Numerous women show up throughout the course of Beowulf. They play quite contrasting roles in the book and in society, and they add a different flair to the hero inclined touch of the epic. From Grendel’s mother to Hygd to the Geatish woman that appears in Beowulf’s funeral scene, their behavior and roles present themselves as favorable and unfavorable and they are portrayed like the opposites of the males in the story.
To begin, Grendel’s mother is an especially ferocious female, given the fact that she is a demon. She behaves violently, and she is presented as easy to despise, but despite the monster part of her, she is still a mother at the end of the day, and her frightening revenge is understandable since it was her son that got killed. If one removes the demon filter off of her, she is seen as a loving mother who is destroyed at the aspect of her son’s murder, which is perfectly human of this demon.
In contrast to the demon mother, Queen Hygd is shown as a strong, responsible, and wise woman who deeply cares for her people. She possesses the highest rank a female could have in her time, and that with a combination of her admirable characteristics and traits make her an individual worth looking up to. When her husband dies, she takes charge and makes plans to help secure the next king, all done so in a wise manner.
The Geatish woman at Beowulf’s funeral is also quite different from the previous women mentioned. She is shown as very grievous and through this she is seen as weak. When she laments about her future without Beowulf, the poet seems to be saying that females are dependent on males for a secure future.
To begin, Grendel’s mother is an especially ferocious female, given the fact that she is a demon. She behaves violently, and she is presented as easy to despise, but despite the monster part of her, she is still a mother at the end of the day, and her frightening revenge is understandable since it was her son that got killed. If one removes the demon filter off of her, she is seen as a loving mother who is destroyed at the aspect of her son’s murder, which is perfectly human of this demon.
In contrast to the demon mother, Queen Hygd is shown as a strong, responsible, and wise woman who deeply cares for her people. She possesses the highest rank a female could have in her time, and that with a combination of her admirable characteristics and traits make her an individual worth looking up to. When her husband dies, she takes charge and makes plans to help secure the next king, all done so in a wise manner.
The Geatish woman at Beowulf’s funeral is also quite different from the previous women mentioned. She is shown as very grievous and through this she is seen as weak. When she laments about her future without Beowulf, the poet seems to be saying that females are dependent on males for a secure future.