Introduction
Grendel, in John Gardener’s novel, is a titular character who is presented as a symbol of the traditional notions of heroism and villainy. Grendel describes the history of his battles with people and the universe at large in a sequence of flashbacks. His life is lonely and full of desolation. The story takes place in sixth-century pagan Scandinavia. The Danes’ king, Hrothgar, needs help from Beowulf, a Geat warrior, and hero, as the monster Grendel has been attacking his mead hall, Heorot, for more than twelve years. As a monstrous creature with non-human-like features, he lives a life of confusion. At one point, he tries to be a peaceful and friendly being, but in other instances, he is the typical villain in everyone’s story. He is lonely and dismal as he lives with his mother in a cave with no friends (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2024). The humans cannot understand him; neither can the animals in the forest he lives in. He ends up becoming a nihilist who does not find meaning in life. He becomes the evil one in the eyes of the Danes and humans in general, but deep down, he is disturbed by his actions. His character is morally ambiguous, central to the novel’s thematic exploration, as it challenges a keen reader to question the nature of morality and existential purpose.
Grandel’s Innocence and Pure Heart
Grendel’s character is a compelling focal point for examining the ambiguous nature of humans and the blurred boundaries between good and evil. Unknown to the Danes, Grendel was originally not an evil creature. He was just born into an environment that did not appreciate his nature. While he was a child, he struggled to find his identity and purpose in a world that he described as “indifferent and cruel” (Valdes-Miyares 847). He became a victim of humans, the tree, and the bull. All attacked him despite his efforts to establish peace between himself and them.As a child, Grendel is depicted as curious and vulnerable, seeking to understand his place in the world. However, his interactions with his surroundings result in violence and rejection, leaving him wounded both physically and emotionally. Once in the wilderness, Grendel found himself stuck when his foot was caught between two tree trunks. The encounter with the ancient tree is a symbol of his longing for connection and his innate desire for understanding and companionship. Despite approaching the tree with curiosity and wonder, Grendel becomes ensnared in its branches. Consequently, he found himself in a moment of helplessness and vulnerability. A bull spotted and lunged at him, but it could not seriously hurt Grendel. The bull charged repeatedly in futility until, finally, exhausted, it just turned and went away.His confrontation with the bull shows his status as a victim and his capacity for empathy and compassion (Basiri 2). Grendel approaches the bull with curiosity and innocence despite its aggressive behavior. He ends up being received with violence and injury.
Acts of Good
In a different instance, under Hrothgar’s leadership, a party of humans discovered Grendel and were confused about his monstrous features. When Grendel attempted to speak with them, they became terrified of his frightening voice and attacked him. The humans fled when Grendel was saved by his fearsome mother (Hiortdahl 50). This portrayal of Grendel’s innocence shows that he was not a purely malevolent figure, as readers might have preperceived him. It gives a different perspective of his character and the moral ambiguity of his actions. Throughout the novel, Grandel tries to befriend the humans, but they always attack him because they are frightened of him. The author portrays him as a character with a strong desire for connection and understanding. For most of the book, Grendel is only looking for someone to have a conversation with. His mother and the many animals he speaks to cannot communicate.
From Grandel’s perspective, the humans destroyed both their human rivals and the natural world with unrelenting ferocity, and he was unhappy about it. He did not agree with the waste of life observed by humans, where the Danes regarded other people as dispensable creatures. Grandel meant well for the people. However, during one of his regular visits to the kingdom at night, he found out about the people’s negative perception of him. During the night, the Shaper sang lovely songs extolling the virtues of Hrothgar and the Danes. Grendel was mesmerized by the beauty of his melodies and was at the same time infuriated by the message in them. One night, the Shaper sang of two historical brothers who had a falling out, one of whom killed the other and was doomed to eternal damnation. The Shaper claimed that Grendel is descended from the brother who was cursed. In his pure intentions to humans, Grendel attempted to reassure the Danes despite his intense rage. But instead of listening to him and understanding him, they attacked him (Farell 934). Clearly, he initially had no intention of being the villain, but the people’s preconception of him meant otherwise. He ended up being a Nihilist with extreme pessimism.
Grendel’s Acts of Evil
Grendel continued to be a nihilist, confident that people are dangerous creatures whose conflicts are nothing more than petty struggles for supremacy and that reality is just a harsh physical fact without any deeper meaning. He spent 12 years attacking and laughing about the Danes, but he appears to do this against his own will (Swinford 324). His lack of remorse and even amusement at the violence he perpetrates is enough proof of his inherent evil. Over the 12 years, he inflicted intense suffering and death upon the Danish people and took pleasure in his actions. Unlike a mere predator hunting for sustenance, Grendel’s attacks are motivated by a desire for power and dominance, as well as a sadistic enjoyment of the fear and suffering he instills in his victims. Despite the devastation he wreaks upon the Danish people and the lives he destroys, Grendel feels neither pride nor guilt for his deeds. He has a conscience. He knows he is being evil but does it anyway. His indifference to the consequences of his actions speaks to the cold-heartedness of his character. Technically, he was a malevolent force driven by a desire for destruction and chaos. At the same time, he lacks remorse, with the notion that it was the only option the humans gave him. Clearly, he was intentionally being cruel to people. Also, his laughter is a chilling reminder of his disregard for human life and his enjoyment of the pain and suffering he brings.
