It's your friends in Mass.! We're beginning Grendel by John Gardner and the novel cites Blake at its beginning: "And if the Babe is born a Boy/ He's given to a Woman Old,/ Who nails him down upon a rock,/ Catches his shrieks in cups of gold."
What's this all about? I was hoping having read Blake's Marriage recently, you might be able to give us some insight. You can comment on our blog as well www.aplitathc.blogspot.com and if you've read Grendel, even better!
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8 comments:
i'm not sure how relevant this is but the line "who nails him down upon a rock" reminds me of the greek myth were the man is chained to a rock and his liver is feasted upon (prometheus?). he was being punished for challenging zeus' power.
the following line "catches his shrieks in cups of gold" almost makes me think that the woman is relishing his pain. to put his tears in cups of gold, something so rare and precious, it's as if she's treating his tears with reverence.
Having never read Grendel, my thoughts may not mean much. Gardner may have had an entirely different intention when he put those words there.
I could be totally wrong here, but since we didn't read this part of Blake I think I'll just give it a blind attempt.
So, " if the babe is born a boy" lets say that's a reference to Jesus. " he's given to a Woman Old" okay, let's say that the Woman Old is a representation of sin, since in the Bible women are often depicted as the temptresses.
So, to re-cap, we have Jesus, who is given to a world of sin. "Who nails him down upon a rock" okay, that could mean the Cross, because it is sin that pinned Jesus. "catches his shrieks in cups of gold" because of Jesus's sacrafice, sin was taken care of and thus forgiven. This would be the "gold" appeal.
Again, I might be totally pulling that out of nowhere, but that's alright. I liked it.
I think the Prometheus myth works better based on the line about catching the shrieks in a gold cup. For Prometheus, its all about suffering. He has to atone for stealing from Zeus with undending suffering. With Jesus, its about atoning for our sins. I haven't finished Grendel obviously, but Grendel's suffering seems to be more about himself. He chooses to attack people, he suffers. He isn't suffering to help/save others.
When I read this the thought that came to my mind was the same as brittni. I agree with what she said as the baby being Jesus.
how is the woman old a representation of sin? it kinda seems like every other aspect fits and that one is sort of forced.
Although there is some evidence to suggest that the pagan Anglo-Saxons responsible for Beowulf legends came into possible contact with Christianity, the original epic Beowulf is largely considered a pagan work. John Gardner, a professor of medieval studies, wrote Grendel in 1971. Because the novel is told from the existential Grendel's point of view, I'm going to go with the Prometheus interpretation of Blake.
Yes, I'd have to agree with Plato re: Grendel. From a modern and/or existential point of view, it seems very Freudian (blame the mother for too much/not enough/the wrong kind of love) as well as Promethean. Grendel has an interesting relationship with his monster mom -- not quite Freudian perhaps but definitely lacking in something. Grendel provides an interesting twist on Prometheus I think because Prometheus is punished after the fact of his "crime". Grendel is "punished" by his mere existence and commits crimes I think to give his existence meaning and structure.
AS far as the Jesus interp goes, it's rather clever and Blake was a Christian (although a rather "visionary" -- some might say even apostate -- one; however, this imagery is certainly not terribly mainstream Christian)!
The quote seems rather paradoxal to me. If I were to consider an old woman and a new born I would imagine a nurse or midwife. One who's job is to bring it in to life safely. The description of a torture seems to imply a more selfish reason. I recieve the impression that this life is pain and we are brought forth just to suffer for the experienced ones delight.
Going in to modern times, I can see a conection with the practices of today. With sperm banks, invitro fertilization, and the casualness of having sex. It is possible for a woman to have a child without a partner. They desire a child so badly that they will ignore everything else to have one even if their own situation would prohibit them. Also how was it that in olden times families would have half a dozen children when they can support only three?
This desire for children, does it stem from a desire to have the innocence or is it truly a product of love or even a recepient for love?
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