Queen Wealhtheow
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written more than 1200 years ago. It is one of the longest poems in the English literature, seeing that it consists of 3,182 alliterative lines. The author of the poem is unknown. However, historians say that the writer of the poem was an Anglo-Saxon poet. The central theme of the poem is heroism. Beowulf poem opens up to King Hrothgar, a great king who has been tormented by a monster named Grendel in the last 12 years. King Hrothgar is desperate to get rid of the monster, but none of his subjects are willing to fight the monster. The poem then introduces Beowulf, a great warrior who offers to fight the monster and save the King’s Kingdom. Although, they are often overlooked, in the women take a huge role in building the plot of the poem. Some of the females in the poem are such as Grendel’s mother, Wealhtheow, and Hildeburh. These women act as a significant influence peace that exists among the characters in the poem.
The first group of women in the poem is termed as hostesses since their primary duty was carrying the cup of mead around the haul, which they later offered to the warriors and other acquaintances. Wealhtheow, King’s wife, is one of the significant characters in the play which acts as a hostess in her kingdom. She is brought out as a peacekeeper on the play in various ways. For instance, at the beginning of the play, the poet mentions that Queen Wealgtheow’s brother offered her as a wife to King Hrothgar to promote peace between the kingdom of King Hrothgar and their kingdom. This is further emphasized in the poem where the poem says ‘she had offered her life for the ones she loved’ (p. 102). When she went to King Hrothgar’s kingdom, Queen Wealhtheow went on to promote peace in her new home as she did in her father’s kingdom in various ways. For instance, after observing how the men in her army were being devoured by the beast, Queen Wealhtheow took several steps to save the lives of the warriors. For instance, she tried to convince personally welcomed Beowulf, by giving him and precious gold necklace and praising him for the heroic acts that he had done in the past. This warm welcome ensures that Beowulf feels at home in their kingdom. It also motivates him to fight for the citizens of her Kingdom by fighting Grendel. These actions show that Queen Wealhtheow was willing to do anything in her capacity to facilitate the safety of her people. Furthermore, Wealhtheow also facilitates peace in her kingdom by treating the acquaintances of King Hrothgar with respect. This is executed this duty by acting as the cup-bearer in the occasions that were held in the kingdom. The poem states that ‘she graciously saluted the men in the all’ (614). This respect showed the Queen’s acquaintances that the kingdom acknowledged and respected them. Additionally, the queen always ensured that everyone in the hall would drink from the golden cup, drinking for the cup at the time represented the strong bond that the guests shared with the king which further promoted peace in her kingdom.
Additionally, Queen Wealhtheow also brought out a decision maker in the poem. For example, when passing the wine among the guests, Queen Wealhtheow deliberately hand the cup of wine to her husband, first, King Hrothgar. This would later communicate to all the guests in the hall that King Hrothgar as the strongest king among all the guests that were present in the celebration. Therefore, by being the cupbearer Queen Wealhtheow was given the power of choosing the most powerful leader among all the leaders. Additionally, Queen Wealhtheow given the opportunity of choosing the gifts the king gave to Beowulf once he defeated Grendel. These actions show that King Hrothgar depended on Queen Wealhtheow for decisions that he made in the kingdom. The above information shows that Queen Wealhtheow acted as a peacekeeper and decision maker and advisor in her kingdom.
