Obviously this poses an obstacle for Beowulf as he has to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Although Beowulf has no weapons, he has no problem defeating Grendel with his bare hands. Beowulf tears off Grendel's arm, mortally wounding him, "mortally wounded,/Grendel was obliged to head for the marshes,/to head for his joyless lair" (727-730). Beowulf won the battle as Grendel fled and will likely bleed from his wound. Beowulf has no difficulty fighting Grendel other than the use of weapons, which is not the case in Beowulf's next two battles: Grendel's mother and the dragon. After his battle with Grendel, Beowulf must fight Grendel's more difficult mother. Grendel's mother emerges from her swamp to avenge her son and kills one of Hrothgar's most trusted advisors. As a result, Beowulf and other soldiers go to the lake to fight Grendel's mother, making the battle against Grendel's mother more difficult. Indeed, Beowulf is not on his own turf and does not have the element of surprise that he had during his fight with Grendel. Before the fight, Beowulf dresses