These lines are not only an interesting take on the Anglo-Saxon theme of family and brotherhood, but also show how complex and fascinating Grendel’s mother is. Grendel is shown to be an inhuman and emotionless demon who is “insensible to pain / and human sorrow.” (119-120) Yet Grendel’s mother’s attacks on the hall are driven by her emotions. Her sorrow and rage over Grendel’s death are the driving forces of her attack, which she sees as a ‘wergild’ that the Danes and Geats must pay for the death of her son at the hands of Beowulf. In Anglo-Saxon literature, the wergild was typically paid for the death of a warrior from another clan, but in Beowulf, this wergild is between a demon and a man. This unnamed character’s motives behind terrorizing…
