The Looking Glass by Kamala Das - Summary

The narrator, a woman, talks about men. She reveals that it is easy to receive men's love, a woman just has to be candid about her sexual needs. A man is driven by carnal desire, so she will certainly get his attention. 

She is aware of the man's need to show his masculinity, so she advises women to stand with her man before the mirror. He will admire his own stronger physical figure as compared to the woman who looks "softer, younger, lovelier". Here the poetess knows that men play into the female's recognition of his masculinity. Further, she says that the woman should openly show her admiration of the male body.

Also, she instructs women to pay attention to his body parts as he walks with shyness on the bathroom floor. She can see his red eyes while under the shower and how he drops his towel and urinates in a "jerky way". She appreciates his male features which separates him from her.

She admits her sexuality and "gift" her lover all pleasures of female body:

the scent of
Long hair, the musk of sweat between the breasts,
The warm shock of menstrual blood, and all your
Endless female hungers

So, she concludes that it is easy to get a man's love but if they separate, she will have to accept life without him.

She finds such life dry and monotonous where she move from place to place, meets new strangers, but her eyes are tired of searching for her lover, only her ears recall his last parting words and her name. Her body which was once revitalized by his slight touch, is now half dead and lost its vitality. Here she uses a simile of brass to compare it with her body. 

Analysis

Kamala Das, a major Indian poet, is famous for her confessional poetry (revealing very personal details about her own life). As you can observe by reading the above poem of her, she is very frank about her sexuality. She writes from her own life. As her marriage was not a happy one, she had many lovers who used her only to satisfy their sexual needs. These affairs with many men taught her about male psychology. 

She sheds light on the profound physical needs of the men and their masculinity. That's why she asks  women to fan or boost male ego as it makes the men happy.

Overall, the poem ends on a sad note as the narrator, after experiencing love, bears separation and heartbreak. She grieves. Now she has to live on his memories.

The poem is written in free verse. The diction used by her is simple and doesn't have complex words.