Grendel as an Environmentalist

In Grendel, by John Gardner, the reader is allowed a chance to hear the epic poem of Beowulf through one of its monster’s, Grendel, perspective. It is a fascinating look into the mind of a character that lacks sympathy or complexity in its original depiction. The perspective provides an insight into what life was like long before Beowulf showed up on the scene at Heorot. One passage in particular paints Grendel as somewhat of an environmentalist, someone who feels upset when he sees waste and destruction to the land and its creatures.

Chapter 3 details what Grendel witnessed as Hrothgar continued his reign. Grendel listens to the men in the meadhalls exchange their drunken musings with “eyebrows lifted, [his] lips pursed, the hair on the back of [his] neck standing up like pigs’ bristles” (Gardner 32). He felt “more amused than revolted” (Gardner 32) over time, and that shows a change in attitude. This change is important in exposing the monster’s capability of growth and maturation. During this time, Grendel watches “crafty-witted killers that worked in teams, hunting through the summer, shivering in caves or little huts in the winter” (Grendel 32), indicating not only the passage of seasons but a careful observation on the monster’s part. He must spend an awful lot of time paying close attention to these humans. Not only does he appreciate the humans, he takes special note of the spring bounty. He describes “every sheep and goat had its wobbly twins, and the first crops of the hillsides were coming into fruit” (Gardner 33). These details, I think, highlight Grendel’s credibility in the opinions he forms.

So, one night, when Grendel happens upon the scene of a meadhall just after a violent raid, he is disturbed. He sees “cows in their pens [lying] burbling blood through their nostrils with javelin holes in their necks. None had been eaten… The fallen hall was a square of flames and acrid smoke, and the people inside (none of them had been eaten either) were burned black” (Gardner 33-34). The fact that he mentions both the animals and humans that had been wasted is significant in that he sees the squandering of these resources as a sin.

The effect of this unique addition to Grendel’s personality is that it adds a layer of compassion. Respect and care for the environment, specifically, is a sweet tenderness because nature is symbolic of purity and provides an innocence that the reader does not expect the monster to possess.