The extreme form of auto-erotism is the tendency for the sexual emotion to be absorbed and often entirely lost in self-admiration. This Narcissus-like tendency, of which the normal germ in women is symbolized by the mirror, is found in a minor degree in some men, and is sometimes well marked in women, usually in association with an attraction for other persons, to which attraction it is, of course, normally subservient. "The mirror," remarks Bloch (Beiträge1, p. 201), "plays an important part in the genesis of sexual aberration.... It cannot be doubted that many a boy and girl have first experienced sexual excitement at the sight of their own bodies in a mirror."Valera, the Spanish novelist, very well described this impulse in hisGenio y Figura. Rafaela, the heroine of this novel, says that, after her bath: "I fall into a puerility which may be innocent or vicious, I cannot decide. I only know that it is a purely contemplative act, a disinterested admiration of beauty. It is not coarse sensuality, but æsthetic platonism. I imitate Narcissus; and I apply my lips to the cold surface of the mirror and kiss my image. It is the love of beauty, the expression of tenderness and affection for what God has made manifest, in an ingenuous kiss imprinted on the empty and incorporeal reflection." In the same spirit the real heroine of theTagebuch einer Verlorenen(p. 114), at the point when she was about to become a prostitute, wrote: "I am pretty. It gives me pleasure to throw off my clothes, one by one, before the mirror, and to look at myself, just as I am, white as snow and straight as a fir, with my long, fine, hair, like a cloak of black silk. When I spread abroad the black stream of it, with both hands, I am like a white swan with black wings."A typical case known to me is that of a lady of 28, brought up on a farm. She is a handsome woman, of very large and fine proportions, active and healthy and intelligent, with, however, no marked sexual attraction to the opposite sex; at the same time she is not inverted, though she would like to be a man, and has a considerable degree of contempt for women. She has an intense admiration for her ownperson, especially her limbs; she is never so happy as when alone and naked in her own bedroom, and, so far as possible, she cultivates nakedness. She knows by heart the various measurements of her body, is proud of the fact that they are strictly in accordance with the canons of proportion, and she laughs proudly at the thought that her thigh is larger than many a woman's waist. She is frank and assured in her manners, without sexual shyness, and, while willing to receive the attention and admiration of others, she makes no attempt to gain it, and seems never to have experienced any emotions stronger than her own pleasure in herself. I should add that I have had no opportunity of detailed examination, and cannot speak positively as to the absence of masturbation.In the extreme form in which alone the name of Narcissus may properly be invoked, there is comparative indifference to sexual intercourse or even the admiration of the opposite sex. Such a condition seems to be rare, except, perhaps, in insanity. Since I called attention to this form of auto-erotism (Alienist and Neurologist, April, 1898), several writers have discussed the condition, especially Näcke, who, following out the suggestion, terms the condition Narcissism. Among 1,500 insane persons, Näcke has found it in four men and one woman (Psychiatrische en Neurologische Bladen, No. 2, 1899), Dr. C. H. Hughes writes (in a private letter) that he is acquainted with such cases, in which men have been absorbed in admiration of their own manly forms, and of their sexual organs, and women, likewise, absorbed in admiration of their own mammæ and physical proportions, especially of limbs. "The whole subject," he adds, "is a singular phase of psychology, and it is not all morbid psychology, either. It is closely allied to that æsthetic sense which admires the nude in art."Féré (L'Instinct Sexuel, 2d ed., p. 271) mentions a woman who experienced sexual excitement in kissing her own hand. Näcke knew a woman in an asylum who, during periodical fits of excitement, would kiss her own arms and hands, at the same time looking like a person in love. He also knew a young man with dementia præcox? who would kiss his own image ("Der Kuss bei Geisteskranken,"Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Bd. LXIII, p. 127). Moll refers to a young homosexual lawyer, who experienced great pleasure in gazing at himself in a mirror (Konträre Sexualempfindung, 3d ed., p. 228), and mentions another inverted man, an admirer of the nates of men, who, chancing to observe his own nates in a mirror, when changing his shirt, was struck by their beauty, and subsequently found pleasure in admiring them (Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, Theil I, p. 60). Krafft-Ebing knew a man who masturbated before a mirror, imagining, at the same time, how much better a real lover would be.The best-observed cases of Narcissism have, however, been recorded by Rohleder, who confers upon this condition the ponderous name of automonosexualism, and believes that it has not been previously observed (H. Rohleder,Der Automonosexualismus, being Heft 225 ofBerliner Klinik, March, 1907). In the two cases investigated by Rohleder, both men, there was sexual excitement in the contemplation of the individual's own body, actually or in a mirror, with little or no sexual attraction to other persons. Rohleder is inclined to regard the condition as due to a congenital defect in the "sexual centre" of the brain.
The extreme form of auto-erotism is the tendency for the sexual emotion to be absorbed and often entirely lost in self-admiration. This Narcissus-like tendency, of which the normal germ in women is symbolized by the mirror, is found in a minor degree in some men, and is sometimes well marked in women, usually in association with an attraction for other persons, to which attraction it is, of course, normally subservient. "The mirror," remarks Bloch (Beiträge1, p. 201), "plays an important part in the genesis of sexual aberration.... It cannot be doubted that many a boy and girl have first experienced sexual excitement at the sight of their own bodies in a mirror."
Valera, the Spanish novelist, very well described this impulse in hisGenio y Figura. Rafaela, the heroine of this novel, says that, after her bath: "I fall into a puerility which may be innocent or vicious, I cannot decide. I only know that it is a purely contemplative act, a disinterested admiration of beauty. It is not coarse sensuality, but æsthetic platonism. I imitate Narcissus; and I apply my lips to the cold surface of the mirror and kiss my image. It is the love of beauty, the expression of tenderness and affection for what God has made manifest, in an ingenuous kiss imprinted on the empty and incorporeal reflection." In the same spirit the real heroine of theTagebuch einer Verlorenen(p. 114), at the point when she was about to become a prostitute, wrote: "I am pretty. It gives me pleasure to throw off my clothes, one by one, before the mirror, and to look at myself, just as I am, white as snow and straight as a fir, with my long, fine, hair, like a cloak of black silk. When I spread abroad the black stream of it, with both hands, I am like a white swan with black wings."
