Broadly speaking, we might state however that women, the world over, are more indifferent to the prematrimonial past of their future husbands than men are to the purity of their brides.
Men Experienced in Matters of Love wield3 a definite attraction over all women, whether the latter are willing to admit it or not.
This is not due to any especially feminine trait but rather to the difficulties which women encounter when they endeavor to secure positive information[Pg 113] on tabooed sexual topics. They expect, therefore, their initiators to be conversant4 with the subject which is kept carefully shrouded5 in morbid6 mystery.
The majority of men, on the other hand, when marrying a woman who is neither a widow nor a divorcée, expect her to be absolutely pure, that is, not to have had any sexual relations with any other man.
Ethical7 Prostitution. In certain parts of the world, on the other hand, males appear rather indifferent to the female's past. In some parts of Japan and among certain Arab tribes, comely8 girls may go to larger centers of the population and devote themselves for a period of years to prostitution. After which, they return to their native place sometimes with a dowry they have accumulated thriftily9, find a husband and settle down as wives and mothers, in no way disqualified by their promiscuous10 past. In certain parts of Central Europe, "window courting," as it is sometimes called, leads to unofficial trial marriages which do not arouse the jealousy11 of the final winner of a girl's favours.
Among the Western nations, it is rather the very young, the stupidly conservative, the unsophisti[Pg 114]cated and the senile, who consider virginity as a great attraction and in some cases as a powerful sexual stimulant12.
The reasons for that are to be sought in the egotistical component14 of the masculine attitude. The strong and powerful male who has frequently proved his virility15 is not obsessed16 by the fear of defeat in love's intimacies17.
The innocent young man, on the other hand, who is full of misgivings18 and of diffidence, the elderly man whose sexual powers are on the wane19 and who is no longer sure of himself, prefer a woman who is totally ignorant of physical love. Their embarrassment20 or their shortcomings may escape a virgin1 but would not escape a woman of the world, a widow or a divorcée.
There is, therefore, in the search for virginity, a slightly neurotic21 factor, the fear of defeat, the line of least effort, the search for ego13 safety.
It must be noticed that it was during the great neurotic ages, the Middle Ages, which witnessed the bursting forth22 of so many hysterical23 epidemics24, that both the cult2 of the Virgin and the belief in witches spread over Europe.
The Fear of Woman. Man has always tried to protect himself against woman. In his fear of sex[Pg 115] equality he has either made her an angel or a beast. The witch, perverse25 and filthy26, was lowered to the level of hell. The virgin, on the other hand, unsexed and raised to heaven, was removed far enough from the world for perfect safety.
The Will-to-Be-the-First. In the overemphasis placed by certain men upon virginity in the woman, and in the anxiety shown by certain husbands at the thought that their wife may have had sexual relations with another man previous to her marriage, we see the operation of the neurotic trait which Adler has called "the will-to-be-the-first" and which manifests itself, not only in the love life, but in all of life's situations.
The neurotic of that type, obsessed with a feeling of inferiority is tortured by the thought that he may not have been the first to caress27 his wife. Analysis proves that in early childhood, he had a tendency (observable in certain breeds of dogs) to try to outrun every waggon28, horse, train, etc.; that in later life he always tries to walk ahead when in company and hastens his steps whenever anyone threatens to pass him on the street. That type is given to hero worship, as he likes to identify himself with his favorite hero, C?sar, Napoleon, etc. States of[Pg 116] anxiety develop whenever his preeminence29 in society or business is threatened.
Telegony. In the search for virginity there may also be in the male an unconscious "intuition" of some scientific facts. The phenomenon of telegony, explained by Dr. Jules Goldschmidt, of Paris, in the Medical Review of Reviews for April 1921, would, if confirmed by careful observations, throw a new light on the meaning of virginity.
The first male, Goldsmith states, leaves an indelible impress on the female he possesses. Goldsmith believes that sperm30 plays a twofold part in the female organism that receives it. It not only fecundates the egg but modifies the blood of the female. He cannot believe that Nature would waste millions of spermatozoa in order that one of them should reach the egg. The millions of spermatozoa which are not needed for purposes of fecundation are absorbed, he thinks, by the mucous31 tissues of the woman's genitals and make her gradually more and more like her mate. To this factor Goldschmidt attributes the likeness32 of mates who have lived together many years.
"When we reflect," he writes, "on the deep impress produced by the action of a single spermatic cell,[Pg 117] we at once ask what will be the fate of the myriads33 of spermatozoids entering at the moment of fecundation, and later on into the female organism. Again we have to insist on the fact that nature works with excessive profusion34, and that to secure success its means of action are multiple. Everywhere in the living world male generative cells are brought forth in an overwhelming abundance.
"Their multiplicity guarantees at least the possibility of meeting the rather far-off ovulum, just as out of the multitude of male bees only one is chosen to impregnate the queen.
"But it is inconceivable that the uncounted other male cells are condemned35 to useless death without any action on the entire female organism, into which, by reason of their mobility36 they can easily penetrate37, either into the mucous membrance of the uterus or into the lymphatic and blood capillaries38, and thru them into the whole circulation.
"Kohlbrugge has demonstrated that in the case of a certain bat, the spermatozoids do enter in great numbers into the superficial stratum39 of the mucous membrance as well as into the glands40 and the adjacent tissues. Their fate is, of course, dissolution. We know that blood is the receptacle of all the pro[Pg 118]ducts that are created by healthy life or disease. We know of no other liquid in the whole organic world so rich in the most heterogeneous41 chemical substances as blood.
