第2章

Manufacturershavestoodinthepilloryforpresumingtocarryontheirbusiness

bynewandimprovedmethods。InmodernEurope，andmostinthosepartsof

itwhichhaveparticipatedmostlargelyinallothermodernimprovements，

diametricallyoppositedoctrinesnowprevail。Lawandgovernmentdonotundertake

toprescribebywhomanysocialorindustrialoperationshallorshallnot

beconducted，orwhatmodesofconductingthemshallbelawful。Thesethings

arelefttotheunfetteredchoiceofindividuals。Eventhelawswhichrequired

thatworkmenshouldserveanapprenticeship，haveinthiscountrybeenrepealed：

therebeingampleassurancethatinallcasesinwhichanapprenticeship

isnecessary，itsnecessitywillsufficetoenforceit。Theoldtheorywas，

thattheleastpossibleshouldbelefttothechoiceoftheindividualagent;

thatallhehadtodoshould，asfaraspracticable，belaiddownforhim

bysuperiorwisdom。Lefttohimselfhewassuretogowrong。Themodernconviction，

thefruitofathousandyearsofexperience，is，thatthingsinwhichthe

individualisthepersondirectlyinterested，nevergorightbutasthey

arelefttohisowndiscretion;andthatanyregulationofthembyauthority，

excepttoprotecttherightsofothers，issuretobemischievous。Thisconclusion

slowlyarrivedat，andnotadopteduntilalmosteverypossibleapplication

ofthecontrarytheoryhadbeenmadewithdisastrousresult，now（inthe

industrialdepartment）prevailsuniversallyinthemostadvancedcountries，

almostuniversallyinallthathavepretensionstoanysortofadvancement。

Itisnotthatallprocessesaresupposedtobeequallygood，orallpersons

tobeequallyqualifiedforeverything;butthatfreedomofindividualchoice

isnowknowntobetheonlythingwhichprocurestheadoptionofthebest

processes，andthrowseachoperationintothehandsofthosewhoarebest

qualifiedforit。Nobodythinksitnecessarytomakealawthatonlyastrong—armed

manshallbeablacksmith。Freedomandcompetitionsufficetomakeblacksmiths

strong—armedmen，becausetheweakarmedcanearnmorebyengaginginoccupations

forwhichtheyaremorefit。Inconsonancewiththisdoctrine，itisfelt

tobeanoversteppingoftheproperboundsofauthoritytofixbeforehand，

onsomegeneralpresumption，thatcertainpersonsarenotfittodocertain

things。Itisnowthoroughlyknownandadmittedthatifsomesuchpresumptions

exist，nosuchpresumptionisinfallible。Evenifitbewellgroundedin

amajorityofcases，whichitisverylikelynottobe，therewillbeaminority

ofexceptionalcasesinwhichitdoesnothold：andinthoseitisbothan

injusticetotheindividuals，andadetrimenttosociety，toplacebarriers

inthewayoftheirusingtheirfacultiesfortheirownbenefitandforthat

ofothers。Inthecases，ontheotherhand，inwhichtheunfitnessisreal，

theordinarymotivesofhumanconductwillonthewholesufficetopreventtheincompetentpersonfrommaking，orfrompersistingin，theattempt。Ifthisgeneralprincipleofsocialandeconomicalscienceisnottrue;

ifindividuals，withsuchhelpastheycanderivefromtheopinionofthose

whoknowthem，arenotbetterjudgesthanthelawandthegovernment，of

theirowncapacitiesandvocation;theworldcannottoosoonabandonthis

principle，andreturntotheoldsystemofregulationsanddisabilities。

Butiftheprincipleistrue，weoughttoactasifwebelievedit，andnot

toordainthattobebornagirlinsteadofaboy，anymorethantobeborn

blackinsteadofwhite，oracommonerinsteadofanobleman，shalldecide

theperson’spositionthroughalllife——shallinterdictpeoplefromall

themoreelevatedsocialpositions，andfromall，exceptafew，respectable

occupations。Evenwerewetoadmittheutmostthatiseverpretendedato

thesuperiorfitnessofmenforallthefunctionsnowreservetothem，the

sameargumentapplieswhichforbidsalegalqualificationforMembersof

Parliament。Ifonlyonceinadozenyearstheconditionsofeligibilityexclude

afitperson，thereisarealloss，whiletheexclusionofthousandsofunfit

personsisnogain;foriftheconstitutionoftheelectoralbodydisposes

themtochooseunfitpersons，therearealwaysplentyofsuchpersonsto

choosefrom。Inallthingsofanydifficultyandimportance，thosewhocan

dothemwellarefewerthantheneed，evenwiththemostunrestrictedlatitude

ofchoice：andanylimitationofthefieldofselectiondeprivessociety

ofsomechancesofbeingservedbythecompetent，withouteversavingitfromtheincompetent。Atpresent，inthemoreimprovedcountries，thedisabilitiesofwomen

