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Currently Playing: The Mother of Vengeance: Grendel's Mom | Monstrum

Check out "Serial Killers: Real and Imagined" on Dr. Z's website: https://www.dremilyzarka.com/serial-killers-real-and-imagined The big baddie in Beowulf isn't actually the monster Grendel, but Grendel's Mother. Who maybe isn't a monster at all? Often depicted in adaptations as a hideous beast or an alluring seductress, her true nature is debated. Despite appearances, she’s described in the original text in warrior terms, challenging traditional gender roles. Translation and interpretation have shaped her lore as a fearsome yet misunderstood figure. For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland Illustrator: Samuel Allan Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs ***** Bibliography Burdorff, Sara Frances. “Re-Reading Grendel’s Mother: Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Metrical Charms.” Comitatus, vol. 45, no. 1, 2014, pp. 91–103. Chance, Jane. “Chapter 12: Reading Grendel’s Mother.” New Readings on Women and Early Medieval English Literature and Culture : Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Honour of Helen Damico, edited by Helene Scheck, and Christine E. Kozikowski, Arc Humanities Press, 2019, pp. 209-225. Hennequin, M. Wendy. “We’ve Created a Monster: The Strange Case of Grendel’s Mother.” English Studies, vol. 89, no. 5, 2008, pp. 503–23. Myśliwiec, Katarzyna. “‘You Are the Spawn of Cain!’ Grendel’s Mother’s Literary Appropriations.” Neohelicon, 2024, pp. 1-18. Pettit, Edward. The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in Beowulf. Open Book Publishers, 2020. Staver, Ruth Johnston. A Companion to Beowulf. Greenwood Press, 2005. Trilling, Renée Rebecca. “Beyond Abjection: The Problem with Grendel’s Mother Again.” Parergon, vol. 24, no. 1, 2007, pp. 1–20. Valdés-Miyares, J. Rubén. “Beowulf’s Monster Discourse Now: Grendel in Twenty-First-Century Film.” English Studies, vol. 102, no. 6, 2021, pp. 847–67. Vowell, Alison. “Grendel’s Mother and the Women of the Völsung-Nibelung Tradition.” Neophilologus, vol. 107, no. 2, 2023, pp. 239–55.