“Grendel was the name of the grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens, he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts”( Beowulf lines 102-106).
In this passage the Grendel identity is that of a monsters, it even states that he is a monster. But I noticed that even though his identity is that of a monsters it is not that different from a Hero in the Danes society. In the Danes society a hero is supposed to be wise,strong, courageous, and to win all of his fights and never lose. The Danes tested these traits in battle where they fought, and killed others, then took the losers land for themselves. This sounds remarkably similar to the Grendel who stole Heroet hall, and killed around thirty of the Danes. The Grendel is considered a monster though, and Beowulf who is a famous warrior is considered a hero. Why is Grendel a monster while Beowulf is a hero?
Both Beowulf and Grendel have killed, and conquered, but they have remarkably different identities, and the only reason I can tell of their difference of identities is because the point of view of the story is of the Danes, and their hero is Beowulf. If the author had the point of view of monsters the Grendel would have been the hero, after successfully conquering the danes before Beowulf arrived, and his death would have been that of a tragic one dying by the villain Beowulf. So in a sense the identity of a character is made up by not only his actions, but what point of view you are looking at in the novel. Because no matter what your actions are, what determines your identity, is the point of view the novel is at, and that of the person who is reading the novel.
Identity is a major theme in Beowulf, every character has one no matter how minor it may be or how bad it is such as Grendel.
Conor,
ReplyDeleteYou make an excellent point. The novel's structure depends on a certain point of view. The same action is given different meaning by the identity of the one who performs it. Grendel kills and he's a monster; Beowulf kills and he's a hero. The point of view of the text (remember focalization in Culler) determines how the reader should understand the moral qualities of the characters. However, does the poem in any way undermine these values? Can we sympathize with Grendel? I think the lines you've chosen hold an answer. Look closely at them and the language used to talk about Grendel. In doing so, we may argue that Grendel is not simply a monster.
Best,
James