Women in Beowulf Compared To Other Heroic Narratives The women in Beowulf and other heroic narratives of other cultures were forced to take the background roles in the society because they were considered as weak and passive. The women in these epic stories were considered inferior to men and they were owned by their husbands once they got married. In the story of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Geoffrey Chaucer, the women took active roles than what was expected of them by the society.
Beowulf is an epic poem that primarily focuses on the men heroic deeds, however, women play an integral part in the poem. In Beowulf, as the poem starts, the women in the story appear inconspicuous, however, as it progresses, the author does …show more content…
She manages to trick Sir Gawain and manages to break his deal with Bertilak. In addition, Morgan le Faye also manages to make a fool out of her brother and Sir Gawain. Morgan le Faye and Lady Bertilak play with the men as puppets yet they are supposed to be the superior sexes in the setting of the story (Brewer 32). The men believed to be to have absolute control of their knighthood, but they were outdone by women showing the strengths of women in the story. In addition, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the men were chauvinist but they were outdone by women in order to get a position in a society with men superiority. As we compare the roles of women in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the women have power in the poems, but not like their male counterparts. Even though the story of Beowulf presents a society that restricts women, the women in the story exercise their strengths and contribute to the society. The women in the three stories defined the roles of women in the medieval society by opposing the roles the society had defined for them. Lady Bertilak, Morgan le Faye, and Grendel’s mother, used men in the stories to gain power and strength that could never be granted to them especially in medieval
Beowulf is an epic poem that primarily focuses on the men heroic deeds, however, women play an integral part in the poem. In Beowulf, as the poem starts, the women in the story appear inconspicuous, however, as it progresses, the author does …show more content…
She manages to trick Sir Gawain and manages to break his deal with Bertilak. In addition, Morgan le Faye also manages to make a fool out of her brother and Sir Gawain. Morgan le Faye and Lady Bertilak play with the men as puppets yet they are supposed to be the superior sexes in the setting of the story (Brewer 32). The men believed to be to have absolute control of their knighthood, but they were outdone by women showing the strengths of women in the story. In addition, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the men were chauvinist but they were outdone by women in order to get a position in a society with men superiority. As we compare the roles of women in Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the women have power in the poems, but not like their male counterparts. Even though the story of Beowulf presents a society that restricts women, the women in the story exercise their strengths and contribute to the society. The women in the three stories defined the roles of women in the medieval society by opposing the roles the society had defined for them. Lady Bertilak, Morgan le Faye, and Grendel’s mother, used men in the stories to gain power and strength that could never be granted to them especially in medieval