On a night, as this creature lay in her bed with her husband, she heard a sound of melody so sweet and delectable, that she thought she had been in Paradise, and therewith she started out of her bed and said: "Alas, that ever I did sin! It is full merry in Heaven."
The first time Margery felt the presence of God was when she was lying in bed, next to her husband, and she heard the sound of Heaven. This quote is important because it represents the first instance Margery felt a direct connection with God. The way in which she felt God’s presence is also important because it foreshadows the way Margery will communicate with other celestas beings in the future. She doesn’t hear the sound of God while she is awake but only after she gets ready for bed and is almost asleep. This points towards the idea that a person has to be near a state of unconsciousness to communicate with God and must give up his or hers conscious being to God. The way Margery sees herself is also important because she refers to herself as ‘’this creature’’ to suggest that she is inferior to the beings found in Heaven and that she is in a wretched state, needing to be saved.
My neighbours were very jealous of me, and wished that they were as well-dressed as I was. My only wish was to be admired. I would not take correction, and unlike my husband I wasn't content with the things God gave me; I always wanted more than I had.
When Margery talks about the life she used to live, she admits that she mas materialist and proud. Kempe enjoyed having beautiful things and being admired by her neighbours and by those around her and her life revolved around her desire to be envied by those around her. Kempe admits that she was not satisfied with what she had and that she always wanted more for herself. She also refused to listen to her husband and would act quite rebellious. The way Kempe describes here is important because it contrasts with the person she will become after she will become more religious. Kempe proves that religion and God has the power of changing a person for the better and can make someone rethink their lives and give then the power to change.
"Therefore I must be intimate with you, and lie in your bed with you. Daughter, you greatly desire to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in bed, take me to you as your wedded husband, as your dear darling, and as your sweet son, for I want to be loved as a son should be loved by the mother, and I want you to love me, daughter, as a good wife ought to love her husband."
The way Jesus Christ talks with Margery is similar to the way a husband would talk to his wife. The language here has a sexual connotation but in the Middle Ages it was normal to describe one’s love for God in the same way one would describe his or her love for a spouse. Through this description, the union between a person and God is compared to the union between one man and a woman. Just as a woman and a man become one during sexual intercourse, a person has to become one with God as well, becoming willing to give up their free will and let God chose for them and control them.
