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.

[Sabertooth]

Yeah well, it's Harry Saber.

Hey, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry Saber.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hehehe.

[Sabertooth]

If it weren't for the icky sex part I'd be married to a woman ;-)

I have no idea what you're talking about.

It's one of those occasions where I'm afraid to even ask for graphics.

[be-baw]

Because they don't know the Right men, they have to be. :-)

Great answer! I presume you mean that Right men are apt to be more accepting of less proficiency in the bedroom arts from their mates.

[be-baw]

They've given more rides than Greyhound....they're bound to have picked up a few tricks along the way

By golly, I think you've nailed it...in a "catty" sort of way.

[be-baw]

That's what all the lesbians say.

Good quip. I notice, though, that you didn't disagree with my statement.

[backhoe]

I was an Army wife...

That's all I needed to know... my Mom was a Master Sarge in the WAC's on WWII, my ( late ) first wife was one of the ( approximately ) half-a-dozen people I have know in 52 years who was utterly and absolutely fearless- nothing that walked God's Earth, man or beast, scared her. Nothing.

My second wife's Mother picked up a business and ran it and raised two kids when her husbamd died unexpectedly- women have a lot more grit than some give them credit for... and a lot of them don't even know that vast well of strength is there for the tapping until circumstances demand that they draw on it- but it is there, waiting on call.

---

To the rest of you?

Wow! I had no idea so many would respond, and I thank you for keeping it light-hearted ( OK, some of the doggerel was a tad pungent, but that's OK, isn't that how it goes between us men & you women? ) and there are just too many to respond personally, but I do thank you for looking!

[be-baw]

OTOH, Conservative women, rather than unfairly rewarding the unskilled, realize the prize goes to the guy who can rightfully claim it.

Excellent try, but do you hear that buzzer in the background? That means: wrong answer.

[philman_36]

Female Of The Species
Bring on the Fembots! LOL

[backhoe]

Appreciate the link!

[philman_36]

Looks like the group Space were readers of Kipling.
Those Brits...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

That's funny! But watch it.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

We do command their attention.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thanks backhoe.

Vive la difference!

[backhoe]

Thanks for looking-- isn't it weird how some days you can post an item that you think will draw attention ( or fire! ) and it just drops dead.... and then sometimes you toss one out on a whim ( like I did with this ) and it gets wings & flys?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Oh boy, do I ever. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

[backhoe]

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving

And you, and those near to you.... there is much to be thankful for!

[IceGirl2]

Thanks. By the way, can anyone repost the article entitled "I am a Moslem woman"

[Mercat]

In the family court arena when the battle lines are drawn It matters not to women who is right and who is wrong For with single minded focus wife or lawyer cannot fail For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.