Robert Carson

            On Sunday morning I memorized the first two verses of "Babe alone in Babylone" by Serge Gainsbourg. 

            I weighed 84.2 kilos before breakfast. 

            I worked on my Medieval Literature essay for about an hour and it's now six pages long, but some of that is because of in-text citations and so I just need to add a little more to push it onto page seven so it feels like it's an honest six pages long. I hope to have it handed in tonight. 

            I weighed 84.1 kilos before lunch. I had saltines with five-year-old cheddar with a glass of limeade. 

            In the afternoon I took a bike ride downtown and back. 

            I weighed 83.8 kilos at 17:00. 

            I was caught up on my journal at 17:42. 

            I finished my essay and submitted it by email just before 19:45. Here it is: 

                                                     Visions are Driven by Wishes

                                for Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe and the Gawain poet 

          I had been … waiting for this vision. It hovered over the great quarrel - Leonard Cohen 

           

           There are parallels between the otherworldly creations of a Medieval writer of fantasy in the manner of the Gawain Poet and the visions of Medieval mystics such as Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. Fantastically imagined fictional figures such as the Green Knight, as well as manifestations of religious icons like Jesus, are pulled in from outside of our experience by the force of wishes or prayers. A vital characteristic of these symbolic wish fulfillments is that they are always described in superlatives. 

            I will begin by showing how the collective wishes expressed in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are what bring about the appearance of the gigantic warrior. Then an evolution of wishes from suffering to joy articulated in A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman, change the temperament of Julian of Norwich's visions of Jesus. Then we will see how sexual attraction to images of Christ shape the visions described in The Book of Margery Kempe, as well as the messages that those visitations convey. I will then point out the curious commonality between each of these texts' very different characters of visions. Namely that they seem to follow a law that they must be described in positive superlatives. In my final analysis I will distinguish the devout historical women from Gawain in relation to their visions. The female mystics progress towards a goal laid out by their revelations while Gawain runs from the wisdom that his living dreams offer him. 

            As I am comparing the visions reported by historical mystics with those of fictional characters, I want to first make it clear who is having the visions in a story. In the anonymously written 14th Century poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is King Arthur who serves as the visionary that invokes the supernatural figure that appears. This comes about through his inclination to not partake of the New Years feast until he hears a wondrous tale of adventure that is both marvellous and real (Anonymous 91-95). The specific wording of Arthur's wish sets the stage for the arrival in the flesh of the Green Knight, who is the beginning of the extraordinary story come to life that Arthur desires (Anonymous 136). In addition to a tale of wonder, Arthur wants to hear of battles and so this also dictates that a warrior knight would be the manifestation to make his wish come true (Anonymous 195). As everyone in Arthur's dining hall can see the Green Knight, in addition to being fueled by Arthur's wish, he can be thought of as a collective vision. The colour of this knight would reflect the hue of many of the Christmas decorations that the revelers must be viewing on the walls of Camelot's dining hall. According to tradition it would have been decorated with ever green plants like holly and mistletoe to remind themselves that life persists merrily throughout the winter (Cartwright). 

            King Arthur is the visionary who sets the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in motion. The poet makes this clear when he introduces the poem as a tale about Arthur (Anonymous 29). This is further confirmed near the end when the Green Knight tells Gawain that his whole adventure was a test of Arthur's Round Table (Anonymous 2457-2458). But within the story that Arthur initiates, the visionary is Sir Gawain. This is fitting because he compares well in many ways with the religious intensity of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, especially with his preference to forgo joy in favour of suffering. 

            In Julian of Norwich's 15th Century work, A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman she writes of a long-standing desire to witness the suffering, the wounds, and the passion of Christ (Julian 388). This initiates some visions that she has while lying in what she believes to be her death bed. While gazing at a crucifix with the image of Jesus wearing the crown of thorns, she sees warm, fresh, red blood trickling down from Christ's head (Julian 390-391). This is the partial fulfillment of her wish to look at Christ's wounds, and a little later this same living crucifix further fulfills to her wish when he shows her the place where the spear pierced his side (Julian 398). During this same illness, her wish to witness Christ's passion is granted when she sees a vision of his face withering into death while descending through four shades of blue (Julian 395). Near the end of Julian's sickness, after she chooses Jesus as her heaven and anticipates that future happiness, she sees the revelation of a blissful Jesus (Julian 396-397). Each of these visions appear to be drawn from the unknown and shaped into the character that the wish dictates. But fear also has the ability to sculpt manifestations from the outside. 

