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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 2.5 page paper which draws conclusions about the place of women in the ancient societies featured in these epics, specifically considers why there are so few women mentioned in “Beowulf,” examines the significance of Princess Nana Triban’s role in “Sundiata” and considers the possibility of feminine heroism in these societies. No additional sources are used.
Page Count:
2 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGbeosun.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of these civilizations were patriarchal and completely dominated by men, who were celebrated in folk tales and religious practices as protectors of their people. The role of women was
practically nonexistent, at least beyond the boundaries of home and family. However, there exists within each of these poems a sense that women were not going to be complacent
forever. They would carve whatever niche they could so that the place of future generations of women would be secure. Women are scarcely mentioned in "Beowulf," perhaps
because except for their childbearing capabilities they were regarded as having little social relevance. In fact, there are only six women who are mentioned in the epic - Wealhtheow,
Hygd, Freawaru, Hildeburh, Thryth and the monster Grendels mother. Most of these women seldom venture beyond conventional stereotypes of being caregivers, hostesses or keepers of the peace. Only
Grendels mother commands attention but this was only because she was depicted in masculine terms. She was as strong as King Hrothgars mightiest warrior, Beowulf, because she was motivated
by an unwavering sense of honor and an overpowering need to "avenge her child, her only son" (XXII 58). Although Grendel himself was portrayed as the incarnate of evil,
whose ravenous attacks on King Hrothgars subjects were nothing more than examples of blood lust, his mother emerges as perhaps the epics most sympathetic character. What drives her into
combat is not glory or the acquisition of territory; it is the desperate act of a woman attempting to ease a mothers greatest pain - the loss of a child.
In "Sundiata," the epic that chronicled the rise to power of one of Malis most revered rulers, women are more frequently mentioned but have no more prominent place in their
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