Women are also brought out as peace weavers between conflicting communities. This is best out through queen Hilderburh the daughter of King Danes who was offered as a wife to Finn, who happened to be the King of the Jutes at the time. This marriage would appease peace between the two communities. This shows that the women were used as mere tools where they were used as gifts by their fathers to appease peace with a conflicting party. Unlike Queen Wealhtheow who adapted to her new marriage home and had immense success running the kingdom, Queen Hilderburh failed terribly in her quest. Hilderburh’s marriage to Finn stopped the war between her father’s kingdom and her husband’s kingdom. However, the peace only lasted for a short while. Soon, war broke out in between the two communities and the Queen lost her son in the midst of the war along with her brother and husband. Hilderburh was devastated by the loss of her relatives and fell into a great depression. This is seen where the poem states ‘blameless she was deprived of her dear ones at the shield play of her son and brother ….she was a mournful woman’. In the end, Hilderburh moved from her husband kingdom back to her father’s kingdom. The poem also mentions Freawaru, the daughter of King Hroogar and Queen Wealhbeow. Similar to Queen Hilderburn, Freawaru is also given out as a wife to Ingeld, the King of Heaooboards in the aim of creating peace between the two kingdoms. The parents gave their daughter put in spite of knowing that they were exposing their daughter to danger and the marriage had high chances of failing. In the end, as expected, the marriage between Freawaru and the King of Heaooboards eventually failed. The use of Hilderburh and Freawaru helped in bringing out several themes in the poem. For instance, it brings out the oppression of women in the poem. Young girls at the time were used as mere instruments of achieving peace by their parents between one kingdom and another. Additionally, the weakness of Queen Hilderburh brings out the theme of sadness and shows the negative effects that war had on most of the victims of war in the poem. It helps the readers relate more with the mourners who had lost their loved ones.
The third portion of women acts as peace breakers. This is mostly brought out through Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother is differentiated from the rest of the characters in various ways. For instance, the poem describes her has been more masculine as compared to the rest of the women characters. Some of the characters even describe her as one of Cain’s descendants because of her large size. Unlike the rest of the women that earlier stated, Grendel’s mother makes no effort of restoring peace among the community members, on the contrary Grendel’s mother finds pleasure in causing chaos among the community members. Grendel’s mother takes advantage of her strength to control the people around her forcefully. She is therefore very hostile to the community members. Grendel’s mother hated human beings and did everything to keep them a bay. In fact, throughout the poem, Grendel’s mother is described as a vicious and monstrous woman who is self-centered. A similar character trait is also seen in Modthryth, the Queen of Legend. Unlike, Grendel’s mother, Modthryth was not a monster, she attitude, however, is similar to Grendel’s mother. Modthryth is described as a cruel dictator. In fact, the poem says that she would put to death anyone who looked at her. The poem states that Modthryth was the worst queen that ever existed in the kingdom. These two women bring out the theme of violence and war in the story. Even though war and violence are present throughout the whole essay, the physical power of the two characters along with their bitterness help in emphasizing more about the negative effects of self-centeredness.
The information states above portray the importance of women in the poem. Female characters have both positive and negative impact on the community members. On the one hand, female characters such as Queen Wealhtheow are seen to have a positive impact among the community members. For instance, Queen Wealhtheow did everything in her power to ensure that her people were safe. For instance, she appeased Beowulf to fight Grendel on behalf of her people. Additionally, she is also seen as a key figure in her kingdom because she ensured that the rest of the kings were in good terms with her husband by ensuring that each king drunk from the wine class, therefore, facilitating regional peace. In addition, she also advised her husband on how to run his kingdom. Women such as Grendel’s mother and Queen Modthryth, on the other hand, have an extremely negative effect on the community. In fact, these are main sources of trouble in the kingdoms that they belong to. The two characters help in bring out the theme of violence and self-centeredness in the poem. The third group of females such as Hilderburh that are used as peacemakers in the poem. These group of women brings out the oppression of women in the poem because young girls such as Queen Hilderburh were sold off to other men so as to bring peace between the two communities. Unlike the previous categories of women, this category is emotionally weak and is traumatized by the effects of war. For instance, after losing her son, brother and husband in the war, Queen Hilderburh was overcome by grief. In the end, Queen Hilderburh moves back to her father kingdom. Hilderburh was used in the poem to bring out the negative effects of war on the citizens. In the end, though often overlooked, the information provided above proves that female characters played an essential role in forming the plot of the play.