Summary of the Poem:
This poem first appeared in Nissim Ezekiel's fourth volume of poems which was published in 1965 under the heading of “The Exact Name.” This short poem describes a pregnant woman whom the speaker in the poem (perhaps the poet himself) observed when she was visiting an art gallery and staring at some nude paintings which had been hung on the walls to be exhibited to art lovers.
The pregnant woman in this poem was a prude who felt somewhat shocked by the nudity of the women painted in those pictures. Evidently she had strayed into the art gallery without knowing that there would be some nude paintings on display. Her reaction was therefore one of shock. But the poet's reaction to the woman's sense of shock was one of shame because he felt that a woman, who was pregnant, should have felt no dislike at all for a display of feminine nakedness. The poet was of the view that, having a baby in her womb, she should have realized that it was nakedness in bed with a man which had led to her pregnancy. The child in her womb would come into this world as a result of her own experience of nakedness resulting in her pregnancy. Even now, as she stood wondering at the nude paintings before her, her body presented an erotic sight; and her movement along the wall had a sensual appeal which her dress could not hide.
This poem is bound to evoke different responses from different people. The orthodox readers would probably argue that it is one thing for a woman to take off her clothes in private for the pleasure and delectation of her husband or her lover, and quite another thing for her to view paintings in which women's nakedness is depicted for public exhibition. The advanced and westernized readers, on the other hand, would say that they are living in modern times and that nude paintings are one of the important and recognized aspects of modernity. Nudity, whether in art or in real life, is very much in vogue in western countries. In the U.S.A., for instance, the waitresses in bars are mostly topless and even bottomless (meaning that they neither cover their breasts with brassieres nor cover their bottoms with any under - garment or outer - garment), and they serve the customers without any sense of shame.
Critical Analysis of the Poem:
“A Woman Observed” is a short poem which graphically depicts the sexuality of a pregnant woman whom the narrator (the poet himself) observed in an art gallery. She was engrossed in staring at some nude paintings hanging on the wall for the view of the art lovers. The pregnant woman in this poem is a prude who was shocked at sight of the nudity of the women painted in those pictures. The narrator reacts to the woman's sense of shock because he felt that the pregnant woman should have felt no dislike at all for the exhibition of feminine nakedness because it was nakedness and sexuality in bed which resulted in her pregnancy. While she stood wandering at the nude paintings before her, her body evinced an erotic sight which she could not hide. Indeed, she gets sexually excited at seeing nude paintings and statues, but her prudishness about what she has enjoyed repeatedly in her life is unexplainable:
I watch her sadly as
She leaves the place, my eyes
embracing all that sensual
movement bursting through the dress.