Role Of Women In Beowulf

Role of women in beowulf

Though it mainly focuses on stout men, the poem has outlined many different roles women play, ranging from entertainers and peacemakers, to the ones that contradict social expectations.

Women's Role In Beowulf

The role of women in beowulf presented in the poem are central to the ways the society assumes its roles. The poem gives expression to women that offer influence over the predominantly male group, while also highlighting how women provide the voice of reason to their husbands. Women depicted in the poem include peace weaver, hostesses, and a monster.

The events that transpire in the poem suggest women should not be taken lightly, as they play an essential role in society.

Women In Beowulf And Grendel's Role Of Women

The two queens in the poem are Wealhtheow and Hygd, and they played a major role. Not click were they deemed as hostesses from their roles during the hall ceremonies, they also took part in diplomacy Shelley In the Anglo-Saxon society, the gallant women played a central role by bringing people together at the hall.

Mainly, the hall was used as a communal place, where people would come to fully discuss the various issues that transpired in their society. Wealhtheow is vividly described in the poem as being not only polite, but also as a noble-hearted queen. As a hostess, she ensured that she carried the mead cup and passed it on to the king and warriors.

role of women in beowulf This illustrated her noble status in the society as an ideal wife for the king. Hygd is young, beautiful, kind, and always gentle. The queens play crucial roles in influencing how politics are conducted in the kingdom. She also argues with Beowulf by insisting that he should not be made the heir of the kingdom Shelley This is because she heard that Beowulf wished to take the warrior to be a son to him. It is for this purpose as to why she encouraged Beowulf to make Hrothulf his heir as a means of protecting her sons.

Works Cited

The latter implies that Wealhthoew is safeguarding her interest by making sure someone from the family inherits the kingdom, as opposed to letting an outsider rise to the position of power. The issues she raised were taken into consideration, and this indicates she has some influence on the decisions that Hrothgar made.

When Wealhtheow presented the gift to Beowulf, she urged him to accept it. The words she used to express herself to Beowulf signify that she was not only generous, but also kind. The act of giving gifts established reciprocity — leading to the existence of meaningful exchanges between the giver and the receiver Weekes Further, these exchanges are what led to the formation of succession role of women in beowulf the kingdom. Additionally, the speech that Wealhtheow gave reflected confidence and self-assurance, which reveals the gift she had to influence people easily.]

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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. On how the story plays a large role in showing the types of behaviors women had to fallow and not fallow. 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. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous Women's Role Of Women In Beowulf Words 4 Pages In Beowulf, there were several great examples of how women had been treated differently than men. Women were not retained from doing heroic deeds because of how they were built or because of how strong or weak they were.