Examples Of Sexism In Beowulf

In the movie Beowulf, the women are depicted differently than in the poem. The women in Anglo Saxon culture had more power than demonstrated in the movie. For example, the servant in the Mead Hall is clearly objectified. She is wearing a tight dress with her breasts showing, wanting to gain attention from the men. While she is washing the table, she is bending over so her breasts are exposed. All the men are surrounding her and staring. The main reason for the servant being at the Mead Hall is so the workingmen can look at her. The men are only interested in the servant in a sexual way. An example of this is when a working man states, “…No wonder my loins are burning.” He wants his sexual desires to be completed by the servant. He

Mindy Lim Dr. Cynthia Bowers English 2120 4 March 2024 Topic #1: Roles of Women The roles of women are prevalent in Marie de France's Lanval and the Old English epic poem Beowulf, particularly in their portrayal of negative stereotypes, the judgment of “good” or “bad” in morality, and the objectification of women. The societal attitudes towards gender and femininity in medieval literature are seen by contrasting the depictions of women. Marie de France portrays the Fairy Queen as a symbol of women’s empowerment, while Grendel's mother is portrayed as a monstrous antagonist in Beowulf.

    Throughout the epic Beowulf, the importance of male heroism is far exceeding than that of the significance of women. The idea that women are obedient and docile is a likely thought in medieval Britain, although the women of Beowulf  are different, being known as noble, powerful, and assertive. Throughout the text there are major women that play integral roles in society: Grendel's Mother, and Hildeburh. “These women entertain, bring peace, and contradict societal expectations of the female gender, either directly or indirectly, … and illustrate the major roles for the women in the society: the Peace-weavers, and the Goaders ” (TheDomesticBeast). Although there is little mention of women throughout this epic, their fundamental roles within the society were clearly immense.

Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are both Anglo-Saxon poems that share a male dominated world with few female characters who have supernatural qualities. While the men in both stories have noble qualities, the women are portrayed adversely; they are disregarded even though they play an essential part to the story as either peace-weavers or goaders to exert some sort of power.

Women have had many different roles in the history of European literature but have generally been restricted to the roles assigned to them in a largely patriarchal society. As a result of this society, these roles have often been powerless ones. This calls into question the constitution of a powerful woman in literature: in Beowulf, being a powerful woman means becoming the bond between families and alliances; in Lanval, power comes from assertion and control-- a powerful woman is a woman in charge. The primary difference between the representation of women in Beowulf and Lanval is that the latter transcends overarching patriarchal boundaries, and the former does not; the reason for their respective representations lies in the literary time periods in which the stories were written. From this, one can see that the introduction of romance as a central theme gave way to new representations and roles of women in predominantly heteropatriarchal English literature and gives new meaning to the analysis of stories like these.

Like most stories that were written in the older times, it’s no surprise that patriarchy is prevalent in Beowulf. Right from the beginning, it is men who are seen as dominant, and leaders. There is barely, if any mention of a woman in lines 1-55. The story starts off with a young man named Shield Sheafson. He was an orphan but would soon come to gain power and respect as he grew older. He was adored by his people and it was no surprise that they greeted the news of him having a son a joyous occasion. “Afterward a boy-child was born to Shield, a cub in the yard, a comfort sent by God to that Nation.” (Beowulf 41) Since Beow was son to Shield he was expected to be a blessing, and to be as great, and possibly even greater as his own father. Coincidently,

“Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work” -Susan B. Anthony. Countless women, even here in the U.S. have some sort of the wage gap. The wage gap is the difference between the median earnings of women relative to median earnings of men. In this case, women earn a significant amount less than men. Although the wage gap has gotten smaller over the years, the wage gap still has a long way to go. Women deserve better than just minimum earnings. Full time, working women should obtain the best promotions and benefits. Women that work just as tough and have the equivalent qualifications as men do still earn less, and that is just unacceptable. The wage gap should be abolished on behalf of women of color and their struggle, equal pay is a global problem, equal pay benefits employers and workers, and the wage gap accumulates over time.

Beowulf is a tale filled with battles and heroes going through journeys to save the day. Men were dominate for without them and their strength, the constant state of war would mean nothing. In Beowulf, the role of women is less important than men but they are still vital in keeping the society together. Expectations for women were to be the caregiver not protector and fighter like men, yet they were still important just oversaw different responsibilities. Women were weak and in constant need of a man for protection. They were valued in society as the wife, child-bearer, and in highest respect hostess. In the succeeding paragraph, the value of women and marriage in early English societies is discussed.

Expectations and roles in Beowulf Currently in our society gender roles are so much more different than they were in the ancient times. In the United States us American’s don’t really stick to the old-fashioned beliefs about men and women. For example there are women who are bosses and CEO’s of male, in fact we have a female candidate running for president. The roles of men are also very different we live in a country where men will stay at home to babysit and in some cases even serve women. In the 6th century all of those were unheard of.

The legacy of the females of Beowulf has been spoiled by translators and superficial analysis. Further studies, however, will reveal the depth of their roles and return them to a place of honor they were never meant to

Men and women of the Angelo-Saxon culture are viewed as equals, both partners contribute to the relationship. The men are usually in charge of fighting and other activities involving strength. Women on the other hand are in charge of fertility and being a great partner for their husband (Sarmiento, 2012). The women of the epic poem Beowulf may seem useless to the story. Only taking on the roles of peacemaker, hostess, and monster. However they play a vital role in both keeping the peace, and causing some trouble.

It is believed that Beowulf was written down during the medieval era. The Medieval Age was a period when Anglo-Saxon society was patriarchal and women were considered mostly powerless. Men believed them to be wives, mothers and not much more. Most of the epic focuses on relationships between males, yet this view of female inferiority is heavily represented. Beowulf perpetuates many female stereotypes as well as the idea of female inferiority and unimportance in medieval society.

Within the epic poem Beowulf, written by an unknown author during the Anglo-Saxon time-period, the focus is undoubtedly the male form and what makes a hero. However, even with that focus, there are still glimpses into how a female would fit into a hero’s tale during that period. In Beowulf, the primary male characters are all personified through the acts they commit and how much of a hero such acts might make them; if they are noble, humble, strong, loyal, etc. Women of this time period however were imprisoned by the mindset of others. They were nothing more than an object, a possession to do as their father, husband, or lord willed.

The women in Beowulf, which was written around 70 CE by an anonymous poet, fill many different roles, ranging from peacekeepers to wives and monsters, all of which are evidenced in the Queen Wealtheow, Queen Hygd, Hidleburh, and Grendel’s mother.

Lastly the two women in the poem that are portrayed as monsters are Thryth and Grendel’s mother. These women are opposite to the hostess and the peaceweavers so they are deemed as monstrous, they comfortably use violence as a means to settle all their disputes, this brings them satisfaction. These women do not welcome people in to their homes and kill anyone that enters. In contrast to the hostess and peaceweavers these women do not believe in using words or marriage to influence people, instead they resort to violence, weapons and their physical strength. Grendel’s mother and Thryth act manly and very hostile and are two different types of monsters with similar qualities. Thryth