            In The Book of Margery Kempe, when Margery is struggling between fear of damnation and a wish to be damned, she sees demons with open mouths waiting to devour her (Kempe 408). But Margery's subsequent visions are of Jesus and they express a mixture of spiritual passion blended with her prevalent sexual desires and her obsession with fashion (Kempe 409). Unlike many of Julian's visions of Jesus, Margery's apparitions of her saviour are always beautiful, to fit with her aesthetic preferences. Her first vision occurs while she is restrained in her bed as Jesus appears sitting beside her in her bedroom, in the form that she imagines him to have had as a young man. She finds him to be peerlessly attractive and pleasing, as well as handsomely dressed in a fine purple mantle. This vision is a collage of Margery's wish fulfillments. Her imagination's construction of Jesus has not only come from outside to grant her freedom from her terror of damnation, but it also provides her with a good-looking, well-dressed man to gaze upon while she is in bondage on her bed (Kempe 408-409). The outsideness of this vision is confirmed when it leaves by rising into the air, which opens as if revealing a portal, beyond which is bright light, and which closes behind it when it leaves (Kempe 408).

            Margery's relationship with the outsider Jesus contains a sexual undercurrent as she repeatedly has the desire while looking at crucifixes for his hands to be freed from the cross so that he can take her into his arms (Kempe 411). This situation with Jesus as a restrained object of desire is an interesting reversal of the previous vision that occurs when Margery is restrained while Jesus is free (Kempe 408-409). 

            Whether as an object of desire or by voice, Margery's Jesus plays a great role in her sex life. At one point he intervenes as she struggles against her husband's legal right to have sex with her. She is disgusted with the act of intercourse with her husband and tries to convince him to take a vow of chastity so she can do so as well (Kempe 410). Her desire for chastity however is partner-dependent, as at the same time she is sexually attracted to another man and offers herself to him (Kempe 411). Her wish to no longer have sex with her husband is nonetheless granted by Jesus when he tells her to compromise with her spouse. He instructs her to agree to eat and drink with her husband on Fridays and to pay his debts if he will consent to not having sex with her anymore (Kempe 412-413). The choice between fasting and chastity that she has Jesus make for her deepens her sexual relationship with Christ by giving him full control over her sexual abstinence. This again is a wish fulfilled by a revelation from outside. 

            The voice of Jesus often reaches into Margery's mind to confirm that of which she is already fairly certain. For example, she thinks of the persecution that she experiences from others as a type of imitation of Christ and is wishing to experience worse sorrows than merely harsh words. Then she hears Jesus confirming her thoughts on this subject as being right and telling her that in heaven the sorrows she experiences from the scorn of others will be transformed into joy (Kempe 417-418). Her voices and visions tell her and show her what she wants to hear and see. 

            The visions of Jesus as seen by Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich; as well as the Gawain poet's imagery of the Green Knight share a common characteristic in that they are described with a wealth of superlatives. Visions, whether real or not, and artistic creations of fantasy like the Green Knight all come from beyond the boundaries of our experience where the extraordinary reins. That is why the Green Knight is the "tallest", the "largest", and the most attractive (Anonymous 137, 141-142). To contrast with extreme attributes of the Green Knight as an outsider, Gawain presents himself as the ultimate insider with his self assessment composed of negative superlatives when he declares that he is the "weakest", the "dullest-minded", and the knight that would be missed least if he were to die (Anonymous 354-355). Later it is the Green Knight who uses superlatives to oppose Gawain's account of himself by saying he is one of the most perfect and the most valuable of knights (Anonymous 2363-2365). 

            Despite Gawain being an insider in relation to the Green Knight, he is an outsider when compared to the world of the reader because he is a hero in an Arthurian tale. As the adventure begins when the Green Knight enters Camelot from outside, and as Gawain leaves Camelot for all of his subsequent supernatural encounters, Camelot represents the inside. It is not until Gawain ventures outside of Camelot that the poet describes him in positive superlatives. He is the most honest, the most eloquent, and displaying good manners that exceed anyone on Earth (Anonymous 638-639, 913-914). The design on his shield embodies in one symbol five virtues that Gawain is said to have in more abundance than anyone else (Anonymous 654-655): sensory perfection, dexterity, faith, generosity, and compassion (Anonymous 640-642, 652, 654). 

