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Need help with Grendel’s Mother (Lines 1251–1407) in Anonymous's Beowulf? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis.
Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her son’s death. She murders Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisers, before slinking away.
The second chapter focuses on the figure of Grendel’s mother. Out of the premise concerning the situation of Anglo-Saxon women arises another assertion that leads me to the belief that Grendel’s mother’s monstrosity is, in fact, a construct.
The next night, Grendel’s mother – angered by the attack on her son – turns up to wreak vengeance, and once again Beowulf finds himself having to roll up his sleeves and engage in fierce combat, which this time takes place in the underwater lair of the monster deep beneath the surface of a lake.
The epic poem follows Beowulf, a hero who comes to aid Hrothgar, King of the Danes, in his fight against the vicious monster Grendel. Before the tale is over, Beowulf fights and defeats Grendel, Grendel’s mother, becomes king of the Geats, and vanquishes a dragon.
Grendel's mother (sometimes called his "dam") is not as huge or as powerful as the son, but she is motivated by revenge. Her son has returned to their cave mortally wounded, one of his two arms (or claws) ripped from its shoulder socket and hanging, now, beneath the roof of Hrothgar's mead-hall.
Grendel’s mother, like her son, is a mysterious humanoid creature. She enters the poem as an “avenger” (l.1258), seeking redress for the death of her son at Beowulf’s hands.
