Essay on The Sexuality Of Women In Beowulf: Film vs. Print

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 the society: the hostess, the peacemaker, and the monster. Five women in Beowulf play the major roles throughout the epic: Wealhtheow, Freawaru, Thyrth, Grendel's Mother, and Hildeburh. These women entertain, bring peace, and contradict societal expectations of the female gender, either directly or indirectly.

Despite the fact that the women were almost treated as "slave," the men were almost treated as "king" in the eighth-teen century. Likewise, in Beowulf's story, Wealhtheow, who is the queen of Hrothgar, devoted herself to honor and benefits Hrothgar as his wife. Even though She was honored and dignified character,

In Beowulf, varying treatment among each gender is common. Therefore, mistresses are not allowed to perform actions that men were permitted and are required to enact based on society’s standards. Females are not retained from doing heroic deeds because of the structure of their body or the estimated weightlifting qualifications. However, the weakest of males are expected to excel through rigorous parts in their life to represent heroic traits they possess within unearthly powers as men of the Gods. Savage animals were not figurative in the passage, but were viewed just as real as a man’s sword. Without these monsters, the men could not have slain enough to be seen as inhumanly or superior compared to the average man. Males were constantly competing against each other in order to have a place among the Gods.

Well, Beowulf was disloyal to his wife by having a servant as a lover. Thanks Hollywood, way to go to ruining a relationship. While he had a side chick, him and his wife just stopped acting like a couple but just like business partners. It’s sad to see how the queen and Beowulf drifted apart that he had to turn to a young girl as a bed mate. In the poem it didn’t talk about the queen that much, or the sections we read. But in the movie, Beowulf is easily controlled by women sexually making them powerful. Pretty much saying men can be easily seduced by any woman who has boobs. For example, when he was killing all the monsters he was easily seduced by the mermaid. She lured him to her and they most likely did the you know what. I think thats the reason why he might have lost the race but my opinion doesn’t matter. Another would be how when he very first saw the queen, he immediately was attracted to her and would dream of her in his sleep, creepy. The worst of all, he fell for Grendel’s mother sleeping with her then leaving his seed inside her. And that seed is the dragon. Like come

    Throughout the epic Beowulf, the importance of male heroism is far exceeding than that of the significance of women. The idea that women are obedient and docile is a likely thought in medieval Britain, although the women of Beowulf  are different, being known as noble, powerful, and assertive. Throughout the text there are major women that play integral roles in society: Grendel's Mother, and Hildeburh. “These women entertain, bring peace, and contradict societal expectations of the female gender, either directly or indirectly, … and illustrate the major roles for the women in the society: the Peace-weavers, and the Goaders ” (TheDomesticBeast). Although there is little mention of women throughout this epic, their fundamental roles within the society were clearly immense.

It is apparent when reading Beowulf that women were regarded as beneath men in Anglo-Saxon culture. The vast majority of the dominant characters in Beowulf are men. In fact, the only prominent female character is an antagonist who is defeated by a man. The others are mentioned briefly, and one of them even serves all the men of Heorot. Although one woman is a monster, one is a hostess/bedmate, and another a violent queen who must be put in place, all of them serve several purposes in contributing to the meaning of the work. The meekness and submissive nature provides a stark contrast to the glorious deeds of the great warriors that makes their achievements appear even greater.

Throughout the novel Beowulf, women can be looked at as unimportant, but from Campbell’s excerpt one can see how the role of women in Beowulf is as essential as the role of men. Throughout the course of Beowulf, many men take part in acts of protection, bravery, and sacrifice, but what many do not notice is the roles women have taking part in those same actions. Although women’s acts of protection, bravery, and sacrifice in this novel seem to be minor and not as celebrated as the men’s acts, they are still critical to the wellbeing and overall success of the character’s lives. According to Campbell, “A woman’s what it’s all about; the giving of birth and the giving of nourishment. She’s identical with the earth goddess in her powers, and

Thus, a second hint leading readers to assume that it was a male-dominated society comes into play when talking about identities. In the story of Beowulf, everyone is identified by being the son, daughter, or the wife of a particular man. Even the only officially introduced woman is referred to as “Grendel’s mother.” Thus, she has no name, or at least she is not identified by it. The reader again realizes that value of women is set in relation to men. A similar kind of identification is exemplified in the title of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”: referred to as a “wife”. Even before starting to read the story, one is introduced to Alisoun as the wife of a man. And until very late on in the story, one does not learn her name. Additionally, the queen, who seems to wield the most power in the tale, lacks her name and identified as being the “queen” of a man. All of these examples show that the image of a woman as a “mother,” “wife” or a “queen” was more important than her individuality as a person during medieval

