The Battle Against Grendel 's Mother

Beowulf, king of the Geats, engages in battles in order to protect his community from physical creatures while King Arthur’s knights engage in spiritual battles against evil temptation which lurks around every corner. Beowulf proudly displays his prowess before he must confront Grendel, the “God-cursed brute” when he declares with bold confidence that he “can calm the turmoil” (Heaney 11, 21). Beowulf boasts of his strength, pledging to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Grendel, the cursed descendant of Cain, enjoys death and destruction, ruining Hrothgar’s reputation with every attack on his kingdom. The monster kills one of his men, angering the Thanes and encouraging them to fight

Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon story of a terrifying monster Grendel, Grendel travels to the Danes mead hall Heorot and while the danes expect it least he attacks killing countless men purely for the joys of doing so. Hrothgar king of the Danes calls for a warrior to fight this unruly beast. After 12 long years of grendel attacking Hrothgar's calls are answered and the great warrior Beowulf comes to kill Grendel. Beowulf travels to the land of the Danes from across the seas and in the first night he kills Grendel. Sadly for Beowulf Grendel has a mother that now seeks revenge for her son's death and Beowulf is asked to kill Grendel’s mother as well. Beowulf goes to where Grendel’s mother is staying and battled her to the death , Beowulf wins

The embodiment of envy. In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel exemplifies envy therefore he is discontent with the happiness of others. The infusion of Biblical ideas helps form Grendel's character. As a relative of Cain, the first person recorded in the Christian Bible to murder another, Grendel is perceived as a monster. “On the kindred of Cain the Lord living ever awreak’d the murder of the slaying of Abel. In that feud he rejoiced not, but afar him he banish’d, the maker, from mankind for the crime he had wrought,” (108-111). Since Grendel’s ancestor is Cain, Grendel has been banished from the earth. Making Grendel a hell born creature with human emotions and instincts. With Grendel comes the allusion of Cain killing Abel given the time period. Grendel kills the celebratory warriors of Herot because they exuded happiness. Cain killed Abel because he felt God gave Abel more attention. Grendel’s emotions brought him to envy, so he, like his ancestor before him, killed another. Unlike Cain, Grendel killed thirty men every night for twelve years, devolving his monstrous character into an immoral character.

When Cain killed Able, he ignited the eternal flame of a cursed family. From Cain's blood came "the curse of his exile and sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms and the giants too" (Beowulf. Pg. 35), darkness entailed is legacy and evil embodied his future. Grendel is a descendant of Cain, so he shares Cain's exile from all that is good and light. Cain may have been the first displaced person after Adam and Eve, but he was not the last. Grendel shares his ancestor's punishment, he is exiled not only from whatever land or wealth he would have had if he were "human", but he is also abandoned by God and all who followed and indulge in his faith and grandeur. It is this abandonment that causes Grendel to destroy and murder. "The treasure seat, he was kept from approaching; he was the Lords outcast" (Beowulf pg.36), since he cannot approach the throne of the Lord like the rest of mankind, he chooses to attempt to destroy it. He has no love for God and his children if he can not be with them "hand in hand". However, unlike Cain and his parents, Grendel is doomed from

Beowulf, the defender of Hrothgar and Heorot, exhibits far more complicated (and less sincere) shades of revenge than the Grendel’s mother. At the end of the day, Beowulf’s goal is to become the preeminent warrior in all the land. In his society, the only way to gain such widespread celebrity is through courageous and self-endangering acts. Beowulf masks these deeds with a façade of seeking revenge; he supposedly comes to Heorot to save the Danes from Grendel’s terror, but his true motives lie in becoming a hero. His reward is not the pride of doing a good deed; Beowulf is rewarded with lavish and expensive gifts.

