Grendel (novel)
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| Author | John Gardner |
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| Cover artist | Anita Kunz |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy European Mythology |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf (USA) & Gollancz (UK) |
| Released | 1971 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 174 pages (hardback edition USA) & 144 page (paperback edition UK) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-394-47143-1 (hardback edition USA) & ISBN 0-575-07582-1 (paperback edition UK) |
Grendel is a novel recasting the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. It was written by American author John Gardner.
The novel, published in 1971, became one of Gardner's most well-known and well-reviewed works. The novel contains abstract woodcut images of Grendel's head, by Emil Antonucci. Ten years after publication, the novel was adapted into the 1981 animated movie, Grendel Grendel Grendel.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The basics of the plot derive from an 8th-century epic poem of unknown authorship that deals with the heroic exploits of a Geat warrior, Beowulf. Gardner's retelling, however, presents the story from the existentialist view of his enemy Grendel, exploring the history of the characters before Beowulf arrives. Beowulf himself plays a relatively small role in the novel, but still is the only human hero that can match and kill Grendel.
The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.
[edit] Plot summary
Grendel begins with the title character engaged in a twelve-year war against the human Danes. In the opening scene, Grendel briefly fights with a ram when frustrated with its stupidity. He then mockingly asks the sky why animals lack sense and dignity; the sky does not reply, adding to his frustration. Grendel then passes through his cave and encounters his foul mother before venturing out into the night where he attacks Hrothgar's mead hall, called "Hart" in Grendel. Later, Grendel reminisces about his early experiences in life, beginning with his childhood days of exploring the caves inhabited by him and his mother. One day, however, he arrives at a pool filled with firesnakes, which he enters. Upon exiting, he is greeted by moonlight. Exploring the mysterious outside world at greater length, he eventually becomes wedged and trapped in a tree. Helpless, he cries for his mother, but only a bull appears, wounding him. Since the bull cannot change his way of attacking, and because Grendel discovers he can avoid the blows, Grendel concludes that he alone exists. Understanding that this fight does not matter, he falls asleep, only to wake surrounded by humans. The armored men, thinking that he is a tree spirit, try to feed him. The humans and Grendel cannot understand each other, ultimately leading to a fight between Grendel and the Danish warriors, including Hrothgar. Grendel is barely saved from death at the hands of the humans by the appearance of his mother.
The novel continues by elaborating on the colonization of the area by humans and their subsequent development from nomadic bands into complex civilizations with fine crafts, politics, and warfare. Grendel witnesses Hrothgar become the foremost in power amongst the human factions. During Hrothgar's rise to prominence, a blind poet appears at the doors of Hart, whom Grendel calls "the Shaper" (a literal translation of the word Scop) . He tells the story of the ancient warrior Scyld Shefing, which enraptures and seduces Grendel. The monster reacts violently to the power the beautiful myth has on him and flees, having seen the brutal rise of the Danes. Grendel continues to be enraptured by the tales, as does Hrothgar, who begins a widespread campaign of philanthropy and justice. After seeing a corpse and two lovers juxtaposed, he drags the corpse to Hart, bursting into the hall and begging for mercy and peace. The thegns do not comprehend his actions and see this as an attack, driving him from the hall. While fleeing the men, he curses them, yet still returns later to hear the rest of the Shaper's songs, half enraptured and half enraged.
When Grendel returns to his cave, he attempts and fails to communicate with his mother, thus leaving him with a sense of total loneliness. He becomes filled with despair and falls through the sea, finding himself in an enormous cave filled with riches and a dragon. The dragon tells Grendel that he is omniscient, revealing a totally fatalistic view of reality. The dragon explains the power of the Shaper as simply the ability to make the logic of humans seem real, despite the fact his lore possesses no factual basis. The dragon and Grendel cannot agree about the dragon's statements that existence is a chain reaction of accidents, and Grendel exits the cave in a mixed state of confusion, anger, and denial.
While listening to the Shaper, he is spotted by sentries, who try to fight him off again, but he discovers that the dragon has enchanted him, leaving him impervious to weapons. Realizing his power, he begins attacking Hart, viewing his attacks as a perpetual battle. Grendel is challenged by a thegn named Unferth, to which he responds mockingly, leaving when Unferth runs away crying. Grendel awakens a few days later to realize that Unferth has followed him to his cave in an act of heroic desperation. Grendel continues to mock Unferth, leading the Dane to threaten Grendel with death, in the hope that his people would sing of his tale for years to come. When Unferth passes out from exhaustion, Grendel takes him back to Hart to live out his days in frustrated mediocrity.
