f greed as well as the bloodlust and sheer hatred Grendel possesses. It sits atop a horde of “heathen gold” for which it has no use for other than to satisfy its greedy nature. More importantly the gold is stolen; unlike Beowulf, who “repaid in war the treasures” (59) given to him, the worm has done no work to earn his treasure hoard. Against the dragon, Beowulf is judged. Unlike Grendel and Beowulf’s many other foes, the dragon reveals the mighty hero’s only flaw. To understand this judgement, one must look at the dragon symbolically – not as a beast, but as greed itself. Beowulf’s final fight is against greed, the love of gold. While Beowulf does, with the help of Wiglaf, slay the beast, he is mortally wounded. The dragon’s greed, as well as its talons, scars Beowulf. On his deathbed, he thinks of treasure, wishing to “see the ancient wealth, the golden things, may clearly look on the bright curious gems, so that for that, because of the treasure’s richness, I may the more easily leave life and nation I have long held” (62). And so the dragon is not entirely defeated; it reveals Beowulf’s only imperfection before he meets his maker. The dragon, greed, is truly Beowulf’s greatest foe: the hero needs assistance in defeating the worm (Wiglaf), and defeats it only at the cost of his life. It could be argued that Beowulf’s greed was not a relevant flaw. He distributed his wealth among his people, and what he amassed he earned. Also amassing many great treasures could be seen as a sign of a great warrior in those times. However, the narrator denounces the power of wealth when Wiglaf looks upon the treasure hoard. The treasure has a lonely quality to it – “vessels of men of old, with none to polish them . . . many a helmet old and rusty” (63). This description is an implication that when man passes on, his treasure doe...
