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.