The Role Of Women In Beowulf

Decent Essays
Show More
Abrianna Weaver
Ms.Rad
English 4 period 8
September 18, 2017

The Role of Women in Beowulf

“Because when it comes down to my offspring I will fight with fangs of a wolf and the claws of a dragon. And no one or nothing will stop me from protecting them.” This quote is a representation of Grendel's mother even though it may not have come directly from her it represents the role of not only her in the story but other protective mothers who xc would do anything for their children even try to kill. Grendel's mother acts in a different way than the other females in this story. She doesn't act as feminine in fact she acts more on the masculine side. Instead of showing peace or acting in a way of a host shen uses her strength and weapons

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Masculinity In Beowulf
    • 191 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Masculinity In Beowulf

    The Beowulf poem is a story of a great hero and the great strength he possesses that aids in his fight against the monsters terrorizing the people around him. Beowulf stays strong until his last breath; his grand death will be passed through generation for as long as someone can remember they occurred. However, he is not the only character is important in understanding the society of this time. The poem wanders to stories of other great leaders, some who have fallen. A particular story involves King Hrethal who cannot contain his anguish over the death of two of his sons.…

    • 191 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    How Does Beowulf Influence Grendel's Monster Image
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Beowulf Influence Grendel's Monster Image

    In John Gardner's, Grendel, the protagonist, Grendel goes through major changes about the way he views life and the way he views himself. Of course there are times where he comes to conclusions on his own due to his isolation from the real world, but there are antagonists in the story that do impact Grendel’s image like his mother, the dragon, and beowulf. Grendel is an evil, selfish, pitiful, cynical monster. He tends to put himself on a higher pedestal than the the rest, but the reader puts Grendel on a lower pedestal than others because he thinks too highly of himself. When Grendel talks about his mom or cries for her help, the evil monster image goes away for a while; this is only a temporary change in Grendel’s attitude.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Essay On Sexuality In Beowulf
    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Essay On Sexuality In Beowulf

    Since the early days of writing and even spoken word, stories often tell of the time in which they were first told, even if that story may be about dragons, mythical kings, or even magical beings. We learn from these stories and the insight they have to offer us in modern day education and observation. We learn how things operated, how people were treated, the views on religion, and sexuality, and in this particular case, women’s sexuality. It is no surprise that in history women are more than likely treated to be treated as second-class beings and seen as less.…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Examples Of Transition In Grendel
    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Transition In Grendel

    Throughout Grendel by John Gardner we see Grendel as the main character transition from an innocent child to an adult . Through Grendel’s journey he comes up on many obstacles as he starts to see the world for what it really is . Grendel also comes upon many other characters in the book that have an influence in him transitioning from a child into an adult . The character’s that have impacted him was his mother , Shaper , and the Dragon.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Grendel's Self Image In Beowulf
    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Grendel's Self Image In Beowulf

    Grendel's self image modifies all throughout Grendel. To begin, in the beginning, Grendel acts very child like. In many occasions, Grendel seems to be a mama’s boy. for instance, Grendel quotes, “Mama! waa! waa!…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    What Is Loyalty In Beowulf By Seamus Heaney
    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Is Loyalty In Beowulf By Seamus Heaney

    What means necessary would one take for their own family, to honor and to defend their loved one’s self and memory? In the poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Grendel's mother was put in a situation where her only son, Grendel was grotesquely killed by the protagonist Beowulf, who is a strong, humble warrior who protected the Danes and Geats. Not only was he killed but they took his dead body and displayed it for all to see as a representation of their victory. As soon as the mother comprehended what had occurred she went to Denmark not out of pleasure but to try to get vengeance for her son and killed Aeschere, an advisor of the Danes and stole her son’s arm that was on display.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    What Are Gender Roles In Grendel's Unsuccessful
    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Are Gender Roles In Grendel's Unsuccessful