A typical case known to me is that of a lady of 28, brought up on a farm. She is a handsome woman, of very large and fine proportions, active and healthy and intelligent, with, however, no marked sexual attraction to the opposite sex; at the same time she is not inverted, though she would like to be a man, and has a considerable degree of contempt for women. She has an intense admiration for her ownperson, especially her limbs; she is never so happy as when alone and naked in her own bedroom, and, so far as possible, she cultivates nakedness. She knows by heart the various measurements of her body, is proud of the fact that they are strictly in accordance with the canons of proportion, and she laughs proudly at the thought that her thigh is larger than many a woman's waist. She is frank and assured in her manners, without sexual shyness, and, while willing to receive the attention and admiration of others, she makes no attempt to gain it, and seems never to have experienced any emotions stronger than her own pleasure in herself. I should add that I have had no opportunity of detailed examination, and cannot speak positively as to the absence of masturbation.
In the extreme form in which alone the name of Narcissus may properly be invoked, there is comparative indifference to sexual intercourse or even the admiration of the opposite sex. Such a condition seems to be rare, except, perhaps, in insanity. Since I called attention to this form of auto-erotism (Alienist and Neurologist, April, 1898), several writers have discussed the condition, especially Näcke, who, following out the suggestion, terms the condition Narcissism. Among 1,500 insane persons, Näcke has found it in four men and one woman (Psychiatrische en Neurologische Bladen, No. 2, 1899), Dr. C. H. Hughes writes (in a private letter) that he is acquainted with such cases, in which men have been absorbed in admiration of their own manly forms, and of their sexual organs, and women, likewise, absorbed in admiration of their own mammæ and physical proportions, especially of limbs. "The whole subject," he adds, "is a singular phase of psychology, and it is not all morbid psychology, either. It is closely allied to that æsthetic sense which admires the nude in art."
Féré (L'Instinct Sexuel, 2d ed., p. 271) mentions a woman who experienced sexual excitement in kissing her own hand. Näcke knew a woman in an asylum who, during periodical fits of excitement, would kiss her own arms and hands, at the same time looking like a person in love. He also knew a young man with dementia præcox? who would kiss his own image ("Der Kuss bei Geisteskranken,"Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie, Bd. LXIII, p. 127). Moll refers to a young homosexual lawyer, who experienced great pleasure in gazing at himself in a mirror (Konträre Sexualempfindung, 3d ed., p. 228), and mentions another inverted man, an admirer of the nates of men, who, chancing to observe his own nates in a mirror, when changing his shirt, was struck by their beauty, and subsequently found pleasure in admiring them (Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, Theil I, p. 60). Krafft-Ebing knew a man who masturbated before a mirror, imagining, at the same time, how much better a real lover would be.
The best-observed cases of Narcissism have, however, been recorded by Rohleder, who confers upon this condition the ponderous name of automonosexualism, and believes that it has not been previously observed (H. Rohleder,Der Automonosexualismus, being Heft 225 ofBerliner Klinik, March, 1907). In the two cases investigated by Rohleder, both men, there was sexual excitement in the contemplation of the individual's own body, actually or in a mirror, with little or no sexual attraction to other persons. Rohleder is inclined to regard the condition as due to a congenital defect in the "sexual centre" of the brain.
[176]
All the above groups of phenomena are dealt with in other volumes of theseStudies: the manifestations of normal sexual excitement, in vols. iii, iv, and v; homosexuality, in vol. ii, and erotic fetichism, in vol. v.
All the above groups of phenomena are dealt with in other volumes of theseStudies: the manifestations of normal sexual excitement, in vols. iii, iv, and v; homosexuality, in vol. ii, and erotic fetichism, in vol. v.
[177]
See Appendix C.
See Appendix C.
[178]
Letamendi, of Madrid, has suggested "auto-erastia" to cover what is probably much the same field. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Hufeland, in hisMakrobiotic, invented the term "geistige Onanie," to express the filling and heating of the imagination with voluptuous images, without unchastity of body; and in 1844, Kaan, in hisPsychopathia Sexualis, used, but did not invent, the term "onania psychica." Gustav Jaeger, in hisEntdeckung der Seele, proposed "monosexual idiosyncrasy," to indicate the most animal forms of masturbation taking place without any correlative imaginative element, a condition illustrated by cases given in Moll'sUntersuchungen über die Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, pp. 13et seq.Dr. Laupts (a pseudonym for the accomplished psychologist, Dr. Saint-Paul) uses the termautophilie, for solitary vice. (Perversion et Perversité Sexuelles, 1896, p. 337.) But all these terms only cover a portion of the field.
Letamendi, of Madrid, has suggested "auto-erastia" to cover what is probably much the same field. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Hufeland, in hisMakrobiotic, invented the term "geistige Onanie," to express the filling and heating of the imagination with voluptuous images, without unchastity of body; and in 1844, Kaan, in hisPsychopathia Sexualis, used, but did not invent, the term "onania psychica." Gustav Jaeger, in hisEntdeckung der Seele, proposed "monosexual idiosyncrasy," to indicate the most animal forms of masturbation taking place without any correlative imaginative element, a condition illustrated by cases given in Moll'sUntersuchungen über die Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, pp. 13et seq.Dr. Laupts (a pseudonym for the accomplished psychologist, Dr. Saint-Paul) uses the termautophilie, for solitary vice. (Perversion et Perversité Sexuelles, 1896, p. 337.) But all these terms only cover a portion of the field.
[179]
H. Northcote,Christianity and Sex Problems, p. 231.
H. Northcote,Christianity and Sex Problems, p. 231.
[180]
Rosse observed two elephants procuring erection by entwining their proboscides, the act being completed by one elephant opening his mouth and allowing the other to tickle the roof of it. (I. Rosse,Virginia Medical Monthly, October, 1892.)
