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Identity Through Independence in Giovanni's "Woman"

© Karen Powers Liebhaber

Understanding a his/her identity is very important to an individual. The process of finding a person's identity, though, can be strenuous and lengthy. Nikki Giovanni's "Woman," is a poem that focuses on a woman's search for her identity. By following the path of dependence to independence, the woman is able to determine her unique self.

Giovanni's narrator, for the majority of the poem, focuses on a woman's dependence upon the man. It is not until the very last stanza that the woman seems to realize that she can be independent of the man; she does not have to have him to live. The realization is the epiphany which allows her to obtain a her unique identity.

During the majority of the poem, it is easy to see how the woman focuses so much on the man. While in search of her identity, each thing she tries to be requires the man's support; during this part of the poem, he is essentially the foundation of her identity. When she tries to be "a blade / of grass…he wouldn't agree / to be the dandelion" (2-3). When she tries to be "a robin singing…he refused to be / her tree" (5,7-8). Though the woman tries her best to conform herself to the man, she completely is unable to. Each time she is met with his resistance.

Each of the woman's attempts to mold her identity to that of the man's displays her strong dependence on him. Though the different suggestions for the identities are her ideas, he ultimately rejects each one. She continues to change for him, trying to find something to suit him. Each identity change glaringly illustrates her dependence on him.

The last stanza, though, is a revelation. Because the woman looked so hard for a way to coexist with the man, it is surprising that she recognizes her own independence. It is even more astonishing that she accepts this independence: "she decided to become / a woman…she decided it was all / right" (18-19, 22-23).

Part of understanding the woman comes from understanding the role of the male in this poem. Here, the male does not necessarily seem to be overbearing. There is really no indications of cruelty or abuse in the poem. If anything, the man seems to neglect the woman. He only says "no" to each of her ideas. Never does the narrator inform us that the man is overbearing.

In the last stanza, though, we see can understand the man's problem a bit better. The narrator says:

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