Character Clues
Character Analysis
Names
Yeah, we could pick apart the Anglo-Saxon roots of the characters' names here, but all that's been done before (and not very conclusively, we may add). It's true that "Wealtheow" means something like "servant of the people"—and that's fairly descriptive of her role. But it's probably more significant that we never get to learn her "real" name, because it belonged to the life she had before she was traded away from her own people. That tells us even more about her than the name Wealtheow does.
Grendel himself is usually known by various kennings (short metaphors), just like it does in Beowulf—he's the "shadow shooter" or the "earth-rim walker"—which allows the Danes to handle him as if he were some kind of poetic device rather than a thinking being. Maybe that makes them feel safer than they would if they had to call him by his actual name.
Naming, then, is a pretty complex thing here. Although Gardner inherits the names he uses in Grendel from the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf, he plays around with the connotations of each name almost to the breaking point.
The Shaper "shapes" history by molding words and reality to suit his agenda; the dragon needs no further name because he carries all of Norse mythology on his scales. And Beowulf, who is only ever called the Stranger, is just that: a guy from way out of town and from the outskirts of humanity.
Physical Appearances
In this world, looks really do matter. Size really counts. Just as in the best works of medieval literature, looks symbolize what a character is like on the inside. English translation? You really can judge a book by its cover. Sinful Unferth is as ugly as a spider, with a nose like a black potato. You can tell he's bad just by looking at him.
Still, the most obvious example here is Grendel. He doesn't really spend time looking in the mirror, but we get fleeting glimpses of him as he moves through the story. He's big, hairy, and powerful—a true killing machine. And while we're definitely supposed to see him as something more complex than a stereotypical monster, let's face it: the dude's a murderer.
Beowulf might be a little harder to read, since he's easier on the eyes. But as with Grendel, we can read deeper "spiritual" flaws right there on the surface: he does this creepy thing with his mouth, and he moves like a robot. He's big, smooth, powerful—another killing machine. Yes, those "echoes" in appearance are meant to be there.
Both Grendel and Beowulf are "monstrous" in appearance, but only one of them is called a monster. And that's called irony.
Ladies
The same formula holds true for the ladies in Grendel's life. Mama Grendel is animalistic: hairy, saggy, fat, smelly, bits of last night's dinner on her fur. We know she's also incapable of higher thought, verbal language, or sanity.
Wealtheow, on the other hand, is like the Breck Girl of the '70s. She's got shiny, red-gold hair, a certain way of walking and talking, and she's youthful. She's like springtime in cold, cold Denmark.
And that's not just surface stuff. Wealtheow is the real thing, inside and out. So go ahead and indulge your hidden, judgmental self while you read this book. Just remember to put it away when you finish.
Scales and Tails
So, about that dragon. The Scandinavian variety isn't just a dragon; he's usually some other life form that morphed into a slithering beast because of his obsession with moolah. This kind of dragon is kind of like a personification of greed. Dragons also speak in riddles to guard their immense wisdom from casual seekers and only have a soft spot on their bellies to protect them from clumsy, hacking swords. Sound familiar? Remember that "dragon-charm" placed on Grendel?
Cursed Folk
Although Grendel talks about how unfair and unfounded it is that the Shaper links him to the biblical Cain (the first murderer, a brother-killer like Unferth), this is how he really is described in Beowulf. It might not necessarily be true, but we have to work with what we're we're given.
Okay, so Grendel has some resemblance to humans (language, movement, thought), but he's also got enough body hair to mark him off as some kind of monstrous being. Odds are, we're meant to see that as the "mark of Cain"—or a mark of difference, the thing that sets the tainted guy and his family apart from all other humans.
Grendel also lives in a place well outside the gated community of the meadhall and village—and he's never invited over for drinks. Take a look at Genesis 4:14 and see what you think about the parallel between Cain's stomping grounds and Grendel's mere.
When you see these "types" pop up in Gardner's novel, wave hello. Then see if you can find the ways in which, for each type, one of them kicks back and tries to be a more three-dimensional kind of character. Gardner likes playing around and defying our expectations.