Rosse observed two elephants procuring erection by entwining their proboscides, the act being completed by one elephant opening his mouth and allowing the other to tickle the roof of it. (I. Rosse,Virginia Medical Monthly, October, 1892.)
[181]
Féré, "Perversions sexuelles chez les animaux,"Revue Philosophique, May, 1897.
Féré, "Perversions sexuelles chez les animaux,"Revue Philosophique, May, 1897.
[182]
Tillier,L'Instinct Sexuel, 1889, p. 270.
Tillier,L'Instinct Sexuel, 1889, p. 270.
[183]
Moll,Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, p. 76. The same author mentions (ibid., p. 373) that parrots living in solitary confinement masturbate by rubbing the posterior part of the body against some object until ejaculation occurs. Edmund Selous ("Habits of the Peewit,"Zoölogist, April, 1902) suggests that the peewit, when rolling on the ground, and exerting pressure on the anal region, is moved by a sexual impulse to satisfy desire; he adds that actual orgasm appears eventually to take place, a spasm of energy passing through the bird.
Moll,Libido Sexualis, Bd. I, p. 76. The same author mentions (ibid., p. 373) that parrots living in solitary confinement masturbate by rubbing the posterior part of the body against some object until ejaculation occurs. Edmund Selous ("Habits of the Peewit,"Zoölogist, April, 1902) suggests that the peewit, when rolling on the ground, and exerting pressure on the anal region, is moved by a sexual impulse to satisfy desire; he adds that actual orgasm appears eventually to take place, a spasm of energy passing through the bird.
[184]
Dr. J. W. Howe (Excessive Venery, Masturbation, and Continence, London and New York, 1883, p. 62) writes of masturbation: "In savage lands it is of rare occurrence. Savages live in a state of Nature. No moral obligations exist which compel them to abstain from a natural gratification of their passions. There is no social law which prevents them from following the dictates of their lower nature. Hence, they have no reason for adopting onanism as an outlet for passions. The moral trammels of civilized society, and ignorance of physiological laws, give origin to the vice." Every one of these six sentences is incorrect or misleading. They are worth quoting as a statement of the popular view of savage life.
Dr. J. W. Howe (Excessive Venery, Masturbation, and Continence, London and New York, 1883, p. 62) writes of masturbation: "In savage lands it is of rare occurrence. Savages live in a state of Nature. No moral obligations exist which compel them to abstain from a natural gratification of their passions. There is no social law which prevents them from following the dictates of their lower nature. Hence, they have no reason for adopting onanism as an outlet for passions. The moral trammels of civilized society, and ignorance of physiological laws, give origin to the vice." Every one of these six sentences is incorrect or misleading. They are worth quoting as a statement of the popular view of savage life.
[185]
I can recall little evidence of its existence among the Australian aborigines, though there is, in the Wiradyuri language, spoken over a large part of New South Wales, a word (whether ancient or not, I do not know) meaning masturbation (Journal of the Anthropological Institute, July-Dec., 1904, p. 303). Dr. W. Roth (Ethnological Studies Among the Northwest-Central Queensland Aborigines, p. 184), who has carefully studied the blacks of his district, remarks that he has no evidence as to the practice of either masturbation or sodomy among them. More recently (1906) Roth has stated that married men in North Queensland and elsewhere masturbate during their wives' absence. As regards the Maori of New Zealand, Northcote adds, there is a rare word for masturbation (as also at Rarotonga), but according to a distinguished Maori scholar there are no allusions to the practice in Maori literature, and it was probably not practiced in primitive times. The Maori and the Polynesians of the Cook Islands, Northcote remarks, consider the act unmanly, applying to it a phrase meaning "to make women of themselves." (Northcote,loc. cit., p. 232.)
I can recall little evidence of its existence among the Australian aborigines, though there is, in the Wiradyuri language, spoken over a large part of New South Wales, a word (whether ancient or not, I do not know) meaning masturbation (Journal of the Anthropological Institute, July-Dec., 1904, p. 303). Dr. W. Roth (Ethnological Studies Among the Northwest-Central Queensland Aborigines, p. 184), who has carefully studied the blacks of his district, remarks that he has no evidence as to the practice of either masturbation or sodomy among them. More recently (1906) Roth has stated that married men in North Queensland and elsewhere masturbate during their wives' absence. As regards the Maori of New Zealand, Northcote adds, there is a rare word for masturbation (as also at Rarotonga), but according to a distinguished Maori scholar there are no allusions to the practice in Maori literature, and it was probably not practiced in primitive times. The Maori and the Polynesians of the Cook Islands, Northcote remarks, consider the act unmanly, applying to it a phrase meaning "to make women of themselves." (Northcote,loc. cit., p. 232.)
[186]
Greenlees,Journal of Mental Science, July, 1895. A gentleman long resident among the Kaffirs of South Natal, told Northcote, however, that he had met with no word for masturbation, and did not believe the practice prevailed there.
Greenlees,Journal of Mental Science, July, 1895. A gentleman long resident among the Kaffirs of South Natal, told Northcote, however, that he had met with no word for masturbation, and did not believe the practice prevailed there.
[187]
Hyades and Deniker,Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn, vol. vii, p. 295.
Hyades and Deniker,Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn, vol. vii, p. 295.
[188]
La Criminalité en Cochin-Chine, 1887, p. 116; also Mondière, "Monographie de la Femme Annamite,"Mémoires Société d'Anthropologie, tome ii, p. 465.
La Criminalité en Cochin-Chine, 1887, p. 116; also Mondière, "Monographie de la Femme Annamite,"Mémoires Société d'Anthropologie, tome ii, p. 465.
