Citations

1. Gardner, John. Grendel. New York. Random House, 1971.
2. Rastogi, Nina Shen. SparkNote on Grendel. 19 Apr. 2009 .
3. Information about women's role in Anglo-Saxon culture found at <http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/women.htm>.
4. Pictures from Google Images

Grendel Final Project For AP Language and Compsition

Dear Mr. Dvorak,

This is my blog for the Grendel project. My project was about the women in Grendel and how they effect the novel. I was supposed to:

1. Chart the appearances of women in the novel

2. Explain how women are portrayed

3. Explain the role of women in Anglo-Saxon culture

4. Explain how Anglo-Saxon culture is reflected in Grendel

5. Explain how the Fiminie exerts and influence in the novel

I hope you enjoy the blog.

Melissa Flynn

Grendel's Mother

Grendel describes his mother as, “my mother’s fur was bristly, her flesh is loose, and she smells of wild pig and fish” (Gardner 29). Grendel’s mother is Grendel’s only apparent family member and she lives with Grendel in a cave in a vast underground realm. She has either forgotten or never knew how to speak, though she does come close to coherent speech at times. Though she has embraced the monster side of her, some part is still human. She constantly fears for Grendel when he ventures out into the wide world and tries to detour him from interactions with humans. She loves Grendel with a mother’s love and a mother’s need to protect her child. Grendel describes his mother as a “life-bloated, long-suffering hag” (Gardner 11). Grendel views his mother with teenage distain and feels she is being too controlling sometimes. She rescues Grendel when he is still young, from humans who think he is a tree spirit. Her love and loyalty is shown as Grendel sees her, “it was my mother, she came roaring down like thunder, screaming like a thousand hurricanes, eyes as bright as dragonfire” (Gardner 27). Though Grendel’s mother is portrayed as a monster, there are also several human aspects to her and her influence over Grendel shapes what he is to become.

Wealtheow

Wealtheow is the second woman who appears in Grendel. She is as Helming princess who is given to Hrothgar as his child wife by Hygomod, a rival king as tribute to Hrothgar’s power and prestige. Both Grendel and the Danes are spellbound by Wealtheow’s beauty and Grendel describes her as, “a women in a robe of threaded silver, her smooth long hair was as red as fire and as soft as the ruddy sheen on dragon’s gold, her face was gently, mysteriously calm” (Gardner 100). The name Wealtheow means “holy servant of common good” (Gardner 100). As Hrothgar’s wife, Wealtheow is a servant to his people and his kingdom. Grendel is instantly drawn to Wealtheow not only because of her beauty but the way she is able to dispel conflict with Hrothgar’s people. Wealtheow is portrayed as a servant and a peace-maker in the novel. Her love for Hrothgar is not true love but a love for her people and home and the need to protect them. She gives up her freedom and happiness for her people and goes to live with a man who is more than 30 years her senior. Wealtheow is a selfless person who puts the love for her people before herself.

The Shaper's Woman

A woman that is vaguely mentioned at certain times through-out the novel is the Shaper’s secret love. Grendel describes the relationship between her and the Shaper by observing that, “the Shaper would tip his whitened head, blind eyes staring at the floor whenever the lady spoke, and from time to time, when he sang of heroes, of ship-backs broken, there was no mistaking that he sang the song for her, nothing came of it, she would leave the hall on her husbands arm: the Shaper would bow politely as she passed” (Gardner 144). This mysterious woman is the wife of one of Hrothgar’s thanes who has hair, “slightly less red than the queen’s (she has close-together eyes and eyebrows plucked neat as the lines of a knife wound)” (Gardner 144). Grendel observes the transactions between the woman and the Shaper with curiosity. Though the woman remains loyal to her husband it is apparent that she does have a love for the Shaper and he loves her in return. This is Grendel’s first experience with true love. He briefly thinks of killing her but decides against it because of his respect for the Shaper and their forbidden attraction.

The Role Of Women In The Anglo-Saxon Culture

The role of women in Anglo-Saxon culture was to take care of their households and husbands and keep everything in order while their men were away at war. Though they were not allowed to fight, women maintain a key role in the Anglo-Saxon culture. They were able to attain dignity and respect by becoming wives, mothers, peace-weavers and mistresses of their halls. A woman’s loyalty was to her husband and she was expected to care for him and bear him heirs. They were also used as peace offering to stop wars and arguments. A woman would be married off to the leader of an enemy tribe in hopes of wining their loyalty or ending a feud. Though this solution did not always work, the honor of being a peace weaver (as they were called) was very high, and they were respected by their people for their sacrifice. Another role of women in the Anglo-Saxon culture was that of mistress. The mistress of the hall was in charge of all household matters with her husband’s permission. The mistress presided over the hall table with her husband during mealtimes and made sure that everyone had enough to eat and was comfortable. Though the women of the Anglo-Saxon culture were never considered heroes, they did heroic deeds for their country and people and helped bring peace to a culture that was dominated mainly by wars and conflict.

Reflections of Anglo-Saxon Culture

The Anglo-Saxon culture is reflected in Grendel. Through-out the book, there are many wars and conflict between neighboring tribes, which is very similar to the warring ways of the Anglo-Saxons. The role of women in Grendel and the role of women in the Anglo-Saxon culture are also very similar. In the Anglo-Saxon culture, Wealtheow would be seen as a peace weaver because she married Hrothgar in order to save her people from war. Her life after her marriage to Hrothgar parallels the way the women in the Anglo-Saxon culture lived. She becomes the mistress of Hrothgar’s hall, “carry[ing] the mealbowl from table to table, smiling quietly, as if the people she served, her husband’s people, were her own” (Gardner 102). The Anglo-Saxon culture has a strong influence in the novel and could be the reason Wealtheow and the other women in Grendel and portrayed the way they are.