While Grendel's mother may not have great morals, it is still completely reasonable to argue that she is a good mother. When her son was murdered by Beowulf, she took action by coming to steal Grendel's arm and later choosing to fight Beowulf herself. By doing these things, she shows how much she cares for her son. After seeing an undefinable monster like Grendel get annihilated by Beowulf, many would be terrified of Beowulf. It is crazy to think that someone would think they could beat Beowulf in a fight after he ripped the arm of a monster who terrorized an entire land to the point of eating human flesh for quite some time. Even though Grendel's mother is an impressive warrior herself, she does not seem like much compared to the accomplishments of Beowulf. This perception could be because of the sheer amount Beowulf has bragged about his power and credentials through the poem, but it also seems like everything Beowulf has declared about his self is true. A mother choosing to ignore the amazing feats that Beowulf has accomplished to gain vengeance for her son shows true love, which is one of the primary traits that a good mother should have.
I want to add that this prompt made me think about the Christopher Nolan movie Memento, where Leonard Shelby, the main character, spends the entire movie trying to find and murder the killer of his wife. With Leonard having a memory condition where he cannot create new short-term memories, it is nearly impossible for him to even consider completing this feat, but he still tries to do it. Why? Because he loved his wife so much that vengeance is more important than anything else. One could even argue that it is not worth it to live anymore without getting vengeance. Grendel's mother seems to be making this choice between gaining vengeance or not living at all. Since the poem was written before Christianity and the concept of heaven was likely not as fleshed out, this decision most likely had higher consequences than it would to someone in the era that the story was written, assuming he/she was a faithful Christian and believed that he/she would be saved.
For these reasons among others, Grendel's mother was certainly a good mother.
This piece really works because you give detailed support for your argument. The comparison between Grendel's mother and Leonard Shelby from Memento illustrates your claim that both characters are courageous and good even if their acts of murder are not.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you mean when you said that there were higher consequences for Grendel's mother because she was not a Christian? Do you think that if she had believed in Heaven, she would have expected to go there after taking her revenge?