In any great story of heroics,
fight scenes often determine whether the fighter will become a hero or fall a
victim in the eyes of society. In the story Beowulf, the three
major fight scenes with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon differ from
one another because they all represent different ethical values of Anglo-Saxon
society. The fight with Grendel represents vengence, the fight with
Grendel’s mother represents blood vengeance, and the fight with the dragon
represents facing death with courage and dealing with fate.
The
fight between Beowulf and Grendel represents vengeance
because Grendel is avenging his curse by God to live as a demon for killing his
brother Able. The text introduces Grendel by stating, “Then a powerful
demon, a prowler through the dark, nursed a hard grievance” (Beowulf 42,
86-87). The “hard grievance” is the curse that God dealt to Cain for the
murder of Able that changed Cain into a monster. An ethical value from
Anglo-Saxon society in this fight is revenge, for Grendel is taking revenge on
God’s people for his curse. Later the text states, “For the killing of
Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from
committing that murder” (Beowulf 44, 107-109). God took revenge on Cain,
Grendel took revenge on the people of Heorot, and Beowulf avenged the people of
Heorot by defeating Grendel. This linear module of revenge and avenging
continues with the fight with Grendel’s mother.
The
fight with Grendel’s mother represents blood vengeance, also known as wergild,
because Grendel’s mother is avenging the death of her son. The text
states, “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked
and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (Beowulf 69, 1276-1278). In
Anglo-Saxon society, avenging the death of one’s kin is a major ethical
value. Not only is Grendel’s mother avenging the death of her son,
Beowulf and his men are avenging the death of a respected man she killed in
Heorot, Aeschere. The text states “He died in battle, paid with his life;
and now this powerful other one arrives, this force for evil driven to avenge
her kinsman’s death” (Beowulf 71, 1337-1340). Beowulf kills Grendel’s
mother the same way she killed Aeschere, by cutting her head off (Beowulf
76). This settles the score of the feud for a while, but the fight with
the dragon determines the last battle of ethics.
The
last fight in the text, the fight with the dragon, represents the honor of
facing death with courage and fate because Beowulf accepts his death and does
not run from his enemy. Beowulf states, “I shall win the gold by my
courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear you lord away”
(Beowulf 95, 2535-2537). Beowulf is stating a fact that he will not
surrender until he is killed in battle. The Anglo-Saxon value of courage
in the face of death is evident in this statement and in the rest of the
passage when Beowulf is deserted by his men and is standing alone in battle
with the dragon (Beowulf 96). Fate is also an Anglo-Saxon ethical value,
and is evident in the statement, “…that final day was the first time when
Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle” (Beowulf 96, 2573-2575).
This phrase determines that there is a larger force working in
Beowulf than just his will, but that he had no choice in preserving his life
because fate was determining the fall of events.
Great
heroes are often remembered for their strength in the face of an adversary and
their selflessness to a noble cause, especially at the expense of death.
The three major fight scenes in the story Beowulf differ from one
another because they all represent different ethical values of Anglo-Saxon
society; vengeance, blood vengeance, and fate. Beowulf represents an
ideal hero of Anglo-Saxon society because of his noble traits. Humans have
always looked to heroes for inspiration in their lives, and it is with great
stories that humans can find it within themselves to accomplish great deeds.
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