The Book of Margery Kempe Good versus Evil Quotes

Kempe's battle with severe post-partum depression is figured as a battle between her and the forces of evil. We're talking demons here—real demons, not emotional ones. You'll have to keep in mind that in Kempe's religious world, suicide is considered a very grave sin, since it is evidence of despair, which is a lack of belief in the goodness of God. Hence, her struggle to keep from killing herself really is, for her, a battle between good and evil.

Kempe doesn't win the battle against despair on her own. She attributes her success to the very real presence of Jesus, who appears—seemingly bodily—to her at this time. Just as she previously saw real demons, Kempe sees the embodiment of good releasing her from her suffering.

Kempe has a special fear of sexual violence, so it is particularly bad that this Steward is behaving in such a way with her. Since she has taken a vow of chastity, the Steward's behavior here also puts him in opposition to God, who desires to keep Kempe pure for his sake.

Kempe has no problem calling people out for behavior she finds offensive to God. She will later say that those who curse or swear are "vicious," because their blasphemous language actually does violence to the body of Christ. Cursing may seem like a mild offense compared to others, but Kempe and the religious establishment see it as a pretty serious violation of the Ten Commandments ("You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain").

Kempe here stands accused of Lollardy before the Archbishop of York. It's a burnable offense and a very bad situation for her to be in. When the archbishop accuses her of wickedness, he really means that he thinks that she has an "unclean" sexual reputation (it's the easiest way to discredit her). But we're about to learn that "wicked" is a relative term. Kempe turns the tables and tells the archbishop that she's heard some pretty bad things about him, too.

This is a very serious accusation for the clerics to make against Kempe before the Archbishop of York. They are basically saying that Kempe is handling scripture on her own and speaking about it openly. At this time, women were not allowed to do this, and it was a particular hallmark of the Lollard heresy. Of course, heresy is a matter of which side you're on—and so, in this case, is evil. Kempe is a highly orthodox Catholic persecuted by her own kind. We'll let you figure out who has the devil in them here.

Kempe has a really hard time accepting that any person's soul might be damned to hell. She thinks that Christ is too good, and if he did damn someone, wouldn't that make him somehow not so great? Here, Jesus tries to explain to Kempe that damnation has nothing to do with his desire for vengeance. It's a matter of justice and is a course that is chosen by humans—not willed by God.

Although Kempe thinks of herself as a miserable sinner, Jesus assures her that she is actually a good example to all humankind. Because she has learned to be humble and not exalt in her errors, she has a thing or two to teach humanity. It's just a pity that most people aren't willing to learn.

Kempe only speaks of one of her fourteen children with any specificity, likely because he undergoes a conversions experience. At this time, this son is living a kind of dissolute life. Kempe warns him not to engage in premarital sex, but it seems that the enticements of "foreigners" prove to be too much for him. The story of the son's struggle with chastity is a real psychomachia, or struggle for the soul.

Kempe is the target of a lot of ugly speech, and this particular incident seems to have stuck in her craw. She becomes the object of a slanderous "proverb" that is circulated through London and is eventually repeated as a saying without her name attached to it. In the latter case, Kempe is particularly upset, because she feels that the devil is working in people who are not even aware that what they are saying is evil. She's able to correct a handful of people about this, but she worries that this kind of slander will be the undoing of many.