
			Role of Queen in Beowulf & Grendel

      In both texts, Beowulf and Grendel, the main purpose of the 
 Queen's are to serve the courts as "weavers of peace". In Grendel 
 however, Queen Wealththeow is described in much greater detail and 
 serves a further purpose. The reader gains insight to a part Grendel 
 that is not present in Beowulf, his desire for a human. 
      It was not unusual for women to be offered as tokens of peace 
 within the noble courts. In the novel Grendel, Wealhtheow's brother, 
 King of the Helmings, bestowed her to King Hrothgar to promote peace 
 amongst the Helmings and Scyldings. "She had given, her life for those 
 she loved. So would any simpering, eyelash batting female in her 
 court, given the proper setup, the minimal conditions"(Grendel, 
 p.102). It is ironic how she promoted peace from her arrival because 
 she was an essential part in keeping peace, as the "weaver of peace" 
 in the later of both texts. Queen Wealhtheow however is not the only 
 woman in the texts that was forsaken to encourage appeasement amongst 
 feuding courts. Queen Hygd was offered to Hygelac under very similar 
 circumstances as told in Beowulf, and portrayed the same role in 
 Hygelac's kingdom. There is reference in both texts concerning this 
 tradition, and it is evident to the reader that this is not an unusual 
 Anglo-Saxon custom.  
      Queen Wealhtheow and Queen Hygd served as excellent role models 
 for the courts in which they served. They exemplified the mannerisms 
 and etiquette of the noble people. Queen Wealhtheow showed excellent 
 poise from the very beginning of both texts. She was admirable as she 
 passed the mead bowl around Heorot. The offering of the bowl was 
 symbolic, being that the bowl was first given to Hrothgar and then 
 passed to Beowulf, as if she presented him with her trust. Beowulf 
 gave Wealhtheow his guarantee that he would be successful or die in 
 battle. After she presented Hrothgar and Beowulf with the mead bowl 
 she served the Scyldings, and did so as if they were her own people. 
 She was not a Scylding, nor did she desire to be one, but she
 never made her unhappiness known, as described in Grendel. There is 
 not great detail on Queen Hygd in Grendel, but from what the reader 
 can gather from Beowulf, she is as much of a female role model as 
 Queen Wealhtheow. She was young but very intelligent. In fact King 
 Hygelac felt intimidated by Hygds intelligence. Queen Hygd was unlike 
 Wealhtheow in the way in which she did not bare many gifts. Hygd was 
 more concerned about the future of the people of her kingdom 
 succeeding Hygelacs death than Wealhtheow. Hygd offered Beowulf the 
 kingdom because she believed it was in the best interest of the
 people, she loved the warriors and wished peace amongst all the 
 people. Wealtheow on the other hand felt that the kingdom should be 
 preserved for her sons. 
      Wealhtheow spoke after the "fight at Finnsburg" about the 
 importance of her sons taking over the kingdom in the poem Beowulf, 
 and this reminds Hrothgar of his age. This same speech affected 
 Hrothgar in both texts. It forced him to contemplate his worthiness of 
 Wealhtheow. He realized that she was young and beautiful, and need not 
 be with an old man. Which made his sorrow even worse is the fact that 
 she knew all this as well.
      Queen Wealhtheow put up an excellent disguise when hiding the 
 pain she experienced from being forced to be Hrothgars wife. Unlike in 
 Beowulf, in Grendel the reader was given insight into Wealhtheow's 
 sorrow. The only time she would display her unhappiness was when she 
 would lie in bed at night with Hrothgar with her eyes full of tears. 
 Sometimes she would leave the kingdom to dwell in her sorrows but she 
 would be immediately surrounded by guards, and escorted inside. 
 Wealhtheow was homesick, she missed her land, and her brother. When 
 her brother visited Heorot she paid no attention to Hrothgar, and
 Hrothgar fulfilled passing around the mead bowl. In Grendel, it told 
 of Hrothgar's love for wealhtheow. He would often stare at her in 
 admiration. Despite her resentment she treated Hrothgar with much 
 respect, she always looked up at him and referred to him as "my lord".
