Echoes of MonstrsitiesBeowulf
Every society has demons and monsters that the members of that society are fearful of. Those fears are only reflections of the society that are seen in that monster. In the long epic poem, Beowulf, there are three monsters that reflect aspects of Germanic warrior society. Grendel is portrayed as a vicious flesh-eating monster, yet the Germanic warrior fear of loneliness resides within him. Grendel's mother harshly revenges the death of her son, which exactly relates to the code of blood revenge in the warrior culture. The last of the monsters in the poem is the fire-breathing dragon that is an echo of the ultimate hlaford and symbolizes the circle of life. All three of the monsters symbolically represent aspects of the Germanic culture. Grendel is characterized as the embodiment of evil, and his narrative function is to parallel Cain or Satan. Throughout the introduction of Grendel's character, there are countless references to the devil and hell to illustrate him. "...A fiend out of hell, began to work his evil on the world (ll 100-101)." " Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts (ll 106-107)." He is also described as a "God-cursed brute (l 121)", and
(ll 144-145)" Grendel has been exiled because of his monstrous appearance. That treasure will eventually become earth and be guarded by the Dragon. Not having any kin to relate to, to protect you, and being banished from the only society one has every known. These monsters are scapegoats that the society creates. In that sense, the dragon is the ultimate hlaford. Both Grendel's mother and the warriors of Herot revenge the death of their kin, which not only shows the monstrosity of the warrior society but also the humanity in Grendel and his mother. Death had come and taken them all in times gone by and the only one left to tell their tale, the last of their line, could look forward to nothing but the same fate for himself (ll 2231-2240). This is the fear that is represented in the character of Grendel. Revenging the death of ones kin is the greatest honor in their society. He has accumulated all of the treasure and ultimately ends up with that treasure. " The symbolic nature of Grendel's mother is to show the monstrosities that lay in the hearts of Germanic warriors as well as Grendel and his mother. The author even goes on to compare Grendel to a vampire: "Then as dawn brightened and the day broke, Grendel's powers of destruction were plain (ll 126-127). The narrator portrays Grendel's mother as sadistic monster from the depths of hell, yet the parallels between Grendel's mother and Germanic culture are astounding. Those are the fears that symbolically shape the character of Grendel. The Dragon not only represents the ultimate hlaford, but also the cycle of their culture.
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