This is one of the only directly violent images in the poem (that of physical striking "the flanks"), and it is interesting that it is also one of the first images. Instead of the woman's oppression culminating in violence, here the violence is brought on almost immediately and the imagery continues into even more disturbing realms. This implies that violence is actually the least of the woman's problem; there are far more dangerous and hurtful acts, such as brainwashing [link] and "unsexing" [link]. Conversely, in Yeats' "Leda and the Swan", the imagery is mostly focused on violence, beginning with "A sudden blow" [link], yet moves inexplicably to the acts of "caressing". [link]