Character of Grendel’s Mother in Poem “Beowulf” Character Analysis

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Summary

The story of Grendel’s mother in Beowulf tells the tale of a vengeful monster seeking revenge on the town Herot after her son, Grendel, was killed by the hero Beowulf. Grendel’s mother captures the king’s closest friend, causing Beowulf to venture into her dark lair to battle her. The lair is described as a scary underground location, similar to Hell, ruled by Grendel’s mother for over a hundred years. Beowulf struggles against her strength and impenetrable skin, but eventually finds a large sword and defeats her. The story shows the anger and devastation a mother would feel after her son’s death and the lengths she would go to avenge him.

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Grendel’s mother is known to be an evil, monstrous women looking to seek revenge on the town, Herot. In this town, her son Grendel had been murdered, and his limbs hung for everyone to see. Beowulf, who is the town’s well-known hero, is responsible for the gruesome death of Grendel. His death causes a vicious responsible from Grendel’s angry, wretched mother when she comes to Herot, ready to attack with a lethal outburst.

As King Hrothgar’s only hope, Beowulf goes to Grendel’s dark lair after his mother captures the King of Dane’s closest friend. Grendel and his mother’s lair is a scary, underground location comparable to what we know as Hell. It is an awful place “where water pours form the rocks, then runs underground, where mist steams like clouds. ” The lair’s description is similar to Grendel’s mother because she is a dark creature, “as dark as air, as black as the rain. ”

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Grendel’s mother battles head-to-head with Beowulf in this omniscient lair that she had ruled for over a hundred years. After waiting many hours of trudging through the muddy waters in her lair, “she welcomed him in her claws, clutched at him savagely”, because of the anger and rage traveling through her beastly body. He struggle to free himself but Grendel’s mother’s strength was too powerful for a human. She has skin that cannot be wounded by the sharpest swords and sight that is able to see everything in the darkest of nights.

These factors caused a problem in the battle with the man, Beowulf. The reaction from Grendel’s mother is relatable to how any mother would feel after her son had been brutally murdered. She would love nothing more than to watch the man, who took the life of her son, suffer. She acts with hate and a devastated passion as she strives to avenge the death of her only son. She is put up against her son’s murderer, an exceptionally strong human with no super powers, expecting to win. She ripped and tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet, and that too failed him. ” After a drawn out battle between a monster, searching for revenge, and a mortal, egger for fame, an unexpected outcome is achieved. Beowulf struggled, as any human would, but spotted a heavy sword on the wall. The sword was so large that no man with normal strength could lift it. With one swing, Beowulf severed the head of Grendel’s large, monstrous mother and left her gruesome body lay lifeless on the floor.

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