Essay Question “A”
Grendel and Grendel’s mother in the Epic of Beowulf are great monsters in the Epics
read so far due to their symbolism, Grendel represents and upholds the strong beliefs of the
Anglo-Saxons compared to pagans at the time. Grendel’s symbolism still holds true of
Christianity’s beliefs in the modern world today. Grendel’s mother is a separate character but it
still takes both her and Grendel to put across a specific message. With both monsters strongly
relying on each other in the Epic it allows one to make the argument that together they make a
uniformed or single monster in the Epic of Beowulf when conveying a message deeper than the
tail itself. Grendel is a representation of Anglo-Saxons vs. pagans and their sinful ways.
Grendel’s mother is human emotion and the overwhelming revenge that we can seek at times,
despite how much one may think that revenge is necessary. However, a separate party and or
another view point may view the revenge as barbaric. Which poses the question if Grendel’s
mother is truly evil, misunderstood, or relatable due to the events that have taken place in
Beowulf.
The story and attacks of Grendel comes to into play as soon as Beowulf reaches the hall
of Heorot in Denmark. Grendel is a decedent of Cain, the first human to commit murder out of
jealousy and is a strong representative of evil and not following the will of God. Grendel being a
descendant of Cain gives the idea that Grendel is also a jealous being. Cain’s jealousy stems
from his brother Abel in the Bible due to God favoring the sacrifices made by Abel over the
sacrifices made by Cain, however Grendel is jealous of the lavish yet sinful living of Heorot
rather than the sacrifices of Heorot. Grendel is jealous of the hall of Heorot which cause Grendel
to attack the hall then shows that the sinful ways of Heorot brings a form of punishment for
Heorot, just as Cain was punished by God for murdering Abel. The arrival of Beowulf to
Denmark sets the tone for Heorot. Beowulf is the representation of a great Christian and Anglo-
Saxon at the time. Beowulf killing Grendel conveys the message of defeating evil and turning
away from the partying, gluttony, and lust that is not acceptable in Christianity’s views and all
that Heorot was partaking in. Beowulf set Heorot to become on the right path again, the defeat of
Grendel is the defeat of evil. After the death of Grendel is causes Grendel’s mother to seek
revenge for the death of her son. Though Grendel’s mother does not play a significant role as
Grendel does she is still the support character that helps convey the entire message for the
morality and behavior of humanity for Heorot in Beowulf.
The revenge sought out by Grendel’s mother represents the misunderstanding of Heorot
towards her as she has never caused problems for Heorot in the hundreds of years of her living.
