Examples Of Sexism In Beowulf

Will Beowulf be canceled for his misogynistic views on women? Was the writer of Beowulf trying to impose a sexist standard on insecure men in the Middle Ages? To put it simply, no, he was not. The theme of Beowulf’s heroism is much more prominent than any example of sexism or toxic masculinity. Beowulf died trying to protect his kingdom from a ferocious dragon and fought the beast named Grendel in hand-to-hand combat. He did not tell the soldiers who abandoned him to “man up” or force any women to be his servants. Beowulf is regarded by his people as a great king, not an immoral misogynist. Beowulf is a tale about a legendary hero and not an ode to toxic masculinity because Beowulf meets the definition of a hero, Beowulf treats women with equality

According to Dictionary.com, a hero is “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character” (Dictionary.com). Beowulf does many courageous acts in the book, such as killing Grendel and slaying the dragon. He also has “nobility of character,” as his reasons for doing these acts are purely selfless. He even knew that he was going to die before fighting the dragon, but he fought it anyway to protect his kingdom (Beowulf 165). The Britannica Dictionary defines a hero as “a person who is greatly admired” (Britannica.com). Beowulf is admired by many people, including King Hrothgar, who was the ruler of the Danes. After Beowulf saved the Danish people from Grendel and his mother, Hrothgar tells

One example of his lack of predisposition is how he treats King Hrothgar of the Danes, who, instead of trying to fight Grendel by himself, enlisted help from Beowulf. Even though he never tried to fight Grendel himself, Hrothgar was still widely renowned as a great king by Beowulf and across Denmark. This lack of prejudice is not just held by Beowulf, but is also shared by all of the characters in the book. Near the end of the book, after Beowulf had perished from the dragon’s venom, the soldiers who had run away from the battle returned to see Wiglaf sitting by Beowulf’s dead body (Beowulf 193). Wiglaf proceeds to scold them for their cowardice. This could be seen by some readers as toxic masculinity, since Wiglaf is criticizing their lack of courage, which is seen as an ideal masculine trait, but this is not the case. Those soldiers were part of Beowulf’s royal guard, so they should have tried to protect their king at all costs. Instead they ran away and failed their duty, so they were chided for their failure as soldiers, not men. For example, “A warrior will sooner die than live a life of shame” (Beowulf 195). In Beowulf, no man is criticized for their lack of manliness by Beowulf or any other