English Literature - Indian English - The Female of the Species Poem– Gouri Desh Pande - Notes - SUMMARY

The Female of the Species – Gouri Desh Pande

“The Female of the Species” is a poem written by Gouri Desh Pande. She writes about love and relationships. She is a confessional poet without any inhibitions. She employs the theme of love and human relationships in her poetry

                ‘The Female of the Species’ is an interesting poem. This tells about the intimate understanding and sympathy that flows instinctively in the heart of a woman. A woman, at certain moments of life, feels the need to share her feelings about love or despair or ungratefulness of children. At such moments, she will not relish the companionship of man.

                She needs the nearness of a mother or a sister with whom she can share her ups and downs of life. She is happy to spend her time even with her childhood friend evidently a woman. A man, however intimate he may be, cannot understand and share certain feelings of a woman. This does not mean that she totally ruled out the company of man. Some times when she wants to divulge certain feminine feelings “a man is no use then”. She is comfortable in the presence of a woman.

                The women sit comfortably and chit-chat over the common casual everyday affairs like the rate of rice, price of tea etc. One of them sews and the other sips tea. They have not directly talked about their woes and comforts of life. But it is as though they had spoken of and shared their feelings. Much can be expressed mutually through unspoken expressions.

                Thus, Gauri Desh Pande presents in this small poem, her feminist view point that only a woman can understand the heart of a woman and a man is no use.