From the time of Beowulf, to the age of King Arthur, to present day, the image and value of a woman has changed drastically. Now, in the twenty first century, women strive to be just like men. “To be tougher, to learn to fight, [and] to learn to play the game" just as men do. (Shiner). Women are now trying to be less dependent on a man and to dependent on them-selves. In the translation, by Seamus Heaney, of Beowulf, and the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Sir Thomas Malory’s story of the death of King Arthur in “Morte Darthur” can be used as evidence to show the start of the evolution of women. Beginning with the translation of Beowulf, not much is said about women in general. One of the female characters introduced first, is Wealhpeow. Wealhpeow is the wife of King Hrothgar and the mistress of Heorot. Heorot is the hall or gathering place for the Danes in the epic poem, Beowulf. …show more content…
Grendel’s mother of course did not have that opportunity. Instead, Grendel’s mother is a “monstrous hell-bride” (Beowulf, 89: 1259) that came up from the dark depths of the water to avenge her only son. Grendel’s mother’s role in the epic poem is to wreak havoc on the people who celebrate the death of her son. Her destructive behavior can be considered the first or the start of a curse on men that women shall forever seem to be great blessings, but turn out as a great burden for them. After Grendel’s mother is defeated; a minstrel sings and recites a well-known story. The story is about a war and the turnout of the war is blamed on a woman named, Hildeburh, who is married to King Finn as a peace treaty. The women who are married or exchanged as a peace treaty between two countries at war, or at the brink of war, are held at high esteem, but these women have a great weight on their shoulders. Hildeburh’s peace treaty failed and she lost her husband, her son, and her brother all to the
Grendel’s mother is portrayed in a negative and objectified image. First, she has a sexual appeal. Grendel’s mom wears no clothes; her skin is gold, which covers her body. She is half woman and half monster. She has a promiscuous look that draws in attention from the opposite sex. In addition, she has a sexual attitude. Right when Beowulf enters the
Beowulf is an epic tale written over twelve hundred years ago. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous uninvited guest. The woman's role of the time period, author's attitude, and societal expectations for women are evidenced throughout the poem.
Women have had many different roles in the history of European literature but have generally been restricted to the roles assigned to them in a largely patriarchal society. As a result of this society, these roles have often been powerless ones. This calls into question the constitution of a powerful woman in literature: in Beowulf, being a powerful woman means becoming the bond between families and alliances; in Lanval, power comes from assertion and control-- a powerful woman is a woman in charge. The primary difference between the representation of women in Beowulf and Lanval is that the latter transcends overarching patriarchal boundaries, and the former does not; the reason for their respective representations lies in the literary time periods in which the stories were written. From this, one can see that the introduction of romance as a central theme gave way to new representations and roles of women in predominantly heteropatriarchal English literature and gives new meaning to the analysis of stories like these.
Within the pages of the well-known epic poem are many extraordinary and warring narratives of the Middle Ages. Beowulf is important because it is one of the most ancient European epics written in the vernacular, or native tongue. The seemingly super natural heroes of this exciting and famous writing have a great impact on the typical roles of their women. As declared through out the many lines of the astonishing poem, the women have many purposes and serve a variety of roles. Wealhtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, Freawaru, and Grendel’s Mother give examples of the historical roles that are expected of the women of this ancient time. The women in “Beowulf” have the significant roles of hostess, peaceweaver, and mother.
In Beowulf, varying treatment among each gender is common. Therefore, mistresses are not allowed to perform actions that men were permitted and are required to enact based on society’s standards. Females are not retained from doing heroic deeds because of the structure of their body or the estimated weightlifting qualifications. However, the weakest of males are expected to excel through rigorous parts in their life to represent heroic traits they possess within unearthly powers as men of the Gods. Savage animals were not figurative in the passage, but were viewed just as real as a man’s sword. Without these monsters, the men could not have slain enough to be seen as inhumanly or superior compared to the average man. Males were constantly competing against each other in order to have a place among the Gods.
Within the patriarchal society of early western cultures, women were often forced to submit to their male counterparts in all matters. Despite this, women were not completely powerless in society and often had many clever and subversive means of fulfilling their wishes. Though not as prominent or outwardly recognizable as a man’s display of power, women in early western culture were certainly able to persuade men to do their bidding. By looking at three period texts, examples of this manipulation can be seen. Within “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale,” Lanval, and Beowulf there is evidence of women’s roles in society as well as their methods of harnessing power.
