www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/old-english-judith.png?w=819&ssl=1 819w, Breaking with tradition(?): Female representations of heroism in Old English poetry
By Kathryn A. Green
PhD Dissertation, University of Louisville, 2018
Abstract: For the Anglo-Saxons, strength, bravery, and the willingness to put oneself in harm’s way for king and kingdom were not only part of contemporary society but recurring themes in Old English literature. Poems like Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon reinforce the important bond between lord and retainer and the heroic ethos key to that relationship. Women were not historically part of this relationship and, therefore, not subject to the heroic code in the same way; consequently, they are rarely seen as anything more than conventional mothers, queens, wives, sisters, daughters, and virgins, all identified by their relationships to men, the “real” heroes in the literature. The poets of Beowulf, Judith, and Juliana, expanded this tradition by introducing the Anglo-Saxon world to a new kind of female character, a physically powerful heroine. By constructing heroines that connect Germanic tradition with changing Christian sensibilities, poets not only reveal their appreciation for strong women in literature but their willingness to afford women the opportunity to break with tradition and perform autonomously.
The characters of Grendel’s mother, Judith, and Juliana serve as primary examples for this analysis. This dissertation identifies these three figures as exhibiting a heroic ethos, explores how they fit into and deviate from the defined Old English heroic ideal, and examines select character traits in order to reveal how their unique performances broaden the conventional definition of a hero.
Chapter I centers on the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideal and situates both men and women within the tradition. It emphasizes how the motivational factors driving heroic behavior differ between the sexes by examining specific performances within the genre. Chapters II, III, and IV, are individual case studies focusing on Grendel’s mother, Judith, and Juliana, respectively, emphasizing one significant way each serves to shape a new version of the heroic ideal.
Click here to read this thesis from the University of Louisville
Pentru a putea adăuga comentarii trebuie să fii membru al altmarius !
Alătură-te reţelei altmarius