Margery Kempe and Perfectionism

Late fourteenth, early fifteenth-century mystic Margery Kempe (1373 ca. 1439) was an extraordinary lay Christian who sought spiritual perfection-sand did so outside the confines of traditional religious orders. However, understanding Kempe\u27s quest is, as evidenced by scholars having classified her as everything from a hysteric, anorexic, heretic, or self-centered egocentric to a revered saint. Kempe\u27s life cannot be exclusively categorized into anyone of these classifications. Instead, she was on a general quest to understand the suffering of Christ. Her life pursuits may well be illustrated by using the broader psychoanalytical term spiritual perfection. This thesis examines the effects of this behavior on her