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Gender Roles In Beowulf

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Recommended: The history of the portrayal of women in literature

Robert Spivey
Bruce Glassco
Survey of British Literature
26 October 2015
Beowulf
Beowulf is one of the oldest long poems written in English by an unknown author, and is thought to be composed in the eighth century. The poem follows its heroic protagonist, Beowulf, as he weaves his way through the supernatural world, on a quest for validation of his prowess. The epic poem, as it is one of the remaining works from the time period, offers insight into a world of which little is known, as well as providing issue for debate. Specifically, through Beowulf, gender roles and perceptions of those roles are illuminated. In Beowulf, there are only two women who have significant contribution to the action and plot of the epic: Wealhtheow and Grendel’s …show more content…

The duality of peace-weaving, the designation of women to uphold the ideal, is interesting as, per the definition, women are only capable of doing so. The action of peace-weaving transcends the everyday peace of the home. At the extreme side of peace-weaving, women are married into families to end feuds and or to pay a debt. Consequently, Overing emphasizes the “outstanding characteristic” that inevitable failure accompanies peace-weaving, forming a “paradoxical complicity” (224). The Old English definition of peace-weaving, inherently defines woman as peaceful, or even docile and at the will of male counterparts, but this depiction, within the context of Beowulf, is false. Alternatively, the role of peace-weaver is sometimes viewed as inciting violence among the ranks. Furthermore, as woman are intermediaries of peace-weaving, woman are seen somewhat as “taunters” (Harris). Harris claims that understanding the “cycle of vengeance…is key in understanding the woman’s role in Anglo-Saxon society” and is integral in understanding Wealhtheow and Grendel’s …show more content…

“Wealhtheow’s Address to Beowulf (Beowulf, Lines 1226b-7).” Oxford Journals. University of Virginia Libraries, n.d. Web. 10 October 2015.
Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 41-108. Print.
Burdorff, Sara Frances. “Re-Reading Grendel’s Mother: Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Metrical Charms.” Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval & Renaissance Studies (2014): 91-103. Web. 10 October 2015.
Delahoyde, Michael. “Ango-Saxon Culture.” Washington State University, 11 August 2015. Web. 13 October 2015.
Harris, Robert. “The Women of Beowulf: Power and Duty in Anglo-Saxon Society.” University of Maryland English Department, 2014. Web. 10 October 2015.
Overing, Gillian. “The Women of Beowulf: A Context for Interpretation.” The Beowulf Reader. Ed. Peter S. Baker. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc, 2000. 219-260. Print
Phipps, Charles. A Feminist Critique of Beowulf: Women as Peace-Weavers and Goaders in Beowulf’s Courts. MA Thesis. Marshall University, 2012. Web. 10 October 2015.
Porter, Dorothy Carr. “The Social Centrality of Women in Beowulf: A New Context.” The Heroic Age 5, 2001. Web. 15 October

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