aretheonlycase，saveone，inwhichlawsandinstitutionstakepersons

attheirbirth，andordainthattheyshallneverinalltheirlivesbeallowed

tocompeteforcertainthings。Theoneexceptionisthatofroyalty。Persons

stillareborntothethrone;noone，notofthereigningfamily，canever

occupyit，andnooneevenofthatfamilycan，byanymeansbutthecourse

ofhereditarysuccession，attainit。Allotherdignitiesandsocialadvantages

areopentothewholemalesex：manyindeedareonlyattainablebywealth，

butwealthmaybestrivenforbyanyone，andisactuallyobtainedbymany

menoftheveryhumblestorigin。Thedifficulties，tothemajority，areindeed

insuperablewithouttheaidoffortunateaccidents;butnomalehumanbeing

isunderanylegalban：neitherlawnoropinionsuperaddartificialobstacles

tothenaturalones。Royalty，asIhavesaid，isexcepted：butinthiscase

everyonefeelsittobeanexception——ananomalyinthemodernworld，in

markedoppositiontoitscustomsandprinciples，andtobejustifiedonly

byextraordinaryspecialexpediences，which，thoughindividualsandnations

differinestimatingtheirweight，unquestionablydoinfactexist。Butin

thisexceptionalcase，inwhichahighsocialfunctionis，forimportant

reasons，bestowedonbirthinsteadofbeingputuptocompetition，allfree

nationscontrivetoadhereinsubstancetotheprinciplefromwhichthey

nominallyderogate;fortheycircumscribethishighfunctionbyconditions

avowedlyintendedtopreventthepersontowhomitostensiblybelongsfrom

reallyperformingit;whilethepersonbywhomitisperformed，theresponsible

minister，doesobtainthepostbyacompetitionfromwhichnofull—grown

citizenofthemalesexislegallyexcluded。Thedisabilities，therefore，

towhichwomenaresubjectfromthemerefactoftheirbirth，arethesolitary

examplesofthekindinmodernlegislation。Innoinstanceexceptthis，which

comprehendshalfthehumanrace，arethehighersocialfunctionsclosedagainst

anyonebyafatalityofbirthwhichnoexertions，andnochangeofcircumstances，

canovercome;forevenreligiousdisabilities（besidesthatinEnglandand

inEuropetheyhavepracticallyalmostceasedtoexist）donotcloseanycareertothedisqualifiedpersonincaseofconversion。Thesocialsubordinationofwomenthusstandsoutanisolatedfactin

modernsocialinstitutions;asolitarybreachofwhathasbecometheirfundamental

law;asinglerelicofanoldworldofthoughtandpracticeexplodedineverything

else，butretainedintheonethingofmostuniversalinterest;asifagigantic

dolmen，oravasttempleofJupiterOlympius，occupiedthesiteofSt。Paul’s

andreceiveddailyworship，whilethesurroundingChristianchurcheswere

onlyresortedtoonfastsandfestivals。Thisentirediscrepancybetween

onesocialfactandallthosewhichaccompanyit，andtheradicalopposition

betweenitsnatureandtheprogressivemovementwhichistheboastofthe

modernworld，andwhichhassuccessivelysweptawayeverythingelseofan

analogouscharacter，surelyaffords，toaconscientiousobserverofhuman

tendencies，seriousmatterforreflection。Itraisesaprimafaciepresumption

ontheunfavourableside，faroutweighinganywhichcustomandusagecould

insuchcircumstancescreateonthefavourable;andshouldatleastsuffice

tomakethis，likethechoicebetweenrepublicanismandroyalty，abalancedquestion。Theleastthatcanbedemandedis，thatthequestionshouldnotbeconsidered

