In Beowulf like in many texts and older literature from the past, women are deemed to be weaker and hold less power than men do. This has been the stereotype of all men throughout literature up until recently. It has been viewed that all women need a man to protect them and to depend on. However, if you look at Anglo-Saxon societal values at the time Beowulf was written;; these common beliefs are viewed differently. At the time, women were not seen as weaker or lesser tan men but as equals. Women were free to marry who they please and even own property. It is true even then and as it has always been viewed that "women were the focus of fertility" and men had the physical prowess. Women, as a stereotype, have been known to be the weaker gender. In Beowulf, one of the monsters he battles is Grendel's mother. Now this can be looked at from many perspectives. In the end Beowulf ends up killing Grendel's mother which can prove her to have less physical strength; however Beowulf also killed her son which could just be because Beowulf is a mighty warrior. Unlike most stories, a woman fights against a man; this could symbolize the society's belief that men and women are equal. But then again, the woman who is fighting is a monster exacting revenge for her son, which could also mean that normal women don't fight. The women in Beowulf have minor roles which leads people to feel as if they are degraded or skimmed over in the book. Wealhtheow and Hygd do have important roles to serve even if they only play a minor part of the story. The women in this story are indirectly given roles of power as they have an influence over men's decisions in the book. Wealhtheow is Hrothgar's wife and is known as the "woman of the Helmings." She has much wisdom in the proper etiquette of the royal court and exudes power in the first scene in which she appears. Wealhtheow shows her power in thew scene of the celebration of Grendel's mother's death. Even with a minor role, she is able to show that she is definitely not one of the frail women that people have stereotype women to be. Grendel's mother also exerts power onto the readers as we can see with her vengeance for her son and her battle with Beowulf.
Sources Used:
http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/704/reevaluating-the-role-of-women-in-beowulf?utm_expid=22625156-1._HyAAxXdT4Cb3b9ocWvJYA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Sources Used:
http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/704/reevaluating-the-role-of-women-in-beowulf?utm_expid=22625156-1._HyAAxXdT4Cb3b9ocWvJYA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F