criminal psychology-第94部分

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Section　76。　（d）　Emotional　Disposition　and　Related　Subjects。

Madame　de　Krdener　writes　in　a　letter　to　Bernardin　de　St。　Pierre：　‘‘Je　voulais　tre　sentie。''　These　laconic　words　of　this　wise　pietist　give　us　an　insight　into　the　significance　of　emotional　life　of　woman。　Man　wants　to　be　understood；　woman　felt。　With　this　emotion　she　spoils　much　that　man　might　do　because　of　his　sense　of　justice。　Indeed；　a　number　of　qualities　which　the　woman　uses　to　make　herself　noted　are　bound　up　with　her　emotional　life；　more　or　less。　Compassion；　self…sacrifice；　religion；　superstition；all　these　depend　on　the　highly　developed；　almost　diseased　formation　of　her　emotional　life。　Feminine　charity；　feminine　activity　as　a　nurse；　feminine　petitions　for　the　pardon　of　criminals；　infinite　other　samples　of　women's　kindly　dispositions　must　convince　us　that　these　activities　are　an　integral　part　of　their　emotional　life；　and　that　women　perform　them　only；　perhaps；　in　a　kind　of　dark　perception　of　their　own　helplessness。　On　the　one　side　an　unconscious　egoism　impels　them　to　the　defence　of　those　who　find　themselves　in　a　_*similar_　condition；　on　the　other　side；　it　is　a　feminine　characteristic　to　apply　anything　she　is　to　judge　to　herself　first；　and　then　to　make　her　choice。　That　she　does　this；　rests　on　the　eminent　overweight　of　emotion。　So　Schopenhauer　says：　‘‘Women　are　very　sympathetic；　but　they　are　behind　man　in　all　matters　of　justice；　probity；　and　scrupulous　conscientiousness。　Injustice　is　the　fundamental　feminine　defect。''＇1＇　Schopenhauer　should　have　added；　‘‘because　they　are　too　sympathetic；　because　emotion　takes　up　so　much　place　in　their　minds　that　they　have　not　enough　left　for　justice。''　According　to　Proudhon；　‘‘The　conscience　of　woman

＇1＇　Parerga　and　Paralipomena。

　is　as　much　weaker　than　man's　as　her　intelligence　is　smaller。　Her　morality　is　of　a　different　sort；　her　ideas　of　right　and　wrong　are　different；　being　always　on　this　or　that　side　of　justice；　and　never　requiring　any　equivalence　between　rights　and　duties　which　are　such　a　painful　necessity　to　man。''　Spencer　says；＇1＇　briefly；　that　the　feminine　mind　shows　a　definite　lack　with　regard　to　the　sense　of　justice。

These　assertions　show　that　women　are　deficient　in　justice；　but　do　not　show　why。　The　deficiency　is　to　be　explained　only　in　the　super…　abundance　of　emotional　life。　This　superabundance　clarifies　a　number　of　facts　of　their　daily　routine。　We　have；　of　course；　to　make　a　distinction　between　the　feeling　of　a　gentlewoman；　of　a　peasant　woman；　and　of　the　innumerable　grades　between　the　two；　but　this　distinction　is　not　essential。　Both　noble　and　proletarian　are　equally　unjust；　but　the　rich　emotion　restores　a　thousand　times　what　may　be　missing　in　justice；　and　perhaps　in　many　cases　hits　better　upon　what　is　absolutely　right　than　the　bare　masculine　sense　of　justice。　We　are；　of　course；　frequently　mistaken　by　relying　on　the　testimony　of　women；　but　only　when　we　assume　that　our　rigorously　judicial　sentence　is　the　only　correct　one；　and　when　we　do　not　know　how　women　judge。　Hence；　we　interpret　women's　testimonies　with　difficulty　and　rarely　with　correctness；　we　forget　that　almost　every　feminine　statement　contains　in　itself　much　more　judgment　than　the　testimony　of　men；　we　fail　to　examine　how　much　real　judgment　it　contains；　and　finally；　we　weigh　this　judgment　in　other　scales　than　those　used　by　the　woman。　We　do　best；　therefore；　when　we　take　the　testimony　of　man　and　woman　together　in　order　to　find　the　right　average。　This　is　not　easy；　for　we　are　unable　to　enter　properly　into　the　emotional　life　of　woman；　and　can　not　therefore　discount　that　tendency　of　hers　to　drag　the　objective　truth　in　some　biased　direction。　It　might　be　theoretically　supposed　that　a　noble；　kindly；　feminine　feeling　would　tend　to　reflect　everything　as　better　and　gentler；　and　would　tend　to　excuse　and　conceal。　If　that　were　so　we　might　have　a　definite　standard　of　valuation；　and　might　be　able　to　discount　the　feminine　bias。　But　that　is　so　in　perhaps　no　more　than　half　the　cases　that　come　before　us。　In　all　others　woman　has　allowed　herself　to　be　moved　to　displeasure；　and　appears　as　the　punishing　avenger。　Hence；　she　fights　with　all　her　strength　on　the　side　that　seems　to　her　to　be　oppressed　and　innocently　persecuted；　irrespective　of　whether　it　is