In the second year of the war, Grendel notes that his raids have destroyed the esteem of Hrothgar, allowing a rival noble named Hygmod to gain power. Fearing deposition, Hrothgar assembles an army to attack Hygmod and his people, the Helmlings. Instead of a fight Hygmod offers his sister Wealtheow to Hrothgar as a wife after a series of negotiations. The beauty of Wealtheow moves Grendel as the Shaper had once before, keeping the monster from attacking Hart just as she prevents internal conflicts among the Danes. Eventually, Grendel decides to kill Wealtheow, since she threatens the ideas explained by the dragon. Upon capturing her, he realizes that killing and not killing are equally meaningless, and he retreats, knowing that by not killing Wealtheow, he has once again confounded the logic of humanity and religion.
Later, Grendel watches as Hrothgar's nephew Hrothulf develops his understanding of the two classes in Danish society: thegns and peasants. He wrestles with his anarchist theories and then further explores them with a peasant named Red Horse, who teaches Hrothulf that government exists only for the protection of those in power. As the politics of Hrothulf, Hygmod, Hrothgar, and a thegn named Ingeld become more bitter and pathetic, Grendel defends his terrorizing of the Danes, claiming that his violence has resulted in great deeds and given the people humanity, thus making him their creator.
While there had previously been foreshadowing of the death of Grendel, the character himself begins to feel an uneasy sensation that becomes fear. Grendel then watches a religious ceremony and considers the futility and role of religion. While sitting in the circle of the Danish gods, an old priest, Ork, approaches the monster. Thinking that Grendel is their main deity, the Destroyer, he talks to Grendel, who plays along, questioning Ork. The priest explains a theological system that borders on monotheism, bringing him to tears. While Grendel is puzzled by the fervent belief, three other priests approach and chastise Ork. Grendel flees at this opportunity, overwhelmed with a vague dread.
Grendel again fights an animal in his lair, but gives up after even death will not stop its mechanical climb. Watching the Danes, he hears a woman predict the coming of an illustrious thegn and then witnesses the death of the Shaper. Returning to his cave, his mother seems agitated. She manages to make one unusual unintelligible word, which Grendel discounts, and then goes to the Shaper's funeral. The Shaper's assistant sings a song derived from the tale of King Finn (see the Finnsburg Fragment). Later, in the cave, he wakes up with his mother still making word-like noises, and once again feels a terrible foreboding.
Grendel reveals that fifteen travellers have come to Denmark from over the sea, almost as though the way was set before them. He has a morbid exhilaration from these visitors, most especially from their huge and taciturn leader. The visitors, who reveal themselves to be Geats ruled by Hygelac, have an uneasy relationship with the Danes. Upon their arrival, Unferth mockingly claims that the leader of the visitors has lost a challenge to another champion. The Geat leader, Beowulf, calmly relates his version of the events, and then rebukes Unferth, who leaves on the verge of tears. Grendel notices the firm nature of Beowulf and the fact that his lips do not move in accordance with his words, as though he is dead or risen from the dead.
At nightfall, Grendel gleefully decides to attack. He breaks into the hall and eats one man. Grabbing the wrist of another, he realizes that it is Beowulf, and that he has grabbed his arm. They wrestle furiously, during which Beowulf appears to become a flaming dragon-like figure and repeats many of the ideas that the dragon revealed to Grendel. As Beowulf gains the upper hand, Grendel tells himself that were it not for a slip on a puddle of blood, Beowulf would not be in control of their battle. The Geat slams Grendel into the walls of the hall, demanding that Grendel sing about the hardness of walls. This is a continuation of Grendel's poetic exploration of philosophy. He then rips off Grendel's arm, causing the monster to flee in pain and fear. Grendel feels as though everything is unnaturally clear, leading him to toss himself into an abyss (whether or not Grendel jumps is left up to the perception of the reader). He notes as he dies that the only creatures attending his "funeral" are the animals he so despised. Grendel dies wondering if what he is feeling is joy, understanding what the dragon meant by the accident statement, and cursing existence.
[edit] Characters in Grendel
Gardner includes all featured characters from the original poem in his novel, but greatly changes many roles. Beowulf himself, for example, appears only in the last portion of the novel and has few dialogues or interactions with other characters. The author also introduces a handful of incidental minor characters.
