Grendel and his mother’s relationship is clearly one of staggering co-dependence. Early in the novel, the audience is able to see Grendel’s childlike love and dependence for his mom. When he is stuck in the tree with the bull charging at him his first instinct is to call out to his mother he sobs “Mama! Waa! Waa!” (Gardner 18). His innocence is shattered when she doesn’t come immediately to his aid and his perception of his mother begins to change. Because he is telling his story from a narrator’s perspective the audience is able to see how he perceived his own actions and describes his progression from child to adolescent to young adult. Grendel is an intelligent being telling a story with hindsight which as the saying goes is 20/20. He looks back at times of vulnerability, both physical and emotional and adds a tone of insincerity to every emotion and compromising position he finds himself in. this is a way of preserving his image to the outside world because no revered monster shows a weakness of any kind.
The way that Grendel describes his
mother even when remembering a time that he loved her with his whole heart, is
demeaning. He describes her in a way that if it was applied to humans,
even in a textual form would receive heavy backlash, but because she is a
monster people pose no argument. Describing monsters can go multiple ways, they
can be outstandingly beautiful and charming or they can be disgusting and vile
and either way, it is accepted that they are a monster. Considering this, why
did Grendel’s mother have to be made into a horrendous, dirty being when in the
original Beowulf poem, she is not described in such awful ways? It is easier to
hate a monster that is perceived to be the very definition of the word in
appearance rather than just another average looking creature who falls into the
category because of their actions.
How much of this is actually Grendel
compared to the influence of the author and his misogynistic views? Because of
the 1970s influence, it is easy to assume that Gardner had his own set of views
that influenced Grendel’s perspectives. His demeaning views of women could have
been passed from himself to his monster. It is easy for influence to creep into
writing, especially when the influence is so predominant in that culture.
Grendel and his mother have a desperate
connection that is facing the precipice of disaster due to his mother's lack of
speech but undying want for her and Grendel to be together. It is her sense of
loyalty that ensures that Grendel keeps coming back despite his growing hatred
for his mother. He sees her as not a monster, rather as a disgusting being that
he feels responsible for which is illuminated in the way that he describes her
as a childlike creature, he sees her for all of her weaknesses. What began as
idle indifference is slowly becoming silent hatred because Grendel feels like
his mom is an anchor that reminds him of the worst parts of himself.