            It is Gawain's quest for the Green Chapel on a cold and lonely Christmas Eve that compels him to make a Christmas wish for a place to spend the night (Anonymous 734-739). Suddenly, instigated by his wish, Sir Gawain has his own singular vision, as a castle comes into view. The primary impression of the castle immediately follows the law of superlatives when it is said to be the most splendid of knights' castles (Anonymous 767). If the castle is Gawain's vision then so also must be everyone inside, especially the Lady Hautdesert who is also branded by the poet as a vision with superlatives that describe her throat and breasts as being of a brighter white than new fallen snow (Anonymous 955-956). And later we find a parallel between Gawain's intimate encounters with this lady and the vision of Jesus Christ's visitation to Margery Kempe's bedchamber. The lady and Jesus both sit on their objects' beds (Anonymous 1193) (Kempe 408). Margery and Gawain are each in their own way restrained in their beds while their visitors are said to be exceptionally beautiful. There is also a parallel of words of rebuke spoken by Jesus and the lady, as Jesus asks Margery the rejected lover's question, "why have you forsaken me when I never forsook you?" While the lady tells Gawain, "You deserve rebuke, if you feel no love for the person you are lying beside (Kempe 408) (Anonymous 1779-1780). In Margery's case she had been tempted away from the love of Christ by the allurement of hell, but this moment turns her around. Gawain however takes pleasure in being tempted by the lady because he does not need to fully give himself to her while restrained by the tight bonds of his own virtues. 

            The superlatives that describe Gawain's ethereal virtues do not however contradict two of the negative superlatives with which he describes himself. The symbol on his shield does not advertize Gawain as intelligent or strong, which he admits he is not (Anonymous 354-355). But the subtle virtues in which he shines are not unlike those that Julian of Norwich envisions as being possessed by the Virgin Mary, as she sees her as being the worthiest, and the most perfect. But most of the superlatives that characterize Julian's visions are of suffering and love. She sees Mary as having experienced more pain than others and Jesus to have suffered more than anyone of the past, present, and future (Julian 393, 396). She ties Christ's suffering intimately with what she sees as his eternal love (Julian 396-397). In contrast to Julian's vision of an agonized Jesus, Margery Kempe's description of her apparition of Jesus uses pleasurable aesthetic superlatives: He was the "loveliest, most beauteous, most pleasing man who could ever be seen …"(Kempe 408). A subsequent audible revelation of Margery's continues to show her preference for the sensual in what she draws down from the beyond. She hears a melody that was more beautiful than all melodies "that could ever be heard" (Kempe 410). 

            Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, and the Gawain poet are accessing the realm of extremes that begins just beyond the outer edge of our experience. It is there that mystics and artists reach beyond their limits to draw visions from the limitless that materialize as granted wishes. As the limitless cannot take form in our world, the visions that emerge from this wishing well of the outside imply limitlessness by having superlative characteristics. The superlative visions that communicate directly to Margery and Julian are all of Jesus, and these mystic women take the instruction that he gives. But in the Gawain author's poem, the superlative download from the unknown that is the Green Knight offers advice to Gawain that he does not take. He gives him the belt and tells him to let go of his shame and to wear it as a token of a chivalrous adventure at the Green Chapel (Anonymous 2395-2399). But Gawain chooses instead to wear it as a reminder of his failure so that he can use guilt to counter his pride (Anonymous 2434-2438). The Green Knight also urges Gawain twice to return to his castle to enjoy the high feast of New Year and to be merry with his aunt and those who have come to love him (Anonymous 2400-2402, 2467-2469). But Gawain cannot let go of his shame and simply enjoy himself even though the vision that came to test his pride and virtues tells him that he passed (Anonymous 2457-2458). In not listening to his vision Gawain shows that when he declared that he was the "dullest-minded" of knights he was not expressing a wish to gain sharper wits (Anonymous 354). 

