Does the Dragon in Grendel Represent Greed and Narcissism?

Is the dragon really superior to Grendel and the townspeople? The dragon in Grendel regards himself as superior to Grendel and the humans. He has no trouble stealing from people, killing them, or destroying their buildings. When he gives Grendel advice about dealing with the humans, it is very narcissistic and reveals how highly he thinks of himself. Is the dragon a representation of a wealthy entrepreneur who lives a lonely life in a large house and only visits a town to separate people from their money?

This claim would be supported by the dragon’s living condition. The dragon lives in a large cave where he guards his stolen treasures. Another important detail is the dragon lives alone, and does not have contact with any other dragons. The only time the dragon leaves his dwelling is to add more to his collection of stolen valuables. Each of these behaviors are reflected by someone who only lives for money. This would also explain why the dragon thinks so highly of himself. If he believes money and valuable items are what is most important, and you have more of those than anyone, why wouldn’t you think you are the best? For that same reason, it is only be natural for him to devote his life to protecting what he has earned.

What about the dragon’s attitude? When Grendel meets the dragon in Grendel, he takes pleasure in confusing and frightening Grendel. He enjoys the fact that Grendel reacts to him in the way humans react to Grendel. This is an example of the dragon’s cynical views on existence. The dragon doesn’t empathize with Grendel’s or the humans’ feelings because he believes they are insignificant. The dragon makes it clear that he believes life is meaningless, so why would he mind if Grendel was scared by his presence? In this way, his character represents the belief that people who do not believe in God believe they are mentally superior and look down on those who do.

The dragon is obviously very wealthy compared to the people in Grendel, but does that make him superior? From the perspective of the Grendel the dragon is very wise, but it is clear the dragon is very selfish and lonely because of his skewed priorities. From his behavior towards the humans, and his advice to Grendel make it obvious that he is a symbol of greed and narcissism.

A Wyf (A Woman)

A Wyf 
by: Crystalle Fry

Studying Beowulf provides a valuable insight into the culture and values of the ancient Anglo-Saxon people. It introduces how the poem treats and develops universal ideas—these ideas (heroes and heroism, virtue, honor, glory, sacrifice, good/bad kings) transcend in all aspects of life, regardless of time and place. But more specifically sets the stage for addressing gender norms and the duties shared between them—especially women.

Upon further research of the Anglo-Saxon culture, I came upon an interesting role that women play in this time period. “Memory-Keepers” carried the burden of mourning and burying dead husbands, fathers, and brothers after wars. They kept with them the spoils of the war and the destruction that led to the death of their loved ones. An example of this is seen in the text on lines 3148-3155, “With heavy spirits they mourned their despair; the death of their lord and a sorrowful song sang the Geatish woman, with a hair bound up, for Beowulf the King, with sad cares earnestly said that she dreaded the hard days ahead, the times of slaughter, the host’s terror, harm and captivity.” Here we see that her role is to mourn the loss of her King, but is also responsible for the memories of his death. In addition, she predicts the outcome of her people as it reminds her that one their protector has gone, the kingdom will become a target for invaders who seek to destroy it. Further, we see that the tale and history of Beowulf is held in the memory of the Geatish woman.  

Although mainly a patriarchal society, women assumed the roles of “Peace Weavers” and motivators that arguably kept clans alive and influenced peace-keeping strategies today in times of war. Wealhtheow assumes her role as peace weaver (a woman who is married off to make peace between warring tribes), and a cupbearer (a woman who passed cups of mead or beer around to men). An example of this is seen in Beowulf when Wealththeow enters the mead hall for the first time and passes around a cup full of mead, “Wealhtheow went forth, Hrothgar’s Queen, mindful of customs; adorned with the guardian of the East Danes’ kingdom, bid him be merry at his beer drinking beloved by his people, with pleasure he received the feast and cup, victorious King. The lady of the Helming’s then went about to young and old, gave each his portion of the precious cup (Beowulf 611-621).

The heroic poetry of this time period is too often defined as a genre dealing exclusively with the means of one or two supremely heroic male protagonists. The glorification of the male, occasionally at the expense of the female, is a defining element in this genre of poetry. However, women did exist in the warband culture, and they did hold power. Even more interestingly, the power that they held during the time of Beowulf was going through a transition due to the aforesaid introduction of Christianity. These transitions needs to be highlighted, to show that these women (particularly the characters of Wealhtheow, Grendel’s Mother, Hygd, and Modthryth) are not simply static figures from one moment in time, but highly dynamic characters that reflect both Pagan and Christian influences.