Beowulf and the Role of Women in the Heroic Culture - Research Paper Example

Beowulf and the Role of Women in the Heroic Culture Most English enthusiasts consider Beowulf as the first literary work in English literature. Beowulf is a literary poem written in old English by unknown Anglo-Saxon authors believed to be Christian monks. The setting and characters in the poem dates back to the period in Scandinavia before the immigration of the Anglo-Saxon settlement in the islands of Britain (Magennis 124). Some of the characters resemble the actual Danish and Swedish royal family members. The poem is essentially about the heroic deeds and qualities of men, with a completely different depiction of women in the poem. Beowulf has foundation on the identity concept of two major components in the society: individual reputation and cultural heritage (Gwara 34). The poem opens with introduction of several cultural themes of the society with the focus being on the concept that all males in the community are their father’s sons. All the male characters identify themselves with the family lineage. Accordingly, the poem highlights its foundation theme of kinship bonds, where little or no mention of women is evidence. Most of the poem highlights the Germanic hero code, which emphasizes on strength, loyalty, and courage in warriors; political skills, generosity, and hospitality in kings; submissiveness in women, and the generally good reputation in all the people (Orchad 27). The epic poem displays women as hysterical and subservient. In the introductory part, the reader is introduces to a demeaned queen not worthy of talking about, except for calling her a balm in the bed of the battle-scarred Swede. Considering she is the highest representative of the women in the poem, we may deduce from such comments how the Beowulf society viewed its women. To gain insight of what the roles of the women in Beowulf society was one has to analyze the role of the six major female characters in the play: Hygd, Hildeburh, Thryth, Wealhtheow, Freawaru, and Grendel’s mother (Bloom 134). Both Hygd and Wealhtheow are queens in the poem, and are as hostesses serving wine for the guests of all ranks. The same applies to Hrothgar’s queen, Herorot. Even with such a low role in society, their kings still view their influence in the dinning hall as a show of masculinity. Freawaru and Hildeburh portray failed peace-weavers in the Beowulf culture. The term peace-weaver has its use in modern scholarship to mean women who are married to other societal groups in order to maintain peace between the two groups. The women in such positions should have influence on both the societies due to their role. Thryth and Grendel’s mother are the archetypical monstrous women tamed through marriage and death. This last category of the women roles in the Beowulf culture is a counter-example between the peace-weavers and the hosts. The two women, Thryth and Grendel’s mother, fall in this categorical role. Below is a detailed discussion of the three roles of women in Beowulf culture. Hygd and Wealhtheow have similarities due to their position in the society as queens. Analyzing the author’s description of them and their actions in the poem, the two women portray prudence. According to the author’s description, Hygd is well taught and wise, while Wealhtheow has an excellent heart and mind customs. The cultural function of the women, not just women but queens, is to serve guests and warriors with mead and wine in the king’s hall. The function may not have much significance in the first instance, but the performance of the reveals its importance. Wealhtheow’s first scene occurs during a party at the hall. She takes the cup to Hrothgar first, then to all his retainers before getting to Beowulf. There, she greets him and Beowulf reconfirms his promise of getting rid of Danes of Grendel. After the encounter with Beowulf, the queen returns to her sit, satisfied. The second scene is similar, with the cup-carrying ritual function. Wealhtheow approaches Hrothgar who is coincidentally sitting to his nephew (Gaiman & Avary 67). This time round, she does not pass the cup to all the other retainers. Instead, she goes direct to where Beowulf sitting next to her sons. This act may be a sign that Beowulf has gained status in the court because he kept his promise of killing Grendel. Nevertheless, the gesture is not clear, as it may be an influence of the story of Hildeburh, the death of his brother and sons, as well as that of that of Wealhtheow’s uncle and her other sons. Hygd moves the cup around her king’s court without any particular pattern of interest. The poet only says that she cared for the