There can be two or more sides or interpretations to one poem. This could be said about Carolyn Kizer's poem, Bitch. Each reader may have his or her own interpretations and thoughts about this poem, but the situation presented in this poem may still be connected to the poet herself.
The speaker in this poem seems to be a woman, though there isn't much more information given. Throughout the poem, the poet seems to be given this impression to the readers. However, perhaps the main hint is the poem's title. The term "Bitch" means,
“(1) The female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals; (2) (a) A lewd or immoral woman (b) A malicious, spiteful, or overbearing woman - sometimes used as a generalized term of abuse; (3) Something that is extremely difficult, objectionable, or unpleasant.” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary)
All three meanings may be seen in this poem, in different ways. There are some moments that the speaker treats someone inside like a dog and characterize her as such. There is a part of her that the speaker hates. This meeting and their past are and were unpleasant and, perhaps to some degree, difficult.
In this poem, the speaker may be in fact Carolyn Kizer herself. Carolyn Kizer had three children with her first husband, Stimson Bullitt, “an heir to Seattle wealth and influence.” (www.washington.edu) The couple eventually got divorced. This may have happened to Carolyn Kizer and the speaker's thoughts in this poem may be what the poet might have thought if the situation did happen to Carolyn and her first husband.
The first four lines of this poem give the readers an introduction to the poem and a general idea of the story. The speaker is explaining that she has met a man that she hasn't seen in a long time and reveals the way she views this unidentified male acquaintance. In this passage, there are two words and, in this circumstance, these words mean more than what they appear to. The first word in this passage is "bitch," on line 2. The speaker says that the "bitch" is inside her, which may lead to suggest that there may not be a simple definition for this. There is a part of her that the speaker doesn't like and she is trying to put down and have disappear. Perhaps because this part of her, the "bitch" inside her, is the illogical part of her, the part of her that has made her do irrational things.
The second word is the word "trespasser," on line 3. The common meaning is a person who enters someone else's house or property without the owner's consent. However, the reader may realize that this is most likely not the meaning of the word "trespasser." Another meaning of this word is a sin, an err, or an offense. It would seem more likely that thus man that the speaker meets may have committed an offense or has made a mistake, which involves the speaker. If this were the case, then, it would explain why the speaker is uncomfortable with him and why she is trying to hold the strains on the "bitch" inside her.
The next four lines, lines 5 to 9, gives the readers more of an insight on the meeting and even the relationship, to some degree. The speaker appears to be trying to convince herself that she sees him in a different way, that he is different, and that she doesn't have the same emotions for him. What happened to them, whether it was an intimate relationship or other, she seems to want to put it behind and move on.
The lines of 10 through 17 reveal more about how the speaker feels about this meeting and the speaker's inner battle with the "bitch," with the woman inside her that she doesn't like. On line 10 and 11, the speaker says, “At a kind word from him, a look like the old days, the bitch changes her tone,” which reveals a simile. These two lines and this simile shows that perhaps the speaker still has some feelings for this unidentified man. The kind word and the look that he gives her reminds her how she felt for him and perhaps still has some of that feeling for him.
However, all of these memories and old feelings change. The speaker doesn't seem to want to reveal these emotions. This leads to threaten this "bitch," the part of her that still has feelings for this man, that she will give her “a taste of the choke-chain,” which is an organic imagery. This imagery may show that the speaker sees this inner "bitch" as inferior or similar to a female dog, which would explain why the speaker uses verbs, nouns, and such attributed generally to dogs. On line 17, the speaker says that she is the mistress and the "bitch" is only loyal. In this case, the speaker is in the position of power and superiority.
The lines of 18 to 23 are a passage of old memories, remembering the past between this "bitch" and this man. This passage shows the readers that there was something between the speaker and this man. It shows that they weren't simple friends, but they more likely had an intimate relationship, though it is unclear whether they were simple lovers or if there was more to their relationship. The speaker remembers how their relationship was, very formal.
In the lines 24 to 27, the speaker looks back on their relationship and on how it was. This passage shows that this man didn't seem to care too much for the speaker. There are some things that she says that suggest this aspect of their relationship, such as “careless kindness” (Line 24), “the casual cruelties” and “the ultimate dismissal” (Line 27). The speaker was kind to a man, who wasn't kind to her and didn't treat her well. This would appear to be the case, with what the speaker is saying in these lines.
In the final lines of the poem, from lines 28 to 34, the speaker reveals her final thoughts and emotions of the past and, especially, for this man, whom she cared for. In these final lines, the speaker seems to haven up her tender feelings for him. As the speaker reveals these aspects, she also gives the readers and the "bitch," or at least the woman that she was, some information on this man she has been speaking to. The readers learn that the unidentified man has a wife. Perhaps, he has remarried, because the speaker says, “the well-groomed pets of his new friends.” (Line 31) After struggling between different emotions, the poem ends with the speaker leaving and feeling indifferent about this man.
There may be some similarity between this poem and the poet's life. This event could have easily happened between her and her first husband. However, it is unclear whether the event presented in the poem, in fact, happened to the poet. It is something that will stay unknown.
