Representation of Women in Beowulf
Women representation in Beowulf
Beowulf is a story that leaves the reader no pause between climaxes. Beowulf is a non-stop barrage of action. However, as any epic tale, Beowulf provides important insight into the early Anglo-Saxon culture. Just as the great Greek tragedies provide Greek beliefs of Godlike traits and Godlike behaviors, Beowulf provides an insight into the role of women in society.
In Beowulf, good Anglo-Saxon women are viewed as the ultimate homemaker. They are unassertive in their demeanor, ask very little and have the job of serving guests and warriors in the mead hall. There are two female figures we see in this story, Hrothgars wife, Queen Wealhtheow and Grendel’s mother. Queen Wealhtheow is viewed as the atypical Danish woman. She is subservient and sticks fairly close to the guidelines of a “good” Danish woman. Her foil Grendel’s Mother (we’ll call her Mary for convenience) is a monster and is strong, assertive and to top the list, a murderer. The author/composers view on the subject is fairly obvious. He (I am assuming it was a he) praises Wealhtheow, but condemns Mary. By doing so, the author is showing the need to suppress feminine forces. He does, however, offer some criticism of these views by creating sympathy for Mary, allowing Wealhtheow to assert herself in the interest of her husband and children, and revealing masculine fear of feminine power.
Wealhtheow is a stabilizing factor in an otherwise tumultuous world. The term “peace-keeper” has been extended to mean “stabilizer”. The author creates Wealhtheow to embody the role of a traditional Anglo-Saxon woman, and he presents this role as the only appropriate one for Wealhtheow to fulfill. When the author first introduces Wealhtheow to his audience, she immediately falls into her role as the model woman. The author writes:
"Then the lady of Helminngs walked about in the hall, offering the precious ornamented cup to old and young alike, until at last the queen, excellent in mind, adorned with rings moved the mead cup towards Beowulf.” (612-6).
The author then reinforces that she is a member of the weaker gender by directing Wealhtheow to her proper position beside the king, her lord. When the queen is not serving drinks or greeting the hall guests, she may usually be found obediently following Hrothgar throughout the meadhall and "waiting for hope-news".
However, as queen, Wealhtheow shows her intelligence and ability to control men. Following Beowulf\'s fearless...