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
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definition of who the characters are. It’s a combination of themselves and their fathers, but never their mothers. This is due in part to the fact that women lack any distinctiveness over each other. They are all just slaves to their husbands. Despite Welthow being queen, the most powerful status a women can have, she is still just referred to as “Hrothgar’s wife” half of the time. She is forever living in Hrothgar’s shadow as shown when, ...Hrothgar rose From behind his wife and came with his courtiers Crowded around him. And Welthow rose And joined him, his wife and queen… (920-923)
Welthow is depicted as Hrothgar’s property. She is “his wife and queen.” After Hrothgar rises, Welthow follows submissively behind. Even the courtiers stand up before her, showing not only is she less than the king, the queen is less respected than courtiers. There are two female characters in the play that create a bigger image of themselves, and they are immediately hated for this. Both Thrith and Grendel’s mother begin to craft their own stories. Thrith was “An impervious princess with a vicious tongue / And was so fierce and wild that her father’s followers / Averted their eyes when they passed...” (1932-1934). She became a woman with a lot of control and power. The men had to “avert their eyes,” a sign of submission, and this is a reverse in gender roles. She broke out of what their society classifies women as and this is why she then has to be ‘tamed,’ like an animal. Grendel’s mother had a lot of physical strength. That’s why when Beowulf took a long time to rise to the top of the lake “Almost all agreed that Grendel’s / Mighty mother, the she-wolf, had killed him” (1598-1599). This is a stark contrast to how women were stereotyped earlier in the poem when it says, “No female, no matter / How fierce, could have come with a man’s strength, / Fought with the power and courage men fight with” (1282-1284). If the men truly believed “no female” had the ability to fight as strong as men, they shouldn’t have been worried about Beowulf, a man who had already proven to be the strongest. This demonstrates that the men fear the strength of women and oppress them in order to ensure they remain in charge. Thrith, after her ‘taming,’ was married off to Offa, a respected warrior. With herself now masked by her honored husband, people praise her. Another woman complimented is Higd, Higlac’s wife. She is liked because she “gave the Geats gifts / with open arms” (1930-1931). The only reason she’s described as ‘wise’ and ‘noble’ is because she rewards the men for fighting thus building up their honor and fulfilling her job of glorifying the men. The men use women like maids. Welthow filled cups with wine for the banquet. Then, “Mead cups were filled / And Hareth’s daughter took them through the hall, / Carried ale to her husband’s comrades” (1980-1982). Welthow is a Dane and Hareth’s daughter is a Geat, which means the women are an ocean apart, but they are still expected to complete the same servant-like tasks. Also, Welthow is a queen, and Hareth’s daughter is not, showing that women’s status has little to no affect on her duties.
The women are also used as a tool to prevent war.
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
fit.
definition of who the characters are. It’s a combination of themselves and their fathers, but never their mothers. This is due in part to the fact that women lack any distinctiveness over each other. They are all just slaves to their husbands. Despite Welthow being queen, the most powerful status a women can have, she is still just referred to as “Hrothgar’s wife” half of the time. She is forever living in Hrothgar’s shadow as shown when, ...Hrothgar rose From behind his wife and came with his courtiers Crowded around him. And Welthow rose And joined him, his wife and queen… (920-923)
Welthow is depicted as Hrothgar’s property. She is “his wife and queen.” After Hrothgar rises, Welthow follows submissively behind. Even the courtiers stand up before her, showing not only is she less than the king, the queen is less respected than courtiers. There are two female characters in the play that create a bigger image of themselves, and they are immediately hated for this. Both Thrith and Grendel’s mother begin to craft their own stories. Thrith was “An impervious princess with a vicious tongue / And was so fierce and wild that her father’s followers / Averted their eyes when they passed...” (1932-1934). She became a woman with a lot of control and power. The men had to “avert their eyes,” a sign of submission, and this is a reverse in gender roles. She broke out of what their society classifies women as and this is why she then has to be ‘tamed,’ like an animal. Grendel’s mother had a lot of physical strength. That’s why when Beowulf took a long time to rise to the top of the lake “Almost all agreed that Grendel’s / Mighty mother, the she-wolf, had killed him” (1598-1599). This is a stark contrast to how women were stereotyped earlier in the poem when it says, “No female, no matter / How fierce, could have come with a man’s strength, / Fought with the power and courage men fight with” (1282-1284). If the men truly believed “no female” had the ability to fight as strong as men, they shouldn’t have been worried about Beowulf, a man who had already proven to be the strongest. This demonstrates that the men fear the strength of women and oppress them in order to ensure they remain in charge. Thrith, after her ‘taming,’ was married off to Offa, a respected warrior. With herself now masked by her honored husband, people praise her. Another woman complimented is Higd, Higlac’s wife. She is liked because she “gave the Geats gifts / with open arms” (1930-1931). The only reason she’s described as ‘wise’ and ‘noble’ is because she rewards the men for fighting thus building up their honor and fulfilling her job of glorifying the men. The men use women like maids. Welthow filled cups with wine for the banquet. Then, “Mead cups were filled / And Hareth’s daughter took them through the hall, / Carried ale to her husband’s comrades” (1980-1982). Welthow is a Dane and Hareth’s daughter is a Geat, which means the women are an ocean apart, but they are still expected to complete the same servant-like tasks. Also, Welthow is a queen, and Hareth’s daughter is not, showing that women’s status has little to no affect on her duties.
The women are also used as a tool to prevent war.
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
fit.