The battle between Beowulf and Grendel's mother has its similarities and differences as well. Throughout the movie, clues are given about Grendel’s mother when encountering mysterious hands breaching the water while

Grendel’s mother is saddened and angered when she finds out her son is dead and proceeds to Herot: “But a monster still lived, and meant revenge.”(Beowulf, page 56). Vengeance is the cause of destruction and that is what Grendel’s mother wants to do to the men of

When Grendel's mother arrives to torment the Danes, seeking vengeance for her son’s death, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel's mother

Because it was passed down for many years, Beowulf contains a unique mixture of pagan culture and Christian beliefs. The protagonist, Beowulf, is a mighty warrior who often cries out in petition to the Christian God. In contrast Hrothgar, the King of Herot, is a pagan leader who makes sacrifices to “old stone gods” in times of strife (Beowulf 90). The author may have done this in order to provide the audience with a foundation for the story. Readers of the time were familiar with the Bible and all of its stories. Even today audiences have a firm grasp and knowledge on the events of the Bible. Through allusions to the story of Cain and Abel, and to God’s power and protection, the story applies a stronger and more effective skin to commonly known material.

Grendel of course only knew revenge for what God did to him so it’s ironic and coincidental that his mother seeked revenge for him also. Whether she won or not she stood up and battled like any mother would do. She didn't care how popular Beowulf was she did what it it took to feel some sense of happiness for her son.

Grendel is a very complex creature. He questions his existence many times throughout the book, called “Grendel” by John Gardner, even though he is viewed simply as a monster by the creatures around him. He wants to find out what his purpose is in life and if there is more to life than him being simply a monster. In the end, he stands at the edge of a cliff after Beowulf badly injures him. He utters these words before the book ends, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident…so may you all (pg.173).” With these words we are left with questions to what did Grendel mean that he has had an accident and what does “so may you all” imply.

In the story Beowulf, many of the themes are derived from the proverbs and fables practiced in the old testament, while pagan beliefs of monsters, demons, and multiple gods are added. The most popular of the biblical comparisons is viewed between Grendel, enemy of Beowulf, and Cain, evil brother of Able. Grendel and his mother are both described as decedents of Cain. The figure Cain is used as a metaphor during the period to represent the disorder and evil. In the classic story of Cain and Able, Cain viciously kills his brother in a outbreak of jealously and anger. For Cain’s sin, he was banished from the Garden of Eden by God and left only to

This second battle is more complicated than the first. Although one can merely say “Beowulf is the hero, Grendel’s mother is the villain” and be done with it, further thought suggests it is not that simple. As a warrior and hero, Beowulf upholds himself to the heroic code, calling for courage, honor, and vengeance. If our standards for a hero rest on these three qualities, is not Grendel’s mother as heroic as the Hero? She is honorable in trying to avenge her son’s death, just as Beowulf was with Grendel and the Danes. She shows courage by attacking Heorot, full of warriors, and obviously wants vengeance for her son’s death. Although Grendel’s mother is ugly in appearance and a descendent of Cain, therefore cursed and evil, she is justified in retaliating, and possesses the three qualities of a hero.

In the poem Beowulf, the most evident theme is the importance of the Germanic heroic code. The heroic code was what made Beowulf so famous and god-like during his renowned life. The code is displayed in the opening lines of the poem and continued to show up throughout the duration of the poem. Heroism is often painted with a protagonist, which causes some acts of heroism to be overlooked when an antagonist follows the heroic code. Throughout the poem, there are many acts of heroism displayed, but many people overlook the way that Grendel’s mother followed the Germanic heroic code. Grendel’s mother follows the Germanic heroic code by showing courage, strength, and honor as Beowulf does throughout the poem, something that is frowned upon in the Anglo-Saxon culture.

The story digressed from talking about Grendel to talking about Cain and Abel. Once again, this digression served more than one purpose. “He had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan”(104-106). Here we see that Grendel is a descendent of Cain. This biblical reference shows the importance of Christianity to the Anglo Saxon people. “The giants too who strove with God time and again until he gave them their reward”(113-114). They had a strong belief in a God and higher beings, as well, that the reason things happen is because God is sending a message. A theme throughout this digression is good vs. evil or Cain vs. Abel. This digressions theme is not just related to the digression, but to the overall story of Beowulf. Beowulf is the heroic warrior, and Grendel is the malevolent monster. This digression purpose was to show the importance of the Christianity culture and an overall theme of the epic