The Dragon - The Kleptomaniac

DRAGON:

–noun 1. a mythical monster generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire. (Dictionary.com)

The dragon in Beowulf seems to have somewhat of an anger problem and could possibly be a kleptomaniac. Kleptomania is "the inability to resist the impulse to steal objects" (Durst, 185). The dragon lived in "the steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow where he guarded a hoard" (Beowulf, 2213-14). According to Dictionary.com a hoard is "a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use." It must have taken the dragon a long time to gather up such a huge sum of treasure, and from where did he find it all anyways? Later, in the poem, an intruder finds the dragon asleep with the treasure, steels a "gem-studded goblet," and gets away, but the dragon later wakes up to find the goblet gone and goes into a fit of rage (Beowulf, 2217). To make a long story short, all because of one goblet, the dragon attacks Heorot and ends up dying by the hands of Beowulf himself because of his inability to control his anger. Perhaps if he had controlled his kleptomania this would have never happened.

Abrams, Meyer Howard, and Stephen Jay Greenblatt. “Beowulf.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature The Middle Ages. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2006. 36-100. Print.

"dragon." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 23 Nov. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dragon>.

“hoard.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 23 Nov. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dragon>.

Durst, R., et al. "Kleptomania: Diagnosis and Treatment Options." CNS Drugs 15.3 (2001): 185-195. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. EBSCO. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.