Abstract
Representations of maidenhood and wifehood in The Book of Margery Kempe have overshadowed Margery's careful use of widowhood. This essay examines how she manipulates narrative time and traditional female social roles to forge a new identity for herself between chaste wife and independent widow. Selectively drawing from both of those types, she licenses herself as a female writer and spiritual authority. This literary strategy demonstrates that the Book has a significant aesthetic dimension, which Margery substantially shaped.
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