During one of his raids, he came across Unferth, a Dane with exceptional strength who considered himself a valiant warrior. Grendel mocked Unferth and played tricks on him, disproving the existence of true heroes. Grendel allowed Unferth to live, so Unferth returned to Grendel’s lair to die honorably. He spares Unferth but only bullies and torments him to make him the warrior who never becomes the hero (Ranebo 40). Initially, a reader may think that his act of sparing the warrior was an act of mercy or restraint. However, his intentions were much darker and rooted in a desire for manipulation and torment rather than genuine compassion. He literally intended to prolong the warrior’s suffering and use him as a pawn in his own twisted game of psychological warfare. Instead of outright killing Unferth, Grendel chooses to spare him to further his own agenda and assert his dominance. Grendel maintains control and power over him the warrior to exploit his vulnerability and fear to serve his ends.
Significance of Grendel’s Ambiguity
The moral ambiguity surrounding Grendel is a central aspect of this novel because it allows the audience to challenge simplistic notions of good and evil. Grandel had an intense internal conflict about his evil deeds. His actions and intentions are difficult to categorize as he exhibits both acts of apparent goodness and deeds of undeniable evil throughout the narrative. On one hand, he was naive, sentimental, and even a hopeless romantic regarding the Shaper’s artistic propaganda (Zaidi et al. 199). Even while he longs to reveal it, he cannot help but be inspired by it. Grendel might have accepted the humans’ constructed qualities and fake values with a casual attitude if the Shaper’s song had led him to join forces with them.
On the other hand, Grendel declares war on humans and the meaning their art conveys simply because the Shaper’s song portrays him as an evil outsider (Ozdemir 57). Another evening, Grendel sits silent and hidden in a place of worship with images of the Danes’ gods while spying on them. When Ork, an elderly priest, visits the vicinity, Grendel plays with him and his spiritual convictions by speaking to him and posing as his god. In another instance, after everyone has gone to sleep, Grendel enters the mead hall and starts searching for Beowulf to kill him. He snatches a sleeping man to devour him, but Beowulf is merely feigning slumber. Grendel is grabbed by Beowulf, who then starts to subdue him. Beowulf imposes his radical beliefs on Grendel, who finds Beowulf’s words as painful as his relentless hold on his arm.
From both human encounters, the ambiguity in Grandel’s intentions is evident, and it is only for the reader to question his own morals and judge Grandel’s actions based on his beliefs. Grandel is a character capable of both compassion and cruelty. The author invites readers to consider the subjective nature of morality, precisely through this character. The ambiguity concept challenges readers to confront human nature’s inherent duality and grapple with the notion that good and evil are not often easily distinguishable. The character is generally a symbol of the existential themes of the novel and the overarching sense of meaninglessness and absurdity that pervades Grendel’s world in terms of purpose and identity in a universe devoid of inherent meaning. As the readers grasp what the author is trying to portray, the moral ambiguity in Grandel’s character reflects the existential ambiguity of humans in the modern world of uncertainty and self-doubt.
Works Cited
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Farrell, Jennifer Kelso. “The evil behind the mask: Grendel’s pop culture evolution.” The Journal of Popular Culture 41.6 2008: 934–949.
Hiortdahl, Sandra. Grendel Recast in John Gardner’s Novel and Beowulf. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2022.
Özdemir, Yunus. Deconstruction of the epic Beowulf in John Gardner’s novel Grendel and the film Beowulf and Grendel. MS thesis. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 2013.
Ranebo, Per. “John Gardner’s Grendel and the Otherness of Nature.” 2019.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Grendel Timeline in Grendel.” Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Dec. 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2024.
Swinford, Dean. “Some Beastlike Fungus”: The Natural and Animal in John Gardner’s Grendel.” Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory 22.4 2011: 323–335.
Valdés-Miyares, J. Rubén. “Beowulf’s Monster Discourse Now: Grendel in Twenty-First-Century Film.” English Studies 102.6 (2021): 847-867.
Zaidi, Moufida, and Samira Al-Khawaldeh. “The Anti-hero as a Critic in John Gardner’s Grendel.” Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literature Vol 10.3 2018: 199–214.
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