I thought this essay was really interesting. Fisher admits the disconnected nature of Beowulf between the three phases of the story; however, he demonstrates their interconnectedness by focusing on the journey of the hero Beowulf through the mythic story.
Beowulf represents a type of the race or culture that produced the epic. Fisher describes Beowulf in these terms by framing his battles with Grendel and the mere-woman as a reminiscent story describing Beowulf’s progression to king of the geats. The first two phrases of the epic are meant to be seen as background to Beowulf’s tragic end in his fight with the dragon. It typifies Anglo-Saxon perceptions of the fatalism for persons in positions of power or leadership. However, their views on Fate were tempered by an understanding of Christian theology. Thus, despite this fatalistic approach, a redemptive element is woven throughout the story in which Beowulf is described as a person who provides a type of atonement for his people.
Fisher shows this by comparing Beowulf’s descent into the mere-woman’s lair as both a katabasis in the Greek tradition, and as a type of redemptive baptism in Christian literature. Later, in the battle with the dragon, Beowulf faces a Christianized apocalypse or transformative baptism by fire that results in his death. What’s really interesting is the tragic nature of the ending despite this apocalyptic ending which in Christian literature usually ends with the faithful living in a millennial paradise.