Elly Palmer
Professor B. Richter
English 08, 4166
04 September 2014
Fate’s Favor in Beowulf’s Warrior Society The idea of fate shapes the worldview of the warrior society in Beowulf. It is seen as what determines the fallout of transpiring events and therefore shapes which qualities are valued. The image of good and evil that the characters Beowulf and Grendel respectively embody provides validation for this belief in fate’s favor. Both Beowulf and Grendel’s representation of what is considered right and wrong throughout the poem and the idea of fate reinforce the beliefs the people value and the morals they live by. The civilized people within Beowulf uphold the same ideals despite the different cultures and tribes they belong to within the poem, most notably that of the Geats, to which Beowulf originates from, and the Danes, plagued by the evil creature that is Grendel. This society is made up primarily of warriors and as a result the citizens live by a moral code that reflects their ideals and values. For every value the citizens respect and adhere to, the creature Grendel, “this grim demon” (Beowulf 102), shows himself to disregard. It is natural for the people to fear Grendel, a being who is vastly different from them and who refuses to acknowledge their beliefs. In contrast, Beowulf embodies all the things the society values – such as courage, heroic strength, a sense of honor and loyalty to his people, and self-confidence (Richter) that makes him “the leader he was” (Beowulf 206) in his people’s eyes – and every time he wins a fight and proves his worth he reinforces these very beliefs which shape their culture. The most defining belief characteristic of this warrior society is that “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people everywhere” (24-25), a belief Beowulf fully lives up to. This belief shapes the way the people thought about morality, which developed their ideals of attributes to admire and value. These ideals of admired behavior were established by men who formed the ideal image of a true warrior, one such as Beowulf who upheld and embodied these forming values. The Danish people of Beowulf believe that fate ultimately determines how events will turn out. What is considered fate is also interwoven with the citizens’ view of “the Lord of Life, / the glorious Almighty” (16-17). While it is vastly important for individuals to continuously prove their worth, it is fate, connected to “God” (14), that decides how worthy the individual truly is of success and glory. Beowulf, with all of his strength, who “is truly noble” (250), shares the belief of those around him that “The truth is clear: / Almighty God rules over mankind / and always has” (700-02). The people believe in the significance of proving their worth, as when Beowulf shows his confidence in fate’s sway over his life in all things, especially his fights with monsters such as Grendel where glory can be earned: “And I shall fulfill that purpose, / prove myself with a proud deed / or meet my death here in the mead-hall” (636-38). These warriors feel that if they do not prove themselves worthy of the glory of success, should they instead show themselves to be lacking, then it is certain that whosoever “death fells / must deem it a just judgment by God” (440-41). Beowulf himself is “indifferent to death;” (1442) he represents the perfect image of a warrior within this society in both his actions and mindset for he lives by the warrior’s code of vengeance and does not fear whatever fate may have in store for him. Such beliefs only paint Grendel in his “demonic” (730) light even more. Grendel delights in his plans to “rip life from limb and devour” (732) those within the mead-hall. His sense of right and wrong is horribly skewed as he feels no sympathy for those he kills and cares not for following the code of honor which his warrior enemies live by. The warriors believe that it is their “enemies [who] br[ing]
