A JUNGIAN ANALYSIS

OF BEOWULF

A Thesis

Presented

to the Faculty of

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California State University

Dominguez Hills
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In Partial Fulfillment
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of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts
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in

Humanities

by

Dawn E. Crouse

Spring 2007

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This paper is dedicated

to Bill.
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iv

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE................................................................................................................ii

APPROVAL PAGE.................................................................................................................iii

DEDICATION......................................................................................................................... iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................ v

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ vi

CHAPTER

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1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1

2. DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERSONA........................................................................... 14

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Archetypal Hero as a C hild ...................................................................................... 20
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3. ENCOUNTERING THE SHADOW................................................................................ 24

4. ENCOUNTERING THE A NIM A................................................................................... 37

Swords as Symbols................................................................................................... 55
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5. ENCOUNTERING THE SELF.........................................................................................61

6. CONCLUSION: ARCHETYPAL WATER.....................................................................76

WORKS CITED..................................................................................................................... 83

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 ABSTRACT

The concepts of Austrian psychiatrist, C. G. Jung, are applied to the epic poem,

Beowulf. By using a Jungian approach of literary criticism, the psychological

development of the hero, Beowulf, is delineated. Beowulf progresses from childhood to

old age, from an integrated ego, to an undifferentiated ego, and returns to an integrated

ego. He progresses through his development as a quest for individuation, completing the

cycle that defines Campbell's model of the traditional quest.

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Beowulf develops his persona as a child and then encounters archetypes, aspects

of his unconscious, that reduce his persona and propel him towards wholeness and
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individuation. He contends with his shadow, his anima, and the Self, some in the form of

monsters and others in the form of humans. The quest that Beowulf undertakes is an
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archetype. Other archetypes explored include water and the sword.

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 1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

You may survey its surface and describe it;

but no matter what pains you take with your
investigations and recognizances, no matter
how numerous and painstaking the toilers in
this sea, there will always be lonely and
unexplored regions in its depths, caverns
unknown, flowers and pearls and monsters
o f the deep overlooked or forgotten by the
divers o f literature.
De Balzac

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Literature has long applied the principles of psychology, practicing its craft before

psychology was developed, preempting the concepts that would centuries later be hailed
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as modem discoveries and brilliant insights. For eons, literature has provided a means of

exploring, interpreting, and predicting behaviors, motives, and thought processes.

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Literature has proliferated in all cultures, telling the tales of heroes, be they gods or

mortal, and mythologizing their conflicts, defeats, and triumphs.

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As the oldest extant manuscript of an epic poem written in Old English, Beowulf

has endured extensive study. Much of the literature relating to previous studies of

Beowulf focuses upon it as a historical document, examining its content for historical

clues and attempting to determine the accuracy of the events told within the poem. The

depth and enduring relevancy of Beowulf though, relies not upon its historical accuracy

and revelations, but upon its archetypal images that the epic structure readily employs.

An overarching archetype employed within Beowulf is that o f the quest, or

monomyth. Applying to every individual and every stage of life, the quest is a concept

that the Anglo-Saxons understood and continues to be understood by cultures one

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 2

thousand years beyond the Anglo-Saxons. Conveying powerful messages, the quest

archetype of Beowulf arrests the attention of audiences for which it was never intended

and of which were never imagined. Beowulf, the hero of the epic poem bearing his

name, progresses upon a quest that symbolically represents the life journey of all

individuals and the conflicts encountered; it is the quest "towards that hidden and as yet

unmanifest 'whole' man, who is at once the greater and the future man" (Jung, C. G.,

Essential 256.) There are specific elements that pertain to the quest, elements contained

within Beowulf that bespeak Beowulf s ability to communicate in a meaningful way to

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readers; the quest is a universal male theme. The epic poem proffers a medium in which

an epic hero poses as a grand model for the ordinary mortal man, a universal theme
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magnified and exaggerated upon an epic stage, "[tjhus the hero is the archetypal

forerunner of mankind in general" (Neumann 131). It is literature that extols

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magnificent strengths, glorious triumphs, and exacting perils. It astutely encompasses the

concepts of quest, rendering its hero and its conflicts real and meaningful.
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Beowulf prevails millennia after its conception as a tale that maintains its

relevance because it addresses universal themes via the application of psychological

processes, especially those of archetypes as developed by Carl Jung. Jung was a Swiss

psychiatrist and colleague of Sigmund Freud until they parted ways; he applied the

concepts of archetypes to human psychology. He established the developmental process

o f a healthy individual, identifying archetypal elements of an individual and his response

to them.

The monomyth, a broad extension of Jungian archetypal concepts, introduces

additional Jungian terminology that corresponds to Beowulf Carl Jung and other

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 scholars such as Joseph Campbell define the hero as an archetypal image. This image is

both dissected and amplified; it serves as the model for all individuals upon their innate

quest for healthy development. The hero presents a strong and ideal persona. Another

aspect of the individual is the shadow, an archetypal image lurking within the

circumference of every individual's person. Separate from the persona and beyond the

shadow, the animus and the anima reside, further archetypal images. How one addresses

these personal archetypes determines the holistic health of an individual. Those

archetypes "which have the most frequent and the most disturbing influence on the ego [.

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..] are the shadow, the anima, and the animus" (Jung, C. G., Essential 91). The shadow,

animus, and anima are character archetypes. The confrontation of these archetypes
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occurs upon the journey that is life, a situational archetype. These archetypes are evident

in Beowulf.
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A Jungian analysis of Beowulf and its protagonist reveals the portrayal of

Beowulf s developmental progression from childhood, through adolescence and

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adulthood, to death. "[T]he stages of the hero myth have become constituent elements in

the personal development of every individual" (Neumann 131). Each life-stage requires

the completion of a developmental task that permits healthy growth, universal tasks

pertinent to all cultures o f all times. Carl Jung has identified a process of development.

Jung's conceptualization of development requires one to face and integrate aspects of

one's personality, archetypal elements. Successful integration results in a healthy and

fulfilled individual, while inadequate integration or the avoidance of this process results

in immaturity and dysfunction within an individual. The primary archetypal elements

faced during this process are the shadow and anima or animus.

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 Beowulf employs the archetypal image of water to enhance the development motif

as well as the journey archetype. Water is symbolic of birth and growth, corresponding

to the emergence of each new developmental stage and the maturation of Beowulf. Large

bodies of water, especially those that require travel, which are seen in Beowulf, represent

the unconscious, also corresponding to the maturation of Beowulf as he faces aspects of

his unconscious as a vital step in his development. Submersion in water, also witnessed

in Beowulf, conveys archetypal weight as further correspondent to Beowulf s

development in the submersion of his younger self and his renewal as a hero who has

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progressed in the developmental process.

The universal motifs and archetypal images that comprise Beowulf engender its
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appeal to audiences beyond the Anglo-Saxon period and culture, and its durability for a

millennium. Sales of Beowulf texts increase, scholarly works proliferate, and another
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movie based upon the manuscript that has been filmed for release in 2006 prove the

appeal to modem society. Resonating with its audience, the quest motif conveys truths of
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life, its struggles and triumphs, and its course. Modem society, that of the twenty-first

century, is sophisticated and attuned to psychology, capable of detecting a valuable

lesson. With the influx of global information available, crises appear rapidly and

frequently. Individuals and societies seek heroes, power, and good causes as the antidote

to the chaotic global environment; Beowulf provides a hero who is grand, mightier than

the monsters that plague the land, and he is noble and brave, seeking not only to protect

himself but to eradicate the danger that beleaguers his ally.

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 5

A Jungian and developmental perspective of Beowulf is a reorientation of

previous analyses. Demonstrating the psychological development of Beowulf

necessitates the integration of previously ignored aspects of the epic.

[CJritics have been tom as to whether to regard Beowulf is primarily a

tripartite structure, focusing on the three main monster fights, or a bipartite

structure split between accounts of the hero's youth in Denmark or his old

age in Geatland; recently is has even been suggested that in fact the poem

has a four-part structure, based on funerals. (Orchard 97)

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Each of these perspectives, though, neglects the numerous facts pertaining to Beowulf s

childhood in Geatland. Beowulf s early immersion in the sea to fight the monsters that
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dwell there, an aspect ignored by previous scholars, constitutes an integral component to

a perspective delineating his developmental progression. A holistic approach to the

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events told in the epic poem provides an interpretation that deviates from previous

studies; it offers a refreshing perspective and elucidates the continuing appeal of its story.
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Employing a Jungian analysis of Beowulf elucidates the value of the epic poem, and it

provides a refreshing interpretation.

The careful crafting of Beowulf s quest, his dealing with his shadow and anima,

and the progression o f his development encompassing all of the stages of life, coalesce to

provide a story with depth and value, an epic poem that reflects the pattern of life and

expresses truth that resonates with the reader. A Jungian analysis of the robust

development of the protagonist within this epic poem, Beowulf provides depth of

understanding to the tale, elucidates the meaning of the events told within the epic, and

renews its relevance to mankind.

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 An exploration of Carl Gustav Jung's archetypes and their roles in the process of

individuation are clearly delineated through the content of Beowulf. Beowulf, the hero,

successfully embarks upon the ultimate quest for individuation. His lineage and early

childhood establish him as a protagonist of heroic qualities. Water conveys the

significance of his journey upon this quest. His battles with the variety of monsters

within the text correspond to developmental stages, each fight representing his active

participation in the individuation process and purposeful pursuit of healthy maturity.

Beowulf is a masterful manuscript that manifests Jung's concept of individuation.

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 7

CHAPTER II

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PERSONA

A great deal o f authority seemed to underlie

her mild manner. She would have been
raised by solid people, Mr. Bruce thought,
and would respect all the boarding-school
virtues: courage, good sportsmanship,
chastity, and honor.
Cheever

Children do not discern conscious from unconscious. The contents of their

unconscious are patent through their play, imagination, and emotion. The child exists in

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a natural and primitive state, prior to the instruction and enforcement of socialization. A

child acts without qualms, expresses himself candidly, behaves spontaneously, and
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experiences emotion fluidly. A child has no hidden agenda; he is direct and honest. He
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is pure, not adulterated by societal norms. It is an idyllic state, one that does not endure.

As the ego interacts with its environment, its natural state is contaminated.

Certain behaviors and manners are discouraged and punished. The ego, in an attempt to
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protect itself from rejection from the group, adjusts to the societal pressures by repressing

aspects of his unconscious. He discovers that he can create a mask, a set of behaviors

that is pleasing to the group, and establishes his persona. "The development of the

persona is the outcome of a process of adaptation that suppresses all individually

significant features and potentialities, disguising and repressing them in favor of

collective factors, those deemed desirable by the collective" (Neumann 403). Conformity

is the goal and individuality is renounced.

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 Humans possess a "genuine drive towards progressive transformation o f human

modes of behavior" (Jung, C. G.. Undiscovered Self 80). Beowulf, as an infant, was

unaware of his status, role as defined by gender or cultural context, and the experiences

he would encounter. His being, however, not only possessed the capacity for

development in response to these factors, but he was compelled, as are all humans, by an

innate drive to transform from a passive and helpless newborn child to an individual of

strength, will, and accomplishment. Beowulf would develop in relation to the

expectations placed upon him by his family, community, environment, and internal

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preferences; he would develop a persona, "which is the individual's system of adaptation

to, or the manner he assumes in dealing with, the world" (Jung, C. G., "Concerning
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Rebirth" 122). Fulfilling his drive towards progressive transformation, though, will

require the eventual shattering of the persona, so that he may manifest his potential as an
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individuated person.

Childhood would provide Beowulf with the knowledge required to develop his
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persona, the image that he would present to the external world about him. "The persona

is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society,

fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression

upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual" (Jung C. G.,

The Essential Jung 94). His experiences, the attitudes of those near to him, and the

norms of his culture would shape Beowulf s persona. He would learn which traits to

cultivate and which ones to cull, consistently developing, adjusting, and perfecting a

unique persona. Approved and desirable traits would burgeon, traits that met with the

disapproval of Beowulf s mentors, teachers, and models, would be repressed, and

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 eventually a carefully crafted persona, the man presented to the world as Beowulf, was

formed, a persona that surpassed the expectations of culture and social status.