                                                         

                                                               Works Cited 

Anonymous. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Translated by James Winny, The Broadview  

            Anthology of British Literature: Concise edition, Volume A, 3rd Edition, Edited by Black

            Joseph, L. Conolly, K. Flint, I. Grundy, D. LePan, R. Liuzza, J. McGann, A. Prescott, B. Qualls,

            C. Waters, Broadview, 2019, lines 29-2458. 

Cartwright, Mark. "A Medieval Christmas." World History Encyclopedia, 1 December, 2018,

            https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1288/a-medieval-christmas/ 

Julian of Norwich. "A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman." Edited by Nicholas Watson and Jacqueline

            Jenkins, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: Concise edition, Volume A, 3rd

            Edition, Edited by Black Joseph, L. Conolly, K. Flint, I. Grundy, D. LePan, R. Liuzza, J.

            McGann, A. Prescott, B. Qualls, C. Waters, Broadview, 2019, pp. 388-400.

Kempe, Margery. "The Book of Margery Kempe." Translated by Claire Waters, The Broadview

            Anthology of British Literature: Concise edition, Volume A, 3rd Edition, Edited by Black

            Joseph, L. Conolly, K. Flint, I. Grundy, D. LePan, R. Liuzza, J. McGann, A. Prescott, B. Qualls,

            C. Waters, Broadview, 2019, pp. 405-421. 

            Now I can focus on my English in the World essay, but it will take some time for me to get into the flow of how to pull it together. I am allowed to use the infrastructure of my first essay, but I just need to add information from five more sources. I have the sources because I did a lot of research leading up to my first essay but it's just a matter of figuring out how to incorporate that additional info into my argument. I spent a few minutes on it before dinner but I need a few hours to get a feel for what I'm doing. I think on Monday I should be able to start it rolling with five hours of writing time. 

            I made pizza on a slice of Bavarian sandwich bread with Basilica sauce and five-year-old cheddar. I had it with a beer while watching season 3, episode 7 of The Beverly Hillbillies. 

            Granny says that Jethro is eating too much and she can't keep up. He'll eat a whole turkey as a snack between breakfast and lunch. She wants him to join the military so the United States can feed and clothe him for a while, although she thinks it will be like the nation feeding another country. 

            When asked what branch of the military he wants to join he says he wants to be a double nought spy because of all the hugging and kissing he'll get to do. He said he saw a movie about them and obviously he saw a James Bond film. He doesn't realize that 00 spies are fictional and even if they weren't, James Bond is a Commander in the British Royal Navy and not in the United States military. In the first novel James Bond was 007 because he'd killed twice. It was only in the third novel that the 00 designation indicated a license to kill. 

            Granny suggests that Jethro join the Marines because she thinks that the Marine base is Marineland and she wants an opportunity to go back there to catch that whale she saw before. 

            Jane tries to discourage Jethro from being a spy by giving him a spy test. She pretends to be a counter spy. He says, "Give me your secrets" and she says "No" so he kisses her. He asks again and she refuses again and so he kisses her longer. Then he gives up but she says not to quit so easily. He is about to try to beat the information out of her when he is told he can't do that. 

            Reluctantly, Jethro decides that if he can't be a spy he'll be a Marine and so they drive down to Marineland. They see a sign that says they are looking for a diver. The manager asks if he's a good diver. Jethro dives in the pool all the time so he thinks the answer is yes. He asks if he's ever worn a wetsuit and Elly tells him Jethro had a wet suit on this morning. He asks if he's had feeding experience and they think he means eating, so they all agree he's a world champion. The manager says they have six feedings a day and seven on Sunday and Jethro is excited because he thinks that means his meals.

            The manager fits Jethro in an old-style diving suit and gives him a bucket of raw fish. Jethro thinks that's supposed to be his lunch but he doesn't want to eat raw fish. Jed thinks he's supposed to show he's resourceful and so he builds a fire and cooks the fish. The manager is mad about that, since Jethro is supposed to be feeding the marine animals in the park.

            Meanwhile Granny tries to lasso the whale and gets pulled into the water. 

            Jethro refuses to go into the water with that heavy suit on and so they all leave. 

            The manager was played by Robert Carson, who was born in Minnesota but grew up in Manitoba. Later they moved to Wisconsin and he attended the University of Minnesota where he became active as a singer and musician. His first film role was in Dick Tracy's G-Men. He co-starred in Jungle Man. He had a 35-year career of playing supporting roles in film and on television. He was a speaker for the American Cancer Society. His younger brother Jack Carson was more famous as an actor and played many co-starring roles. 

            I searched for bedbugs and in the last place I looked, in the corner of the wall near the foot of my bed I killed one in a hole.