Comparing Women In Beowulf And Lady Bath's Tale

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Women in the Anglo-Saxon era were treated more like objects and a way for people to reproduce rather than as people. As people in modern society read plays and epics from their time we have realized that the main women in Anglo-Saxon stories were told as people who didn’t really have their own identity. In plays and epics like Beowulf, Macbeth and lastly in Lady Baths story in Canterbury tales they show that women are important characters, even though they aren’t given an identity In the story Beowulf, Grendel’s mom isn’t even human but we see that she is only known as her son’s mom and not given a proper name. Grendel’s mom is a character who is placed in a position where she wants to avenge her son’s death and overpower Beowulf by killing their best soldiers. She is blinded by the pain of the loss of her son and is …show more content…

Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth and is a very persuasive character in the story. Lady Macbeth is a women who is power hungry and willing to do anything for it. We see her power-hungry self when she says “But be the serpent under’t. he is coming must be provided for and you shall put the nights greats business into my dispatch.” (I,iv,59) this section is her painting the picture of Macbeth killing Duncan in his sleep. Lady Macbeth is manipulating him into doing deeds that he isn’t too willing to do but will be persuaded by her into killing the king. We see that she challenges his manhood constantly throughout her plan to kill the king. It is shown when she says “was so hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath you slept since? And wakes it now, to look so pale and green” (I, viii, 36) She speaks about how he was willing to go through with the killing but when shows signs of regret she shoots at his manhood by calling him a coward to persuade him into killing. Lady Macbeth is a woman who will always get her way and is willing to kill for

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