Essay On Women In Beowulf

The society in Beowulf is extremely male-dominated. The men build legacies, fight all the battles, while the women hardly get any mention. The women are either hosting, being married off, or getting punished for being too independent. Qualities that are admired assets in men are considered unfavorable in women. The female role in society is simply to glorify and support the men in their lives who believe they are superior and dictate orders. Although both men and women are initially recognized by their lineage, men have the opportunity to then create their own identity to pass down while women do not. When Beowulf first lands on Herot’s beaches, “A Danish warrior / Asked who they were, their names and their fathers” (331-332). This is the
And Hrothgar will give her To Ingeld, gracious Froda’s son: She and that ripening soldier will be married, The Danes’ great lord and protector has declared, Hoping that his quarrel with the Hathobards can be settled By a woman. (2023-2028)
Hrothgar is willing to use his own daughter as a bargaining chip. Beowulf doesn’t think the idea will altogether stop the war, yet Hrothgar is still willing to try it because it may postpone the war, and in his mind, this is one of the few purposes women have and are capable of fulfilling. In the quote, Froda is described as “gracious,” and his son as a “ripening soldier.” Likewise, Hrothgar is said to be a “great lord and protector.” The men all have positive adjectives attached to them, while Hrothgar’s daughter has none, and isn’t even called by name. The status of women in Beowulf is much lower than that of men. The men are the keepers of the women, and they use them to get what they want. The men all have some kind of opportunity to generate honor while the women are forced to live with someone else’s identity superimposed on them. To the men, the are women inferior, and are therefore forced to dutifully serve however the men see