asprejudgedbyexistingfactandexistingopinion，butopentodiscussion

onitsmerits，asaquestionofjusticeandexpediency：thedecisiononthis，

asonanyoftheothersocialarrangementsofmankind，dependingonwhat

anenlightenedestimateoftendenciesandconsequencesmayshowtobemost

advantageoustohumanityingeneral，withoutdistinctionofsex。Andthe

discussionmustbearealdiscussion，descendingtofoundations，andnot

restingsatisfiedwithvagueandgeneralassertions。Itwillnotdo，for

instancetoassertingeneralterms，thattheexperienceofmankindhaspronounced

infavouroftheexistingsystem。Experiencecannotpossiblyhavedecided

betweentwocourses，solongastherehasonlybeenexperienceofone。If

itbesaidthatthedoctrineoftheequalityofthesexesrestsonlyontheory，

itmustberememberedthatthecontrarydoctrinealsohasonlytheoryto

restupon。Allthatisprovedinitsfavourbydirectexperience，isthat

mankindhavebeenabletoexistunderit，andtoattainthedegreeofimprovement

andprosperitywhichwenowsee;butwhetherthatprosperityhasbeenattained

sooner，orisnowgreater，thanitwouldhavebeenundertheothersystem，

experiencedoesnotsay。Ontheotherhand，experiencedoessay，thatevery

stepinimprovementhasbeensoinvariablyaccompaniedbyastepmadein

raisingthesocialpositionofwomen，thathistoriansandphilosophershave

beenledtoadopttheirelevationordebasementasonthewholethesurest

testandmostcorrectmeasureofthecivilisationofapeopleoranage。

Throughalltheprogressiveperiodofhumanhistory，theconditionofwomen

hasbeenapproachingnearertoequalitywithmen。Thisdoesnotofitself

provethattheassimilationmustgoontocompleteequality;butitassuredlyaffordssomepresumptionthatsuchisthecase。Neitherdoesitavailanythingtosaythatthenatureofthetwosexes

adaptsthemtotheirpresentfunctionsandposition，andrenderstheseappropriate

tothem。Standingonthegroundofcommonsenseandtheconstitutionofthe

humanmind，Idenythatanyoneknows，orcanknow，thenatureofthetwo

sexes，aslongastheyhaveonlybeenseenintheirpresentrelationtoone

another。Ifmenhadeverbeenfoundinsocietywithoutwomen，orwomenwithout

men，oriftherehadbeenasocietyofmenandwomeninwhichthewomenwere

notunderthecontrolofthemen，somethingmighthavebeenpositivelyknown

aboutthementalandmoraldifferenceswhichmaybeinherentinthenature

ofeach。Whatisnowcalledthenatureofwomenisaneminentlyartificial

thing——theresultofforcedrepressioninsomedirections，unnaturalstimulation

inothers。Itmaybeassertedwithoutscruple，thatnootherclassofdependents

havehadtheircharactersoentirelydistortedfromitsnaturalproportions

bytheirrelationwiththeirmasters;for，ifconqueredandslaveraceshave

been，insomerespects，moreforciblyrepressed，whateverinthemhasnot

beencrusheddownbyanironheelhasgenerallybeenletalone，andifleft

withanylibertyofdevelopment，ithasdevelopeditselfaccordingtoits

ownlaws;butinthecaseofwomen，ahot—houseandstovecultivationhas

alwaysbeencarriedonofsomeofthecapabilitiesoftheirnature，forthe

benefitandpleasureoftheirmastersThen，becausecertainproductsofthe

generalvitalforcesproutluxuriantlyandreachagreatdevelopmentinthis

heatedatmosphereandunderthisactivenurtureandwatering，whileother

shootsfromthesameroot，whichareleftoutsideinthewintryair，with

icepurposelyheapedallroundthem，haveastuntedgrowth，andsomeare

burntoffwithfireanddisappear;men，withthatinabilitytorecognise

theirownworkwhichdistinguishestheunanalyticmind，indolentlybelieve

thatthetreegrowsofitselfinthewaytheyhavemadeitgrow，andthat

itwoulddieifonehalfofitwerenotkeptinavapourbathandtheotherhalfinthesnow。Ofalldifficultieswhichimpedetheprogressofthought，andtheformation

ofwell—groundedopinionsonlifeandsocialarrangements，thegreatestis

nowtheunspeakableignoranceandinattentionofmankindinrespecttothe

influenceswhichformhumancharacter。Whateveranyportionofthehuman

speciesnoware，orseemtobe，such，itissupposed，theyhaveanatural

tendencytobe：evenwhenthemostelementaryknowledgeofthecircumstances

inwhichtheyhavebeenplaced，clearlypointsoutthecausesthatmadethem

whattheyare。Becauseacottierdeeplyinarrearstohislandlordisnot

industrious，therearepeoplewhothinkthattheIrisharenaturallyidle。

Becauseconstitutionscanbeoverthrownwhentheauthoritiesappointedto

executethemturntheirarmsagainstthem，therearepeoplewhothinkthe

Frenchincapableoffreegovernment。BecausetheGreekscheatedtheTurks，

andtheTurksonlyplunderedtheGreeks，therearepersonswhothinkthat

theTurksarenaturallymoresincere：andbecausewomen，asisoftensaid，

carenothingaboutpoliticsexcepttheirpersonalities，itissupposedthat

thegeneralgoodisnaturallylessinterestingtowomenthantomen。History，

whichisnowsomuchbetterunderstoodthanformerly，teachesanotherlesson：

ifonlybyshowingtheextraordinarysusceptibilityofhumannaturetoexternal

influences，andtheextremevariablenessofthoseofitsmanifestationswhich

aresupposedtobemostuniversalanduniform。Butinhistory，asintravelling，

menusuallyseeonlywhattheyalreadyhadintheirownminds;andfewlearnmuchfromhistory，whodonotbringmuchwiththemtoitsstudy。Hence，inregardtothatmostdifficultquestion，whatarethenatural

