Also, Hildeburh, and Hygd use the space that they have both emotionally and physically. Although Shari Horner argues that “The peace-weaver exemplifies a kind of social and often (if not monastic) enclosure. And the stories of women in Beowulf develop cumulatively, each validating the cultural functions of enclosed femininity through both imaginative and structural patterning” (Discourse of Enclosure 20), the point is that they use the space or their enclosed space for their own gain. Though some of these women fail to achieve the purpose of peace-weaving, the women in Beowulf, despite their failure, they use the space they have for mourning and they move on. Hildeburh, after she loses her son, according to the poem, wails and griefs like any
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If the ground for gender identity is the stylized repetition of acts through time and not a seamless identity, then the spatial metaphor of a “ground” will be displaced and revealed as a stylized configuration, indeed a gendered corporealization of time. (NATC 2552)
Grendel’s mother becomes a threat that the society must get rid of because she does not fit into prescribed gender roles, which Beowulf succeeds in achieving by killing her. Before her death, she uses her unconventional space to fight for her pride, which is motherhood.
On the other hand, The Wife’s Lament, presents a woman’s journey into her mind trying to make meaning of her enclosed life. Her enclosure can be said to be a psychological, emotional or spiritual one. The engaging and emotional tone of the poem signifies that while the narrator is enclosed in a space, she is not alone because she shares the space with the outside world through her voice and the expression of her sorrow. The first few lines read:
I make this song of myself, deeply sorrowing, my own life’s journey. I am able to …show more content…
Self-exile shows the woman taking back her space instead of the one her man puts her in. The woman in The Wife’s Lament is constrained by social and physical boundaries, but she uses her space psychologically to express her sorrow. She is not a silent woman. She uses the confines of her earth cave.
I found that my most fitting man was unfortunate, filled with grief, 20 concealing his mind, plotting murder with a smiling face. So often we swore that only death could ever divide us, nothing else – all that is changed now; it is now as if it had never been, 25 our friendship. Far and near, I must endure the hatred of my dearest one
She speaks against the imposed hypocrisy of patriarchy and masculinity that forces young men to hide their emotions, and behave like a ‘man.’ Silence, and confined spaces help her to speak of the pain she has in her heart.
In conclusion, the women in Beowulf reflect the Anglo-Saxon culture, although a patriarchal culture, it places value on community irrespective of gender. Women carve a place for themselves, and establishes territories and authorities the way they can. And just like in fairy tales, the non- conforming woman is always seen as a threat to the
If the ground for gender identity is the stylized repetition of acts through time and not a seamless identity, then the spatial metaphor of a “ground” will be displaced and revealed as a stylized configuration, indeed a gendered corporealization of time. (NATC 2552)
Grendel’s mother becomes a threat that the society must get rid of because she does not fit into prescribed gender roles, which Beowulf succeeds in achieving by killing her. Before her death, she uses her unconventional space to fight for her pride, which is motherhood.
On the other hand, The Wife’s Lament, presents a woman’s journey into her mind trying to make meaning of her enclosed life. Her enclosure can be said to be a psychological, emotional or spiritual one. The engaging and emotional tone of the poem signifies that while the narrator is enclosed in a space, she is not alone because she shares the space with the outside world through her voice and the expression of her sorrow. The first few lines read:
I make this song of myself, deeply sorrowing, my own life’s journey. I am able to …show more content…
Self-exile shows the woman taking back her space instead of the one her man puts her in. The woman in The Wife’s Lament is constrained by social and physical boundaries, but she uses her space psychologically to express her sorrow. She is not a silent woman. She uses the confines of her earth cave.
I found that my most fitting man was unfortunate, filled with grief, 20 concealing his mind, plotting murder with a smiling face. So often we swore that only death could ever divide us, nothing else – all that is changed now; it is now as if it had never been, 25 our friendship. Far and near, I must endure the hatred of my dearest one
She speaks against the imposed hypocrisy of patriarchy and masculinity that forces young men to hide their emotions, and behave like a ‘man.’ Silence, and confined spaces help her to speak of the pain she has in her heart.
In conclusion, the women in Beowulf reflect the Anglo-Saxon culture, although a patriarchal culture, it places value on community irrespective of gender. Women carve a place for themselves, and establishes territories and authorities the way they can. And just like in fairy tales, the non- conforming woman is always seen as a threat to the