He describes the act as being meaningless but this could be another human trait not previously mentioned. This could be a compassionate side of Grendel sowing itself because Grendel has feelings for Wealtheow so it would not allow him to kill her.
Another occasion in which Grendel displays the feeling of hatred is when he speaks of the Shaper and what he does to the Danes:.
I no longer remember exactly what he sang. I only know that it had a strange .
effect on me: It no longer filled me with doubt and distress, loneliness, shame. It .
enraged me. It was their confidence, maybe-their blissful, swinish ignorance, .
their bumptious self-satisfaction, and, worst of all, their hope. (77).
Here Grendel is showing that the Shapertales no longer make him feel terrible about himself but instead enrage him. Grendelhatred for the Shaper runs deep because he feels that his fraudulent tales of triumph and heroism inspire the Danes and give them confidence and hope. These feelings in turn lead to companionship and unity which again are things that represent what Grendel could never have or be a part of. He feels that he has been cursed and would never be accepted so he hates the Shaper and all humans for being able to experience these feelings that are almost alien to Grendel.
Another human trait that Grendel displays during the course of the plot is one that is probably very unfamiliar to most people; loneliness. This idea is first shown when Grendel begins to listen to the harper talk about the race that God had cursed:.
I staggered out into the open and up toward the hall with my burden, groaning .
out, Mercy! Peace! The harper broke off, the people screamed. Drunken men .
rushed at me with battle-axes. I sank to my knees, crying, Friend! Friend! .
(52-53).
This event is showing that Grendel had been convinced by the mysterious harper that he was a cursed race condemned to a life of solitude.
