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.

[2Trievers]

LOL. You should talk ... you're a very classy enabler yourself!

Are you trying to muscle IB out of his position as "FR Flirt of the Month."

[2Trievers]

"I just wanted to know more about your weapon, thats all....

Then you need to go back to the dictionary.

All you need to to know about my weapon is that I keep it loaded and warm. Very few have found out much more about it, or even know that I carry.

[backhoe]

Good Golly! This post is still getting responses? I have spawned a monster....

[2Trievers]

'morning JR

Yes, you have! But I know you have big shoulders to carry this burden! It's been fun. Thanks.

[backhoe]

Hi! Well, so far it's been a fairly courteous monster.... most of the replies have been ironic, sarcastic, funny, a wee bit lewd, but with less acrimony than I've seen elsewhere. All in all, an entertaining and informative post, and I really am amazed at the number of replies.

[2Trievers]

"a wee bit lewd"

Sorry, JR. I seem to have a lot of reprobates following me around these days ... it's my fault. I'm afraid I encourage it too much. Will you forgive me?

[backhoe]

Aw, h@ll, all the good women I've ever known were a wee bit lewd- it's part of their charm!

[BufordP]

I found this page which says the poem is contained 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.

Also, Google has a pretty good web directory on Kipling

[IronJack]

Thanks. I'll check on those.

[Sabertooth]

Are you trying to muscle IB out of his position as "FR Flirt of the Month."

Month?

[Sabertooth]

I'm ambitious, but it's still early for that.

[2Trievers]

Well standards and rules can be adjusted ... situations are always in flux. *wink*

[Sabertooth]

Well standards and rules can be adjusted ... situations are always in flux. *wink*

You make it sound like affirmative action.

[2Trievers]

You make it sound like fun!

[~EagleNebula~]

I am posting this for someone else....TRUTH! However, I have to admit, it did make me laugh. It was sent to me by e-mail 2 days ago. Upon reading this thread aloud with my spouse, laughing all the while, it was suggested that this be added.

***************

Does this remind you of anyone???

 Every "Hormone Hostage" knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his hands.

 This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend or significant other.

 

DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?  SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?  SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?

 DANGEROUS: Are you wearing THAT?  SAFER: Gee, you look good in brown.  SAFEST: Wow! Look at you!

 DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?  SAFER: Could we be overreacting?   SAFEST: Here's fifty dollars.

 DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?  SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.  SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?

 DANGEROUS: What did you DO all day?  SAFER: I hope you didn't overdo it today.  SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------  

 PMS TOP 14 THINGS PMS STANDS FOR :

 Pass My Shotgun

 Psychotic Mood Shift

 Perpetual Munching Spree

 Puffy Midsection

 People Make Me Sick

 Provide Me with Sweets

 Pardon My Sobbing

 Pimples May Surface

 Pass My Sweatpants

 Plainly; Men Suck

 Pack My Stuff

 Permanent Menstrual Syndrome

 Pass More Sundaes

------------------------------------------------------------------------  

 Q: How many women with PMS does it take to change a light bulb?

 A: One. Only ONE!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this  house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they  figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle,actually find them 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change the  STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!! AND UDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE STUPID @*!#$% LIGHT BULBS CAME IN! WHY? BECAUSE NO-ONE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12' DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE  HOUSE.THE HOUSE!! - IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS #@*$!#@!...  HOUSE!

 I'm sorry...what did you ask me?

*****************************

Like I said, I am posting this for someone else..... I have NO clue what PMS is! Never had it, never will! "Please pass that hot fudge sundae over here!"

[Sabertooth]

You make it sound like fun!

How could you possibly know what kind of sounds I make?

[~EagleNebula~]

What I want to know, however, is WHY ARE LIBERAL WOMEN MORE SKILLFUL LOVERS THAN CONSERVATIVE WOMEN? Sorry, if I'm off topic...just something I've wondered about for the last two decades or so.

Really! Well, I never!!! Any man with skill can draw out the best lover in a female! (tongue in cheek!) I have heard that the book by Lou Paget, "How to be a GREAT LOVER" can change things.....maybe you want to pass it on to all the inept women you know? I have heard that Lou wrote one for men as well.

I should caution you, however. Do not give this book to any woman that you are not willing to commit to for the rest of your life! Once she reads it, you are HERS!!! female species are more powerful than the male. Josephine and Napoleon .....uh huh, uh huh!

Since when does politics have anything to do with what goes on between the sheets??? Check it at the door, man! A good lover will have you not caring about politics..... ::wink::

[2Trievers]

"How could you possibly know what kind of sounds I make?"

All those animal graphics in your posts?

And women's instinct ... honed to perfection. Some think they are base, animal instincts.