Colón, Susan E. “‘Gostly Labowrys’: Vocation and Profession in The Book of Margery Kempe.” English Studies, vol. 86, no. 4, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2005, pp. 283–97, doi:10.1080/00138380500164018.
Colón argues that The Book of Margery Kempe disrupts the social structure in her negotiations with her calling/vocation and her familial obligations. Colón first states Kempe’s word choice indicates a certain flexibility in how she came to acknowledge her calling from God. This is seen in Kempe’s failed occupations before submitting to God’s call; Colón writes, “Kempe’s professional failure is a sign of her true vocation” (288). Colón argues that Kempe cannot “obey the call of God and remain subject to the norms [of society]”(288). Kempe modifies her family structure and her role as a woman in society. Colón implies that Kempe’s experiences sexism when not fully accepted by monks(295), but this freedom from the structure of formalized religious groups allow her to more freely follow God. Colón writes that Kempe “stands directly under God outside the clerical chain of command” (292).
Lauren Olson