    Mothers in film are often seen as monstrous because they are at the apex of critical analysis. In both the text Beowulf and the film Kill Bill: Volume 1 there are fierce mothers that seem to be monstrous. Although the roles they play as mothers are not ideal, it is evident that they have love for their children and seek vengeance on those who have taken their child’s lives. Both of these mother’s appear to be monstrous in their own ways. However, they are not monstrous mothers but they do have monstrous qualities.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Roles Of Women In Beowulf, By Seamus Heaney
    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Roles Of Women In Beowulf, By Seamus Heaney

    Grendel’s mother was seeking revenge for the scandalous acts that were taken out on her son. To perform her revenge, Grendel’s mother would kill innocent people and then attempt to kill Beowulf in her lair. With Grendel’s mother threatening Beowulf, it proves that women are not as powerless as they seem. Soon after the underwater fight with Grendel’s mother the narrator explains what would have happened if Beowulf did not come armed by saying, “The son of Ecgtheow would have surely perished and the Geats lost their warrior under the wide earth had the strong links and locks of his war-gear not helped to save him” (1550-1553). This is significant because when fighting Grendel Beowulf did not use anything but his bare hands.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Achilles
    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Achilles

    When Beowulf fights against the Grendel’s mother, he nearly…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Women In Beowulf And Sir Gawain
    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Women In Beowulf And Sir Gawain

    Throughout time, and especially during the middle ages, a woman’s role and position in the household as well as society was very much imposed upon being described as more at home and without a creditable opinion on important matters. But as time went on women became more educated and liberated developing strong opinions, being less confined, thus leaving the impression of women in traditional societies as being more “dangerous” or even “evil” as conveyed in Beowulf, Lanval, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the Wife of Baths. During the mid-evil time period, the bible was seen as a huge source on how people and men especially saw gender roles and what was right from wrong. Since the beginning, they have used the bible in reference to women’s nature and have compared them to Eve and the apple and evidently saw women as prone to temptation, evil, untrustworthy, seductive, weak, acting purely on their own intentions and…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    Beowulf: Grendel's Mother
    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Beowulf: Grendel's Mother

    The character that I have chosen to write about today is Grendel's Mother. Grendel's mother is also a very evil person like Grendel and she was crazy and aggressive. Grendel's mother has gotten into a fight with Beowulf and even though she lost to Beowulf she gave Beowulf a very hard time in the battle. With all the power that Beowulf had, some power did not work and it was making Beowulf more mad. She gave him wounds and gave him damage in this battle.…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    How Grendel's Character Changes
    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Grendel's Character Changes

    Grendel changes throughout the book in many different ways. His personality is affected by the way his surroundings act around him. The characters in his presence are one of the greatest influences toward his self image. Other than the environment itself there are three characters that impact his personality greatly. Grendel’s mother being one of the three, is an influence to grendel in a questioning way.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Theme Of Love In Grendel
    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Theme Of Love In Grendel

    Love Me Harder “We’ve found love in a hopeless place.” You may be familiar with this song and can relate to it but for Grendel this isn’t the case. In John Gardner’s Grendel there are many characters essential to the plot, like Grendel, the Dragon, Shaper, and Grendel’s mother. The novel Grendel is about a monster, Grendel, who live with his mute mother.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Grendel Good Or Evil
    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Grendel Good Or Evil

    Human nature is molded by society. Certain events can shape whether a person is good or evil. John Gardner uses the novel Grendel to show how the way we grow up influences what type of person we become. Grendel is not born evil. He is made evil through his mother’s lack of nurturing and his rejection from human society.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    What Is The Symbolism In Beowulf
    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Is The Symbolism In Beowulf

    In this poem, Beowulf, a warrior of the Geats comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, whose kingdom is being attacked by the monster Grendel. Beowulf eventually comes to the throne and battles two more monsters in his life. The poem reflects little on the physical attributes of the monsters, leaving it to the imagination of the readers. Yet, the words chosen to reflect Grendel, his mother, and the dragon, depict the characteristics of them. The battles between the monsters and Beowulf and the symbolism that they hold, although quite different, allow the reader to see a progression of Beowulf and his story.…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings