Women's Roles In Beowulf

Grendel’s mother is portrayed in a negative and objectified image. First, she has a sexual appeal. Grendel’s mom wears no clothes; her skin is gold, which covers her body. She is half woman and half monster. She has a promiscuous look that draws in attention from the opposite sex. In addition, she has a sexual attitude. Right when Beowulf enters the

Most people would state that Beowulf is a very male centered book that has very little female influence or even need but really women play a very important and special role in Beowulf. Women not only are peacekeepers, hosts, and wives or mothers, but gift givers, power establishers, and examples on how to act and for some how not to act. There are two types of women in Beowulf and they are the women who represent how women of the time period were wanted to act and women who represent how not to act in any generation. The women who represent how to properly act in Beowulf are Wealtheow, Hygd, and Freawaru.

In Beowulf, varying treatment among each gender is common. Therefore, mistresses are not allowed to perform actions that men were permitted and are required to enact based on society’s standards. Females are not retained from doing heroic deeds because of the structure of their body or the estimated weightlifting qualifications. However, the weakest of males are expected to excel through rigorous parts in their life to represent heroic traits they possess within unearthly powers as men of the Gods. Savage animals were not figurative in the passage, but were viewed just as real as a man’s sword. Without these monsters, the men could not have slain enough to be seen as inhumanly or superior compared to the average man. Males were constantly competing against each other in order to have a place among the Gods.

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.

It caught my attention to the fact that both the poem and the movie had the women make mead, which is an alcoholic beverage for the men by fermenting water and honey, and sometimes different spices and herbs. In the movie there was a scene where wealhtheow pour's mead to Beowulf and to all the other geats. In the poem, line 227, it states “keepers of the mead came carrying out carved flasks” meaning the women. In other words, women back then, had no other duties other than creating and providing mead for all the men in the kingdom. Grendel’s mother didn't have a name in both the poem and the movie, but during the scene where the king and Beowulf talked, the king refers to her as “Grendel’s mother”, and throughout the poem, it refers to “Grendel’s mother “ as well.

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,

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.

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

Though Beowulf appears to be a poem dominated by male characters, and especially the hero Beowulf, the female characters in the epical poem play a crucial role in advancing the plot. Most females cannot gain prominence in society through violence as men do, their roles as mothers, wives, hostesses and peace-weavers, as seen through characters such as Wealhtheow, Hygd, and Hildeburh are however central to the poem. Though Grendel’s mothers does gain prominence though acts of violence. The prominence these female characters earn is superficial, for these women barely hold any actual power in society. The women are confined and expected to act in a certain way, and those who rebel are shunned by society.

Beowulf is believed to have been written somewhere between the years 700-1000 AD. During this period, Anglo-Saxon society provided women with a relative amount of freedom. According to Christine Clark, “Anglo-Saxon women had a high level of self-determination” (Clark 218). During this time, women were allowed to own land and to choose who they married. This is not to say that they were socially and economically equal. Men still retained much control over their female counterparts . Although women did not give up land ownership to their husband’s upon marriage, it became the husband’s role to maintain it and do as he wished with it. The only limitation being transferring permanent ownership to himself (Clark 214). In reality these political and social

Females and their Roles in Society Females are often an underrepresented group in both literature and society. We can often see that females are often less talked about and not represented in an equal capacity to males. In the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, there is only one central female character. This character is Grendel’s mother.

Another female character in the poem is Wealhtheow, and without a doubt we notice that she is a female who is respected and admired, being the wife of King Hrothgar, Queen of the Danes: “Applause filled the hall./Then Wealhtheow pronounce in the presence of the company” (1214-1215). There is a great contrast between Grendel’s mother and Wealhtheow.

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.

As with most controversial issues, it is clear that the media play a strong role in people’s perception and fear of crime. Psychologists have proven that cognitive biases can skew our perceptions (Fogg, 2013). Crime is very prominent is all media and Robert Reiner (1997) claims:

Although traditional Anglo-Saxon society emphasizes on patriarchal views, women play significant roles in “Beowulf”, challenging the masculinity presented. This is portrayed through Wealhtheow, Hildeburh and Freawaru, and Grendel’s mother through their hospitality, their peace weaving, and their anger. In contrast to the stereotype of women being submissive and compliant, “Beowulf” brings new light to the idea of women. An example of hospitality is when Wealhtheow, queen to Hrothgar, is a hostess for people in the hall, allowing all the nobles there to drink and have an appropriate celebration for the event.