[189]
Christian, article on "Onanisme,"Dictionnaire Encyclopédique des Sciences Médicales; Ploss and Bartels,Das Weib; Moraglia, "Die Onanie beim normalen Weibe,"Zeitschrift für Criminal-Anthropologie, 1897; Dartigues,De la Procréation Volontaire des Sexes, p. 32. In the eighteenth century, therin-no-tamawas known in France, sometimes as "pommes d'amour." Thus Bachaumont, in his Journal (under date July 31, 1773), refers to "a very extraordinary instrument of amorous mystery," brought by a traveler from India; he describes this "boule erotique" as the size of a pigeon's egg, covered with soft skin, and gilded.Cf.F. S. Krauss,Geschlechtsleben in Brauch und Sitte der Japaner, Leipzig, 1907.
Christian, article on "Onanisme,"Dictionnaire Encyclopédique des Sciences Médicales; Ploss and Bartels,Das Weib; Moraglia, "Die Onanie beim normalen Weibe,"Zeitschrift für Criminal-Anthropologie, 1897; Dartigues,De la Procréation Volontaire des Sexes, p. 32. In the eighteenth century, therin-no-tamawas known in France, sometimes as "pommes d'amour." Thus Bachaumont, in his Journal (under date July 31, 1773), refers to "a very extraordinary instrument of amorous mystery," brought by a traveler from India; he describes this "boule erotique" as the size of a pigeon's egg, covered with soft skin, and gilded.Cf.F. S. Krauss,Geschlechtsleben in Brauch und Sitte der Japaner, Leipzig, 1907.
[190]
It may be worth mentioning that the Salish Indians of British Columbia have a myth of an old woman having intercourse with young women, by means of a horn worn as a penis (Journal of the Anthropological Institute, July-Dec., 1904, p. 342).
It may be worth mentioning that the Salish Indians of British Columbia have a myth of an old woman having intercourse with young women, by means of a horn worn as a penis (Journal of the Anthropological Institute, July-Dec., 1904, p. 342).
[191]
In Burchard's Penitential (cap. 142-3), penalties are assigned to the woman who makes a phallus for use on herself or other women. (Wasserschleben,Bussordnungen der abendländlichen Kirche, p. 658.) Thepenis succedaneus, the Latinphallusorfascinum, is in France calledgodemiche; in Italy,passatempo, and alsodiletto, whencedildo, by which it is most commonly known in England. For men, the correspondingcunnus succedaneusis, in England, calledmerkin, which meant originally (as defined in old editions of Bailey'sDictionary) "counterfeit hair for women's privy parts."
In Burchard's Penitential (cap. 142-3), penalties are assigned to the woman who makes a phallus for use on herself or other women. (Wasserschleben,Bussordnungen der abendländlichen Kirche, p. 658.) Thepenis succedaneus, the Latinphallusorfascinum, is in France calledgodemiche; in Italy,passatempo, and alsodiletto, whencedildo, by which it is most commonly known in England. For men, the correspondingcunnus succedaneusis, in England, calledmerkin, which meant originally (as defined in old editions of Bailey'sDictionary) "counterfeit hair for women's privy parts."
[192]
Dühren,Der Marquis de Sade und Seine Zeit, 3d ed., pp. 130, 232;id.Geschlechtsleben in England, Bd. II, pp. 284et seq.
Dühren,Der Marquis de Sade und Seine Zeit, 3d ed., pp. 130, 232;id.Geschlechtsleben in England, Bd. II, pp. 284et seq.
[193]
Gamier,Onanisme, p. 378.
Gamier,Onanisme, p. 378.
[194]
Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1899, p. 669.
Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1899, p. 669.
[195]
The mythology of Hawaii, one may note, tells of goddesses who were impregnated by bananas they had placed beneath their garments. B. Stern mentions (Medizin in der Türkei, Bd. II, p. 24) that the women of Turkey and Egypt use the banana, as well as the cucumber, etc., for masturbation. In a poem in theArabian Nights, also ("History of the Young Nour with the Frank"), we read: "O bananas, of soft and smooth skins, which dilate the eyes of young girls ... you, alone among fruits are endowed with a pitying heart, O consolers of widows and divorced women." In France and England they are not uncommonly used for the same purpose.
The mythology of Hawaii, one may note, tells of goddesses who were impregnated by bananas they had placed beneath their garments. B. Stern mentions (Medizin in der Türkei, Bd. II, p. 24) that the women of Turkey and Egypt use the banana, as well as the cucumber, etc., for masturbation. In a poem in theArabian Nights, also ("History of the Young Nour with the Frank"), we read: "O bananas, of soft and smooth skins, which dilate the eyes of young girls ... you, alone among fruits are endowed with a pitying heart, O consolers of widows and divorced women." In France and England they are not uncommonly used for the same purpose.
[196]
See,e.g., Winckel,Die Krankheiten der weiblichen Harnrohre und Blase, 1885, p. 211; and "Lehrbuch der Frauenkrankheiten," 1886, p. 210; also, Hyrtl,Handbuch du Topographischen Anatomie, 7th ed., Bd. II, pp. 212-214. Grünfeld (Wiener medizinische Blätter, November 26, 1896), collected 115 cases of foreign body in the bladder—68 in men, 47 in women; but while those found in men were usually the result of a surgical accident, those found in women were mostly introduced by the patients themselves. The patient usually professes profound ignorance as to how the object came there; or she explains that she accidentally sat down upon it, or that she used it to produce freer urination. The earliest surgical case of this kind I happen to have met with, was recorded by Plazzon, in Italy, in 1621 (De Partibus Generationi Inservientibus, lib. ii, Ch. XIII); it was that of a certain honorable maiden with a large clitoris, who, seeking to lull sexual excitement with the aid of a bone needle, inserted it in the bladder, whence it was removed by Aquapendente.
