Notes

The novels Beowulf, The Heart of Darkness, and Things Fall Apart are completely different books. Each book was written in a different decade, each author is of a different nationality, and each story follows a different journey. However, the novels are united in that they have few female characters, and the few that are included do not play significant roles because women are not significant in their respective societies.
In the Beowulf epic, women were expected to assume the role of peace-weavers. Essentially, women were used to resolve disputes between feuding groups in order to prevent wars. Most often, they were presented as brides to young kings. Welthow was married to Hrothgar in this way, and she represents an ideal woman. She is described as "a noble woman who knew what was right" (Raffel 42). One of her duties is to serve mead to all the men, and she keeps the peace by providing ample drink. Women in the Anglo-Saxon society were expected to be kind, obedient, and welcoming.
Grendel's mother sharply contrasts with this idea of the ideal woman; she embodies what a proper woman should not be like. This "monstrous hag" is seductive, aggressive, and strong (Raffel 75). Contrary to the way women of Anglo-Saxon time were expected to behave, Grendel's mother fights with a man in an effort to seek revenge for the death of her son. Grendel's mother is never given a name, perhaps because the original poet did not want to bestow such an honor on such a horrid example of a woman. Cruel kennings, such as that "female horror" (Raffel 63) and "lady monster," sufficed (Raffel 67). Grendel's mother is killed by the main character, and this could signify the ultimate destruction of "bad" women.
Although the female characters in Beowulf seem to play minor roles, Professor Dorothy Carr Porter argues that they are "central both to the story itself and [to] the society presented in the poem." They are far from "marginal, excluded figures" (Porter). However, wouldn't the story be basically the same even if Welthow were not present? Furthermore, all that the fight scene with Grendel's mother establishes is that Beowulf is really brave and really strong; the reader learns nothing significant about women. Quite frankly, completely eliminating the women from the story might better demonstrate their roles in society—they really don't seem to be needed either place.
Of the three novels, The Heart of Darkness features the fewest women; the reader could easily overlook them were it not for a few key comments made by Marlow, the main character. After meeting with his aunt, who helped to secure him a job, Marlow remarks:
It's queer how out of touch with truth women are. They
live in a world of their own, and there had never been
anything like it, and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether,
and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the
first sunset. (Conrad 14).
Later in the novel, Marlow further remarks that "[women] should be out of it" (Conrad 58). He says that women need to be protected from the harsh realities of a man's world.
While these quotes don't tell the reader how women are expected to behave, they do tell the reader that women are completely uninvolved in men's lives outside of the home. Women are not, and probably would not want to be, a part of a Congo River trip. Marlow's concern for the sheltering of women suggests that women are innocent and idealistic; they would not be able to cope with the challenges of a man's life. Marlow bases his thoughts on women off of his view of his aunt, who appears to annoy him with her idle chatter.
When the antagonist's mistress, a striking native woman, arrives, all of the men stare at her because she is like no woman they have ever seen. She was certainly not sheltered or innocent. As Marlow describes, "she was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent" (Conrad 74-75). Kurtz's mistress is similar to Grendel's mother because she is the opposite of the ideal woman of the time.
However, Kurtz's Intended is more similar to the aunt; she is completely blind to her fiancé's brutish behavior. Even Marlow is shocked by her naivety, but he can't bring himself to tell her what her fiancé was truly like, how cruel he really was.
According to writer Quaisar Janjui, the character of "the Intended [represents] civilization," and the character of the native mistress represents "the savage unknown that was Africa." This leads the reader to believe that cultivated women similar to the Intended were respected, but without civilization women would become more similar to the mistress. Conrad ultimately proves that civilization is the mask behind which refinement hides.
The role of women in Things Fall Apart is similar to the role of women in Beowulf. Their primary purpose is to prevent war between tribes. In Things Fall Apart, women are devalued because men are allowed to take more than one wife in order to raise their status; women are simply men's toys. In the extremely patriarchal society, wives seem to be present simply to cook, clean, and provide the means of carrying on a man's name.
The main female character is Ekwefi, the second wife of Okonkwo. In the Igbo society, it is perfectly acceptable to shoot at one's wife and physically beat one's wife, just as long as one doesn't beat her during the religious Week of Peace. Okonkwo is constantly berating his wives for trivial things, such as not having his meals prepared correctly. There seems to be very little love in the relationships between Okonkwo and his wives; they even live in separate huts.
The male-dominated society is further represented when Okonkwo expresses his dislike of having to return to and depend on his motherland, Mbanta, during his exile. It is customary for a man to return there in such times, but Okonkwo simply doesn't like the idea of depending on a woman to survive.
While it can seem as though "the man is the point of reference in this society," Eustace Palmer stresses that "as child bearers, women are pivotal to the literal survival of community and societal norms." This statement is true, but the necessity of women in everyday life does not mean that their characters are significant. The role of reproducing is not particularly important in this novel.
All three societies in the studied books are patriarchal, and women seem to simply be objects for men; they are not "valued." However, the minor roles of women do teach the reader about the way that the respective societies function. In today's literature, women are sometimes actually the main characters, and they do not simply perform household chores.