Margery Kempe and her autobiography (The book of Margery Kempe) is a historical and intriguing piece to read. Its impact on the literary world helped put the autobiography style of writing into usage by current authors. In medieval times, “Latin was the language of English literature” (Medieval Literature). Usually, the stories of the medieval ages were passed down orally and not written. In addition, the majority of these stories have Catholic affiliation integrated within them. According to Erika Kuhlman’s A to Z of Women in World History, Kempe’s historical significance lies in her autobiography (Margery Kempe), believed to be the first…show more content… On the contrary, this wasn’t the case for Margery Kempe and her marriage. After Kempe received an attack of hysteria (about Christ), she vowed celibacy with her husband, John Kempe. Kempe did this because she felt unity with Christ after hysteria. Kempe’s visions of Christ’s suffering made her feel obligated to completely devote her life to Christ. It’s believed that “mystics achieve the union that [sic] they seek with God” after symptoms of hysteria (Greenblatt 425). Even though John Kempe tried to persuade Margery Kempe into staying married, Margery Kempe concluded it was best to focus on unification with Christ. The Catholic Church was at the center of the medieval world and it is a tremendous factor of the influence of Margery Kempe’s mysticism and actions. According to Andrew Langley’s book Medieval Life, The Catholic Church “governed almost every aspect of people’s lives, from the practical to the spiritual” (Langley 30). During Kempe’s pilgrimages, she’s remembered for her uncontrollable weeping due to Christ’s passion. The Book of Margery Kempe is Kempes way of showing she isn’t a heretic and her loyalty to the church. People often criticized Kempe persistently during pilgrimages, but Kempes spiritual autobiography is what aided in shielding her from most verbal attacks. Her autobiography helped spread Kempe’s devotion and eccentric admiration of the church. In addition, her…show more content… Aside from allegations towards Kempe from her fellow Catholics and from the Catholic Church, its obvious Margery Kempe changed medieval literature forever by producing the first English autobiography of mankind. In addition, Kempe successfully played a tremendous role in strengthening mysticism of all Roman Catholics of the medieval ages. The remnants Margery kempe left to the world (her autobiography and mysticism) remain today as Catholicism is the most highly practiced religion in the world and autobiographies are constantly being written