Beowulf and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” are both narratives in which gender acts as an important theme within their individual communities; yet they use different tools to define the roles of men and women within a good community. Or, in other words, both stories paint a vivid picture of the role of women, by suggesting that one gender had more power over the other. However, these two narratives vary in their expression of such views; Beowulf conveys its message through what is missing, while “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” incorporates satire and uses explicit narrative when relaying the experience of a woman that is highly different from that of other women of her time. Furthermore, another difference that is apparent to the reader is that men become the heroes in Beowulf, while “the wife” becomes
As the poems of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show, women have always had power, yet not as overt a power as wielded by their masculine counterparts. The only dynamic of women’s power that has changed in the later centuries is that the confines and conditions in which women have wielded their power has become more lax, thus yielding to women more freedom in the expression of their power. The structure, imagery, and theme in the excerpts from Beowulf (lines 744-71) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 2309-30) support the concept of more power in the later centuries, by contrasting the restriction of Wealhtheow and the power she practices in Beowulf with the Lady’s more direct assertion of power in Sir Gawain
like a noblewoman, but to splinter that peace and direct aggression like a nobleman. The Beowulf poet paints Grendel’s mother in such a way to show that she is capable of threatening not just a singular male’s authority, but the entirety of the patriarchal society. This rejection of masculine rule can be seen as the base of her power of destruction due to its obscure nature. The threat she displays is evidenced by her fight with Beowulf, the ideal man, because his embodiment as such is shaken by her monstrous self.
I would agree that the Anglo-Saxon society described in Beowulf has clearly defined gender roles for both men and women, this can be observed throughout the text. However, the constraints of these roles have been misinterpreted, causing many critics to view them as more restrictive than the historic reality – especially in the case of women. Grendel’s Mother is the most obvious example of a character who transgresses society’s expectations for her sex, she suffers as a result of this. However, many critics now argue that Beowulf also diverges from his masculine image, but is punished to a lesser degree Approaches to analysing gender roles in Beowulf have changed significantly over the years. Early studies stressed the importance of the male hero in the poem as central to all actions and themes.
The role of women in the heroic culture of Beowulf was to recognize the bravery of their men and keep the peace. Even though this is not completely true because the Queen rewarded Beowulf on his return from slaying Grendel. In this scene a woman was defined as powerful and in charge. The women also had appeared when the men needed nurturing after the battle. Also the women only materialized when the men’s affairs were over.
Beowulf is known for displaying the importance of male heroism via Beowulf, but what about the significance of the women in the poem? The significance of women in Beowulf is overshadowed by the great heroism of the character Beowulf, but the women each have a reason for participating in the epic. The ideal woman was someone who was a noble, a mistress and loyal. An ideal woman is described in Maxim I: “at mead drinking she must at all times and places approach the protector of princes first, in front of the companions, quickly pass the first cup to her lord’s hand”. The significance of women in Beuwolf is a minor detail in the epic, but proves to be vital to Beuwolf. The epic of "Beowulf" illustrates three major roles for the women in the society: the hostess, the peacemaker, and the monster. Five women in Beowulf play the major roles throughout the epic: Wealhtheow, Freawaru, Thyrth, Grendel's Mother, and Hildeburh. These women entertain, bring peace, and contradict societal expectations of the female gender, either directly or indirectly.
As an epic tale of heroes and monsters, Beowulf gives its readers much excitement and adventure, but Beowulf's importance is more than just literary. It offers many insights into the beliefs and customs of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon culture. Among these insights is the Anglo-Saxon view of women and their role in society. Good Anglo-Saxon women are peaceful and unassertive, greeting guests and serving drinks to the warriors and other men in the meadhall. Wealhtheow, the queen of the Danes, represents a typical subservient Anglo-Saxon woman. As a foil to Wealhtheow, Grendel's mother is a strong and combative monster whom Beowulf must kill. By analyzing these two characters in Beowulf, we can understand the
The women in Beowulf, which was written around 70 CE by an anonymous poet, fill many different roles, ranging from peacekeepers to wives and monsters, all of which are evidenced in the Queen Wealtheow, Queen Hygd, Hidleburh, and Grendel’s mother.
Beowulf, the hero of Anglo-Saxon epic, had many adventures, and many companions and fellow-warriors are mentioned throughout his story. Some of them seem noble and courageous, truly living up to the standards of their culture; some seem cowardly. But all have gained immortality in the words, many times transcribed and translated, of the famous epic. However, the women of the time are rarely mentioned in Beowulf. Still, even from those few women who are mentioned and from other documents of the era, it is possible to see the position of women in of Anglo-Saxon society. In many cases, they enjoyed more rights than women in later Medieval cultures.