I find you take on Grendel's mother very interesting! On thing that has always interested me in Beowulf is the fact that, unlike his fight with Grendel, Beowulf gears up for the fight with the mother. I believe this speaks volume. We often look over this fact I feel and it gives us an understanding that she is very powerful and daunting in a way.
Hi Kat! I am absolutely in love with this analysis of Grendel's mother. This is my first time reading the Beowulf story(unsurprisingly, my Texas education leaves much to be desired). I am also a huge fan of sympathizing with villain characters. Grendel's mother's story can and should, in my opinion, be seen as a matter of tragedy above all else. The idea of revenge killing is mentioned several times in Beowulf(Medieval war rules are brutal), but Grendel's mother's attempts to follow the moral code were rewarded with her death. This results in a strange level of sympathy that leaves quite the impression, and I'm afraid I have to agree it makes her a bit of an underrated icon.
This is definitely one of the best post about beowulf that i have read. i love a strong independent woman and grendel’s mother is exactly that. she does what she must to preserve the peace and make the revenge as equal as possible. in old literature, women are normally look down upon or looked over, but the fact that you pointed out that Grendel’s mother was powerful. She was so powerful, in fact, that Beowulf was surprised by her power. It is so important, especially young female readers, to see strong women depicted in literature.
How fresh and fascinating. In every reading of Beowulf, I’ve been struck by the swaggering masculinity of the poem and its moral code. I saw the fierce love binding comrades in battle, the loyalty to king and tribe. I didn’t see any female characters who stirred empathy--until now. Your analysis of a monster has revealed another layer of humanity in the poem.
This is an excellent post. I agree with what you said about Grendel's mother only wanting to kill one person for her son's body. Also if you think about the code that the mean went by at this time it was a kill for a kill. Therefore, she only killed one man and chose the man that hurt the people the most. This way the people of Heorot would feel the same grief as she does. This kill wasn't about her trying to have a rain of terror it was more about her trying to get revenge.
Justice for Grendel's mom (or at least give us a name)! I love what you've written about here Kat. Your secondary source, especially, was incredibly helpful in providing some insight into the reasoning behind her taking of only a single individual. When Grendel came he took 30 men instantly, and I agree, that in contrast, his mother seems less mighty or less capable of murderous havoc. But really, the intentions behind it (misguided or not–and I could see an argument for it being justified) are sincere, the retributive act born out of a maternalistic duty and pain. If only we were more privy to her inner thoughts and feelings...
On my first read of Beowulf, I read it the typical way, Grendel and his mother are both terrible people. However, the more I looked into it, the more I felt sorry for his mother. She was lonely and had the only person that understood her taken away. Her child How else was a monster supposed to cope? I also agree with other commentators about giving her a name.
Grendel's mother was my favorite character as well, always has been. I wish she had her own name though outside of motherhood but for the medieval age, that's the most credit woman received. The line to tie was apparently between mother or monster which is ridiculous. I think Grendel's mother not attempting to wreak more havoc just goes to show how unreliable the narrator really is. She is characterized as such an ugly monster, evil, spawn of cane, yet she is abiding by humanity's rules, the "weregild". She is slain for no other reason than for her believed "nature". It is atrocious. A double standard that still stands today.
Very interesting. If you haven't read Maria Dahvana Headley's recent translation of the poem, and in particular her introduction, you most definitely should! She's entirely on board with a more sympathetic reading of Grendel's mother - in fact that was in many ways the original impetus behind her translation project.
"Grendel's mother doesn't behave like a monster. She behaves like a bereaved mother who happens to have a warrior's skill." (xxv)
This is awesome and extremely illuminating work, Kat. I had yet to consider the characterization of Grendel's mother through such an analytical lens, but your post has truly inspired me to revisit the poem and do so! Like you, I found Puhvel's criticism extremely fascinating, especially since one can infer, given such an interpretation, that sex scripts (or at least gender norms) have underlaid literature and all sociocultural art since its inception. I suppose this is a rather unsurprising phenomenon, as art generally embodies reality. However, when studying texts as ancient as Beowulf, I sometimes find myself falling into the belief that somehow these works are alien, unhuman, somehow fictional (that is, fictional at their core, beyond the more overtly fictionalized elements such as the dragon and Grendel's mother herself). Your newsletter helped to dispel this fallacy, as your argument speaks beautifully to the human, even "stan-able" (perhaps a new word!) nature of Grendel's mother.
