Gender Roles In Beowulf And The Odyssey

It is well known that women and men held very traditional roles in Greek society. In the Odyssey these roles are presented through the women characters. The role of Penelope a mere mortal woman follows a more traditional role of Ancient Grecian women, while Athena an immortal goddess, acted independently of the normal customs. By examining the concept of gender roles between Grecian men and women, one can argue that these two women, by inhabiting very different gender roles, were more influential in developing the character of the hero. Penelope uses love as a more conventional way to be the hero that he became. Then we have the Athena the goddess who used unconventional and effective methods to help Odysseus become the hero that he became.

I find myself disagreeing with the above statement. It is clear to me that within the epic poem Beowulf , the narrative is mostly dominated by poems male characters. Beowulf, Grendel, Hrothgar all have major roles in the poems narrative, the poem is written from the male perspective and its central themes of bravery, violence and heroism are associated with the male characters. This would lead one to agree with the above statement, that the roles of the female characters in beowulf are minor and easily forgotten due to the fact that they are mostly in the background, but upon closer inspection it has become clear to me that the female characters of Beowulf play a very important role in contributing to the poem's narrative.

In the book Beowulf, the women played significant roles at this period of time. It was actually a time when women were well respected. Some women were even referred to as a noble lady, like Wealtheow. So, why were the roles of the women in the story of Beowulf important? What did they do and how did they do it? Finally, did they offer an alternate prospective to the poetic story? Yes, all the women in the story of Beowulf, like Wealtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, and Grendal’s mother had roles that offered an alternate prospective of the story.

In the story of Beowulf it seems that women play roles that do not effect the story in many ways, however when looking back to the original translation we see this is not true and that their roles have been altered and diminished in translation. When we look deeper we see that women played such roles as peace makers, hostess, and even monsters.

In the story of Beowulf, by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf himself states, “She among all women a great many of deadly feuds, strife-stricken people, will settle. Too seldom when after the fall of a people curtails awhile a spear bends down, through that bride gifts”. In this essay, the discussion will be evolving around the major roles and the women who had these roles. Whether being a hostess, peacemaker, or even a monster, the women in the story weren’t afraid to state an animadversion toward the men and stand up for what they believed was right.

Beowulf shows major roles of men and women in society which in some ways is similar to anglo-saxon society. In both societies men played a dominant role compared to women. Men had the role of protecting their family and being leaders in society. This doesn’t mean women were considered weaker, but they had different professions. Even though women didn’t have lots of “say so” in society the were highly overlooked.

In a few literature classics of the Anglo-Saxon period, the absence of the female figure in this society is very noticeable. On various pieces, it is obvious that the portrayal of how a woman was nothing without her lord or husband, and how women merely depended on a male figure to be part of the society or even accept it. Throughout the years, society has been changing for women to what it is today. A woman today does not need a man to be recognized as successful, strong and independent in society. In Beowulf there is evidence of six women in the entire story while, if we count the male figures we can easily figure out the prominence of a patriarchal system. Starting with Grendel’s mother, seeking for revenge on her son’s death, gives an example of a motherly figure fighting for her youngster. Another example relating to the argument are Wealhtheow and Hygd. Wealhtheow and Hygd are both described as this perfectly lady-like of excellent heart girls, whose main job is nothing more than to pass around a cup of mead to the warriors and knights, just basically be hostesses. Meticulously analyzing it is an obvious conclusion that in comparison to the male

From the earliest periods of man, society never truly learns from the mistakes of the past. The desire for fame and glory is sometimes overshadowed by the allure of women, and the clouds of ego that flood man’s mind. This is the story of Beowulf, the man who battled horrid beasts all whilst tackling the challenge of leading his people and personal demons. While the story of Beowulf has been told for centuries, his glorious deeds seemed to have changed throughout the years. The impact of this story is relevant to this day as his story is still told and still ever changing. Movies have been released in order to depict his story, and the contrast is significant to that of the original printing of Beowulf. This shows throughout the Beowulf movie

The Anglo-Saxon ‘s view on women’s role in society in the poem of Beowulf is very different than the role of women in the movie Beowulf. The role of women in the Anglo-Saxon culture is that women are more of a peacemaker or server to the men, not much of a prominent role in society.

      Are women in this poem active equals of the men? Or are they passive victims of the men? The role of the women in Beowulf is not a stereotyped one of passive homemaker, but rather one having freedom of choice, range of activity, and room for personal growth and development, such as is reflected in Anglo-Saxon England of the time.

Beowulf is known for displaying the importance of male heroism via Beowulf, but what about the significance of the women in the poem? The significance of women in Beowulf is overshadowed by the great heroism of the character Beowulf, but the women each have a reason for participating in the epic. The ideal woman was someone who was a noble, a mistress and loyal. An ideal woman is described in Maxim I: “at mead drinking she must at all times and places approach the protector of princes first, in front of the companions, quickly pass the first cup to her lord’s hand”. The significance of women in Beuwolf is a minor detail in the epic, but proves to be vital to Beuwolf. The epic of "Beowulf" illustrates three major roles for the women in

In most literary works throughout history, the culture and function of a society is expressed through the text and reflects the affairs of that time period. In the Old English epic Beowulf, women seem to be relatively unimportant. Many readers argue that the role of women in Beowulf is minimal and not an essential part of the text. However, understanding the roles of women in ancient Anglo-Saxon culture is critical to be able to discern how significant women are in the epic Beowulf. Women are overlooked because there was such a focus on battle and war, and women did not aid in the fighting, so there was a greater emphasis on men. Renee Yawdaev claims that Anglo-Saxon women were still able to keep their dignity and respect by assuming

  Beowulf, one of the most translated and reproduced epics of all time, is literature that concerns characters. While Beowulf himself is the obvious hero of this Anglo-Saxon epic, many companions and fellow travelers are mentioned throughout the text. Some of these secondary characters are almost as noble and courageous as Beowulf himself, while others are lowly cowards. Be what they may, all are captured in this timeless tale of adventure. Women, however, are rarely mentioned in Beowulf. This is because of the context of an Anglo-Saxon society with rigid beliefs and customs. Even though there is very little mention of women in Beowulf (and any other document of the time period), it is

Beowulf explores the different roles women had throughout this poem. In Beowulf, it is shown how the Anglo-Saxon culture portrayed men. I believe that both genders throughout the poem were treated equally but had different jobs .How men were strong and dominated many things.Also, en were looked at by having strength and how powerful you where.Women were more submissive and were there to take care of the responsibilities of the home. A number of people have suggested Anglo-Saxon cultures that there was a lot of stories about heroes, religion and wars upon different countries. Verses women, which was how fertile you were and more feminine like. This poem challenges how stereotypes of women were portrayed. Although, In Beowulf there were some strong women roles including Hygd and Wealhtheow. What I think was epic or important to this story was how women’s role was shown.

In Beowulf, there were several great examples of how women had been treated differently than men. Women were not allowed to do many things men were permitted and also required to do based on society’s standards. Women were not retained from doing heroic deeds because of how they were built or because of how strong or weak they were. Men who appeared weak were still expected everyday to go through rigorous parts of life in order to show that they were manly and heroic enough to get past the monsters in life. These monsters were not figurative in the passage because without these monsters, the men could not have slain enough to be seen as inhumanly or superior compared to the average man. Men were constantly competing against each other in order to have a place among the Gods.