- Grendel - the main protagonist and self-described monster, given the narrator's voice in the novel.
- Hrothgar - warrior and king of the Danes.
- The Shaper - a blind harpist and storyteller in Hrothgar’s court.
- The Shaper’s assistant - the young apprentice who replaces the Shaper upon his death.
- Beowulf - a Geatish hero who ultimately kills Grendel.
- Grendel's mother - another antagonist from Beowulf who lives in an underwater cave with her son.
- Unferth - a Scylding warrior who challenges but fails to defeat Grendel.
- Wealtheow - queen of the Danes and wife to Hrothgar.
- Hrothulf - Hrothgar’s orphaned nephew.
- Freawaru - Hrothgar’s teenage daughter.
- Hygmod - King of the Helmings and Wealtheow’s brother.
- The dragon - an ancient beast guarding a vast hoard of treasure.
- Red Horse - Hrothulf’s elderly advisor.
- Ork - an old and blind Scylding priest.
[edit] Main themes
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The main themes of Grendel are moral contradiction, a struggle with nihilism, the separation of the Self from the rest of the universe, and the desire for, and rejection of, human companionship.
Grendel observes and critiques human moral philosophy primarily in his struggle to understand the Shaper's historical revisionism. The Shaper, King Hrothgar's court musician, relates stories to his audience that, from Grendel's perspective, reshape events towards the goals of imbuing meaning and giving historical figures moral authority. Grendel, having directly observed the conflicts the Shaper describes, is angered that the musician, as he sees it, is imbuing meaning and moral authority where there was none before, particularly in stories involving King Hrothgar.
Grendel's struggle with nihilism is expressed most frequently in his inner monologue, specifically in the way that he observes the world around him. The image of Hrothgar's kingdom, for example, is alternately described by Grendel as "jewels... in a dead king's grave", "... a dog dying of mange", and "diamonds on a velvet cloak". The tone of each description indicates a different degree to which Grendel submits to the idea that existence has innate, positive meaning and that the humans possess moral authority. The more fanciful the imagery becomes, the more Grendel chastizes himself for believing the Shaper's interpretation of historical events.
The separation of Self from Other is primarily expressed in Grendel's early belief that he creates the universe, moment to moment, by observing it. He notes that, to be the observer, he must somehow be separate from that which he observes, and this causes him to suffer bouts of anxiety. The separation he feels is further explored in his attempts to join King Hrothgar and his people as a friend: when his overture (which, regrettably, is in a language no human, save Beowulf, can understand) is rejected by the humans, who see it as an attack, Grendel refuses to ever approach the humans as their friend ever again. When the Dragon makes him invulnerable to all human weapons (but apparently not to brute force that causes internal damage, as occurs in his fight with Beowulf), Grendel's separation is complete: effectively protected from human attacks, Grendel has no reason to fear, and thus respect, the human community. His total separation leads to his "stupid war" with the humans, and his eventual death at the hands of Beowulf.
The notion of life's inherent meaning is explored positively by Unferth and Beowulf, but in different capacities. Unferth embraces the heroic ideal expressed by the Shaper: he attempts to personally defeat Grendel so that his status as a murderer (after Beowulf comes to Hrothgar's kingdom, the issue is discussed openly) can be expunged. However, his failure to prevent Grendel's murderous raids leads to repeated suicidal behavior in the form of disguising himself as an animal or an old woman in order to get close to Grendel and engage with him in some manner. Beowulf, seen by Grendel as insane, describes the original saga's swimming contest with Breca, complete with undersea monsters, in a manner that suggests that he believes it at face value.
Incidentally, Beowulf is described as beardless, and with upturned eyes "like a fish"; these details may be inconsequential, or they may suggest that this somewhat fishlike being really could perform such feats, or it may place him in direct opposition to the wrinkly-eyed, hairy King Hrothgar, who rejects the Shaper's idealism as a result of the strain of ruling the kingdom.