"Certain important substances circulate in it, which we only assume are there, not having been able to isolate42 them, but with which we work when we elaborate preventive or curative serums43. All the antigens, antitoxins, antibodies, introduced into the blood by the living action of pathogenic bacilli, as those of diphtheria, typhoid, tetanus, after the happy termination of these diseases, present themselves in such infinitesimal quantities that we can only designate them by their most remarkable44 biological effects. They either confer for a lifetime an efficient immunity45 against renewal46 or, exceptionally, an increased susceptibility (anaphylaxis) for the bacilli which have created them.
"If nature, in its morbific attacks on the organism, uses great quantities, extremely small ones answer its purpose for defense47. Can we not by analogy conclude that the dissolved spermatozoids confer on the blood and thru it on the whole female organism, qualities which it had not possessed48 before their invasion?
[Pg 119]
"From all of these facts we may return to our problem, and infer that not alone the solitary49 male cell which fecundates the ovulum is of importance to the economy of the female organism, but that we must not disregard the extremely numerous spermatic cells accompanying fecundation or the further introduction of these elements.
"Just as the bacillary products during and after infectious diseases represent substances able to confer immunity from any renewed attack and therefore cause an important transformation50 of the human system, so the inference must be allowed that the spermatozoids, too, do exercise an ultimate lasting51 effect on the females organism, which will acquire a greater sensibility for the original and an insensibility for, or non-susceptibility towards extraneous52 generative cells, even those able to fecundate."
This exclusive adaptation of the female organism to the male one is the phenomenon called telegony.
"A curious example of telegony offers itself when a white woman, who has at first lived with a negro and afterwards with a man of her own race, presents her second husband or lover with a more or less intensely colored child. Such cases have given rise to dramatic and even tragic53 scenes when the[Pg 120] innocent woman was simply modified (telegonized) by her first cohabitant.
"All breeders are acquainted with the fact that the bull confers telegony on the cow. The dark colored bull having fecundated a light colored cow, the latter being subsequently covered by a red bull will put down dark and white streaked54 calves55.
"It is quite possible that the biological reaction of the blood in human and animal impregnation becomes identical in the mother with that of the first father, and that the influence of another male does not change sensibly the maternal56 blood."
If demonstrated beyond the possibility of doubt, thru careful observation, telegony would be a tremendous fact which would, to all the egotists and neurotics57, enhance tremendously the value of virginity in the woman. What a joy it would be for the self-centered, narcistic neurotic to know that he can gradually make his mate like unto himself!
On the other hand, it might lead to most interesting experiments in eugenics and animal breeding.
Thru deferred58 impregnation, brought about by special contraceptive measures, a better human type and better breeds of animals might be evolved.
It might also sound the death knell59 of certain contraceptive methods which prevent the human mates[Pg 121] from attaining60 the physical and mental oneness which, Goldschmidt says, is the result of life-long sexual association.
Goldschmidt's thesis is worth investigating. Thus far the unverified observations and the sayings of more or less scientific breeders do not allow us to draw positive deductions61.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
cult
|
|
| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
wield
|
|
| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
conversant
|
|
| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
shrouded
|
|
| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
morbid
|
|
| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
ethical
|
|
| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
comely
|
|
| adj.漂亮的，合宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
thriftily
|
|
| 节俭地； 繁茂地； 繁荣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
promiscuous
|
|
| adj.杂乱的，随便的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
stimulant
|
|
| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
ego
|
|
| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
component
|
|
| n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
virility
|
|
| n.雄劲，丈夫气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
obsessed
|
|
| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
intimacies
|
|
| 亲密( intimacy的名词复数 )； 密切； 亲昵的言行； 性行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
misgivings
|
|
| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
wane
|
|
| n.衰微，亏缺，变弱；v.变小，亏缺，呈下弦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
neurotic
|
|
| adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
hysterical
|
|
| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
epidemics
|
|
| n．流行病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
perverse
|
|
| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
caress
|
|
| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
waggon
|
|
| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
preeminence
|
|
| n.卓越,杰出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
sperm
|
|
| n.精子，精液 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
mucous
|
|
| adj. 黏液的，似黏液的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
profusion
|
|
| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
mobility
|
|
| n.可动性，变动性，情感不定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
penetrate
|
|
| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
capillaries
|
|
| 毛细管，毛细血管( capillary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
stratum
|
|
| n.地层，社会阶层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
glands
|
|
| n.腺( gland的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
heterogeneous
|
|
| adj.庞杂的；异类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
isolate
|
|
| vt.使孤立，隔离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
serums
|
|
| n.（动物体内的）浆液( serum的名词复数 )；血清；（一剂）免疫血清 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
immunity
|
|
| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
renewal
|
|
| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
transformation
|
|
| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
lasting
|
|
| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
extraneous
|
|
| adj.体外的；外来的；外部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
streaked
|
|
| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
calves
|
|
| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
maternal
|
|
| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
neurotics
|
|
| n.神经官能症的( neurotic的名词复数 )；神经质的；神经过敏的；极为焦虑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
deferred
|
|
| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
knell
|
|
| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
attaining
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
deductions
|
|
| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |