Beowulf Gender Roles Essay

Literary Examples of Gender Roles In literature the classic roles of females and males are the hero and damsel in distress (O’Pry-Reynolds). Of course the hero is a man that full of goodness, strength, and perseverance. He is brave, masculine, and is talented and violent in battle. The hero plays a knightly role that must protect the goodness and purity that the damsel represents (O’Pry-Reynolds 1). The damsel in distress is the “ reason for the hero to be heroic”, so in a way, they both rely on each other (O’Pry-Reynolds). However, in some literature there is no strict female role that is strictly seen as a damsel in distress. For example, the epic poem, Beowulf, does not have a female that is strictly seen in that perspective. However, Beowulf goes to this kingdom in order to save the people from a terrible monster, so it is evident that the role of being is distress is still there. One thing that Beowulf does illustrate very clearly is the essence of what it meant to be a hero or warrior in the medieval era. The characters of this time “respect bravery and revile cowardice”, which lead many of them to go as far as to die for their leader and see it as an honor (O’Pry-Reynolds). In Beowulf's last battle, with the dragon, many of his men fled out

It ranges from how men and women are treated, to the purpose that they serve in literature. The gender roles in literature change over time just as society does. Men use to be the most prominently seen in literature as opposed to women. Women were more of supporting characters than actual main characters that played an important role in the plot. However, there are always exceptions to this that, in result, are very interesting to view. These exceptions break stereotypes and have the power to inspire people. Now literature has developed to the point that there are just as many female main characters than there are