The poem of Beowulf draws a narrative of a noble hero and the experiences with the immoral monsters. The poem mainly contains the masculine characteristics that include fight images, long inspirational speeches, and depictions of armor. An interesting issue in the poem is the limited representation of women and the significant role they play. The women in the poem are epic, for instance, Wealhtheow, Hildeburh, Hygd, and Thyrth, all serve important roles in Anglo-Saxon society. More significantly, the presentation of Grendel’s Mother as masculine creates tensions in the battle scene with Beowulf. The tensions arising from the interplay between Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf shows the conflict created by the feminine and masculine character traits embodied in her. Grendel’s Mother is an active character who physically encounters the hero in battle rather than endeavoring to subvert him. Even though Beowulf is a masculine epic where women are silent and act as tools that serve the world of men, Grendel’s Mother’s masculinity amplifies the need for Beowulf to defeat her because she challenges the accepted role of women in Anglo-Saxon society.
As the narrative begins, Grendel’s Mother has conflicting representation as a female character with masculine behaviors (Trilling, 3). In the impression, not all women transcend their gendered roles and depict actions of masculinity. Given the fact that Grendel’s Mother has no man to act for her, she handles her problems alone by retaliating to the death of her son on the men of Heorot. The character, though a female, depicts masculinity when she attacks the hall at night and kills one of the noblemen working for Hrothgar. The act of killing Æschere means that she participates in a traditional trait that was considered acceptable among the masculine figures (Trilling, 18). Grendel’s Mother’s masculine act of murder leads to the tensions between her and Beowulf. After escaping and returning to her hall, Beowulf tracks her down and assassinates her within the walls of her home. The death of Grendel’s Mother demonstrates the tensions that arise from the conflicting nature of femininity and masculinity and serves as a clear denunciation for exceeding her bounds through a masculine act.
The poem refers to Grendel’s Mother as a “monstrous woman” and hints that her actions are based on materialistic retaliation. From the analysis of women in Beowulf, Grendel’s Mother’s inhuman personality that make it challenging to separate her monstrousness and femininity (Wydrynska, 124). To that end, the textual presentation of the character as too monstrous to be a female makes the character fascinating. In fact, it is possible to regard Grendel’s Mother as one of the three monsters in the poem (Wydrzynska 124). Though her section of the text is substantially shorter compared to those of the dragon and Grendel, she becomes one of the major enemies of Beowulf.
The character proves to be a strong combatant in comparison to her son when she meets Beowulf in the mere (1497-1568). Her masculine behaviors ignite Beowulf’s attack on her own turf; she then shows the ability to overpower him and is subsequently only deterred from killing him because of God’s intrusion (Wydrzynska, 125). Grendel’s Mother’s male-like prowess in battle causes Beowulf to struggle when fighting her. This is to be expected by the level of extra preparation he underwent prior to venturing into the mere, including arming himself with reliable equipment used by previous warriors. Before commencing the fight with Grendel’s Mother, however, Beowulf strips himself of weaponry and armor as he is about to demean himself by engaging in a fight with a female. Beowulf’s cautious attack on her shows that Grendel’s Mother is an earnest opponent that should be taken with due seriousness as both a challenger and a monstrous female.
Grendel’s Mother does not coincide with other female personalities in the epic. The dominant roles of women are primarily peacemaking through either marital tie, peace weaving, or cup passing (Trilling, 19). Grendel’s Mother acts outside the typical gendered expectations of females when she engages directly in masculine violence. Even though she is condemned for her failure to act in a feminine manner, her personal vengeance shows that she is distinct from other women in the poem. Anglo-Saxon women had limited options as to the way they could conduct their activities and daily lives (Nitzsche, 289). In the event where a woman had a choice, the choice would remain limited to either monastic life or marriage. Marriages remained the essential business transactions between individual families, men, or kingdoms (Nitzche, 290). However, the poem demonstrates that Grendel’s Mother occupied an unusual place by engaging in violence in a male-dominated society.
The deviation of Grendel’s Mother’s character coupled with the preconceived societal structure that Beowulf maintains heighten the stakes of their battle beyond heroism and vengeance. The standards of Anglo-Saxon literary depicted women through passivity, especially focusing on words as well as encouragement of action (Trilling, 19). However, the masculine literary standard involved bravery, action, and violence. In many ways, Beowulf depicts the archetypical masculine hero, similar to the representation of Wealtheow as the Anglo-Saxon feminine standard (Trilling, 19). The acts of Beowulf are to achieve a necessary action, even at the expense of individual life. As such, Beowulf is motivated by the individual desire to maintain his glory and heroic persona and the retelling of the battle with Grendel’s Mother shows that he feels that she is a threat to him (Oswald 63). Equally, it is ambiguous whether Grendel’s Mother is monster or human. Even if she is a female, she is perceived as masculine with the appetite for revenge.
In conclusion, Beowulf constructs the character of Grendel’s Mother in such a way so as to contradict and create tensions with the male characters. The two major characteristics are that she is a monster and a female; yet, she lacks the merit to fit in the lines of either. Grendel’s Mother’s adoption of masculine traits brings about a sense of enmity in Beowulf because she challenges the natural order.
Word Count: 974
Works Cited
Beowulf. Translated and edited by R.M. Liuzza, 2nd ed., Broadview Press, 2013.
Nitzsche, Jane C. "The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel's Mother." Texas Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 22, Fall 1980, pp. 287-303. http://www.parklandsd.org/web/smith/files/2012/11/Edited-Structural-Unity-Problem-of-Grendels-mother.pdf
Oswald, Dana M. "Wigge under Wætere: Beowulf's Revision of the Fight with Grendel's Mother." Exemplaria, vol. 21, no. 1, 2009, pp. 63-82. JSTOR. http://www-tandfonline-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/doi/pdf/10.1179/175330709X371996?needAccess=true
Trilling, Renée R. "Beyond Abjection: The Problem with Grendel's Mother Again." Parergon, vol. 24, no. 1, 2007, pp. 1-20. JSTOR. login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url-=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true"db=mzh"AN=2007297196"site=eds-live"scope=site.
Wydrzynska, Ela. “Monster versus Monstrous: A discussion of the characterization of Grendel’s Mother.” English Studies, 9. 2(2016): 123-126.
