the location of important religious text and the means to read and interpret these texts. Smith took this newfound knowledge, composed the Book of Mormon and established a religion—The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

What difference is there then between the Book of Mormon and Kempe’s tales? Two relatively young people claim to have been visited by the Spirit or His messengers and embark upon a religious journey of some sort. Kempe’s is more self-aligned in that she is discovering His word for herself, whereas Smith’s becomes the basis of a religion. Both characters are real. Both characters shared their story either in writing or spoken word. Depending upon who one talks two, both are either considered “nuts” or important figures.

In my first writing on Kempe, I posited whether it would be more surprising—and how our views would change—if we discovered that her work contained fallacies that had been inked in by her scribes. I also questioned whether this change would be as big of an impact as discovering that the Holy Bible—having been transcribed by numerous persons over the ages—was not a “true” work. In addition, I now ask whether finding hard evidence that Joseph Smith, and the men who attested to the validity of his tales, were lying to a group of followers would disrupt the Mormon faith. Personally, I do not believe that any such discovery about Kempe, the Bible, or Smith would do much to alter the viewpoints that the readers of the respective works have. Though there may be an interesting crumbling of LDS and Christian based faiths, the texts would still exist and be read more for literary example and historical review. People would still be interpreting those texts with an eye toward the words containing some truth, as the words included were written or shared by persons who did believe—like Margery Kempe.