The Female of the Species Flashcards
by Rudyard Kipling — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: The Female of the Species
What is "The Female of the Species" by Rudyard Kipling about?
<p><span class="al-title">The Female of the Species</span> argues that females — animal and human alike — are more dangerous than males because their protective instincts are absolute and uncompromising. <span class="al-author">Kipling</span> opens with vivid examples from nature: a she-bear attacks where the he-bear retreats, a female cobra strikes where the male avoids. He then extends the argument to human society, claiming that men are weakened by doubt, pity, compromise, and abstract reasoning, while women — driven by the imperative to protect offspring and convictions — act with single-minded ferocity. The poem's famous refrain, "the female of the species is more deadly than the male," has become one of the most quoted phrases in English literature.</p>
When was "The Female of the Species" published and what inspired it?
<p><span class="al-title">The Female of the Species</span> was first published in <em>The Morning Post</em> on October 20, 1911, with the subtitle "A Study in Natural History." The poem was written during the height of the <strong>British suffragette movement</strong>, when women were engaging in increasingly militant tactics — window-smashing, arson, hunger strikes — to demand voting rights. While <span class="al-author">Kipling</span> never explicitly names the suffragettes, the poem's central argument about female ferocity and single-mindedness was widely understood as a response to their campaign. The poem was collected in <em>The Years Between</em> (1919).</p>
What is the theme of "The Female of the Species"?
<p>The central theme is the <strong>fundamental difference between male and female nature</strong>. Kipling argues that men are creatures of compromise, abstraction, and hesitation — they "propound negotiations" and "accept the compromise." Women, by contrast, are driven by an uncompromising biological imperative to protect their offspring and convictions. A secondary theme is <strong>maternal instinct as a primal force</strong>: the poem frames female ferocity not as a moral failing but as an evolutionary necessity — "lest the generations fail." The poem also touches on <strong>the limits of male rationality</strong>, suggesting that men's reliance on abstract justice and debate is actually a weakness when decisive action is required.</p>
What does "the female of the species is more deadly than the male" mean?
<p>This refrain — repeated throughout the poem and now embedded in the English language — means that when it comes to protecting offspring, defending convictions, or pursuing a cause, <strong>women act with greater ferocity and determination than men</strong>. Kipling draws this from observed animal behavior: a mother bear or a nesting cobra is far more dangerous than the male, who may flee when confronted. Applied to humans, the phrase suggests that women's emotional commitment — whether to children, beliefs, or causes — makes them more formidable opponents than men, who are tempered by doubt, humor, and willingness to negotiate. The phrase has transcended the poem to become a widely used proverb.</p>
Is "The Female of the Species" feminist or anti-feminist?
<p>This is the poem's central controversy, and scholars disagree sharply. <strong>Anti-feminist readings</strong> argue that Kipling reduces women to biological functions — motherhood and mate-guarding — and that the poem was written to oppose women's suffrage by portraying female nature as incompatible with democratic governance. Critic <span class="al-person">Bernard Porter</span> characterized it as "reactionary bigotry" that reduces women's purpose to reproduction. <strong>Pro-feminist readings</strong> counter that the poem actually celebrates female power, resilience, and moral clarity, presenting women as stronger and more principled than men. The truth likely lies in the poem's ambiguity: Kipling simultaneously admires female strength and fears what happens when that strength is directed at political institutions he wants to preserve.</p>
What literary devices does Kipling use in "The Female of the Species"?
<p>The most prominent device is the <strong>refrain</strong> — "the female of the species is more deadly than the male" — which anchors the poem's argument through rhythmic repetition. Kipling employs <strong>natural analogy</strong> extensively, opening with the she-bear, the cobra, and the squaw before applying the same logic to modern women. The poem uses <strong>antithesis</strong> throughout, systematically contrasting male and female traits: man "propounds negotiations" while woman is "launched for one sole issue." <strong>Personification</strong> appears in capitalizing abstract concepts — Doubt, Pity, Mirth, The Sex — elevating them to forces that shape behavior. The stanzas alternate between <strong>quatrains</strong> (with the refrain) and <strong>couplet-based stanzas</strong> (expanding the argument), creating a structure that oscillates between thesis and evidence.</p>
What animals does Kipling reference in "The Female of the Species"?
<p>Kipling opens with three vivid examples from nature to establish his thesis before applying it to humans. The <strong>Himalayan bear</strong> appears first: the he-bear will "often turn aside" when confronted, but the she-bear "rends the peasant tooth and nail." Next is <strong>Nag the cobra</strong> (a name familiar from <a href="/author/rudyard-kipling/book/the-jungle-book/summary" class="al-title">The Jungle Book</a>): the male cobra "will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid" a human footstep, but his mate "makes no such motion." The third example is historical rather than zoological: <strong>Native American women</strong> ("squaws") whom Jesuit missionaries in North America feared more than the warriors. These three examples — mammal, reptile, and human — build a cross-species argument for female ferocity that gives the poem its subtitle, "A Study in Natural History."</p>
How does "The Female of the Species" relate to Kipling's other poems?
<p>The poem shares thematic DNA with several other Kipling works. <a href="/author/rudyard-kipling/poem/if/" class="al-title">If—</a> defines ideal masculinity through stoic self-control, while "The Female of the Species" defines femininity through uncompromising action — together they form complementary portraits of gendered virtue. <a href="/author/rudyard-kipling/poem/the-gods-of-the-copybook-headings/" class="al-title">The Gods of the Copybook Headings</a> shares the poem's distrust of fashionable ideas (here, suffrage) and its insistence that biological realities will always reassert themselves. And like <a href="/author/rudyard-kipling/poem/tommy/" class="al-title">Tommy</a>, the poem is a social critique wrapped in accessible verse — using humor and vivid imagery to deliver uncomfortable observations about power, class, and human nature.</p>