＇1＇　Introduction　to　the　Study　of　Sociology。

　the　side　of　the　accused　or　of　his　enemy。　In　consequence；　we　must　first　of　all；　when　judging　her　statements；　determine　the　direction　in　which　her　emotion　impels　her；　and　this　can　not　be　done　with　a　mere　knowledge　of　human　nature。　Nothing　will　do　except　a　careful　study　of　the　specific　feminine　witness　at　the　time　she　gives　her　evidence。　And　this　requires　the　expenditure　of　much　time；　for；　to　plunge　directly　into　the　middle　of　things　without　having　any　means　of　comparison　or　relation；　is　to　make　judgment　impossible　or　very　unsafe。　If　you　are　to　do　it　at　all　you　must　discuss　other　things　first　and　even　permit　yourself　the　dishonesty　of　asking　about　matters　which　you　already　know　in　order　to　find　some　measure　of　the　degree　of　feminine　obliqueness。　Of　course；　one　discovers　here　only　the　degree　of　obliqueness；　not　its　directionin　the　case　selected　for　comparison　the　woman　might　have　judged　too　kindly；　in　the　case　in　hand　she　may　just　as　well　be　too　rigorous。　But　all　things　have　a　definite　limit；　and　hence；　much　practice　and　much　goodwill　will　help　us　to　discover　the　direction　of　obliqueness。

When　we　inquire　into　the　emotional　life　of　the　simple；　uneducated　women；　we　find　it　to　be　fundamentally　the　same　as　that　of　women　of　other　classes；　but　different　in　expression；　and　it　is　the　expression　we　have　to　observe。　Its　form　is　often　raw；　therefore　difficult　to　discover。　It　may　express　itself　in　cursing　and　swearing；　but　it　is　still　an　expression　of　emotion；　just　as　are　the　mother's　curses　or　beatings　of　her　child　because　it　has　fallen　and　hurt　itself。　But　observe　that　the　prevalence　of　emotion　is　so　thoroughly　a　feminine　condition　that　it　is　clearly　noticeable　only　where　femininity　itself　is　explicit　therefore；　always　weaker　among　masculine　women；　and　in　the　single　individual　most　powerful　when　femininity　is　most　fully　developed。　It　grows　in　the　child；　remains　at　a　constant　level　when　woman　becomes　completely　woman；　and　decreases　when；　in　advanced　age；　the　differences　in　sex　begin　to　disappear。　Very　old　men　and　very　old　women　are　also　in　this　matter　very　close　together。


Section　77。　（e）　Weakness。

‘‘Frailty；　thy　name　is　woman；''　says　Shakespeare；　and　Corvin　explains　this　in　teasing　fashion：　‘‘Women　pray　every　day；　‘Lead　us　not　into　temptation；　for　see；　dear　God；　if　you　do　so　I　can't　resist　it。'　''　Even　Kant＇1＇　takes　feminine　weakness　as　a　distinguishing　criterion：　‘‘In　order　to　understand　the　whole　of　mankind　we　need

