Date of Award
12-2012
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Medieval Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Jana K. Schulman
Second Advisor
Dr. Eve Salisbury
Third Advisor
Dr. Robert F. Berkhofer III
Keywords
Modthryth, Judith, Grendel's mother, abjection, male gaze
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Old English poetry features several female characters who challenge androcentric authority by violently killing men. I argue in this thesis that three of these women—Modthryth, Grendel’s mother, and Judith—are linked together by their rejection or reversal of the male gaze. In their forceful refusal to be visually objectified, each character is portrayed as abject—outside of normal and outcast from community. They cause disorder, illustrate the fragility of androcentric control, and force a confrontation with death. In so doing, they create ambiguity and, at times, reverse the subject/object and masculine/feminine gender binaries.
Recommended Citation
Myers, Jaime Michelle, ""His Head Rolled Forth Onto the Floor:" Women, the Abject, and the Male Gaze in Old English Poetry" (2012). Masters Theses. 108.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/108