See,e.g., Winckel,Die Krankheiten der weiblichen Harnrohre und Blase, 1885, p. 211; and "Lehrbuch der Frauenkrankheiten," 1886, p. 210; also, Hyrtl,Handbuch du Topographischen Anatomie, 7th ed., Bd. II, pp. 212-214. Grünfeld (Wiener medizinische Blätter, November 26, 1896), collected 115 cases of foreign body in the bladder—68 in men, 47 in women; but while those found in men were usually the result of a surgical accident, those found in women were mostly introduced by the patients themselves. The patient usually professes profound ignorance as to how the object came there; or she explains that she accidentally sat down upon it, or that she used it to produce freer urination. The earliest surgical case of this kind I happen to have met with, was recorded by Plazzon, in Italy, in 1621 (De Partibus Generationi Inservientibus, lib. ii, Ch. XIII); it was that of a certain honorable maiden with a large clitoris, who, seeking to lull sexual excitement with the aid of a bone needle, inserted it in the bladder, whence it was removed by Aquapendente.
[197]
A. Poulet,Traité des Corps étrangers en Chirurgie, 1879. English translation, 1881, vol. ii, pp. 209, 230. Rohleder (Die Masturbation, 1899, pp. 24-31) also gives examples of strange objects found in the sexual organs.
A. Poulet,Traité des Corps étrangers en Chirurgie, 1879. English translation, 1881, vol. ii, pp. 209, 230. Rohleder (Die Masturbation, 1899, pp. 24-31) also gives examples of strange objects found in the sexual organs.
[198]
E. H. Smith, "Signs of Masturbation in the Female,"Pacific Medical Journal, February, 1903, quoted by R. W. Taylor,Practical Treatise on Sexual Disorders, 3d ed., p. 418.
E. H. Smith, "Signs of Masturbation in the Female,"Pacific Medical Journal, February, 1903, quoted by R. W. Taylor,Practical Treatise on Sexual Disorders, 3d ed., p. 418.
[199]
L. Tait,Diseases of Women, 1889, vol. i, p. 100.
L. Tait,Diseases of Women, 1889, vol. i, p. 100.
[200]
Obstetric Journal, vol. i, 1873, p. 558.Cf.G. J. Arnold,British, Medical Journal, January 6, 1906, p. 21.
Obstetric Journal, vol. i, 1873, p. 558.Cf.G. J. Arnold,British, Medical Journal, January 6, 1906, p. 21.
[201]
Dudley,American Journal of Obstetrics, July, 1889, p. 758.
Dudley,American Journal of Obstetrics, July, 1889, p. 758.
[202]
A. Reverdin, "Epingles à Cheveux dans la Vessie,"Revue Médicale de la Suisse Romande, January 20, 1888. His cases are fully recorded, and his paper is an able and interesting contribution to this by-way of sexual psychology. The first case was a school-master's wife, aged 22, who confessed in her husband's presence, without embarrassment or hesitation, that the manœuvre was habitual, learned from a school-companion, and continued after marriage. The second was a single woman of 42, acuré'sservant, who attempted to elude confession, but on leaving the doctor's house remarked to the house-maid, "Never go to bed without taking out your hair-pins; accidents happen so easily." The third was an English girl of 17 who finally acknowledged that she had lost two hair-pins in this way. The fourth was a child of 12, driven by the pain to confess that the practice had become a habit with her.
A. Reverdin, "Epingles à Cheveux dans la Vessie,"Revue Médicale de la Suisse Romande, January 20, 1888. His cases are fully recorded, and his paper is an able and interesting contribution to this by-way of sexual psychology. The first case was a school-master's wife, aged 22, who confessed in her husband's presence, without embarrassment or hesitation, that the manœuvre was habitual, learned from a school-companion, and continued after marriage. The second was a single woman of 42, acuré'sservant, who attempted to elude confession, but on leaving the doctor's house remarked to the house-maid, "Never go to bed without taking out your hair-pins; accidents happen so easily." The third was an English girl of 17 who finally acknowledged that she had lost two hair-pins in this way. The fourth was a child of 12, driven by the pain to confess that the practice had become a habit with her.
[203]
"One of my patients," remarks Dr. R. T. Morris, of New York, (Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians, for 1892, Philadelphia, vol. v), "who is a devout church-member, had never allowed herself to entertain sexual thoughts referring to men, but she masturbated every morning, when standing before the mirror, by rubbing against a key in the bureau-drawer. A man never excited her passions, but the sight of a key in any bureau-drawer aroused erotic desires."
"One of my patients," remarks Dr. R. T. Morris, of New York, (Transactions of the American Association of Obstetricians, for 1892, Philadelphia, vol. v), "who is a devout church-member, had never allowed herself to entertain sexual thoughts referring to men, but she masturbated every morning, when standing before the mirror, by rubbing against a key in the bureau-drawer. A man never excited her passions, but the sight of a key in any bureau-drawer aroused erotic desires."
[204]
Freud (Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie, p. 118) refers to the sexual pleasure of swinging. Swinging another person may be a source of voluptuous excitement, and one of the 600 forms of sexual pleasure enumerated in De Sade'sLes 120 Journées de Sodomeis (according to Dühren) to propel a girl vigorously in a swing.
Freud (Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie, p. 118) refers to the sexual pleasure of swinging. Swinging another person may be a source of voluptuous excitement, and one of the 600 forms of sexual pleasure enumerated in De Sade'sLes 120 Journées de Sodomeis (according to Dühren) to propel a girl vigorously in a swing.
[205]
The fact that horse exercise may produce pollutions was well recognized by Catholic theologians, and Sanchez states that this fact need not be made a reason for traveling on foot. Rolfincius, in 1667, pointed out that horse-riding, in those unaccustomed to it, may lead to nocturnal pollutions. Rohleder (Die Masturbation, pp. 133-134) brings together evidence regarding the influence of horse exercise in producing sexual excitement.
The fact that horse exercise may produce pollutions was well recognized by Catholic theologians, and Sanchez states that this fact need not be made a reason for traveling on foot. Rolfincius, in 1667, pointed out that horse-riding, in those unaccustomed to it, may lead to nocturnal pollutions. Rohleder (Die Masturbation, pp. 133-134) brings together evidence regarding the influence of horse exercise in producing sexual excitement.
