Posted on 05/04/2016 1:55:53 PM PDT by MNJohnnie
The Female of the Species
WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside. But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man, He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can. But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws, They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws. 'Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man's timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say, For the Woman that God gave him isn't his to give away; But when hunter meets with husbands, each confirms the other's tale— The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Man, a bear in most relations—worm and savage otherwise,— Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise. Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low, To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe. Mirth obscene diverts his anger—Doubt and Pity oft perplex Him in dealing with an issue—to the scandal of The Sex!
But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same; And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail, The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast May not deal in doubt or pity—must not swerve for fact or jest. These be purely male diversions—not in these her honour dwells— She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else.
She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate. And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.
She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties; Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!— He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild, Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
Unprovoked and awful charges—even so the she-bear fights, Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons—even so the cobra bites, Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw And the victim writhes in anguish—like the Jesuit with the squaw!
So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands To some God of Abstract Justice—which no woman understands.
And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him Must command but may not govern—shall enthral but not enslave him. And She knows, because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail, That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male.
Always wondered if Kipling was referring to his Sovereign, Queen Victoria.
You are quite a feminist!
No, I am a realist.
Women have ruined more men that wars and pestilence! ;-)
Yes, yes you are indeed.
There ain’t nothin’ funny about a woman with a gun.
(Pinkard and Bowden)
Yes, you are!
Imagine the female of the species after aborting the generations,
how more deadly does she become for the career she has left?
Interesting post.
Quite a contrast to the two stories right now on FR in which two 11 year old girls were raped by males, the mother beat up and one little girl beaten and killed with a tire iron after she was raped.
Why do you think the mother got beaten up? Because despite impossible odds she fought desperately for her child.
Bump for later
There’s an all-female group of fighters in the mid-east, formed to stand against ISIS. I think of this poem every time I read about them. They’re fighting for their sisters and daughters. There is no mercy for anyone who tries to stop them.
Thanks for posting the text! There’s a lot of truth in there!
| It seems to require multiple readings to understand what Kipling is saying in this one. And I'm not sure I fully get his point. I like the idea of opening up conversations about the difference between men and women. It's one of those topics that is perfect for this mostly anonymous forum. Love Kipling's poem Gunga Din and one of the most beautiful love stories ever written, I think, is Without Benefit of Clergy. |
I had a literature professor explain it this way.
“Literature is like a donut. The hole is what is in the piece, the donut is what the piece may mean and there there is everything else. You job is to decided what is donut and what is everything else.”
To me this is a tribute to Motherhood and the awful fury engaged when her child is endangered.
Modern life, especially modern media, has so trashed the concept of Motherhood, it no longer commands the respect it commands by right.
Kipling got it right in my opinion.
Written back in the day when men were still allowed to speak the truth.
| ...To me this is a tribute to Motherhood and the awful fury engaged when her child is endangered... Modern life, especially modern media, has so trashed the concept of Motherhood, it no longer commands the respect it commands by right. Yes, MNJohnnie, I think the Kipling poem does succeed is showing how Motherhood is a powerful force of Nature. After all, the Mother is the one who gives birth and is often the primary care giver of the young during their formative years. In the late 19th century India that Kipling knew so well, the life of the common people was quite fragile and often very short-lived due to cholera and other diseases. So the importance of Motherhood was magnified. In 21st century America, the raising of the young is still vital but occupies a relatively small portion of a person's long life. So a larger vision of Motherhood and Fatherhood is needed. There is a passage attributed to Confucius that points to the circular connection between raising a family and cultivating a great society. Here it is: The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the Kingdom, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. One of thing I appreciate about Donald Trump is he seems to understand this flow of life. Even though he married three times, he raised his children very well and does seem to care very much about the connection of ordinary people to the larger society. He is a exemplary Fatherhood figure because he is out to protect America's families and nurture them. I think, he understands the value of Motherhood, Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Neighborhood, and Love of Country. |
“Imagine the female of the species after aborting the generations,
how more deadly does she become for the career she has left?”
All the “motherhood” and “nurturing” notwithstanding, has anyone really noticed that the vast majority of advocates of abortion, and its most ardent supporters, are women?
God knew what he was talking about.
(I would just mention that men give those babies to women.)
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