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Symbolism in the epic story Beowulf
History of women's role in ancient years
Symbolism in the epic story Beowulf
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Role of Women in Beowulf
Beowulf was written more than twelve hundred years ago. Women characters are presented, and every woman has one-of-a-kind attributes. The women in Beowulf are known to be hard working people, each of whom has a role within the poem. Throughout the epic, distinctive women do things such as serve mead, give speeches, and take care of the mead-hall. This shows how important women were to this culture.
Queen Wealhtheow is a mother of two children. She shows the part of a regular Anglo-Saxon woman at the time. When Wealhtheow was aware of the crowd, she quickly falls into her part as a tranquil greeter and a mixed drink server. Wealhtheow then continues through the mead hall "offering corridor bliss to old and to youthful
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She is initially brought into the story seeming extremely cultured and fitting: "Hygd, (Hygelac 's) ruler was youthful, a couple short years at court, her brain was mindful and her behavior beyond any doubt" (1926-1928). This initial description demonstrates her female qualities and also her potential for being the main character in the poem. The writer makes a reference to Great Queen Modthryth, and goes ahead to clarify the "unpleasant wrongs" (1933) Queen Hygd is a decent ruler, intense and regarded in the lobby. Additionally like Wealhtheow, Hygd serves the esteemed part of the glass carrier which serves to outline her essentials in the corridor. Her energy is explained by the presentation of jewelry from Beowulf (2176) and by her capacity to settle on choices with respect to the lobby, for example, requesting Beowulf 's help upon the demise of Hygelac is not sufficiently strong to hold down the kingdom all alone. It might be said, Hygd exists as a growth of her master Hygelac, and in spite of the fact that she appears to be entirely proficient, she can 't assume control over the kingdom when he dies on account of her gentility in the male-overwhelmed …show more content…
There are no positive essences alluding to Grendel 's mom, and not at all like whatever other character in the poem, she is never named; she is basically forever "Grendel 's mom" promoting the idea that she is lessened to having a place with a man regardless of her societal insubordination. It is informed that she is a relative of Cain; Further representing her manliness, Grendel 's mom even makes herself an uninvited visitor of the mead corridor. She is an uninvited visitor, and a troublesome enemy in a battle; she is in the end put to death so as to be mistreated by a male character, typical of the male commanded society. Wealhtheow and Hygd are people from the mead lobby, while the mother of Grendel is superior. Forgetting the differences between Grendel 's mom and the female. Wealhtheow and Hygd, the three all share the basic attribute of being ruled by male society. The control of Wealhtheow and Hygd may not be as obvious since they didn 't set up the battle that Grendel 's mom does to withdraw from being overwhelmed, however proof of the persecution of these two ladies is clear in the
As an epic tale of heroes and monsters, Beowulf gives its readers much excitement and adventure, but Beowulf's importance is more than just literary. It offers many insights into the beliefs and customs of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon culture. Among these insights is the Anglo-Saxon view of women and their role in society. Good Anglo-Saxon women are peaceful and unassertive, greeting guests and serving drinks to the warriors and other men in the meadhall. Wealhtheow, the queen of the Danes, represents a typical subservient Anglo-Saxon woman. As a foil to Wealhtheow, Grendel's mother is a strong and combative monster whom Beowulf must kill. By analyzing these two characters in Beowulf, we can understand the treatment and mistreatment of women in Anglo-Saxon society. The author of Beowulf generally supports the traditional Anglo-Saxon views of women by praising Wealhtheow, condemning Grendel's mother, and showing the need to suppress feminine forces like Wyrd; however, he does offer some criticism of these views by creating sympathy for Grendel's mother, allowing Wealhtheow to assert herself in the interest of her husband and children, and revealing masculine fear of feminine power.
After fighting and winning many battles, Beowulf's life enters a new stage when he finally becomes king of his homeland, Geatland. Even in his old age, his code of honor still obligates him to fight against an evil, fiery dragon. For fifty years he has governed his kingdom well. While Beowulf is governing, the dragon "...kept watch over a hoard, a steep stone-barrow" (Norton 55). Under it lays a path concealed from the sight of men. Over centuries no one had disturbed the dragon’s kingdom until one day when a thief broke into the treasure, laid hand on a cup fretted with gold, which infuriated the dragon. "The fiery dragon had destroyed the people's stronghold, the land along the sea, the heart of the country" (Norton 57).