      Although Wealhtheow has much resentment towards serving the 
 Danes, she puts all that beside her and fulfilled her duties as an
 praiseworthy queen. In Grendel it told how she came between drunken 
 men in the mead hall, as if she was their mother. Her intervention 
 reminded them of their responsibilities toward the kingdom. Her 
 presence "brought light and warmth, men began talking, joking and 
 laughing, both Danes and Geats together"(Grendel, p.163). She created 
 a positive feeling throughout the kingdom. In her presence the Shaper 
 vocalized on a positive note about comfort and joy. Wealhtheow gave 
 Beowulf advice about proper etiquette , how to speak to the Geats with 
 "mild words". She advised him to make sure he shared his gifts. After
 all that was a rule by which she lived. Before Beowulf left the Danes, 
 Queen Wealhtheow gave Beowulf a precious collar , the Brosing 
 necklace, in appreciation for his duty. She gave him the gifts so that 
 he could make known who he was, to be proud of his accomplishments. 
 She wished him the best of luck and asked him to take care of her 
 sons. There was much focus on Queen Wealhtheow's outer beauty in the 
 novel Grendel. It went into much further detail than in the poem, 
 Beowulf. From Wealhtheows entrance into the novel, the reader was told 
 in great detail of her physical beauty. Beowulf primarily focused on 
 her inner beauty. She was described as "having hair red as fire, as 
 soft as the ruddy sheen on dragons gold. Her face was gentle, 
 mysteriously calm" (Grendel p.100). This combination made her a very 
 desirable woman. So desirable that Unferth was attracted to her. 
 Unferth flirted with Wealhtheow often in Grendel. When she would offer 
 him the mead he would glance at her and look down and smile. Unferth 
 felt embarrassment after he made a comment about men killing their 
 brothers while they were drunk. Few people in Heorot found the comment 
 humorous, the queen was caught off guard. He respected the queen, as 
 did every one throughout the kingdom. He was humiliated at what he had 
 said, he felt regret and ridicule by his mistake and glanced at the 
 queen without looking away. Being the kind person that she was she 
 forgave him, and he was put at ease.
      The lust for Wealhtheow did not stop with Unferth. Perhaps the 
 most significant difference in the two texts is that in Grendel,
 the monster, was attracted to Wealhtheow. There is no suggestion in 
 Beowulf that Grendel posses any feelings toward the humans. This 
 desire for Wealhtheow gives the reader better insight into Grendels 
 character. Up until this point the reader was given no hint that 
 Grendel possessed anything except hatred toward the human race. 
 Grendel was touched the first time he saw Wealhtheow, he was struck by 
 her innocence and beauty. He wanted to sob at the sight of her; the 
 reader had never been introduced to this sensitive side of the 
 monster. The reader wasn't the only one who had a problem 
 understanding Grendels feelings, Grendel couldn't understand them 
 either. He was "tortured by the red of her hair and the set of her 
 chin and the white of her shoulders". There is definitely a sexual 
 overtone in Grendels desire for Wealththeow. Upon his attack of her he 
 ripped her out of bed by her feet as if he was going to split her in 
 half. He wanted to kill her but he was torn by his feeling for her, 
 all the pain he wanted to inflict was sexual. He wanted to "cook the 
 ugly hole between her legs, and squeeze out her feces with his fists". 
 His motive for killing her was justified by wanting to teach the Danes 
 reality, but he refrained because it would be "pointless pleasure". 
 Grendel was clearly unhappy about his desire for Wealtheow, and was 
 disconcerted. He contemplated killing her because he wanted to get rid 
 of these feelings, instead he decided to focus on the undesirable side
 Wealhtheow, "her unqueenly shrieks" and "the ugliness between her 
 legs(the bright tears of blood)." 
      Although the two texts are fundamentally the same, there is a 
 significant difference in how Queen Wealhtheow is portrayed. In the 
 novel Grendel, the reader is given not only further insight to the 
 beauty and charm of Wealhtheow, but the sensitivity and needs of 
 Grendel. Both texts allow the reader to gain a further understanding 
 to the position of women in the Anglo-Saxon society by means of the 
 development of the characters, Queen Wealhtheow and Queen Hygd.


 