I find you take on Grendel's mother very interesting! On thing that has always interested me in Beowulf is the fact that, unlike his fight with Grendel, Beowulf gears up for the fight with the mother. I believe this speaks volume. We often look over this fact I feel and it gives us an understanding that she is very powerful and daunting in a way.
Hi Kat! I am absolutely in love with this analysis of Grendel's mother. This is my first time reading the Beowulf story(unsurprisingly, my Texas education leaves much to be desired). I am also a huge fan of sympathizing with villain characters. Grendel's mother's story can and should, in my opinion, be seen as a matter of tragedy above all else. The idea of revenge killing is mentioned several times in Beowulf(Medieval war rules are brutal), but Grendel's mother's attempts to follow the moral code were rewarded with her death. This results in a strange level of sympathy that leaves quite the impression, and I'm afraid I have to agree it makes her a bit of an underrated icon.
This is definitely one of the best post about beowulf that i have read. i love a strong independent woman and grendel’s mother is exactly that. she does what she must to preserve the peace and make the revenge as equal as possible. in old literature, women are normally look down upon or looked over, but the fact that you pointed out that Grendel’s mother was powerful. She was so powerful, in fact, that Beowulf was surprised by her power. It is so important, especially young female readers, to see strong women depicted in literature.
Excellent job!! I’m so glad John posted this--and I’m now subscribed to you!
How fresh and fascinating. In every reading of Beowulf, I’ve been struck by the swaggering masculinity of the poem and its moral code. I saw the fierce love binding comrades in battle, the loyalty to king and tribe. I didn’t see any female characters who stirred empathy--until now. Your analysis of a monster has revealed another layer of humanity in the poem.
This is an excellent post. I agree with what you said about Grendel's mother only wanting to kill one person for her son's body. Also if you think about the code that the mean went by at this time it was a kill for a kill. Therefore, she only killed one man and chose the man that hurt the people the most. This way the people of Heorot would feel the same grief as she does. This kill wasn't about her trying to have a rain of terror it was more about her trying to get revenge.
Justice for Grendel's mom (or at least give us a name)! I love what you've written about here Kat. Your secondary source, especially, was incredibly helpful in providing some insight into the reasoning behind her taking of only a single individual. When Grendel came he took 30 men instantly, and I agree, that in contrast, his mother seems less mighty or less capable of murderous havoc. But really, the intentions behind it (misguided or not–and I could see an argument for it being justified) are sincere, the retributive act born out of a maternalistic duty and pain. If only we were more privy to her inner thoughts and feelings...
Thank you for sharing :D
On my first read of Beowulf, I read it the typical way, Grendel and his mother are both terrible people. However, the more I looked into it, the more I felt sorry for his mother. She was lonely and had the only person that understood her taken away. Her child How else was a monster supposed to cope? I also agree with other commentators about giving her a name.
Grendel's mother was my favorite character as well, always has been. I wish she had her own name though outside of motherhood but for the medieval age, that's the most credit woman received. The line to tie was apparently between mother or monster which is ridiculous. I think Grendel's mother not attempting to wreak more havoc just goes to show how unreliable the narrator really is. She is characterized as such an ugly monster, evil, spawn of cane, yet she is abiding by humanity's rules, the "weregild". She is slain for no other reason than for her believed "nature". It is atrocious. A double standard that still stands today.
Very interesting. If you haven't read Maria Dahvana Headley's recent translation of the poem, and in particular her introduction, you most definitely should! She's entirely on board with a more sympathetic reading of Grendel's mother - in fact that was in many ways the original impetus behind her translation project.
"Grendel's mother doesn't behave like a monster. She behaves like a bereaved mother who happens to have a warrior's skill." (xxv)
This is awesome and extremely illuminating work, Kat. I had yet to consider the characterization of Grendel's mother through such an analytical lens, but your post has truly inspired me to revisit the poem and do so! Like you, I found Puhvel's criticism extremely fascinating, especially since one can infer, given such an interpretation, that sex scripts (or at least gender norms) have underlaid literature and all sociocultural art since its inception. I suppose this is a rather unsurprising phenomenon, as art generally embodies reality. However, when studying texts as ancient as Beowulf, I sometimes find myself falling into the belief that somehow these works are alien, unhuman, somehow fictional (that is, fictional at their core, beyond the more overtly fictionalized elements such as the dragon and Grendel's mother herself). Your newsletter helped to dispel this fallacy, as your argument speaks beautifully to the human, even "stan-able" (perhaps a new word!) nature of Grendel's mother.