Examples Of Grendel's Mother In Beowulf

A Mother’s Revenge Grendel’s mother was the show stopper and antagonist in Beowulf that sat out for revenge. Grendel mother is described as an immoral, evil and monstrous woman. Grendel and his mother were the demonic characters in Beowulf. Both were powerful and threatened anyone that came their way. Being that Grendel was muscular and rugged, he underestimated Beowulf’s capabilities. She is angered and vexed that Beowulf killed her only son, Grendel so instead of grieving, she seeks revenge. Beowulf killed Grendel with his bare hands, and left his limb hanging in Herot as a trophy. The infamous killer was no match to the hometown hero, Beowulf. While the town was praising Beowulf for his victory, Grendel's mother was angry that her son was killed in a gruesome …show more content…
She takes Hrothgar’s closest friend and her son’s limb to her underwater lair. Her lair is scary and similar to the devil's den. Beowulf dives into the water ready for any attack that she has in store. Grendel’s mother has an advantage over Beowulf. She ruled those waters, and that was her territory. She is prepared for the attack. “She welcomes him in her claws, clutches at him savagely but could not harm him.”(Beowulf, 578-579 ) She is angry and now that Beowulf is in her presence, she wants him to suffer just as her son did. Grendel's mother put up a vicious fight against Beowulf. “The battle is more active and more threatening for Bewoulf, largely because of her sexualized nature and social nature and social implications of their combat.”(Oswald 66) Being taken back by her sudden attack, Beowulf had to quickly strategize. His sword Hruthing could not pierce her skin. He had to use his bare hands for the remaining of the battle until his eyes saw the sword mounted on her wall. He quickly grabbed the mighty sword and sliced her head. Male and female fighting was a boundary that was not crossed until their