![]() Wealhtheow then does the same for all of Hrothgar’s retainers. In her first scene, she offers a cup of mead to her king, Hrothgar, to which he accepts and drinks from the it. Her role as a hostess is exemplified by her passing of the mead cup. She does not deviate from or expand upon her role, and as a result, comes off as a flat and stagnant character.Īs the queen of the Danes, Wealhtheow is the hostess for the parties held at the Heorot. If we look at her role in the epic poem, Wealhtheow is meant to support Hrothgar and Beowulf. Wealhtheow does not show any meaningful weaknesses, as she does not fight, nor is she put in any situation that would reveal such a weakness. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Wealhtheow returns to Hrothgar’s side. While she is offering the cup, she asks Beowulf is he really intends to help the Danes rid of Grendel, to which Beowulf asserts his promise. As Wealhtheow is during her duty as hostess by offering the mead cup to Hrothgar and his retainers, she offers the cup to Beowulf. This could indicate that Wealhtheow was forced into marriage to Hrothgar, although there is no mention of it, nor is there any tension between the two present in the epic poem.įrom what we see of Wealhtheow, she shows strong charisma and great judge of character. One translation of Wealhtheow’s name could be “foreign slave”. There are many scholarly debates about what her names means. ![]() The text describes her as “adorned in gold” and “decked out in rings”. Wealhþeow, often written as Wealhtheow, is a minor character in the epic poem Beowulf.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |