THE SHE-WOLF, THE SHE-CAT, THE HEN - THE WOMAN IN A POEM BY HALINA POSWIATOWSKA

In her poem 'Let the senses live!' Halina Poswiatowska defines 'being' not as a state, but as a process of becoming. The acceptance of the role of a woman with regard to a man contains not only a realization of one's otherness but also the articulation of a wish of an encounter with the other sex. The woman is as long as she is not radically different; it is the non-radical margin which constitutes her presence. The creation of one's subjectivity always takes place with regard of the Other, and whenever the Other is a man, the articulation of the self has to have a sexual aspect. If masculinity and femininity represent the radical difference, then it is necessary to look to those things that are shared and to experiences that bridge the gap and can thus provide a common frame of reference. The animal world can supply us with a handy list of 'cues' how to go about modelling one's feminine subjectivity. However, the creation of one's subjectivity 'with regard to' does not integrate the subject, but splits it instead into useable fragments. The feminine comes into being within the male perspective. It means that the use of the body may well produce 'disintegration' rather than consolidation, and instead of helping the subject to achieve full autonomy it may initiate its objectification.