criminal psychology-第79章

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irst　bloom　takes　the　first　available　candidate　for　her　hand　in　order　to　avoid　old…maidenhood；　and　in　Russia　every　mature　girl　who　is　able　to　do　so；　goes　abroad　for　a　couple　of　years　in　order　to　return　as　‘‘widow。''　Everybody　knows　the　event；　nobody　asks　for　particulars　about　it。　Some　such　process　is　universal；　and　many　an　unfortunate　marriage　and　allied　crime　may　be　explained　by　it。　Girls　who　at　seventeen　or　eighteen　were　very　particular　and　had　a　right　to　be；　are　modest　at　twenty；　and　at　twenty…six　marry　at　any　price；　in　order　not　to　remain　old　maids。　That　this　is　not　love…marriage　and　is　often　contrary　to　intelligence；　is　clear；　and　when　neither　heart　nor　head　rule；　the　devil　laughs；　and　it　is　out　of　such　marriages　that　adultery；　the　flight　of　the　wife；　cruelty；　robbery　from　the　spouse；　and　worse　things；　arise。　Therefore　it　will　be　worth　while　to　study　the　history　of　the　marriage　in　question。　Was　it　a　marriage　in　the　name　of　God；　i。　e。；　the　marriage　of　an　old　maid？　Then　double　caution　must　be　used　in　the　study　of　the　case。

There　is　some　advantage　in　knowing　the　popular　conception　of　_*when_　a　girl　becomes　an　old　maid；　for　old…maidenhood　is　a　matter　of　a　point　of　view；　it　depends　on　the　opinion　of　other　people。　Belles…　lettres　deals　considerably　with　this　question；　for　it　can　itself　determine　the　popular　attitude　to　the　unmarried　state。　So　Brandes　discovers　that　the　heroines　of　classical　novelists；　of　Racine；　Shakespeare；　Moliere；　Voltaire；　Ariosto；　Byron；　Lesage；　Scott；　are　almost　always　sixteen　years　of　age。　In　modern　times；　women　in　novels　have　their　great　love…adventure　in　the　thirties。　How　this　advance　in　years　took　place　we　need　not　bother　to　find　out；　but　that　it　has　occurred；　we　must　keep　in　mind。

Before　concluding　the　chapter　on　sexual　conditions；　we　must　say　a　word　about　hysteria；　which　so　very　frequently　has　deceived　the　judge。　Hysteria　was　named　by　the　ancients；　as　is　known；　from　；　the　womb；and　properlyfor　most　of　the　causes　of　evil　are　there　hidden。　The　hysterics　are　legally　significant　in　various　ways。　Their　fixed　ideas　often　cause　elaborate　unreasonable　explanations；　they　want　to　attract　attention；　they　are　always　concerned　with　themselves；　are　always　wildly　enthusiastic　about　somebody　else；　often　they　persecute　others　with　unwarranted　hatred　and　they　are　the　source　of　the　coarsest　denunciations；　particularly　with　regard　to　sexual　crimes。　Incidentally；　most　of　them　are　smart　and　have　a　diseased　acuity　of　the　senses。　Hearing　and　smell　in　　particular；　are　sometimes　remarkably　alert；　although　not　always　reliable；　for　hysterics　frequently　discover　more　than　is　there。　On　the　other　hand；　they　often　are　useful　because　of　their　delicate　senses；　and　it　is　never　necessary　to　show　the　correctness　of　their　perception　out　of　hand。　Bianchi　rightly　calls　attention　to　the　fact；　that　hysterics　like　to　write　anonymous　letters。　Writers　of　these　are　generally　women；　and　mainly　hysterical　women；　if　a　man　writes　them；　he　is　indubitably　feminine　in　nature。

Most　difficulties　with　hysterics　occur　when　they　suffer　some　damage；＇1＇　for　they　not　only　add　a　number　of　dishonest　phenomena；　but　also　actually　feel　them。　I　might　recall　by　way　of　example　Domrich's　story；　that　hysterics　regularly　get　cramps　laughing；　when　their　feet　get　cold。　If　this　is　true　it　is　easy　to　conceive　what　else　may　happen。


