“By as much as a maiden’s strength, a woman’s warfare, is less than an armed man’s (line 1283-1284).” This statement made by the poet of Beowulf takes on an ironic turn as Grendel’s mother takes on the mighty Beowulf. We can see in current society that women are being looked down on as inferior to their male counterparts. This is not new to us, as women have fought for equal rights for over a century. The poet thinks no differently as he imposes a societal commonality on the female “monster,” only to turn around and present her in a manner in which she puts on a greater fight against Beowulf than her son. She exudes a great strength, that pushes Beowulf beyond what he expected, driven by the very humanistic emotion of pain from the loss of
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It is clear that she is a greater adversary than her son to Beowulf, and that the fight scene puts Beowulf in a position that in a way led to his final demise. He is driven by his reputation throughout the poem and his ego is what leads him to take on the dragon, as shown in lines 2348-2350, “Nor did he worry much about the dragon’s warfare…he had survived many battles.” Despite this arrogance, he needed the aid of others to kill the dragon. Perhaps this is partly because he nearly died at the hands of a woman, so what is he to do when face to face with a fire-breathing beast? Grendel’s mother’s strength carries on as a reminder to Beowulf that he is not invincible, but his ego gets in his way and blinds him from this lesson, ultimately leading to his …show more content…
In stark contrast to the male monsters, she is driven by an emotion only a mother could feel, and uses this to light a fire in her heart to kill Beowulf. The male monsters on the other hand, had no true motive against Beowulf, and fought him in battles that seemed more about proving their strength and reputation, rather than vengeance, leaving no real winners in the end, as they all perished. We can relate these events back to our own society. Feminists are striving for gender equality; however, unless the men in power in this country get on the bandwagon, we will continue to have a large disconnect between genders, causing more harm than good to our society. In turn, this means that, like in Beowulf, there will be no true winners, because we are all being oppressed and struggle to gain an even playing
It is clear that she is a greater adversary than her son to Beowulf, and that the fight scene puts Beowulf in a position that in a way led to his final demise. He is driven by his reputation throughout the poem and his ego is what leads him to take on the dragon, as shown in lines 2348-2350, “Nor did he worry much about the dragon’s warfare…he had survived many battles.” Despite this arrogance, he needed the aid of others to kill the dragon. Perhaps this is partly because he nearly died at the hands of a woman, so what is he to do when face to face with a fire-breathing beast? Grendel’s mother’s strength carries on as a reminder to Beowulf that he is not invincible, but his ego gets in his way and blinds him from this lesson, ultimately leading to his …show more content…
In stark contrast to the male monsters, she is driven by an emotion only a mother could feel, and uses this to light a fire in her heart to kill Beowulf. The male monsters on the other hand, had no true motive against Beowulf, and fought him in battles that seemed more about proving their strength and reputation, rather than vengeance, leaving no real winners in the end, as they all perished. We can relate these events back to our own society. Feminists are striving for gender equality; however, unless the men in power in this country get on the bandwagon, we will continue to have a large disconnect between genders, causing more harm than good to our society. In turn, this means that, like in Beowulf, there will be no true winners, because we are all being oppressed and struggle to gain an even playing