As the poems of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show, women have always had power, yet not as overt a power as wielded by their masculine counterparts. The only dynamic of women’s power that has changed in the later centuries is that the confines and conditions in which women have wielded their power has become more lax, thus yielding to women more freedom in the expression of their power. The structure, imagery, and theme in the excerpts from Beowulf (lines 744-71) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 2309-30) support the concept of more power in the later centuries, by contrasting the restriction of Wealhtheow and the power she practices in Beowulf with the Lady’s more direct assertion of power in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight five centuries later.
The only credit given to Grendel’s origin is when the narrator states that he is a spawn of Cain himself. In the movie, however, Grendel’s father is seen in the very beginning of the film with baby Grendel. Grendel’s father is killed by the Danes while Grendel watches. Hrothgar raises his sword at baby Grendel, but drops it, and decides not to kill him out of mercy. Hrothgar would later regret not killing Grendel, but the important part is: Why is Grendel introduced with a father and why is he killed five minutes into the movie? Later on in the film it is revealed that the reason for Grendel’s father’s death was because he stole a fish from the Danes. The most logical explanation on why Grendel needed a father in the movie is to probably give Grendel a reason to terrorize and pillage the Danes. On the other hand, in Beowulf:The Epic, Grendel doesn’t really have a reason to be evil; he just is. As stated earlier, Grendel is a spawn of The First Murderer himself. A descendant of Cain is good enough reason for Grendel to be the evil monster he is. He attacks the legendary mead hall because the sounds of their festivities, music, and drinking, annoys him. “Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark (Grendel)...It harrowed him to hear the din of the loud banquet every day in the hall, the harp being struck and the clear song of a skilled poet telling with mastery of man's beginnings, how the
Queen Wealhtheow and Queen Hygd served as excellent role models for the courts in which they served. They exemplified the mannerisms and etiquette of the noble people. Queen Wealhtheow showed excellent poise from the very beginning of both texts. She was admirable as she passed the mead bowl around Heorot. The offering of the bowl was symbolic, being that the bowl was first given to Hrothgar and then passed to Beowulf, as if she presented him with her trust. Beowulf gave Wealhtheow his guarantee that he would be successful or die in battle. After she presented Hrothgar and Beowulf with the mead bowl she served the Scyldings, and did so as if they were her own people. She was not a Scylding, nor did she desire to be one, but she never made her unhappiness known, as described in Grendel. There is not great detail on Queen Hygd in Grendel, but from what the reader can gather from Beowulf, she is as much of a female role model as Queen Wealhtheow. She was young but very intelligent. In fact King Hygelac felt intimidated by Hygd’s intelligence.
“A peace-weaver was a woman who would be married to a person from an enemy tribe in the hopes of ending a feud” (Yewdaev). The role of women in Anglo-Saxon culture was simple: to settle arguments through arranged marriage. However, Grendel’s mother did not follow similar principles. Instead of arriving at the mead hall ready to make amends and to settle Grendel’s dispute, she returns bloodthirsty and yearning for revenge. Another part that women in the Anglo-Saxon period undertook was that of a cupbearer. “So the Helming woman went on her rounds, / queenly and dignified, decked out in rings, / offering the goblet to all ranks, / treating the household” (Heaney 620-623). Cupbearers served the purpose of passing around cups of mead around to the men until they were all drunk and merry. Grendel’s mother’s independence and lack of subordination to men in the culture epitomizes the contrast she faces with other women in the era. Her attack is surprisingly more impactful than all of Grendel’s together, even though she only delivers a single fatality. Rather than taking out a random drunk guard, she goes straight for Hrothgar’s favorite advisor. “To Hrothgar, this man was the most beloved/ of the friends he trusted between the two seas” (1296-1297). Evidently, coincidence or not, her attack on his advisor was immensely powerful, and contradicts the passive,
The fictional world of Grendel has great divides between male and female characters. While the novel is written in a fairly contemporary society, the world that Gardner constructs still follows under the same logic and principle as the ancient writings of Beowulf. The men are overtly masculine and tough, and the women are constructed with extreme passivity; there is marginal middle ground in both worlds. The constructions of how certain genders act are crucial to interrogate in order to understand one’s bias and become cognizant of the variety of gender roles men and women can endorse. The world of Grendel is full of symbols that construct men as violent, sexual creatures and women as passive objects.