people, carrying the cup around. This may have been because the poet wished to highlight that Beowulf was a stranger and rival at Hrothgar’s court. At Hygelac’s hall, Beowulf is a servant and thus the lack of any notable actions to highlight his presence. These few examples portray the women as instruments of service at the kings’ halls. Peace-weaver, in the old English literature, was a common term used to refer to women given on marriage to rival or enemy groups in an attempt to establish peace between the two groups. Several scholars have disagreed with this definition due to limited use in the old English literature. Their arguments conclude peace-weaver is a metaphor that refers to a peacemaking woman. Parts of her functions include openly “weaving” peace through amnesty and friendship (Magennis 107). This paper uses the term peace-weaver in the context of women given in marriage for peacekeeping between rival groups. Hildeburh was the daughter of king of Danes. She was married off to king of Jutes, Finn. The two groups, Danes and Jutes, were bitter enemies at one point. Hildeburh was partially successful in her peace-weaving task as she bore Finn a son (Bloom 121). Logically, this meant that the ethnic groups had a mingling bloodline. Despite her achievements, the ethnic groups engaged in war and she lost her husband, son, and brother, and ultimately taken back to her people (the Danes). The poet pulls Hildeburh between the two loyalties. At the end, she returns to her Danish people, and is still regarded a queen despite her marriage to the enemy tribe. The discussion of Hildeburh peace-weaver function brings another stipulated role of women in the Beowulf culture: that of stipulated closeness of a woman’s brothers and sons. Freawaru has a relatively smaller role than Hildeburh. After Beowulf return to his master, Hygelac, he tells of the story of the difficulties surrounding the marriage of Ingeld (son of king Froda of the heathobards), and Hrothgar’s daughter. The marriage plan clearly highlights the intent for peace weaving, even though Freawaru is not actively involved. Nevertheless, she is the central character in the marriage story. Finally, we will explore Thyrth and Grendel’s mother in the context of women as monsters. The two women display more masculinity than the other women characters in the poem. Instead of using marriage and words to gain influence, these women use weapons and strength. In contrast to the queens and other women, they rarely welcome any visitors to their homes. According to the author’s description, they use swords to get rid of unwanted guests and intruders. They settle their disputes using violence. As a princess, Thyrth killed men who came to her hall. According to the poet’s comment, such behavior, even emanating from a beautiful woman, should not be embraced. On the other hand, Grendel’s mother would attack anyone coming into her hall. Ultimately, both “monsters” are tamed, Grendel’s mother by death, and Thyrth by marriage to Offa. Despite their monster traits, the two women are very distinct from each other. Thyrth has the description of being a peace-weaver, a decent woman, and a famous folk queen. She is none of these. She is evil and these nice descriptions are because she is the daughter of a king. Thyrth changes her attitude after her marriage to Offa. The author describes her attitude after her marriage as less malicious and famous for great things. Grendel’s mother description throughout the poem is that of as a masculine, monstrous, and evil woman. She is even associated with Cain’s descendants. In the poem, the Beowulf society says that God cursed Grendel and her mother. After her Grendel’s death, her mother craved for vengeance of his son’s death. The poet says that her entrance to Heorot scared the warriors more than Grendel’s entrance in the same place (Gaiman & Avary 102). In conclusion, the women in Beowulf society are instruments of service and peace establishment. Those who portray masculinity are tamed by marriages or death. The women are required to be subservient to the general society regardless of their status. Except for Grendel’s mother, the author portrays the women in Beowulf as existing for use by men. Works cited Bloom, Herold. Beowulf. New York : Chelsea House, 2007. Print. Gaiman, Geil & Avary Roger. The Script Book. New York : HarperEntertainment, 2007. Print. Gwara, Scott. Heroic Identity in the World of Beowulf. Boston : Brill, 2009. Electronic. Magennis, Hugh. Translating Beowulf: Modern Versions in English Verse. Rochester, New York : D.S. Brewer, 2011. Print. Orchad, Andy. A Companion to Beowulf. Rochester, New York : D.S. Brewer, 2003. Print. Read More