＇1＇　Menschenkunde。　Leipzig　1831。

　only　to　turn　our　attention　to　the　feminine　sex；　for　where　the　force　is　weaker　the　tool　is　so　much　the　more　artistic。''　Experienced　criminalists　explain　the　well…known　fact　that　women　are　the　chief　sources　of　anonymous　letters　by　their　weakness。　From　the　physical　inferiority　of　woman　her　mental　inferiority　may　be　deduced；　and　though　we　learn　a　hundred　times　that　small；　weak　men　can　be　mentally　stronger　than　great　and　strong　ones；　it　is；　of　course；　natural；　that　as　a　rule　the　outcome　of　a　powerful　body　is　also　a　powerful　mind。　The　difficulty　is　to　discover　in　what　feminine　weakness　expresses　itself。　The　frequently　joked…about　hen…pecking　of　men　has　been　explained　by　Voltaire　as　the　fulfilment　of　the　divine　purpose　of　taming　men　through　the　medium　of　the　specially　created　instrumentwoman。　Victor　Hugo　calls　men　only　woman's　toys。　‘‘Oh；　this　lofty　providence　which　gives　each　one　its　toy；　the　doll　to　the　child；　the　child　to　the　man；　the　man　to　the　woman；　the　woman　to　the　devil。''　The　popular　proverb　also　seems　to　assign　them　considerable　strength；　at　least　to　aged　women。　For　we　hear　in　all　kinds　of　variations　the　expression；　‘‘An　old　woman　will　venture　where　the　devil　does　not　dare　to　tread。''　Nor　must　we　underestimate　the　daily　experience　of　feminine　capacity　to　bear　pain。　Midwives　of　experience　unanimously　assure　us　that　no　man　would　bear　what　a　woman　regularly　has　to；　every　time　she　gives　birth　to　a　child；　and　surgeons　and　dentists　assure　us　similarly。　Indeed　the　great　surgeon；　Billroth；　is　said　to　have　asserted　that　he　attempted　new　methods　of　operation　on　women　first　because　they　are　less　subject　to　pain；　for　like　savages　they　are　beings　of　a　lower　status　and　hence　better　able　to　resist　than　men。　In　the　light　of　such　expressions　we　have　to　doubt　the　assertion　that　women　are　distinguished　by　weakness；　and　yet　that　assertion　is　correct。　The　weakness　must；　however；　not　be　sought　where　we　expect　to　find　it；　but　in　the　quite　different　feminine　intelligence。　Wherever　intelligence　is　not　taken　into　consideration；　woman　is　likely　to　show　herself　stronger　than　man。　She　is　better　able　to　stand　misfortune；　to　nurse　patients；　to　bear　pain；　to　bring　up　children；　to　carry　out　a　plan；　to　persevere　in　a　plan。　It　would　be　wrong　to　say　that　feminine　weakness　is　a　weakness　of　will；　for　most　examples　show　that　women's　wills　are　strong。　It　is　in　matters　of　intelligence　that　they　fail。　When　somebody　has　to　be　persuaded；　we　find　that　a　normally…organized　man　may　agree　when　he　is　shown　a　logically…combined　series　of　reasons。　But　the　feminine　intelligence　is　incapable　of　logic；　indeed；　we　should　make　a　mistake　in　paying　honor　to　the　actual　feminine　in　woman　if　she　　were　capable　of　logic。　She　is　rather　to　be　persuaded　with　apparent　reasons；　with　transitory　and　sparkling　matters　that　have　only　the　semblance　of　truth。　We　find　her　too　ready　to　agree；　and　blame　her　will　when　it　is　only　her　different　form　of　intelligence。　She　persuades　herself　in　the　same　way。　An　epithet；　a　sparkling　epigram；　a　pacifying　reflection　is　enough　for　her；　she　does　not　need　a　whole　construction　of　reason；　and　thus　she　proceeds　to　do　things　that　we　again　call　‘‘weak。''　Take　so　thoroughly　a　feminine　reflection　as　this。　‘‘The　heart　seems　to　beatwhy　shouldn't　it　beat　for　somebody？''　and　the　woman　throws　herself　on　the　breast　of　some　adventurer　The　world　that　hears　of　this　fact　weeps　over　feminine　‘‘weakness；''　while　it　ought　really　to　weep　over　defective　intelligence　and　b