The expectations placed upon Beowulf are imposing. Beowulf is a male in a

male-dominated society, a warrior society of Vikings. "Everywhere these men's societies

are of the greatest importance, not only for the development of masculinity and of the

man's consciousness of himself, but for the development o f culture as a whole"

(Neumann 140-141). As grandson to one king, nephew to the next king, and son to

Ecgtheow, a warrior renowned for his skill in battle, Beowulf must perform well in battle,

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exhibit leadership, and disport the ideals of braveiy and loyalty. When Beowulf is

orphaned at a young age, he becomes the adopted son of the king, his grandfather, which
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only increases the expectations upon Beowulf.

As a Viking, Beowulf was bom into a society that is infamous for the exploits of
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its men. "Their reputation as savage and fearsome warriors is certainly well deserved"

(Baker 1). Tales of adventure told by a scop would have regaled Beowulf, sitting among
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the company of the king, chiefs, and warriors. He listened, enthralled, to the feats of

warriors, men who were legends for their conquests and immense acts of bravery in the

face of formidable obstacles. The scop who recounts the tale of Beowulf, intersperses

accounts of other heroes and their adventures, warriors such as Sigemund, the slayer of

the dragon (Beowulf, trans. Heaney 884), heroes and legends similar to those Beowulf

learned as he sat within the mead-hall as scops entertained the Geats. "In the early

uroboric state there is a fusion both of man with the world and of the individual with the

group" (Neumann 272). Beowulf s attendance and attention to the warrior tales was his

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 10

introduction to and his initiation into the culture of manhood and the expectations to

which he was expected to adhere.

"The aim of all education, and not in our culture alone, is to expel the child from

the paradise of his native genius and, through differentiation and the renunciation of

wholeness, to constrain the Old Adam into the paths of the collective usefulness"

(Neumann 401). As a member of the king's household, the warrior ethos was firmly

inculcated in Beowulf. He partook in the same training that his male cousins, heirs to the

throne, received in the arts of war. "Physical courage and skill in battle were, of course,

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of great importance, but so were magnanimity and generosity, eloquence and self-

control" (Baker 130). Beowulf witnessed the lifestyle of the warriors who surrounded the
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king, their values, and their actions. He learned to fight and that he should fight. He

learned to be generous and to expect generosity. He learned the protocols of loyalty,

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revenge, and deportment; he learned to be a mighty warrior and a legendary leader.

Beowulf s persona, the manner in which he presents to others, is molded by his

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upbringing. His life within the king's dwelling, his proximity to warriors, his heedfulness

of the scops' narratives concurred to produce the persona that Beowulf espoused. His

persona is one that meets and surpasses the expectations of his community. As a young

man, he is known among his own people, the Geats, as a warrior and leader (201-208).

Before his exploits that launch him into legendary stature, his reputation surpasses the

boundaries of his own community and is told among the Danes. Hrothgar, king of the

Danes, states,

A crew of seamen who sailed for me once

with a gift-cargo across to Geatland

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 returned with marvelous tales about him:

a thane they declared, with the strength of thirty

in the grip of each hand. (377-379)

and he is eager to meet Beowulf, eagerly welcoming him to Denmark with promises of

treasure (385-389).

Beowulf invests great care in cultivating and perfecting his persona, a process that

does not end with childhood, although much of his persona is formed during this period.

"The youth group, made up of young men who are all contemporaries, is the place where

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the male really discovers himself for the first time" (Neumann 140.) As a boy, Beowulf,

as did other boys of this time, tests himself and practices the skills that his personas
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requires. Having heard the scops' tales and listened to the warriors recount their own

adventures, Beowulf aspires to be a great warrior and a brave hero. Beowulf tells how he
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and his childhood friend, Breca, "grew up / daring ourselves to outdo each other" (534-

535). The dares, the challenges, the strength and endurance of these childhood games are
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the foundation of the warrior persona.

