Judith

Judith is one of the only powerful women we have read so far that is the protagonist in the story and not the antagonist. I found it interesting that Judith had so much power and that she was regarded as a leader. It mentions in the story that she is a widow and we talked in class how widows had more freedom then a single or married woman. I find this interesting because I would assume a widow in this time would be ignored once her husband had passed. She most likely wouldn't have a lot of money, would go need to work, and would be looked down upon because of that. It was a pleasant surprise to me that she was a highly respected member of society and in a way their ruler. Since Judith is a widow though that allows her this unique opportunity to rise above her normal station and take this position of power. 


Judith is obviously a very brave and smart woman. She not only stepped up into this position of power which is mainly held by a male, but more importantly volunteered herself to go into enemy quarters and decapitate the enemy's leader. Beowulf is said to be very brave throughout the book but his bravery, in my opinion is different. He wants to be brave so his legacy will leave on and to impress people. He wants to ensure that when he dies it is done bravely. Judith is not fixated on dying bravely. Her sole purpose of this mission is to help her people. She needs to be brave for them, to save them. She is not only brave but also incredibly smart and cunning. She knows her position, as a woman will get her inside the castle without being killed on the spot. She also knows the likelihood that the king will eventually call her into his quarters. She then uses this opportunity to behead the king and escape in the night back to her people. She does this with little to do. Beowolf would have had a speech of greatness thrown in but Judith just goes in and gets the job done.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 17, 2017 at 8:16 AM

    True Judith is a very strong and brave female lead. I wish in Beowulf there were more women like her in the book. But this book is all about Beowulf and his legendary battles against Grendel and mother. Women in Beowulf are not determined and ruthless as Judith, you get a lot of line in Beowulf describing the women as beautiful and grace. You never really read about them taking heads and being brave. Women who do that kind of stuff in Beowulf overstep their bounds as a ruler. Usually its the men who inflict these kinds of punishments on men not women.
    I think that Judith reminds me of Modthryth because both of these women are ruthless and destroy anyone who is on their way.

    I love how you pointed out that Beowulf is only doing this for glory for himself and to make a name for himself. While Judith just goes in for the kill to protect her people which is true and that Beowulf is brave throughout the story but only to impress people for the things that he has accomplished.

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  2. Cassie MckenzieSeptember 18, 2017 at 7:44 AM

    I completely agree with what you're saying. Not only would I think a widow would be financially unstable and cast from society in general, I would think that a widow (at the time) would love an extremely unhappy life, in shame and jealousy, of other women who's husbands were alive. I really like your comparison of Judith to Beowulf as well, and completely agree. Beowulf, and many other male heroes, always have an arrogance to them and do things for glory, power, and the upper-hand. It is refreshing to see someone, let alone a women, doing something brave and dangerous, solely in the best interest of her people.

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