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.