Describe the meeting between Beowulf and Grendel's mother. What is symbolic about this section?

The battle with Grendel's mother isn't as easy as the first one was. The reader is aware that Beowulf could swim for great distances, but it takes far more than Unferth's sword to defeat Grendel's mother. The battle, in fact, isn't won until the giant sword magically appears. This event, in turn, represents Beowulf's decline even in the prime of his life.... as of this moment, the battles he engages in will become more and more difficult.

The battle with Grandel's mother can also be seen as a Christian allegory. Beowulf must swim to a sort of hell (the underground of the moors)..... a dark place, where he is forced to battle with the devil (Grendel's mother). Although he nearly loses the battle and his life, God grants Beowulf a sign to help him win.... a vision of a sword. This enables Beowulf to kill the devil, and at the moment of her death, a light from heaven fills the depths as a blessing. Beowulf then subsequently returns from the darkness to reach the light of heaven. In this Christian allegory, Beowulf serves as a symbol of Jesus' descent to hell and His return to life in the Resurrection.