Essential Question # 3

How is Wealhtheow portrayed? What does she do? What can we expect from Anglo Saxon women?

Wealhtheow is portrayed as a hostess to the men in Heorot during feasts. She offers a cup Hrothgar, her husband, begging him to enjoy the feast, and then procedes to offer the cup to every man in Heorot. It acts as if it is her responsibility to make the feast enjoyable, and would feel shamed if any man found her to be less than satisfactory. She is described as mindful of ceremonial, which shows that she is entirely submissive to the customs of her kingdom. This would not be an odd trait, if not for the fact that as queen, Heorot is literally her kingdom. She should be the one making the customs, not acting them out. Despite being a queen, Wealhtheow behaves like a servant. Rather than living up to her title as queen, which means a woman sovereign, she lives up to her name, which means foreign slave. While she is serving the men of Heorot, she is described as "excellent in mind", showing that the standards of her time were not only that women had to serve men, but also that they had to enjoy doing so. Some might interpret her behavior as merely polite and considerate. However, she is clearly nothing more than a servant. Even though she is the one bearing the cup, not once does it touch her lips. She gives every man what their share, and chooses not to take what is left over(if there was anything). She looks like a queen and dresses like a queen, but she does not act like a queen. If this is the role of a queen in an Anglo Saxon society, one can only imagine the servitude that is expected of regular women, who were not even permitted to enter Heorot. The role we can expect an Anglo Saxon woman to play is that of a servent of no more worth to a dog. Actually, that's not technically true. After all, even dogs receive the scraps of the master's table.

Essential Question # 2

"What are the social obligations of a hero?"

At a glance, it may seem like heroes are held to a certain set of obligations. Even the heroes themselves feel trapped by their heroic duties at times. However, while all heroes may feel obligated to behave a certain way, they are not truly held to any standard. A true hero has no obligations, but rather inclinations. A hero is born when someone performs a heroic act because they as a human being want to, not when they are forced to. Intent is the foundation of the morality of an action, after all. While heroes do not truly have any obligations, they all seem to follow a pattern of social behavior. This is due to the fact that those who take on the role of a hero all have a heroic mindset. Those who choose to follow their heroic mindset follow the "true hero" formula. A true hero feels the need to protect those around them even at the risk of their own life. A true hero does not kill without need to. A true hero is unselfish and kind to those in need. A true hero is an icon to the people they protect, is justly proud for their work, but holds no narcissism. A true hero not only protects people, but inspires people to protect those around them. A true hero serves as a protector, an inspiration, and above all else, a friend to those around them.

Ess? Part B

Is Shakespeare progressive or misogynistic in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth?


Lady Macbeth is often considered the to be the most disturbing female character that Shakespeare ever created. It is for this fact that many believe Shakespeare's portrayal of Lady Macbeth to be misogynistic, or contain a hatred of women. However, if one were to examine the character of Lady Macbeth more carefully, they would find that her gender had little to nothing to do with her reprehensible personality. Lady Macbeth's largest crime was bringing about the assassination of King Duncan, which she had been planning even before the start of the play. While this is indeed a wicked and sinful act, it did not come easy to her by any means. Even in the early stages of her plan, Lady Macbeth felt conflicted. She knew that she did not have it in her to commit regicide, and thus goads her husband into doing the deed for her. She blames her sentimentality on the fact that she is a woman, and believes that if she were a man she would be able to kill King Duncan herself. Lady Macbeth was not acting in any way natural to women, but rather in a way that she believed to be natural for a man. This shows that Lady Macbeth's character is not misogynistic, but is rather progressive. Mind you, her decisions may have been founded on evil and selfishness, but she is progressive none the less. She demonstrated her intelligence through her careful planning and ability to manipulate her husband. This is unlike the portrayal of most women during that time, who were all thought to be unintelligent and inferior to a man. Lady Macbeth was trying to be like a man through her actions. It is understandable that Lady Macbeth would want to elevate her position, as women were treated as second-class citizens during her time. The fact that she chose to elevate her position through means of actions that she attributed to man shows that not only did she want to be treated like a man, but she wanted to feel like a man. Lady Macbeth knew ho much better life was for men during her time, and thus wanted to experience ever aspect of it. Unfortunately, she was ignorant to the fact that murder does not come easy to a man, either, as demonstrated by Macbeth's reluctance to kill King Duncan. Those her claim that the character of Lady Macbeth was a misogynistic allegory ignore the fact that Lady Macbeth felt deep remorse for her actions later in the play, even going so far as to kill herself rather than live with her guilt. Is she had been a true misogynistic portrayal of women, she would have been delighted with the chaos she caused, like most man villains that Shakespeare created. Her character should not be thought of as a critique of women, but rather as a critique of people who strive for something that they know nothing about.