As the poems of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight show, women have always had power, yet not as overt a power as wielded by their masculine counterparts. The only dynamic of women’s power that has changed in the later centuries is that the confines and conditions in which women have wielded their power has become more lax, thus yielding to women more freedom in the expression of their power. The structure, imagery, and theme in the excerpts from Beowulf (lines 744-71) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (lines 2309-30) support the concept of more power in the later centuries, by contrasting the restriction of Wealhtheow and the power she practices in Beowulf with the Lady’s more direct assertion of power in Sir Gawain

Women have had many different roles in the history of European literature but have generally been restricted to the roles assigned to them in a largely patriarchal society. As a result of this society, these roles have often been powerless ones. This calls into question the constitution of a powerful woman in literature: in Beowulf, being a powerful woman means becoming the bond between families and alliances; in Lanval, power comes from assertion and control-- a powerful woman is a woman in charge. The primary difference between the representation of women in Beowulf and Lanval is that the latter transcends overarching patriarchal boundaries, and the former does not; the reason for their respective representations lies in the literary time periods in which the stories were written. From this, one can see that the introduction of romance as a central theme gave way to new representations and roles of women in predominantly heteropatriarchal English literature and gives new meaning to the analysis of stories like these.

Wealhtheow exists as the main female protagonist in the poem. She does not enter as a character until she is needed to fulfill her role as the cup-bearer for the first feast at Heorot. She is well-respected within the mead hall and in return respects the men of the hall "adorned in her gold, she graciously saluted / the men in the hall, then handed the cup / first to Hrothgar, their homeland's guardian" (ll. 614-616). However, as Wealhtheow continues her rounds of serving, it becomes apparent that Wealhtheow has more power than that of a common cup-bearer. This is evidenced when she is able to speak to the guests of the mead hall, and receives a respectful response from the guest of honor, Beowulf. In addition to the respect that she is given, it becomes apparent that Wealhtheow is well spoken and perhaps well educated: "With measured words she welcomed the Geat / and thanked God for granting her wish that a deliverer she could believe in would arrive / to ease their afflictions" (ll. 625-628). These descriptions of Wealhtheow's presence within the mead-hall show her obedience to her lord, Hrothgar, as well as the respect she has earned from the people fulfilling her role as gracious

Women from the beginning of time have been determined to make their mark in the world of a "so-called" man 's world. Women believed they deserved the right to express their opinions about family matters as well as business affairs. The women in Beowulf and The Wife of Bath Tale have different issues, however they are for all the same reason: be heard by the power dominating sex. In the eighth century men were thought of as being superior to women. In the fourteenth century women played roles that made them feel superior over males. Both poems illustrate how women were used as symbols by powerful men to support their nobility. The opposing dynamics of the feeble women in Beowulf

The most prominent role of women throughout the poem is devoted wives and queens, which is reflected in the portrayal of Queen Wealtheow. When she is first introduced, Wealtheow “went on her rounds, queenly and dignified, decked out in rings, offering the goblet to all ranks, treating the household and the assembled troop” and then “with measured words she welcomed the Geat and thanked God for granting her wish that a deliverer she could believe in would arrive to ease their afflictions” (lines 620–28). The anonymous poet paints a picture of Wealtheow as gracious, regal, and put together, everything that an ideal queen should be. Not only is she physically perfect, but she is also an ideal hostess – one who tends to everyone, welcomes guests warmly, and ensures that everything is running smoothly for her husband. Later in the poem, Wealtheow gives a toast, “enjoy this drink, my most generous lord; raise up your goblet, entertain the Geats duly and gently, discourse with them, be open-handed, happy and fond” (lines 1168–71). Similar to this one, Wealtheow often gives speeches or toasts throughout the poem, something that, though not entirely masculine, is usually reserved for kings to give to his

Beowulf is an Old English poem written somewhere between the eighth century and the tenth century; the culture of Germanic times is depicted through varying concepts of masculinity that not only describes their capability as a warrior, but also their aptitude as a leader. Beowulf shows of a demon named Grendel attacking Heorot, and the king, Hrothgar, calls Beowulf, a warrior, for help with the slaying of Grendel. Characteristics and qualities of leadership are directly linked to the masculinity of the characters within Beowulf. The leaders in the prologue are demonstrated with the aspects of masculinity through their strength and brutality. In Beowulf, a man demonstrates his essential worth through evidence of masculinity as seen in Unferth’s cowardice, Beowulf’s heroism, and Wiglaf’s bravery.

We can also question if the author/storyteller’s intentions were to actually give the females in Beowulf a real sense of what it is to be a woman or is the author referring to them as something of nature, or goddess like, nurturing and a non believer of religion. Also, one can believe that Beowulf represents Christianity and Grendel’s mother represents nature ¬¬, describing where she lives: