What truth, if any, does this poem reflect?

Question

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.

It's from a Kipling poem by the way....

Ah, Kate, but did it inspire a popular song? jk.
Nice verse.

I can't agree entirely about Kipling. His politics was naive, but he possessed something that has now vanished from the world. Orwell had a love/hate relationship with his work and I don't think it was just evocations of youth. What has this to do with ladies though...I digress...

Jennifer W: You'll get into trouble with heretical opinions like those! lol
Maybe man doesn't need to be chief, but it conveys a woman's deep strengths.

Answer 1

If I could look at all and feel free.
If I could see the good in me.
If I could ponder the ways of this world.
Then I my friend am a girl.

Kipling revisited on GWS by Kate.

Kipling was a great poet and a wonderful story weaver.
He lived in a time ,as you acknowledge, when political thought was entrenched in preserving the aristocratic status quo.
It would not be PC to write the verse you cited today and I doubt it would be published- however it made me think. Thank you.

P.S. I love that old song.

Answer 2

Edited to say: I'm not sure about 'naive', I think more 'romantic' ~ not in the Hollywood sense but a dreamer who believed that the creation and dominion of Empire would usher in a better world where the 'dark peoples' would be freed from ignorance and slavery to their heathen ideas.

Kate's right in that his ideas are not now fashionable, but I was a little harsh in trying to be concise, there's a lot of his stuff I enjoy and there is no doubt that he has an eye for a character sketch and a genuine insight into the things that are important to some people. I grew up with Kipling's poems (and Ivanhoe, lol) but seriously, Gunga Din did it in for me.

The one you quote is stirring (ahhh, that's a good word for K.), but reflects a view that isn't mine.

~*~*~
The same truth that is contained in Kipling's epic poem about the "White Man's Burden".

The truth that Kipling was a supporter of the British Empire in an era when that meant that people of other races, other faiths and the 'other' gender were regarded as different and dubious, at worst to be suppressed and used, at best to be nurtured and 'saved' by the gallant Brit with his trusty sun helmet (if he was an aristocrat, of course. The ordinary soldier was just to cop it and die or not, as commanded).

It's a thoroughly outdated ideology, and had become so very shortly after Kipling's hey day.

Some of the stories have a sweet sort of romanticism to them which, once stripped of the nastier racist and anglocentric 'ideals' make cute tales for kids, and there's no doubt Kipling was an hard working and skilled poet who had a knack with a line and an evocation, but his politics and his ideas about people are those of a time which is, thankfully, long gone.

But if you like it, enjoy!

Cheers :-)

Answer 3

Boy, I agree - it does sound like he's talking about the black widow spider! I would hope that we aren't like a black widow.
I get what he means, though. We are called to be our husband's equal, but in other ways than leadership. The man is the head; we are the neck. The neck can turn the man's head!
You've heard it said, "Behind every good man is a good woman." There's truth to that, based on Kipling's poem. We must be intelligent, strong, and independent, but not so much that we overstep him. According to Kipling's poem, we are called to help man in those capacities listed above.

Answer 4

Man... it sounds like the truth about a black widow spider. :)