The fight between Beowulf and Grendel could possibly suggest that embracing meaningful existence leads to success, or, if Grendel's assessment that only his clumsiness cost him the battle is correct, the author could actually be agreeing with his protagonist, thus deciding that the battle was simply power against power and the interaction of circumstantial factors. However, the fact that the near-invulnerable, but foolhardy, Grendel is ultimately defeated in a contest of arms could well be an affirmation of nihilism as well. The last line of dialogue in the book makes this assessment difficult, however: when Grendel says, "Grendel's had an accident. So may you all,", it is possible that he is wishing misfortune and death upon his observers, or that, alternately, he is stating what he sees as a fact: it is possible that any of the animals who watch him die could meet their own ends because of cruel circumstance.
Cycles occur often in the story, also in the form of seasons and the signs of the zodiac. Each of the twelve chapters contains imagery from the corresponding Zodiac sign. For example, the first chapter contains a ram, the symbol of Ares, the first sign of the Zodiac.
[edit] Literary Styles
- Familiarity with the original epic poem is critical to the understanding of the novel, and Gardner clearly expects people to have read the poem before exposure to his book.
- Throughout the novel, John Gardner experiments with the style of writing. While most of the time Grendel narrates from a stream of consciousness, occasionally script-like text appears, or poetry in the style of the original Beowulf.
- Gardner references several authors, directly quoting from some other authors and philosophers in characters' dialogues. One example is that the philosophical ideas of Alfred North Whitehead are mentioned by the Dragon.
- Beowulf's name is never given; the reader has to infer this from clues in the novel.
- The language used in the book is very modern, with some names changed into the Modern English equivalents of the Old English. For example, Hart serves as Hrothgar's mead hall in this novel, which is derived etymologically from Heorot, his meadhall in the epic poem.
[edit] Film adaptations
An Australian-produced movie titled Grendel Grendel Grendel, based on Gardner's novel, was released in limited quantities on VHS. The animated feature stars Peter Ustinov as Grendel, and is related from Grendel's point of view. It is animated, in color, and runs roughly 90 minutes. In 2004 the soundtrack by Bruce Smeaton to the film was finally released, on the 1M1 Records label.
The 2005 film Beowulf & Grendel is influenced by the novel, but not based upon it.
[edit] Musical adaptations
English progressive rock band Marillion wrote and recorded a 20-minute progressive opus entitled "Grendel" and based on the book in 1982. A version of the song shortened by a little under three minutes was released as a B-side to the single "Market Square Heroes".
[edit] Opera
On June 8, 2006, an opera based on the novel was premiered at the Los Angeles Opera. The score was composed by Elliot Goldenthal, with a libretto by Julie Taymor and J.D. McClatchy. Ms. Taymor also directed the piece. The part of Grendel was sung by bass-baritone Eric Owens, the dragon by mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, the Shaper by tenor Richard Croft, Wealtheow by soprano Laura Claycomb and Unferth by tenor Jay Hunter Morris. Beowulf, a dancing role, was performed by Desmond Richardson. The opera was produced in New York City during the summer of 2006 at the New York State Theatre as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.
[edit] Release details
- 1971, USA, Knopf ISBN 0-394-47143-1, Pub date 12 August 1971, hardback (first edition)
- 1972, UK, Andre Deutsch ISBN 0-233-96342-1 , Pub date 26 June 1972, hardback
- 1972, USA, Ballantine Books ISBN 0-345-22876-6, Pub date 12 November 1972, paperback
- 1968, USA, Vintage Books ISBN 0-679-72311-0, Pub date May 1989, paperback
- 1981, UK, Penguin Books Ltd ISBN 0-14-005820-6, Pub date 26 February 1981, paperback
- 1988, USA, Random House USA Inc ISBN 0-394-47143-1, Pub date 28 October 1988, hardback
- 1999, USA, Rebound by Sagebrush ISBN 0-8085-6648-2, Pub date October 1999, hardback *2004, UK, Gollancz ISBN 0-575-07582-1, Pub date 12 August 2004, paperback
[edit] Sources
- Gardner, John. Grendel. (New York: Vintage Books, 1971). illustrated by Emil Antonucci (ISBN 0-679-72311-0)
- SparkNotes, Grendel
- The Grendex
| Works by John Gardner |
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| Fiction: Grendel ǀ The Sunlight Dialogues ǀ The Resurrection ǀ The Wreckage of Agathon ǀ Jason and Medeia ǀ Nickel Mountain ǀ The King's Indian ǀ October Light ǀ Freddy's Book ǀ Mickelsson's Ghosts Short Stories : The Art of Living ǀ The King's Indian ǀ Dragon, Dragon ǀ Gudgekin The Thistle Girl |
