Essay On Women In Beowulf

Women and their actions throughout the epic poem Beowulf are very important to the way that the villagers live. In many cases, the woman are actually the real rulers of these kingdoms and their husbands were purely for muscle and because these tiny kingdoms were so patriarchal, the people expected and needed to be ruled over by a man. Although Beowulf is set in a Women are a crucial part because they are the ones to host important events for heroes such as Beowulf as well as making sure that a successor if ready and able to take the throne after the king dies. Without the women in Beowulf, there would be no one to make sure the code of conduct was kept in situations such as banquets or parties. Women also are important because they are different from …show more content…
Even though she is a described as a “monstrous hell bride, brooded on her wrongs” (1259). While she is this huge monstrous creature, the narrator does acknowledge the fact that she does have feelings. The “monstrous hell bride” is seeking for revenge against the people who killed her beloved son and in this time and culture it was acceptable for the mother to grieve by taking radical gestures against the original perpetrator so by this common reaction, Grendel’s mother is going to seek revenge on Beowulf. Another example of how important Grendel’s mother is in Beowulf is when she starts to attack Beowulf and his warriors. The attack is described as, “ Her onslaught was less/ only by as much as an amazon warrior’s/ strength is less than an armed man’s” (1282-1285). Grendel’s mother is attacking Beowulf and his warriors and even though Beowulf does eventually prevail and kill Grendel’s mother, her attack was still tough and posed a threat towards the men. This shows that although the men are considered the strong person of the family, women are also strong and had this been a fight without weapons, Gendel’s mother may have actually