BEOWULF gender roles essay literatura Inglésa, Monografías, Ensayos de Literatura inglesa

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Name: Adriana Magali Velazco

Teacher’s name: Graciela Heit

Subject: Literature 1

ASSIGNMENT ONE

BEOWULF ANALYSIS

Gender role o Beowulf

INTRODUCTION

In this essay a deep development of gender roles in Beowulf’s poem will take place, focusing mostly on Medieval and Anglo-Saxon literature since the poem shows not only this great story of bravery, battles and mighty deeds but also other aspects of Anglo-Saxon society. Especially being aware of the context, since the expectations and traditions of the time were very different from those of today. It is a well-known fact that Beowulf is the most important and earliest English epic written poem which is believed to be composed by an anonymous scope between the 8th and the beginning of the 5th century although it was written by two monks in England, although we have to bear in mind that it is mostly set in Scandinavian, between 700-750 CE (11th Century) since, as an Anglo-Saxon tradition, poems were transmitted orally centuries ago by a poet or “scope” who would sing or chant it instead of reciting it in order to entertain in mead halls gatherings. Nowadays, the only copy of the original poem is kept in the British Museum on the Cotton, Vitellius A XV Manuscript. It was written in an Anglo-Saxon Language that is also known as the Old English dialect. However, the text was translated and edited several times due to the fact that it was seriously damaged and burned in 1731, consequently losing a major part of the English poem.

STRUCTURE

As regards structure, it is narrated in the 3d person omniscient primarily in the past tense, although with some future predictions and with an alliterative verse, which means that lines are divided in two and separated by a caesura in order to set up a rhythm within the poem. Example of caesura; In this raffele translation marked by punctuation “,”.

between the young and the old Beowulf as two different phases of his life and it is highly marked by 50 years in the middle of each one. So we can see that the young Beowulf’s responsibility is different in the sense that he is allowed to travel and help others but when he gets older he must stay and protect his own citizens. Remarking again the good kind of leadership a king must-have. He also learned from Hrothgar different values and new points of view of power as regards responsibility.

PLOT SUMMARY

The story takes place in Denmark and Scandinavia between the end of the 5th and 8th century telling the epics adventures of the main character Beowulf, a brave, generous and strong hero of the geats who is traveling to aid Hrothgar, the king of the Danes because his hall Herot was awfully attacked by an evil monster known as Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel monster, Grendel’s mother and a Dragon, although he is wounded by the last one and dies.

MEN’S ROLE ON BEOWULF

Regarding the men’s role in Beowulf, there are two marked distinctions of masculinity. The first one is the representation of it as the “obligatory” request to be a man and the second one is the real characteristics of men in the text. We will see different rules and expectations for men described in the poem but also there is a contradiction of it which can be seen in some characters who are developing some kind of “feminine” characteristics at that time. For instance, the characteristics of a good man are extracted from the Heroic code , which is a clear example of an Anglo-Saxon element. This concept describes a set of rules and norms of ideal behaviors and stereotypes that a man/ hero must have, so masculinity (the society construction of this) is the primary concept we have to bear in mind when constructing the characteristics of Heroism. Both Beowulf and Hrothgar are clear examples of this since they are good leaders and kings (although at a different time in the story) as well as brave and courageous men. Firstly, Hrothgar was expected as a king to take care of all his warriors as long as they give loyalty in return as well as to reward them with lots of treasures. This can be seen primarily in the action of Hrothgar building the Heorot Hall, where his men would have a refuge and a place to drink and celebrate after each battle. This magnificent and huge building represents pride, power and the sense of community of its king, as well as the hospitality he is supposed to give. “ And in that hall he’d divide the spoils Of their victories, to old and young what they’d earned In battle, but leaving the common pastures