In the poem “Beowulf,” Grendel’s mother, a monstrous creature, is one of the three antagonists Beowulf, the main character, fights against. The battle against Grendel’s mother appears to be the strangest of the three battles. The main reason for its strangeness is that Grendel’s mother is the mother of the monster Grendel, who was killed by Beowulf in the first battle. Another reason for its strangeness is that Grendel’s mother is the only female-type creature. An alternative reason for this strangeness in the battle is due to the fact that Grendel’s mother is not a true monster, aside from her physical form. Through the explanation of kinship, the understanding of the missing words from the original text, and the comparison of Grendel’s mother to other mothers in the poem, specifically Welthow and Hildeburh, it can be established that the intentions of Grendel’s mother are not monstrous even though she has the appearance of a monster.
The women in Beowulf are barely discussed and seem to exist solely for the use of the men. They are weak and portray none of the legendary qualities that the men display. Wealhtheow, the Queen of Danes and Hrothgar's wife, is the only female character in the epic that talks. In a speech to her husband, we are able to see that she is a strong woman, who is able to speak her mind. She tells the king that it is good that he adopted Beowulf, but reminds him that he already has two sons. However, her speech is made while she carries the drinking goblet to all of the men in the room, "Wealhtheow came in,/ Hrothgar's queen, observing the courtesies./ Adorned in her gold, she graciously handed the cup first to Hrothgar, their homeland's guardian,/ urging him to drink deep and enjoy it because he was dear to them" (612-618). When she is given the opportunity to talk, she only praises the men and plays a role defined by their society.
To the Anglo-Saxon’s, women did not serve as incredibly prominent figures. In a society where war was consistent in everyday life, the ability to fight, being powerful, and ultimately being warriors were treasured. Men were physically stronger and therefore were immediately given the roles of warriors and had higher expectations. Anglo-Saxon women were not considered warriors and especially not expected to fight. Women were then given “less significant” roles in society. Although women were exempt from the higher prized roles, they still managed to attain a certain propriety. The epic Beowulf has three women who play roles that vary yet, are symbolic for the culture. These women are Hildeburh, Wealtheow, and Grendel’s mother and they represent three varying roles that Anglo-Saxon women play: the peacemaker, the hostess, and the monster. (Mention last lady, Aethelflaed, somewhere in the intro)
Beowulf is an epic tale written over twelve hundred years ago. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous uninvited guest. The woman's role of the time period, author's attitude, and societal expectations for women are evidenced throughout the poem.
Grendel’s mother, although initially threatening Beowulf’s heroic abilities, not only helps him grow as a hero and a warrior, but also makes him wiser and smarter in combat.
“The mother of Grendel, a monstrous hag, brooded over her misery.” (814-815) Grendel’s mom shows that not only do Grendel and his mom feel hostile emotions, they also show compassionate emotions. They react the same way that the people of the village do when something bad happens to them. “But rabid and raging his mother resolved on a dreadful revenge for the death of her son!” (817-818) This also shows a side of a creature who demonstrates human emotions the exact same as any other person would. Grendel and his mom are not monsters, they are just misunderstood creatures who got unlucky enough to cross paths with Beowulf and his
The middle English poem Beowulf also defines the important ways in which the feminist heroine is part of an ancient poetic tradition in the depiction of empowered women in patriarchal society. For instance, the plot of the story revolves around Beowulf’s indoctrination into the court of King Hrothgar, since he has been chosen to destroy to the monster Grendel. However, an unusual break with patriarchal tradition finds Wealhtheow, the wife of King Hrothgar, passing the mead cup to Beowulf as part of this indoctrination. In this ceremony, the tradition of the king passing the mead cup has been disavowed due to the power of the Wealhtheow in the royal court: “Wealhtheow came in,/ Hrothgar’s queen, observing the courtesies./ Adorned in gold, she
Grendel's mother, unknown to the Danes or Geats, is plotting to avenge the death of her son. After the celebrations are over in Heorot and everybody is asleep, Grendel's mother appears out of her dwelling place, the swamp.