Ladd's article follows the models of anti-mercantilism set out in his monograph, applying them to the Book of Margery Kempe. Ladd constructs a nuanced argument by plotting how Kempe acts to limit her connections to the material world and privileged past, yet constantly hearkens back to her business and economic experience in her spiritual dealings. In retrospect, it sadly appears that my Kempe paper last year was functionally combining this article and Gastle's, making me wonder how I could have possibly missed reading either before this. Regardless, Ladd argues that anti-mercantile ideology is internalized in Kempe, guiding her attempts to distance herself from her mercantile past and current wealth while still guiding her actions, such as dealing with spiritual issues as economic exchanges.
While I find Ladd's argument effective, I would still like to see more of the economic thought I mentioned in my post on his monograph integrated. According to Diana Wood, the spiritual standing of merchants had somewhat ameliorated by the later fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, so I wonder how this would complicate Ladd's reading of Kempe. It might suggest that Kempe's behavior, in distancing herself from wealth, is more performative than stemming from guilt, hearkening to a slightly older anti-mercantilism sentiment. Regardless, Ladd's points are well laid out and argued, and this article adds a vital component, I think, to studies on Margery Kempe.
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