Don't anger Grendel's Mom
First, I am glad to see I am still remembered,
even at this late date and in this strange land,
as the great warrior and hero that I aspired to be.
Be that as it may, one aspect of my tale
has vexed me off and on for years.
The usual order of things, as I see it,
is that Grendel, the horrible beast that he was,
that devil, that spawn of Cain,
slew many of Hrothgar's men,
as payment for some imagined wrong
the castle Heorot did to his countenance.
His vengeance went above and beyond,
and showed no signs of ceasing,
and as such, deserved retribution.
This I provided. But here the story
fails, as it falls to Grendel's Dam
to exact further vengeance for the
passing of her son. Why is this?
We would not expect Guenevere
to take up the gauntlet and slay Mordred
for the wrongs he dealt to Pendragon
(I apologize for continuing to draw
parallels to King Arthur's court, by the way.
Hopefully that will change as I get better at this.).
Why was I forced to slay a female, a mother, a woman,
and not a more powerful father?
Comments
Mr. Beowulf,
Although you have showed great courage in a time
of crisis and dissolved the anathema plaguing the
Danes, I found your remarks comparing 'woman,'
'mother,' and 'female' with 'powerful father' to be
ignorant and contemptuous.
Let me remind thee that God hath made me His instrument and the defender of my humble people.
He appointed me to lead England and that is what I
intend to fulfill. I have the heart, stomach, and
soul of a king, a king of England with royal blood. No treasure on earth is more valuable to me than my
people and their love.
Think not that I distrust your heroic intentions, perhaps,
your articulation could have been better sharpened had you some time to spare with Roger Ascham.
Let repentance take place for your utterance in categorizing all women and let not the fiend interfere
with your perceptions. And thus in haste, I leave and
offer you prayers so that God may continue guiding you
with courage and righteousness.
Elizabeth R.
Posted by: Queen Elizabeth | June 13, 2007 04:48 PM
Beowulf-
You are a courageous man. You fought for the Danes and you protected the land. You slayed many beasts and conquered all your battles. But why do you feel that defeating a woman is such a small task? Would you feel better if all evils in the world were males so that when you fought, you would feel more manly? More powerful? More accomplished? Defeating evil is an accomplishment in itself. Must you pick at the details of what evil is? Man or women, evil needs to be dealt with. Be proud of your defeat, regardless of gender. Gender is an illusion. Evil is not.
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