Date of Award
2012
Degree Name
English
College
College of Liberal Arts
Type of Degree
M.A.
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Gwyneth Hood
Second Advisor
Timothy Burbery
Third Advisor
John Young
Abstract
This thesis documents the relationship between “Goaders" and "Peace-Weavers" amongst the women of Beowulf. These roles have a large place to play within the framework of the Beowulf narrative and all of its female characters fall into one of these descriptors. Goaders are women who have the role of driving men to violence with words. They do not actually perform the violence themselves but instead induce it in others, souring relationships and compelling men to war. Peace-weavers, by contrast, urge men toward reconciliation with speech and encouragement. Examining the poem's context for these two roles and how they relate to one another provides insight not only into the Beowulf poem but also the culture which created it. It, further, provides information on the nature of expected gender roles for women of the period.
Subject(s)
Beowulf - Criticism and interpretation.
Women in literature.
Recommended Citation
Phipps, Charles, "A Feminist Critique of Beowulf: Women as Peace-Weavers and Goaders in Beowulf's Courts" (2012). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 297.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/297
