Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

Similar to Grendel, another medieval, demonic character isGrettir. Janice Hawes describes Grettir as an outlaw. She states,“not only does the fight with Glamr change the nature of Grettir’srelationship to society, but in one sense, he has also reached thepoint of no return” (Hawes 20). Similar to Grendel, Grettir is verydangerous because he does not think before he acts. After a fightwith Glam, Grettir acted quickly. “He drew his short sword, cutoff Glam’s head and laid it between his thighs” (Byock, 56). Hawesfurther makes the point that Grettir is not a hero, but only a monsterwhen she describes Grettir as a cannibal. “The cannibal is describedas an evil spirit, so the hero assumes the role of an exorcist, a shaman,and not only rids the people of a monster but cleanses the area of thedemon” (Hawes 28). Grendel and Grettir can both be described inthat passage. They are both monsters and killers of multiple victims.The dichotomy is clear in medieval literature. Monsters and heroesare not one in the same.The dichotomy becomes unclear when reading John Gardner’sGrendel. The postmodern portrayal of Grendel reveals the newparadigmatic view of killers with multiple victims. Gardner bridgesthe old paradigm with the new paradigm without intending to doso. Grendel the mass murderer becomes Grendel the victim whenGardner gives him human characteristics that Beowulf did not. Forthe first time, Grendel is given the ability to ponder and becomephilosophical, as when Grendel says, “I understood that the worldwas nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on whichwe stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finallyand absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushesme, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myselfpushes back” (Garnder,16). Grendel is capable of having revelations.He realizes that the world is just like the bull, it is mindless anddestructive without any discernible plan or reason. Grendel’sassertion changes the way he is perceived. He is no longer the brutal72 afternoons of alterity