Nice to Hear From Margery Again
One of the most lovely things about being a medievalist is that occasionally, because one is teaching a class such as, in my case, Medieval Literature, or maybe Medieval Women Writers, one gets to put Margery Kempe on the syllabus and watch students' eyes bleed.
Margery. The girl you love to hate. She makes my students nuts, but I need her in the syllabus, because 1) she wrote the first autobiography in English; 2) she shows the range of activities available to women in the late middle ages (she got to Jerusalem twice!); 3)she gives us the opportunity to examine our notions of mysticism (hint: if Jesus comes to you and says that you are Even More Beloved to him than St. Brigid, wonder if it's really Somebody Else in a Jesus costume); 4) she gives us the opportunity to examine our notions of insanity (if Margery was sitting on a bus you got on, believe me, you'd NOT sit next to her, but though lots of people in her day thought she was either lying or suffering from heart illness, nobody thought she was actually insane); 5) she allows me plenty of chances to be hilarious.
So I appreciate mightily hearing that she attended the MLA in Philadelphia over the Christmas holidays. And! She's landed a tenure track job at a research university! This rocks! I think I'll tell our Speakers' Committee, cause my students would think it awesome, should she come to discuss her research findings. And I'd buy lots of Kleenex, so as to be ready for the inevitable crying fits she'll have when she's reminded of the Passion of Our Lord. Which happens lots anyway, but over at the Catholic University, there's LOTS of chances, more than usual these days, in society at large, on account of the decor.
She'd feel right at home here. We could go up to the Faculty Dining Room, give her lunch (a hard roll and some water), and watch everybody freak out while she lay on the floor and wept cause the rest of us were eating and laughing and generally serving the forces of hell.
Cheers me up, just to think of it.
Thanks, Jeff, for sharing the information!
Margery. The girl you love to hate. She makes my students nuts, but I need her in the syllabus, because 1) she wrote the first autobiography in English; 2) she shows the range of activities available to women in the late middle ages (she got to Jerusalem twice!); 3)she gives us the opportunity to examine our notions of mysticism (hint: if Jesus comes to you and says that you are Even More Beloved to him than St. Brigid, wonder if it's really Somebody Else in a Jesus costume); 4) she gives us the opportunity to examine our notions of insanity (if Margery was sitting on a bus you got on, believe me, you'd NOT sit next to her, but though lots of people in her day thought she was either lying or suffering from heart illness, nobody thought she was actually insane); 5) she allows me plenty of chances to be hilarious.
So I appreciate mightily hearing that she attended the MLA in Philadelphia over the Christmas holidays. And! She's landed a tenure track job at a research university! This rocks! I think I'll tell our Speakers' Committee, cause my students would think it awesome, should she come to discuss her research findings. And I'd buy lots of Kleenex, so as to be ready for the inevitable crying fits she'll have when she's reminded of the Passion of Our Lord. Which happens lots anyway, but over at the Catholic University, there's LOTS of chances, more than usual these days, in society at large, on account of the decor.
She'd feel right at home here. We could go up to the Faculty Dining Room, give her lunch (a hard roll and some water), and watch everybody freak out while she lay on the floor and wept cause the rest of us were eating and laughing and generally serving the forces of hell.
Cheers me up, just to think of it.
Thanks, Jeff, for sharing the information!
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