＇1＇　Cf。　H。　Gross's　Archiv。　VI；　334。


All　this；　clearly；　is　a　matter　for　the　court　physician；　who　alone　should　be　the　proper　authority　when　a　hysteric　is　before　the　court。　We　lawyers　have　only　to　know　what　significant　dangers　hysterics　threaten；　and　further；　that　the　physician　is　to　be　called　whenever　one　of　them　is　before　us。　Unfortunately　there　are　no　specific　symptoms　of　hysteria　which　the　layman　can　make　use　of。　We　must　be　satisfied　with　the　little　that　has　just　been　mentioned。　Hysteria；　I　had　almost　said　_*fortunately_；　is　nowadays　so　widespread　that　everybody　has　some　approximate　knowledge　of　how　it　affects　its　victims。


（4）　_Particular　Feminine　Qualities_。

Section　70。　（a）　Intelligence。

Feminine　intelligence　properly　deserves　a　separate　section。　Intelligence　is　a　function　that　has　in　both　sexes　some　basis　and　purpose　and　proceeds　according　to　the　same　rules；　but　the　meaning　of　intelligence　must　be　abandoned　if　we　are　to　suppose　it　so　rigid　and　so　difficult　to　hold；　that　the　age…long　differences　between　man　and　woman　could　have　had　no　influence　on　it。　The　fundamentally　distinct　bodies；　the　very　different　occupations　of　both　sexes；　their　different　destinies；　must　have　had　profound　mutative　influence　on　their　intelligence。　Moreover；　we　must　always　start　with　a　difference　of　attitude　in　the　two　sexes；　in　which　the　purely　positive　belongs　to　one　only；　and　we　must　see　whether　it　is　not　intensified　by　the　negative　of　the　other。　When　one　body　presses　on　another　the　resulting　impression　is　due；　not　only　to　the　hardness　of　the　first；　but　　also　to　the　softness　of　the　second；　and　when　we　hear　about　the　extraordinary　wit　of　a　woman　we　must　blame　the　considerable　idiocy　of　the　men　she　associates　with。　How　many　women　are　to　be　trusted　for　intelligence；　is　a　question　of　great　importance　for　the　criminalist；　inasmuch　as　right　judgment　depends　on　the　attitude　and　good　sense　of　the　witnesses；　and　must　determine　the　value　of　the　material　presented　us。

We　wish　to　make　no　detailed　sub…divisions　in　what　follows。　We　shall　merely　consider　in　their　general　aspects　those　functions　which　we　are　accustomed　to　find　in　our　own　work。


Section　71。　I。　Conception。

Concerning　feminine　sense…perception　we　have　already　spoken。　There　is　no　significant　difference　between　the　two　sexes；　although　in　conceptual　power　we　find　differences　very　distinct。

It　may　be　generally　said；　as　the　daily　life　shows；　that　women　conceive　differently　from　men。　Whatever　a　dozen　men　may　agree　on　conceptually；　will　be　differently　thought　of　by　any　one　woman。　Now　what　is　significant　in　this　fact　is；　that　generally　the　woman　is　correct；　that　she　has　a　better　conception；and　still　under　the　same　circumstances　we　continue　to　conceive　in　the　same　way；　even　for　the　tenth　time。　This　fact　demonstrates　that　a　different　form　of　organization；　i。　e。；　an　essential　difference　in　nature；　determines　the　character　of　conception　in　the　two　sexes。　If　we　compare　values；　the　result　will　be　different　according　to　sex；　even　with　regard　to　the　very　material　compared；　or　to　the　manner　in　which　it　has　been　discovered。　In　the　apprehension　of　situations；　the　perception　of　attitudes；　the　judgment　of　people　in　certain　relations；　in　all　that　is　called　tact；　i。　e。；　in　all　that　involves　some　abstraction　or　clarification　of　confused　and　twisted　material；　and　finally；　in　all　that　involves　human　volitions；　women　are　superior；　and　more　reliable　individually；　then　ten　men　together。　But　the　manner　in　which　the　woman　obtains　her　conception　is　less　valuable；　being　the　manner　of　pure　instinct。　Or　suppose　that　we　call　it　more　delicate　feelingthe　name　does　not　matterthe　process　is　mainly　unconscious；　and　is　hence　of　less　value　only；　if　I　may　say　so；　as　requiring　less　thought。　In　consequence；　there　is　not　only　not　a　decrease　in　the　utility　of　feminine　testimony；　also　its　reliability　is　very　great。　There　may　be　hundreds　of　errors　in　the　dialectical　procedure　of　a　man；　while　there　is　much　more　certainty　in　the　instinctive　conception　and　the　direct　reproduction　of　a　woman。　Hence；　her　statements　are　more　reliable。　

We　need　not　call　the　source　of　this　instinct　God's　restitution　for　feminine　deficiency　in　other　matters；　we　can　show　that　it　is　due　to　natural　selection；　and　that　the　position　and　task　of　woman　requires　her　to　observe　her　environment　very　closely。　This　need　sharpened　the　inner　sense　until　it　became　unconscious　conception。　Feminine　interest　in　the　environment　is　what　gives　female　intuition　a　swiftness　and　certainty　unattainable　in　the　meditations　of　the　profoundest　philosophers。　The　swiftness　of　the　intuition；　which　excludes　all　reflection；　and　which　merely　solves　problems；　is　the　important　thing。　Woman　perceives　clearly；　as　Spencer　says　somewhere；　the　mental　status　of　her　personal　environment；　while　Schopenhauer　has　incorrectly　suggested　that　women　differ　from　men　intellectually　because　they　are　lazy　and　want　short…cuts　to　attain　their　purpose。　In　point　of　fact；　they　do　not　want　short…cutsthey　simply　avoid　complicated　inference　and　depend　upon　intuition；　as　they　very　safely　may。　Vision　is　possible　only　where　perception　is　possible；　i。　e。；　when　things　are　near。　The　distant　and　the　veiled　can　not　be　seen；　but　must　be　inferred；　hence；　women　let　inference　alone　and　do　what　they　can　do　better。　This　suggests　the　value　of　these　different　interpretations　of　the　feminine　mode　of　conception。　As　lawyers　we　may　believe　women　where　intuition　is　involved；　where　inference　is　a　factor　we　must　be　very　careful。　Sensory　conception　is　to　be　understood　in　the　same　way　as　intellectual　conception。　According　to　Mantegazza；＇1＇　woman　has　a　particularly　good　eye　for　the　delicate　aspects　of　things　but　has　no　capacity　for　seeing　things　on　the　horizon。　A　remote；　big　object　does　not　much　excite　her　interest。　This　is　explained　by　the　supposed　fact　that　women　as　a　rule　can　not　see　so　far　as　men；　and　are　unable　to　distinguish　the　distant　object　so　well。　This　is　no　explanation　because　it　would　be　as　valid　of　all　short…sighted　people。　The　truth　is；　that　the　definition　of　distant　objects　requires　more　or　less　reason　and　inference。　Woman　does　not　reason　and　infer；　and　if　things　miss　her　intuition；　they　do　not　exist　for　her。


＇1＇　Mantegazza：　Fisiologia　del　piacere。


Objectivity　is　another　property　that　women　lack。　They　tend　always　to　think　in　personalities；　and　they　conceive　objects　in　terms　of　personal　sympathies。　Tell　a　woman　about　a　case　so　that　her　interest　will　be　excited　without　your　naming　the　individuals　save　as　A　and　B；　and　it　will　be　impossible　to　get　her　to　take　a　stand　or　to　make　a　judgment。　Who　are　the　people；　what　are　they；　how　old　are　they；　etc。？　These　questions　must　be　answered　first。　Hence　the　divergent　feminine　conceptions　of　a　case　before　and　after　the　　names　are　discovered。　The　personalizing　tendency　results　in　some　extraordinary　things。　Suppose　a　woman　is　describing　a　brawl　between　two　persons；　or　two　groups。　If　the　sides　were　equally　matched　in　strength　and　weapons；　and　if　the　witness　in　question　did　not　know　any　of　the　fighters　before；　she　will　nevertheless　redistribute　sun　and　wind　in　her　description　if　one　of　the　brawlers　happens　accidentally　to　have　interested　her；　or　has　behaved　in　a　‘‘knightly''　fashion；　though　under　other　circumstances　he　might　have　earned　only　her　dislike。　In　such　cases　the　fairy　tale　about　telling　mere　facts　recurs；　and　I　have　to　repeat　that　nobody　tells　mere　factsthat　judgment　and　inference　always　enter　into　statements　and　that　women　use　them　more　than　men。　Of　course　real　facts　and　inferred　ones　can　be　distinguished；infrequently　however；　and　never　with　certainty。　It　is　best；　therefore；　to　determine　whether　the　witness　bears　any　relation　to　one　of　the　parties；　and　what　it　is。　And　this　relation　will　be　an　element　in　most　cases　inasmuch　as　one　rarely　is　present　at　a　quarrel　without　some　share　in　it。　But　even　if　the　latter　case　should　occur；　it　is　necessary；　first　of