Margery Kempte Gender Roles

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In the book of 1 Timothy, chapter 2 verse 12, the Apostle Paul says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (English Standard Version). This idea, that a woman’s role is to be submissive to her male counterparts, is incredibly prevalent in the religious communities and was only heightened during the time period Margery Kempe lived in. The work about her life, The Book of Margery Kempe, shows just how pervasive these toxic tenants were through displaying “God-ordained” gender roles, religious and social patriarchy, and the oppression of the collective female voice and authority.

The Book of Margery Kempe illustrates archetypical gender roles in medieval times. These roles were …show more content…

And therefore she was glad to be punished with the same person…” (Kempe 132)

The concept of Margery doing penance for her youthful lusts is interesting, showing the fact that females were pressured to be chaste. Men were free to pursue the desires of their flesh and women were suited only to fulfill these desires without enjoying them too much for fear of being uncouth. This illustrates once again the presence of a hierarchy in which women are beneath men, their sole role being to please men and remain in the background.

For her part, Margery Kempe defended herself from the attempts of men to oppress her and take away her authority. In her eyes, she had a divine pass from following the typical code of conduct for women. Her voice was ordained by God, an idea expanded upon by Liz Herbert McAvoy in her essay, “Authority and the Female Body in the Writings of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe.” McAvoy says, “More importantly, the oral text here is depicted as autonomous and resists any closure on it by Margery, the man who has arrested her or any other authoritative agency. Quite simply – and as she has emphasised on other occasions – she is unable to contain it” (McAvoy). In spite of the best efforts of the men around her, Margery Kempe had a voice that she felt was inspired by the divine, and so would not be

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