The Female of the Species

http://www.potw.org/archive/potw96.html ^ | ? | Rudyard Kipling

[backhoe]

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

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.

---

This poem can be found, for example, in:

• Kipling, Rudyard. Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Inclusive Edition, 1885-1918. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919.
• Felleman, Hazel, ed. The Best Loved Poems of the American People. Garden City, NY: Garden City Books, 1936.

[JD86]

OUTSTANDING!

[SusanUSA]

Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool.~Kipling

[proud American in Canada]

WHY ARE LIBERAL WOMEN MORE SKILLFUL LOVERS THAN CONSERVATIVE WOMEN?

Hmmm. Hard to answer that question... I think :
1. You haven't met the right Conservative women,
2. Your data sample is too small (no offense),
And, I can't think of anything else. But I think you're wrong. :-)

[proud American in Canada]

A woman sees a man she wants, the game has just begun,
She tells him he's the best on earth, the moon and rising sun,
He knows she's right, he buys the ring, this scheme will never fail,
The female of the species is more clever than the male.

Okay, you've got us figured out. Hmmm. Ladies, what next?????? :-)

[proud American in Canada]

Thank you, re #44, I started laughing as soon as I was scrolling down & saw the wreckage..... :)

Like I said before, this whole thread reminds me of my last trip to Walmart!

[Sabertooth]

The bards have written odes that tell of "woman's intuition,"
When all that really is is her excuse for her opinion--
But if you try and tell her that, you'd better run like hell,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

[JD86]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING in Canada..:)

[185JHP]

You won't know how bad the bad ones are until you meet a really good one.

[Sabertooth]

Don't encourage him!

You challenging me?

[proud American in Canada]

Hi, I love that one with the gas line coming out of the car, I saw it on the Art Bell website (yes, I'm a fan of Art Bell). :)
Thanks for posting the pictures.
Now I'd better get upstairs, I'm trying to get rid of the permanent circles under my eyes. Yes, sleep is important, even though we'd like to pretend it isn't. Bye! :)

[SusanUSA]

So start running, I'll give ya a headstart by ONLY FIVE!

[Victoria Delsoul]

HE is dead that was alive.
How shall friendship understand?
Lavish heart and tireless hand
Bidden not to give or strive,
Eager brain and questing eye
Like a broken lens laid by.

He, with so much left to do,
Such a gallant race to run,
What concern had he with you,
Silent Keeper of things done?

Tell us not that, wise and young,
Elsewhere he lives out his plan.
Our speech was sweetest to his tongue,
And his great gift was to be man.

Long and long shall we remember,
In our breasts his grave be made.
It shall never be December
Where so warm a heart is laid,
But in our saddest selves a sweet voice sing,
Recalling him, and Spring.

"On Active Service"
By Edith Wharton

[proud American in Canada]

RE the Happy Thanksgiving wishes: Thanks! Keeping my son home tomorrow from school, we'll make a turkey & watch the parade (hoping to see Hillary booed!)--a lot of kids at my son's school are kids of the Embassy in Ottawa, and I think they're staying home too.
A good friend of mine in Denver grew up in Detroit & had tons of family in Canada, she always celebrated both Thanksgivings, I think that's nice, too. :)
BTW, I sent everyone I knew a nice email wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving, with that internet picture of the Normal Rockwell painting, with Osama's head instead of the turkey on the platter.
Yes! Happy Thanksgiving! :)