Monsters, Saints, Who cares? They're two sides of the same coin.

“So times were pleasant for the people there until finally one, a fiend out of Hell, began to work his evil in the world”. Beowulf is all about good vs. evil, and in the novel Grendel, giving us the events through the monsters viewpoint intensifies this relationship and even makes us feel sympathetic for the monster at some points. Not because we want evil to win, but maybe evil isn’t just a person or monster like Grendel, instead Grendel could be the pure embodiment and personification of everything that is evil. We study monsters because they fascinate us, but what some people fail to realize, is that it is ourselves we are truly fascinated by. You see, we all have monsters within us; some just choose to wear a mask.

Moving on, while reading Grendel it felt like there were nonstop comparisons occurring; either ones made by Grendel himself, or ones made by the author. In particular, the relationship between Unferth and Grendel stands out to me. In the beginning, Unferth poses as a hero, in iconic symbol meant to give man hope, but the deeds he has done beforehand separate from every truly becoming this embodiment of a true hero. He was once named a “Kin-killer”, and just like Grendel who is a descendant of the first kin-killer, Cain, they are already two faces of the same coin. Something that shows even our heroes may be monsters.

Later in the story when Unferth swims down to the den in which Grendel lives, his life is spared by Grendel after giving a speech on what a true hero is while Grendel happily mocks him. I don’t think Grendel spared him for the laughs, but rather because he sees himself in Unferth. Like Unferth, at the beginning of the story Grendel just wants to be recognized by anyone, for something to give him attention. Thus, he repeatedly roars at the ram, the moon, the sky, etc. However, after being ridiculed by the humans for the way he looks, and almost killed as well, he begins to question his place in the world and that’s when he meets the dragon who helps Grendel come to an ultimate resolution, “Reality is only what he makes it”. Knowing this and seeing Unferth struggle to gain recognition from others, Grendel decides to put Unferth through the same, if not worse, tragedies as he himself has been through to show Unferth that the idea of a hero is nonexistent; there is only reality and reality is harsh. This is seen by always leaving Unferth alive after Grendel goes on a rampage, or by humiliating Unferth in the fight with the apples. This whole comparison between a die hard wannabe hero and the villain shows that there really is no fine line between the two, except it is a misunderstanding on one side.

The thing I like most about the story of Grendel, is this idea of vengeance. That no matter which side you may be affiliated with (Good or Evil), both sides take part in it. The one that stands out the most is when Grendel’s mother retaliates for the death of her son. The fact that she ends up taking Hrothgar’s most trusted and beloved friend is no coincidence. In a way, it falls in with the saying in the popular TV Series, “The 100” that “Jus drein jus daun!” which means “Blood must have Blood”. The idea of this is that when exacting vengeance or as other say, justice, the price of blood must be paid in equal. If someone slaughters 16 people, that one person will feel the pain of 16 deaths or 16 people affiliated with that person will die. Grendel has been slain, the one thing precious to his mother is now gone. So she in turn takes something of equal value, Hrothgar’s most trusted friend in which Hrothgar weeps relentlessly for. This results in an infinite cycle until one side is completely eradicated.