[206]
A correspondent, to whom the idea was presented for the first time, wrote: "Henceforward I shall know to what I must attribute the bliss—almost the beatitude—I so often have experienced after traveling for four or five hours in a train." Penta mentions the case of a young girl who first experienced sexual desire at the age of twelve, after a railway journey.
A correspondent, to whom the idea was presented for the first time, wrote: "Henceforward I shall know to what I must attribute the bliss—almost the beatitude—I so often have experienced after traveling for four or five hours in a train." Penta mentions the case of a young girl who first experienced sexual desire at the age of twelve, after a railway journey.
[207]
Langdon Down,British Medical Journal, January 12, 1867.
Langdon Down,British Medical Journal, January 12, 1867.
[208]
Pouillet,L'Onanisme chez la Femme, Paris, 1880; Fournier,De l'Onanisme, 1885; Rohleder,Die Masturbation, p. 132.
Pouillet,L'Onanisme chez la Femme, Paris, 1880; Fournier,De l'Onanisme, 1885; Rohleder,Die Masturbation, p. 132.
[209]
West-Riding Asylum Reports, 1876, vol. vi.
West-Riding Asylum Reports, 1876, vol. vi.
[210]
Das Nervöse Weib, 1898, p. 193.
Das Nervöse Weib, 1898, p. 193.
[211]
In the Appendix to volume iii of theseStudies, I have recorded the experience of a lady who found sexual gratification in this manner.
In the Appendix to volume iii of theseStudies, I have recorded the experience of a lady who found sexual gratification in this manner.
[212]
Dr. J. G. Kiernan, to whom I am indebted for a note on this point, calls my attention also to the case of a homosexual and masochistic man (Medical Record, vol. xix) whose feelings were intensified by tight-lacing.
Dr. J. G. Kiernan, to whom I am indebted for a note on this point, calls my attention also to the case of a homosexual and masochistic man (Medical Record, vol. xix) whose feelings were intensified by tight-lacing.
[213]
Some women are also able to produce the orgasm, when in a state of sexual excitement, by placing a cushion between the knees and pressing the thighs firmly together.
Some women are also able to produce the orgasm, when in a state of sexual excitement, by placing a cushion between the knees and pressing the thighs firmly together.
[214]
Leçons sur les Déformations Vulvaires, p. 64. Martineau was informed by a dressmaker that it is very frequent in workrooms and can usually be done without attracting attention. An ironer informed him that while standing at her work, she crossed her legs, slightly bending the trunk forward and supporting herself on the table by the hands; then a few movements of contraction of the adductor muscles of the thigh would suffice to produce the orgasm.
Leçons sur les Déformations Vulvaires, p. 64. Martineau was informed by a dressmaker that it is very frequent in workrooms and can usually be done without attracting attention. An ironer informed him that while standing at her work, she crossed her legs, slightly bending the trunk forward and supporting herself on the table by the hands; then a few movements of contraction of the adductor muscles of the thigh would suffice to produce the orgasm.
[215]
C. W. Townsend, "Thigh-friction in Children under one Year," Annual Meeting of the American Pediatric Society, Montreal, 1896. Five cases are recorded by this writer, all in female infants.
C. W. Townsend, "Thigh-friction in Children under one Year," Annual Meeting of the American Pediatric Society, Montreal, 1896. Five cases are recorded by this writer, all in female infants.
[216]
Soutzo,Archives de Neurologie, February, 1903, p. 167.
Soutzo,Archives de Neurologie, February, 1903, p. 167.
[217]
Zache,Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1899, p. 72. I have discussed what may be regarded as the normally sexual influence of dancing, in the third volume of theseStudies, "The Analysis of the Sexual Impulse."
Zache,Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1899, p. 72. I have discussed what may be regarded as the normally sexual influence of dancing, in the third volume of theseStudies, "The Analysis of the Sexual Impulse."
[218]
The case has been recorded of a Russian who had the spontaneous impulse to self-flagellation on the nates with a rod, for the sake of sexual excitement, from the age of 6. (Rivista Mensile di PsichiatriaApril, 1900, p. 102.)
The case has been recorded of a Russian who had the spontaneous impulse to self-flagellation on the nates with a rod, for the sake of sexual excitement, from the age of 6. (Rivista Mensile di PsichiatriaApril, 1900, p. 102.)
[219]
Κρυπτάδια, vol. v, p. 358. As regards the use of nettles, see Dühren,Geschlechtsleben in England, Bd. II, p. 392.
Κρυπτάδια, vol. v, p. 358. As regards the use of nettles, see Dühren,Geschlechtsleben in England, Bd. II, p. 392.
[220]
Debreyne,Mœchialogie, p. 177.
Debreyne,Mœchialogie, p. 177.
[221]
R. W. Taylor,A Practical Treatise on Sexual Disorders, 3rd ed., Ch. XXX.
R. W. Taylor,A Practical Treatise on Sexual Disorders, 3rd ed., Ch. XXX.
[222]
Hammond,Sexual Impotence, pp. 70et seq.
Hammond,Sexual Impotence, pp. 70et seq.
[223]
Niceforo,Il Gergo, p. 98.
Niceforo,Il Gergo, p. 98.
[224]
Functional Disorders of the Nervous System in Women, p. 114.
Functional Disorders of the Nervous System in Women, p. 114.
[225]
Schrenck-Notzing,Suggestions-therapie, p. 13. A. Kind (Jahrbuch für Sexuelle Zwischenstufen, Jahrgang ix, 1908, p. 58) gives the case of a young homosexual woman, a trick cyclist at the music halls, who often, when excited by the sight of her colleague in tights, would experience the orgasm while cycling before the public.
Schrenck-Notzing,Suggestions-therapie, p. 13. A. Kind (Jahrbuch für Sexuelle Zwischenstufen, Jahrgang ix, 1908, p. 58) gives the case of a young homosexual woman, a trick cyclist at the music halls, who often, when excited by the sight of her colleague in tights, would experience the orgasm while cycling before the public.
[226]
Janet has, however, used day-dreaming—which he calls "reveries subconscients"—to explain a remarkable case of demon-possession, which he investigated and cured. (Névroses et Idées fixes, vol. i, pp. 390et seq.)
Janet has, however, used day-dreaming—which he calls "reveries subconscients"—to explain a remarkable case of demon-possession, which he investigated and cured. (Névroses et Idées fixes, vol. i, pp. 390et seq.)
[227]
"Minor Studies from the Psychological Laboratory of Wellesley College,"American Journal of Psychology, vol. vii, No. 1. G. E. Partridge ("Reverie,"Pedagogical Seminary, April, 1898) well describes the physical accompaniments of day-dreaming, especially in Normal School girls between sixteen and twenty-two. Pick ("Clinical Studies in Pathological Dreaming,"Journal of Mental Sciences, July, 1901) records three more or less morbid cases of day-dreaming, usually with an erotic basis, all in apparently hysterical men. An important study of day-dreaming, based on the experiences of nearly 1,500 young people (more than two-thirds girls and women), has been published by Theodate L. Smith ("The Psychology of Day Dreams,"American Journal Psychology, October, 1904). Continued stories were found to be rare—only one per cent. Healthy boys, before fifteen, had day-dreams in which sports, athletics, and adventure had a large part; girls put themselves in the place of their favorite heroines in novels. After seventeen, and earlier in the case of girls, day-dreams of love and marriage were found to be frequent. A typical confession is that of a girl of nineteen: "I seldom have time to build castles in Spain, but when I do, I am not different from most Southern girls;i.e., my dreams are usually about a pretty fair specimen of a six-foot three-inch biped."
"Minor Studies from the Psychological Laboratory of Wellesley College,"American Journal of Psychology, vol. vii, No. 1. G. E. Partridge ("Reverie,"Pedagogical Seminary, April, 1898) well describes the physical accompaniments of day-dreaming, especially in Normal School girls between sixteen and twenty-two. Pick ("Clinical Studies in Pathological Dreaming,"Journal of Mental Sciences, July, 1901) records three more or less morbid cases of day-dreaming, usually with an erotic basis, all in apparently hysterical men. An important study of day-dreaming, based on the experiences of nearly 1,500 young people (more than two-thirds girls and women), has been published by Theodate L. Smith ("The Psychology of Day Dreams,"American Journal Psychology, October, 1904). Continued stories were found to be rare—only one per cent. Healthy boys, before fifteen, had day-dreams in which sports, athletics, and adventure had a large part; girls put themselves in the place of their favorite heroines in novels. After seventeen, and earlier in the case of girls, day-dreams of love and marriage were found to be frequent. A typical confession is that of a girl of nineteen: "I seldom have time to build castles in Spain, but when I do, I am not different from most Southern girls;i.e., my dreams are usually about a pretty fair specimen of a six-foot three-inch biped."
[228]
The case has been recorded of a married woman, in love with her doctor, who kept a day-dream diary, at last filling three bulky volumes, when it was discovered by her husband, and led to an action for divorce; it was shown that the doctor knew nothing of the romance in which he played the part of hero. Kiernan, in referring to this case (as recorded in John Paget'sJudicial Puzzles), mentions a similar case in Chicago.
The case has been recorded of a married woman, in love with her doctor, who kept a day-dream diary, at last filling three bulky volumes, when it was discovered by her husband, and led to an action for divorce; it was shown that the doctor knew nothing of the romance in which he played the part of hero. Kiernan, in referring to this case (as recorded in John Paget'sJudicial Puzzles), mentions a similar case in Chicago.
[229]
Uranisme, p. 125.
Uranisme, p. 125.
[230]
The acute Anstie remarked, more than thirty years ago, in his work onNeuralgia: "It is a comparatively frequent thing to see an unsocial, solitary life (leading to the habit of masturbation) joined with the bad influence of an unhealthy ambition, prompting to premature and false work in literature and art." From the literary side, M. Léon Bazalgette has dealt with the tendency of much modern literature to devote itself to what he calls "mental onanism," of which the probable counterpart, he seems to hint, is a physical process of auto-erotism. (Léon Bazalgette, "L'onanisme considéré comme principe createur en art,"L'Esprit Nouveau, 1898.)
The acute Anstie remarked, more than thirty years ago, in his work onNeuralgia: "It is a comparatively frequent thing to see an unsocial, solitary life (leading to the habit of masturbation) joined with the bad influence of an unhealthy ambition, prompting to premature and false work in literature and art." From the literary side, M. Léon Bazalgette has dealt with the tendency of much modern literature to devote itself to what he calls "mental onanism," of which the probable counterpart, he seems to hint, is a physical process of auto-erotism. (Léon Bazalgette, "L'onanisme considéré comme principe createur en art,"L'Esprit Nouveau, 1898.)
[231]
Pausanias,Achaia, Chapter XVII. The ancient Babylonians believed in a certain "maid of the night," who appeared to men in sleep and roused without satisfying their passions. (Jastrow,Religion of Babylonia, p. 262.) This succubus was the Assyrian Liler, connected with the Hebrew Lilith. There was a corresponding incubus, "the little night man," who had nocturnal intercourse with women. (Cf.Ploss,Das Weib, 7th ed., pp. 521et seq.) The succubus and the incubus (the latter being more common) were adopted by Christendom; St. Augustine (De Civitate Dei, Bk. XV, Ch. XXIII) said that the wicked assaults of sylvans and fauns, otherwise called incubi, on women, are so generally affirmed that it would be impudent to deny them. Incubi flourished in mediæval belief, and can scarcely, indeed, be said to be extinct even to-day. They have been studied by many authors; see,e.g., Dufour,Histoire de la Prostitution, vol. v, Ch. XXV, Saint-André, physician-in-ordinary to the French King, pointed out in 1725 that the incubus was a dream. It may be added that the belief in the succubus and incubus appears to be widespread. Thus, the West African Yorubas (according to A. B. Ellis) believe that erotic dreams are due to the god Elegbra, who, either as a male or a female, consorts with men and women in sleep.
Pausanias,Achaia, Chapter XVII. The ancient Babylonians believed in a certain "maid of the night," who appeared to men in sleep and roused without satisfying their passions. (Jastrow,Religion of Babylonia, p. 262.) This succubus was the Assyrian Liler, connected with the Hebrew Lilith. There was a corresponding incubus, "the little night man," who had nocturnal intercourse with women. (Cf.Ploss,Das Weib, 7th ed., pp. 521et seq.) The succubus and the incubus (the latter being more common) were adopted by Christendom; St. Augustine (De Civitate Dei, Bk. XV, Ch. XXIII) said that the wicked assaults of sylvans and fauns, otherwise called incubi, on women, are so generally affirmed that it would be impudent to deny them. Incubi flourished in mediæval belief, and can scarcely, indeed, be said to be extinct even to-day. They have been studied by many authors; see,e.g., Dufour,Histoire de la Prostitution, vol. v, Ch. XXV, Saint-André, physician-in-ordinary to the French King, pointed out in 1725 that the incubus was a dream. It may be added that the belief in the succubus and incubus appears to be widespread. Thus, the West African Yorubas (according to A. B. Ellis) believe that erotic dreams are due to the god Elegbra, who, either as a male or a female, consorts with men and women in sleep.
[232]
"If any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water and be unclean until the even." Leviticus, XV, v. 16-17.
"If any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water and be unclean until the even. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water and be unclean until the even." Leviticus, XV, v. 16-17.
[233]
It should be added that the termpollutioalso covers voluntary effusion of semen outside copulation. (Debreyne,Mœchialogie, p. 8; for a full discussion of the opinions of theologians concerning nocturnal and diurnal pollutions, see the same author'sEssai sur la Théologie Morale, pp. 100-149.)
It should be added that the termpollutioalso covers voluntary effusion of semen outside copulation. (Debreyne,Mœchialogie, p. 8; for a full discussion of the opinions of theologians concerning nocturnal and diurnal pollutions, see the same author'sEssai sur la Théologie Morale, pp. 100-149.)
[234]
Memoirs, translated by Bendyshe, p. 182.
Memoirs, translated by Bendyshe, p. 182.
[235]
Sexual Impotence, p. 137.
Sexual Impotence, p. 137.
[236]
L'Hygiène Sexuelle, p. 169.
L'Hygiène Sexuelle, p. 169.
[237]
Sexualleben und Nervenleiden, p. 164.
Sexualleben und Nervenleiden, p. 164.
[238]
I may here refer to the curious opinion expressed by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, that, while the sexual impulse in man is usually relieved by seminal emissions during sleep, in women it is relieved by the occurrence of menstruation. This latter statement is flagrantly at variance with the facts; but it may perhaps be quoted in support of the view expressed above as to the comparative rarity of sexual excitement during sleep in young girls.
I may here refer to the curious opinion expressed by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, that, while the sexual impulse in man is usually relieved by seminal emissions during sleep, in women it is relieved by the occurrence of menstruation. This latter statement is flagrantly at variance with the facts; but it may perhaps be quoted in support of the view expressed above as to the comparative rarity of sexual excitement during sleep in young girls.
[239]
Löwenfeld has recently expressed the same opinion. Rohleder believes that pollutions are physically impossible in arealvirgin, but that opinion is too extreme.
Löwenfeld has recently expressed the same opinion. Rohleder believes that pollutions are physically impossible in arealvirgin, but that opinion is too extreme.
[240]
It may be added that in more or less neurotic women and girls, erotic dreams may be very frequent and depressing. Thus, J. M. Fothergill (West-Riding Asylum Report, 1876, vol. vi) remarks: "These dreams are much more frequent than is ordinarily thought, and are the cause of a great deal of nervous depression among women. Women of a highly-nervous diathesis suffer much more from these drains than robust women. Not only are these involuntary orgasms more frequent among such women, but they cause more disturbance of the general health in them than in other women."
It may be added that in more or less neurotic women and girls, erotic dreams may be very frequent and depressing. Thus, J. M. Fothergill (West-Riding Asylum Report, 1876, vol. vi) remarks: "These dreams are much more frequent than is ordinarily thought, and are the cause of a great deal of nervous depression among women. Women of a highly-nervous diathesis suffer much more from these drains than robust women. Not only are these involuntary orgasms more frequent among such women, but they cause more disturbance of the general health in them than in other women."
[241]
I may remark here that a Russian correspondent considers that I have greatly underestimated the frequency of erotic manifestations during sleep in young girls. "All the women I have interrogated on this point," he informs me, "say that they have had such pollutions from the time of puberty, or even earlier, accompanied by erotic dreams. I have put the question to some twenty or thirty women. It is true that they were of southern race (Italian, Spanish, and French), and I believe that Southerners are, in this matter, franker than northern women, who consider the activity of the flesh as shameful, and seek to conceal it." My correspondent makes no reference to the chief point of sexual difference, so far as my observation goes, which is that erotic dreams are comparatively rare in those women "who have yet had no sort of sexual experience in waking life." Whether or not this is correct, I do not question the frequency of erotic dreams in girls who have had such experience.
I may remark here that a Russian correspondent considers that I have greatly underestimated the frequency of erotic manifestations during sleep in young girls. "All the women I have interrogated on this point," he informs me, "say that they have had such pollutions from the time of puberty, or even earlier, accompanied by erotic dreams. I have put the question to some twenty or thirty women. It is true that they were of southern race (Italian, Spanish, and French), and I believe that Southerners are, in this matter, franker than northern women, who consider the activity of the flesh as shameful, and seek to conceal it." My correspondent makes no reference to the chief point of sexual difference, so far as my observation goes, which is that erotic dreams are comparatively rare in those women "who have yet had no sort of sexual experience in waking life." Whether or not this is correct, I do not question the frequency of erotic dreams in girls who have had such experience.