Zach Myers
October 28, 2004
Period 4
“Everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming. I see the darkness spreading. I see death-and you are all that stands in his way. Very soon he’ll have the power to destroy this world, but I believe he won’t stop there, he can’t, he won’t stop until there’s nothing left at all…He is you, you’re opposite, the result of the equation trying to balance itself out.” (the Oracle, Matrix: Revolutions) Beowulf is the supreme hero, the pure warrior, the Viking ideal, yet Beowulf needs Grendel, because for every supreme good, there needs be a supreme evil. Grendel is Beowulf’s opposite. This dynamic rivalry is key to heroic narrative. Because of their relationship Grendel and Beowulf are inseparable. It is therefore inappropriate to discuss the one without the other. So while this essay will focus on the character Grendel, the man and the monster, Beowulf will also be discussed to better understand every facet of Grendel’s character.
In order to be sufficiently evil Grendel was written, not as a mindless beast, but as a complex character that is peculiarly human. Grendel, “conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain[1]”, was descended of man and still retains several human traits. The emotional complexity of Grendel is very human. He is rejected by all men, and lives alone in the swamp. He even “bears God’s hatred”, “God whose love Grendel could never know”. He goes “up to Herot, wondering what the warriors would do in that Hall.” When he finds them “sprawled in sleep” he is delighted and “snatch[es] up thirty men, and smash[es] them unknowing in their beds”. Grendel’s “lust” eventually becomes insatiable; He hunted “when they slept…relish[ing] his savage war…keeping the blood feud alive… seeking no peace, offering no truce, accepting no settlement, no price in gold or land”. When struggling with “that tight hard grip” of Beowulf Grendel’s “mind was flooded with fear”. Suddenly Grendel wants nothing more than to “flee back to his marsh and hide there”. “That trip to Herot was a miserable journey for” Grendel. “Grendel escaped, but wounded as he was could [only] flee to his den…to wait the end of all his days.” All of these strong emotions evince Grendel’s human character. Why would these ancient writers put so much humanity in Grendel? In order to answer this question it is useful to examine Grendel’s role as part of Beowulf’s character. Beowulf’s opposite would not be a stupid animal. Neither is Grendel, rather his mind is a deranged version of Beowulf’s. It’s helpful to examine the opposites: Grendel is only part human, Beowulf is all man; Beowulf goes “bearing our love”, Grendel has no love; even God hates Grendel, but God loves Beowulf; where Grendel seeks to destroy, Beowulf seeks to protect; Beowulf seeks to end the war, Grendel seeks the continuation; Grendel wishes to escape, Beowulf holds tighter; Beowulf is pure, Grendel is pure evil. The combination of opposites is very strong, and useful when employed together, which is why Grendel is depicted as partly human.
Another facet of Grendel is the powerful, evil monster. He enters Herot Hall, the brave warriors strong hold, and kills thirty men undetected. When it comes to Grendel, “distance [is] safety”. In fact, “[T]he only survivors were those who fled him”. His “hell-forged hands” were the harbinger of misery and death in Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel’s “mind was hot with the thought of food”, and he feasted on human flesh. Grendel was full of dark magic and had “spells that blunted every mortals blade”. The Terrible monster Grendel needed to be destroyed, or else suffering in Hrothgar's kingdom would never end. Again it is useful to note that Beowulf is the same only opposite in almost every respect. Beowulf is a powerful, good warrior, not evil; With Beowulf “none have ever come so openly”, Grendel comes “undetected”: “the night hid him”; “distance is safety” from Grendel, but with Beowulf nearness is preferable for well-being; and curiously, while fleeing is the only way to escape Grendel, trying to flee from Beowulf is what eventually gets Grendel killed.
Grendel and Beowulf are fundamentally linked to one-another. Beowulf discusses their connection when he says, “death was my errand and my fate…now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come.” Grendel is part of Beowulf’s destiny in a fundamental way. The dichotomy of good verses evil-which Beowulf and Grendel represent-is a classic Christian maxim: “there is no good without evil, neither evil without good”. In order to represent good it is useful to have evil set in opposition to the good. Some Anglo-Saxon author was able to seize upon this theme, and use it comfortably even in the awkward shift from Paganism to Christianity. Beowulf can only assume his role as “protector of men” if Grendel exists to be the “tormentor of their days”. It’s especially notable that only in battle with Grendel does Beowulf truly shine; only then does he become the deliverer of God’s justice: “Now [Grendel] discovered…what it meant to feud with the almighty God”. Only after the battle with Grendel is over is Beowulf granted “new glory”. Grendel unlocks Beowulf’s true character. Without Grendel, Beowulf isn’t. That is why Grendel and Beowulf will always be associated together.
When examining Grendel the key aspect to investigate is his relationship to Beowulf. Grendel’s purpose in this epic verse is to be set in opposition to the hero Beowulf. This perspective is useful in explaining several aspects of his character: He is somewhat human in order to be sufficiently evil; he is a monster to be sufficiently powerful. Grendel is Beowulf in the sense that “he is [his] opposite, [his] negative, the result of the equation balancing…itself out”.