Grendel's Mother - Is it wrong to want revenge for your son's death?

 

The second monster of Beowulf we are going to look at is Grendal’s Mother, “the monstrous hell bride” (Beowulf, 1259).

Are You My Mother?

In the poem, Beowulf, Grendel’s mother remains unnamed. No one is sure as to why they would not give her a name, but some think that it could be a way to give a sense of humanity to her by making her identity only in relation to her son, Grendel. All mothers love their children unconditionally. (All good mothers, that is.)

While reading the poem, one would get the sense that she is some sort of water creature. In the poem, it explains that “she had been forced down into fearful waters,” while later on, when Beowulf goes to fight her, it describes her as a “wolfish swimmer” and a “swamp-thing from hell” (Beowulf 1260, 1506, 1518). It does not provide a detailed description, so, once again, it is allowing us to form our own monster.

Grief Stricken Mother Wanting Revenge, Can You Blame Her?

After she finds out her son was killed by Beowulf, Grendel’s Mother wants nothing but revenge. The poem describes her as an “avenger” and “grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (Beowulf 1257, 1278). Can you blame her though? According to the Journal of Personality, some symptoms of grief are “overwhelming emotions, persistent thoughts, significant omissions…” (Horowitz, 528) Any parent who has lost a child would go through grief. It is natural for one to want revenge for the death of their child, especially if it was by another's hand.

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.

Horowitz, Mardi J., et al. "Expressive and Defensive Behavior During Discourse on Unresolved Topics: A Single Case Study of Pathological Grief." Journal of Personality 62.4 (1994): 527-563. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. EBSCO. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.