Roles Of Women In The Middle Ages Essay

During the Middle Ages, a women’s role in life is vastly different than what it is today. In the Middle Ages, a women’s place in society was running the household and their jobs included cooking, cleaning, and raising children. Additionally, women were excluded from the church, and this led to the rise of mysticism. Mystics tended to be single women who practices celibacy, were of the upper class, and were educated and knew how to read and write so they could write down their visions in books, and in addition read the books of other mystics. Elizabeth Petroff states in her book Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature that “visions gave an individual woman a voice and a belief in herself as chosen to speak” (Petroff 6). The visions that these women had
And at this time Margery thought she saw devils who called out to her to ”forsake her Christian faith and belief, and deny her God, his mother, and all the saints in heaven, her good works and all good virtues, her father, her mother, and all her friends” (Kempe 42). Margery gives in to the devils and slanders her husband and all her friends. Yet, Jesus appears to her at her bedside and asks “Daughter, why have you forsaken me, and I never forsook you?” (Kempe 42). Margery was healed of her sickness after this encounter with Jesus, and starts to have more visions of Christ and his mother Mary. After some years of spiritual progress, Christ starts giving her instructions on how to live her life, for example she starts practicing chastity, she abstains from meat, and she receives communion every week. Also, she started to have more visions and conversations with Jesus, Mary and God. One day, Jesus commands Margery to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela, and to wear the color white. Wearing all white causes some trouble for Margery because typically virgins wear all white, and she has a