Beowulf Feminist Analysis

Because of the significance of the heroism of men in “Beowulf,” the importance of women is often over looked. The women are vital to the story even though they play smaller roles. In “Beowulf” there are a few important women including Wealhtheow, Freawaru, Hildeburh, and Grendel’s mother. Mary Dockray-Miller argues that the femininity or masculinity of a person is not set in stone just because they are one sex or another but rather “that performance, not biology, determines gender,” (Dockray-Miller 31). While Dockray-Miller uses the evil queen Modþryðo as an example, Grendel’s mother is another good example of one gender possessing qualities of the opposite sex. Both women do things that a man would normally do, such as Grendel’s mother fighting Beowulf for killing her son. This type of behavior supports Dockray-Miller’s claim that biology does not determine gender but that actions do, explaining why Grendel’s mother and Modþryðo possess such masculine qualities. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother is an important demonstration of how different …show more content…
The female monster in “Beowulf,” Grendel’s mother, depicts paranormal behaviors using physical violence and force to solve an issue at hand. The behavior of Grendel’s mother is masculine and demonstrates that she is unable to solve conflict with words, but instead uses action and violence. The female monster displays this unexpected behavior by engaging in the customs that are typically assigned to a male figure. Men are the ones that seek vengeance in society, therefore when a woman does so, she is treated wickedly for disobeying the normal behavior of a female. After Grendel is killed by Beowulf, his mother goes to seek revenge for the death of her son. Seeking vengeance is not acceptable for a female, making Grendel’s mother an outcast and a monster to the rest of the