“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a
fury like a woman scorned.”
- William
Congreve
This may not be the most popular opinion, but I feel a bit sorry for Grendel's mother. Not only has she been condemned to a life of solitude
and misery because of the wrongdoings of her ancestors but now her son has been
killed. Granted Grendel wasn't a complete
angel, but as Sarah mentioned in class, the men he murdered were also murderers
so it's a bit of a gray area.
I am not yet a mother but I can only imagine the anguish and
fury Grendel's mother would feel at the loss of her son. The need for revenge
would be immense in time of sorrow and rage. I'm not condoning her killing
everyone in her anguish, but I can see how the loss she feels could lead to
those thoughts. But honestly, can you really
blame her? The very men who are free of curses in their favor from God and get to live their lives freely have killed her son,
her only companion. Of all the punishments she has endured, thanks to Cain, this
is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Even the king recognizes why she attacked his
men when he explains, “She avenged that feud / in which you killed Grendel...a
mighty evil marauder who means to avenger / her kin...” (Liuzza 135, 1334-1340).
Furthermore, it's really a cycle of revenge that is
occurring: Cain kills Abel, God avenges his death by banishing his kin, Grendel avenges his banishment by killing
God’s merry men, Beowulf avenges the death of the men by killing Grendel, Grendel’s mother avenges his death by killing
the king's counsel and then Beowulf is called upon to avenge that death by killing Grendel’s
mother. While receiving instructions
from the king, Beowulf exclaims, “Sorrow not, wise one! It is always better / to avenge one’s friend
than to mourn overmuch” (Liuzza 138-139, 1384-1385). If this is what is expected during this
time period, perhaps Grendel's mother is simply living up to societal expectations in her bloodthirsty quest. Thoughts?
Sources:
1. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/16-misquoted-quotations/
2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442933/mediaviewer/rm2676857088
3. https://movinglightreviews.wordpress.com/tag/beowulf/
4. Liuzza, R. M. Beowulf. 2nd ed. Buffalo: Broadview, 2013. Print.
4. Liuzza, R. M. Beowulf. 2nd ed. Buffalo: Broadview, 2013. Print.
I thought it was interesting how everyone reacted about Grendel’s mother today. I expected a lot more people to be sympathetic about her actions considering they killed her son. However, I soon realized that there is a huge difference between a grieving mother trying to avenge her son and a monster trying to avenge her offspring. What Grendel did, regardless of his ancestors and past, was evil. He attacked men cowardly. He ate men who were defenseless out of jealousy. If Grendel’s mother thought that the men were not going to try and kill Grendel, then she is stupid. They are both monsters and we are taught to destroy monsters and not sympathize with them. Yes, their ancestors are the cause of their misfortunes, but there is no evidence that they try to become better. There is no evidence in the poem that they tried to be good and coexist and perhaps be civil. All we know is that they lived a miserable life and they are jealous of the people enjoying life. Being miserable and jealous is not an excuse to be evil, and if her son is evil, I can only assume she is as well. We discussed this last week, our family defines who we are unless we change it, and they haven’t even tried to change it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Karen. I think its really interesting that we have all started to humanize Grendel and his mother. It makes me wonder whether or not past peoples did the same or if we're only sympathizing with her because we're 21st century thinkers. We have this idea that anyone who is ostracized automatically means that they deserve our pity. Do we pity serial killers who were bullied in their pasts? Or do we simply use that information as a way to understand their actions. I can understand why Grendel started eating people, he was jealous and alone and freaking hungry. All logical. But that doesn't mean I feel bad that he got his arm chopped off. Vengeance is something I believe we inherit, especially if you look at little kids. You have to actively teach them not to seek revenge. "Jimmy may have taken your toy, Molly, but that doesn't mean you bite him." (true story) You hurt me, I hurt you. Fair is fair. But we've only recently begun to start changing this idea. I think being able to relate to the idea of "ostracization" is extremely important but we can't gloss over the fact that these characters are evil and monstrous.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say first that I really liked your blog post! I think your idea of cyclic revenge is exactly what is occurring in Beowulf. Taking it all the way back to the Cain and Abel story, if God hadn’t banished all of Cain’s kin for Cain himself murdering his brother, maybe Cain’s descendants wouldn’t have been so hostile. I honestly do feel for Grendel and his mother, unlike Molly and Karen, because like Sarah said in class, the people Grendel ate were murderers too. I feel like there is a lot of judgement on Grendel and his mother simply for physical appearance. If Grendel and his mom were everyday people, would you feel the same? (OK, besides the cannibalism). That aside, if you were banished from society for something your ancestors did and you had no opportunity to change it – because although we don’t see them trying to become better, we don’t see that they had opportunity to, either – then I’m sure you wouldn’t be too happy with life either.
ReplyDeleteThe results of the cycle of revenge evident in both the text and your post lead me to believe that these sections are criticisms of certain aspects of the Christian religion. We discussed in class how this poem might have represented the transitional period of a people's change from one religion to another, and the more I mull that over, the more I like it as a thought. Certainly, Cain killed Abel and deserved some form of punishment, but all of his descendants didn't. I think that's why I'm willing to humanize Grendel and his mother to an extent. I hold a great deal of pity for them. After all, how can you prove you're any better if you're never given the opportunity? Although, I suppose not eating people would be a start.
ReplyDeleteYou're completely right about the revenge cycle that is going on in this poem. Just as you stated your sympathy for Grendel's mother, I feel the same way. I do not know if I feel this way because of the way Grendel was mutilated through humiliation or just feel sorrow mostly for a mother losing her son in general. It's mostly sorrow for the way he was killed by a so called "God". Every character in this poem is a murderer, no one is essentially innocent so does that level the playing field? I think so in a way. I believe Grendel and his mother are solely deemed as monsters because of their appearance. What if the story was the other way around? Grendel was handsome and Beowulf was inhumane. How would the outlook change?
ReplyDelete