Since the beginning of time,
wherever there is good, there must also be evil. Consequently, all stories
about an epic hero contain a monster of some sort that symbolizes everything
bad in the world. In the ancient poem, Beowulf, an epic hero is forced to save
his threatened community by battling and defeating a total of three monsters.
One of these monsters is the character Grendel, who had previously terrorized
citizens of the area for many years. His attacks had become routine, and the
king, Hrothgar, began to take drastic measures in order to defeat the monster
for good. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, the
character of Grendel is portrayed as ruthless and malevolent. However, many
aspects of the story point to the conclusion that Grendel may not be to blame
completely for his tormenting behavior.
Throughout Beowulf, an anonymous author characterizes the monster
Grendel through his actions, his motives, and the way he is perceived by the
people.
As the poem Beowulf begins, readers
can immediately see that the image that will be given to the character of
Grendel throughout the entire story is the role of the antagonist. Grendel
receives a reputation for being such a horrid monster based on his
actions. His relentless murders and
nonchalant raids make him seem like a cold-blooded killer with an unquenchable
thirst for blood. The poem opens by
stating, “…A powerful monster, living down/in the darkness, growled in pain…”
(Raffel 1-2). These lines foreshadow the presence of an evil being in the story
although readers are not yet introduced to the actual character. Soon after
this grim opening, however, a direct statement is made to ensure that readers
realize the demonic nature of the monster Grendel. “So Hrothgar’s men lived happy
in his hall/Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend/Grendel, who
haunted the moors” (Raffel 15-17). Grendel had a history for such horrendous
actions, noted as having “haunted the moors” (Raffel 17) and making “his home
in a hell” (Raffel 18). Hrothgar’s men,
along with people from all over the European area, had learned to live in fear
of Grendel, never knowing when or where he may strike next. Everyone knew that Grendel had no sympathy
and attacked and murdered whoever was bothering him at the moment. Grendel’s first astonishing move in Beowulf,
however, was the invasion of the mead-hall.
In his foray to Herot, Grendel “snatched up thirty men, smashed them”
(Raffel 37) and “ran out with their bodies,/The blood dripping behind him”
(Raffel 38-39). In this venture, Grendel
showed no remorse for violently murdering a whole group of men, who lay
innocently “sleeping” in the mead-hall.
As a result, Grendel is seen as an unforgiving, relentless murderer and
is described as “Killing as often as he could, coming / Alone, bloodthirsty and
horrible” (Raffel 80-81) and “bearing God’s hatred, / Grendel came, hoping to
kill / Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot” (Raffel 393-395). Even yet, the reader learns more about
Grendel’s character in his final battle with Beowulf. Although Beowulf would win the battle in the
end, it was not without a struggle, finding out that Grendel was stronger than
any human, for “their points/Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest
iron/Could not scratch at his skin” (Raffel 481-483). Here, the reader learns of the almost
supernatural powers that Grendel possesses.
This fact makes the people even more afraid since his unworldly strength
makes him even more dangerous. Through
these actions, the reader can understand how Grendel is a horrendous,
uncontrollable fiend with no sympathy or second thoughts for the victims of his
wrath.
In addition to his spiteful
actions, Grendel’s evil character can be explained by his motives for such
awful doings. Grendel’s first excuse for
his behavior is his natural disposition to be evil. The author claims that Grendel “was spawned
in that slime” (Raffel 19), implying that it was purely instinct for Grendel to
do such evil things. This reason insists
that, since it was Grendel’s nature to kill and attack, it had become his way
of life; he knew nothing else. He never
knew what it was to love or to be loved, not even by God himself. Therefore, it seemed as if Grendel could have
been born without a heart or a conscience at all. Furthermore, the author points out that
Grendel was “conceived by a pair of those monsters born/Of Cain” (Raffel
20-21). Grendel’s background hints that
it was simply in Grendel’s blood to be a killer and it was a natural
inclination for Grendel to be evil. This
is a direct allusion to the book of Genesis in the Bible, the story of Cain and
Abel, the two sons of Adam and Eve. According to the book of Genesis, Cain
killed Abel out of jealousy, becoming the first murderer in human history. This
aspect of jealousy carries over into the monster Grendel, as his aggressiveness
towards the Danes may be the effect of jealousy of their lineage and way of
life. An additional logical explanation for Grendel’s actions is his resentment
towards society. As stated, Grendel was
“banished/by God” (Raffel 21-22) and the “exile was bitter” (Raffel 24) since
he was “shut away from men” (Raffel 25).
Since the beginning of his life, Grendel was forced to live away from
the rest of society in the swampland, simply because of his origins. This continuously growing resentment towards
Hrothgar’s people in particular fuels Grendel’s hatred and evil actions. This prompts the idea that Grendel is a
character only longing to be accepted into the realm of human society and may just
be confused on how to do so. In these typical explanations, the author attempts
to explain reasons for evil in the world through Grendel's own motives.
Finally, and probably most
important, the people's reactions towards Grendel demonstrate the role he plays
in his society. The people’s initial
reaction to Grendel was to be completely fearful of this supernatural and
unforgiving monster. “Hrothgar’s men
lived happy” (Raffel 15) until they were aware that Grendel was on his way to
destroy their peace. In addition, no
other warrior was brave enough to battle Grendel except for Beowulf, who is
noted as being stronger than his peers.
But although the people generally feared Grendel, there was also a sense
of respect for such a “powerful monster”(Raffel 1). With his supernatural strength and abilities,
Grendel is esteemed for being such a worthy opponent in battle. He is undefeatable at first, which makes him
all the more dangerous and threatening, but respected at the same time. Above all else, however, the people rejoice
at Grendel’s death. When Beowulf had
finally defeated Grendel, he had “ended the grief, the sorrow, and the
suffering” (Raffel 512) of the Geats.
With Grendel gone, society finally felt a sense of safety and
happiness. Grendel fits the archetype of
the evil monster, especially because of the way he is perceived and rejected by
the general public of his society.
Throughout the epic poem Beowulf,
Grendel is possibly the most memorable character present. His dark and evil
intentions are those far beyond that of many antagonistic characters throughout
literature. No one knows exactly whether Grendel’s malice is to be blamed on
his nature, his lineage, or both. Grendel commits many murderous actions that
reveal his blood-thirsty nature. In
addition, the author includes information about his motives, possibly a natural
inclination or a growing resentment.
Finally, the people’s reactions to the creature ultimately decide what
role Grendel plays in his society. By
creating such a scary creature of evil, the author of Beowulf attempts to
explain the evil in the world and the reasons for it.
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