Beowulf chooses to excel, to be a warrior without equal, a man superior to others

in the skills and traits associated with such a hero in his time. Knowing that the

"criterion o f manliness is an undaunted will, the ready ability to defend the ego and

consciousness should need arise, and to master one's unconscious impulses and childish

fears" (Neumann 143), Beowulf strives to overcome the fears of monsters that are

inherent in children, and to surmount the weak and profligate ways of a child.. In a

swimming match with Breca, a peer, an incident impressive enough to still be told years

later and in a foreign land, Beowulf outperforms his friend and survives as "the deep

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 12

boiled up / and its wallowing sent the sea-brutes wild. / [ . . . ] Time and again, foul things

attacked" (548-549, 559). Not only does Beowulf survive the ravages of the cold and

violent sea, he prospers in his ordeal, slaying the sea monsters, so that on the final

morning,

mangled and sleeping

the sleep of the sword, [the sea monsters] slopped and floated

like the ocean's leavings. From now on

sailors would be safe, the deep-sea raids

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were over for good. (565-569)

Beowulf confirms his swimming skills, tests himself against a peer, assesses his strength
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against the wrath of nature, and proves himself capable in each fight. He is a young man

of skill and courage, traits that allow him to do good for his community. He triumphs
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over the ways of childhood and demonstrates the beginnings of manhood.

By the end of Beowulf s childhood, the time when he embarks for Denmark to
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face Grendel, his persona is established. Beowulf reports to King Hrothgar, the Danish

king:

So every elder and experienced councilman

among my people supported my resolve

to come here to you, King Hrothgar,

because all knew of my awesome strength.

They had seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies

When I battled and bound five beasts,

Raided a troll-nest in the night-sea

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 Slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes

And avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it

Upon themselves, I devastated them). (415-424)

His own people, by the men who measure a man's character, recognize Beowulf to be a

man of strength and resolve. His persona extends beyond his own land and is already

known in Denmark as indicated by King Hrothgar's statements to the guard who

announces Beowulf s arrival, referring to his grip of thirty men in each hand and

Hrothgar's eagerness to welcome him.

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Beowulf, as the hero, surpasses all expectations and excels at each phase of

development. When developing a persona, he constructs a magnificent one. His persona

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is swaggering and confident, strong and powerful, and skilled and masterful. Beowulf is

the best warrior that he can imagine. He is renowned for his competence with a sword.
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From a distance, he is recognized as noble and mighty; across the seas, his strength is

regaled in the mead-halls of great kings. Beowulf s persona is evident in his manner, in
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his appearance, and in his speech. Immediately he is recognized as the leader of his army

as they disembark upon the coast of Denmark. The watcher of the coast declares,

Nor have I seen

a mightier man-at-arms on this earth

than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken,

he is truly noble. (247-250)

Before Beowulf even speaks, his persona speaks for him, announces him as a noble man,

a mighty warrior, a hero. Even Welhtheow, Hrothgar's queen, upon meeting Beowulf, is

impressed by this brave man, informing him and all who are in the mead-hall that she

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 "thanked God for granting her wish / that a deliverer she could believe in would arrive /

to ease their afflictions" (626-628). Beowulf is a man who invites belief in his strength,

in his ability to perform great deeds. His persona eagerly seeks challenges, opportunities

to flaunt his valor and skill as a warrior, to prove itself as superior. This is the persona

that he devoted his childhood to develop.

Archetypal Hero as a Child

Many scholars have devoted their careers to analyzing the patterns, similarities,

and purpose of hero myths. "We have [...] broken down the image of the 'typical' hero

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and introduced a rich, or perhaps confusing, range of heroic permutations, and yet our

focus keeps returning to a central figure who is self-described, self-contained, isolate,

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solipsistic. This is the hero" (Miller 109). The singular hero to which their focus
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continually returns is the archetypal hero, and Beowulf fulfills the role of the archetypal

hero.

Summarizing Otto Rank, Robert A. Segal writes, "heroism deals with what
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Jungians call the first half of life. The first half—birth, childhood, adolescence, and

young adulthood—involves the establishment of oneself as an independent person in the

external world" (xii). During these developmental stages, the hero delineates for the

reader the map of the quest, the journey of transformation. "[T]he stages of the hero

myth have become constituent elements in the personal development of every individual"

(Neumann 131). It is in the first half of life that Beowulf establishes his persona and then

breaks free of its confines to extend his ego beyond it, becoming independent when he

confronts the neglected elements of his unconscious.

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