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Gender Roles In Anglo-Saxon Literature

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Often times in Anglo- Saxon literature, the main story revolves around the male characters not because of any other reason than that men were considered to be more powerful and important. This just shows the importance of the male gender back in 1000 A.D. Although not central to the plot, Hygd, Grendel’s Mother, and Hildeburh all have influential roles throughout the poem. Hygd has many extremely important roles that affect the plot immensely. Her main role is her title as Queen of the Geats, although not her most important role, it is significant, to say the least. She is considered to be the ideal woman of the time, she did not rebel, she was kind and generous, and she obeyed her husband’s wishes (Queen Hygd, n.d). Hygd is different from …show more content…

Grendel’s mother is not a typical mother, but rather a grotesque version of one (Porter, 2001). She has all of the attributes that society admires about mothers, but she displays them in different ways. First of all, she shows loyalty for her family. When she attacks the Danes, it is not out of randomness, it is because she does not want her son to be used as a trophy, she wants to avenge his soon to be death! She is willing to fight on his behalf and defend him when he could not for himself. Her final goal, was to maintain her family’s honor, she would protect it with her life (What Role Does Grendel’s Mother Play, n.d). Finally, Hildeburh has similar traits as Hygd, but they have many differences. Hildeburh is the daughter of the Danish King Hoc, she marries the Frisian King Finn (Duggan, 2013) She does not marry him out of love, but rather as a diplomate to make peace between the two nations, this was known as “peace weaving” (An Analysis of the Role of Queen, n. d). This role is her whole life, it is all she has, so, when she loses her son, brother, and husband, she falls apart. Since she does not have her important job as peace weaver, she has nothing to live for (Finn, Hoc, Hildeburh,

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