Untouched, and taking no lives …” (line 72- Raffel translation) On the other side, the most important heroic characteristic of Beowulf is his Loyalty to both King Hrothgar and his own King, Hygelac. This main character owes loyalty to Hrothgar not only because the King once saved his father from a certain death, so demonstrating that this is assumed to be passed from generation to generation but also because at the beginning of the poem he tells the King’s past story and describes him as a man with noble ancestry, consequently deserving loyalty by anyone. This patriarchal structure we talked about in the last paragraph is seen through the whole poem. At the beginning of it, it is told how Kingship and values are inherited only to the men of the family. However, there can be some slight feminine characteristics in the main character, Beowulf. He is a type of peace-weaver; since he traveled to help the Danes against the monster Grendel. At doing it he reinforced loyalty to Hrothgar and assured alliances with this Kingdom. What is more, Hrothgar was about to make him his heir (although he did not at the end) and adoptates Beowulf as his son. Finally, we must notice that biology is not a requirement for masculinity because, when the warriors are celebrating Beowulf’s help, Unfert shows a characteristic of a coward man and he is not seen as a “real men” or at least as an important hero on the tale when he tries to diminish Beowulf’s achievements.

WOMEN’S ROLE ON BEOWULF

As regards the role of women in Beowulf, we will notice that it is extremely marginalized and not given the deserved importance within the text. However, there are some overt moments in which they play a major role in the story. We can divide their role by analyzing both women’s characters and that of Grendel’s mother’s role. Firstly, there are six women characters but only a few of them are central to the narration but taken as secondary since within the text there is a huge lack of female presence. These are; Queen Wealtheow (notice that she is mostly referred to as “Hrothgar’s wife), Hygd , Hildeburh , Freawaru and Grendel’s mother (a monster, we will analyze it further soon). Therefore, the first main concept we can find in women's roles is the one of “Peace-maker” ( a clear example of an Aglo-Saxon element). Common examples of this are Wealtheow, Hildeburgh, and Hygd. So, intermarriage , meaning that women are married to a king of a different tribe (especially an

Grendel’s mother, on the other side, is representing and symbolizing the theme of “ revenge ”. Although it can also be seen on Wealtheow when giving a cup to Beowulf as a silent incitement to take revenge by killing the monster Gredel, it is most evident when Grendel’s mother went to the Heorot Hall to avenge his previously murdered son and, although it was expected in the Anglo-Saxon society, she seems to be an exception to the rule for those men. In these passages we can see how Grendel’s mother is a clear example of what CAN NOT be a woman at that time. She is described as a manlike and evil woman as well as a Descendant of Cain, which is a huge accusation since he was the first murdered within the Old Testament but we can decipher that it is because she does not coincide with the norms of a human female. This “monster” is highly empowered through her son, Grendel, who is killed by Beowulf. Firstly she is described only as a mother with her child, which denotes the fact that she is not married and is a single mother. This could be seen as against the Christian rules of that time and consequently, she has been in a way, exiled. Secondly, she is described as strong and even at the time of battling with Beowulf she represents some kind of resistance not appropriate for girls since aggressiveness is a typical characteristic of a man instead of a woman. Finally, when she is mentioned to be at her cave, she seems to be a leader of her own land, which also could be another reason to be out of the “norm” because women were not expected to be leaders or to have real power unless they were “the Queens of a King'' so we can say that she broke with all the traditions and stereotypes of a woman and as a consequence, she is described as a monster because this was not common and can result being uncomfortable for the Anglo-Saxon society.

CONCLUSION & PERSONAL OPINION

The most satisfactory conclusion that we can come to is that, although it is highly marked the fact that it was a strong patriarchal society, we have to bear in mind the context of the poem and highlight that women had some kind of role in this Anglo-Saxon society. This can be by being pace-wavers, hostesses or at times having little influence on political aspects, but we certainly can not diminish these characters only because they have little or no references on the text.

BONUS TRACK

Queen Wealtheow pleases Beowulf at Heorot. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblue-stocking.org.uk%2F2011%2F10%2F06%2Fpeace -politics-gender-and-god-beowulf-and-the-women-of-early-medieval-europe%2F&psig=AOvVaw1RAfq0ukEAV KY2lhQoZ0ql&ust=1620332055350000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCIDr-7its_ACFQAAAAAd AAAAABAI

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