The Epic Of Beowulf By Joseph Campbell - 1038 Words

Joseph Campbell, a philosopher from the 1980’s, once said â€Å"She sits there. She is now a woman. And what is a woman? A woman is a vehicle for life. Life has overtaken her. Woman is what it is all about – the giving of birth and the giving of nourishment. She is identical with the earth goddess in her powers, and she has got to realize this about herself. The boy does not have a happening of this kind, so he has to be turned into a man and voluntarily become a servant of something greater than himself.† This quotation directly relates to the idea that old English epics were not written about women due to the fact that women did not need to go on a journey to find their womanhood. This thought by Joseph Campbell is somewhat true in the†¦show more content†¦She does not want her husband to give up the throne to Beowulf, but instead to give it to her nephew who can hold the throne until her son can rule. Queen Wealhtheow in these two occasions shows the expected roles of women in a epic as well as the non-expected behavior of a woman during this period. Another woman in Beowulf is Hildeburh, she exemplifies basic women’s roles during this time by being married off as a peace offering, as well as defying them by standing up saying that her son is her own and not to be associated with her husband. Hildeburh was originallty married off to keep the Danes and Jutes from fighting but those efforts were not able to stop the fighting as explained in the story of Hildeburh: â₠¬Å"Nor had hildeburh cause to acclaim the faith of the Jutish fold, Blameless, bereft of her brothers in battle, and stripped of her sons Who fell overcome by their fate and wounded with spears† (lines1074-1076). Although this outcome is tragic, her marriage and childbirth show that women in epics are supposed to give life and not be a hero. However Hildebruh defies the normal gender stereotypes by standing up to the men who want to bury her son. They wish to bury her son inShow MoreRelatedHeroes and How to Represent Them929 Words   |  4 Pagescombination of qualities. There are two types of heroes in literature, tragic and epic. A tragic hero makes some sort of statement about the nature of man. Tragic heroes show the downfall of a prominent and powerful hero. He should also bring pity and fear on part of the audience but also be admirable and good. The hero’s death must come as a result of some personal error or decision. As opposed to the epic hero, an epic hero has physical might, and is more skillful than any other man. They are bolderRead MoreComparing The Epics And The Epic Heroes2376 Words   |  10 PagesComparison of the Epics In every epic, there are common themes that present themselves throughout the story, such as war. 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