differencesbetweenthetwosexes——asubjectonwhichitisimpossible

inthepresentstateofsocietytoobtaincompleteandcorrectknowledge

——whilealmosteverybodydogmatisesuponit，almostallneglectandmake

lightoftheonlymeansbywhichanypartialinsightcanbeobtainedinto

it。Thisis，ananalyticstudyofthemostimportantdepartmentofpsychology，

thelawsoftheinfluenceofcircumstancesoncharacter。For，howevergreat

andapparentlyineradicablethemoralandintellectualdifferencesbetween

menandwomenmightbe，theevidenceoftherebeingnaturaldifferencescould

onlybenegative。Thoseonlycouldbeinferredtobenaturalwhichcould

notpossiblybeartificial——theresiduum，afterdeductingeverycharacteristic

ofeithersexwhichcanadmitofbeingexplainedfromeducationorexternal

circumstances。Theprofoundestknowledgeofthelawsoftheformationof

characterisindispensabletoentitleanyonetoaffirmeventhatthereis

anydifference，muchmorewhatthedifferenceis，betweenthetwosexesconsidered

asmoralandrationalbeings;andsincenoone，asyet，hasthatknowledge

（forthereishardlyanysubjectwhich，inproportiontoitsimportance，

hasbeensolittlestudied），nooneisthusfarentitledtoanypositive

opiniononthesubject。Conjecturesareallthatcanatpresentbemade;

conjecturesmoreorlessprobable，accordingasmoreorlessauthorisedby

suchknowledgeasweyethaveofthelawsofpsychology，asappliedtotheformationofcharacter。Eventhepreliminaryknowledge，whatthedifferencesbetweenthesexes

noware，apartfromallquestionastohowtheyaremadewhattheyare，is

stillinthecrudestandmost’incompletestate。Medicalpractitionersand

physiologistshaveascertained，tosomeextent，thedifferencesinbodily

constitution;andthisisanimportantelementtothepsychologist：buthardly

anymedicalpractitionerisapsychologist。Respectingthementalcharacteristics

ofwomen;theirobservationsareofnomoreworththanthoseofcommonmen。

Itisasubjectonwhichnothingfinalcanbeknown，solongasthosewho

alonecanreallyknowit，womenthemselves，havegivenbutlittletestimony，

andthatlittle，mostlysuborned。Itiseasytoknowstupidwomen。Stupidity

ismuchthesamealltheworldover。Astupidperson’snotionsandfeelings

mayconfidentlybeinferredfromthosewhichprevailinthecirclebywhich

thepersonissurrounded。Notsowiththosewhoseopinionsandfeelingsare

anemanationfromtheirownnatureandfaculties。Itisonlyamanhereand

therewhohasanytolerableknowledgeofthecharacterevenofthewomen

ofhisownfamily。Idonotmean，oftheircapabilities;thesenobodyknows，

noteventhemselves，becausemostofthemhaveneverbeencalledout。Imean

theiractuallyexistingthoughtsandfeelings。Manyamanthinksheperfectly

understandswomen，becausehehashadamatoryrelationswithseveral，perhaps

withmanyofthem。Ifheisagoodobserver，andhisexperienceextendsto

qualityaswellasquantity，hemayhavelearntsomethingofonenarrowdepartment

oftheirnature——animportantdepartment，nodoubt。Butofalltherest

ofit，fewpersonsaregenerallymoreignorant，becausetherearefewfrom

whomitissocarefullyhidden。Themostfavourablecasewhichamancan

generallyhaveforstudyingthecharacterofawoman，isthatofhisown

wife：fortheopportunitiesaregreater，andthecasesofcompletesympathy

notsounspeakablyrare。Andinfact，thisisthesourcefromwhichanyknowledge

worthhavingonthesubjecthas，Ibelieve，generallycome。Butmostmen

havenothadtheopportunityofstudyinginthiswaymorethanasinglecase：

accordinglyonecan，toanalmostlaughabledegree，inferwhataman’swife

islike，fromhisopinionsaboutwomeningeneral。Tomakeeventhisone

caseyieldanyresult，thewomanmustbeworthknowing，andthemannotonly

acompetentjudge，butofacharactersosympatheticinitself，andsowell

adaptedtohers，thathecaneitherreadhermindbysympatheticintuition，

orhasnothinginhimselfwhichmakeshershyofdisclosingit，Hardlyanything，

Ibelieve，canbemorerarethanthisconjunction。Itoftenhappensthat

thereisthemostcompleteunityoffeelingandcommunityofinterestsas

toallexternalthings，yettheonehasaslittleadmissionintotheinternal

lifeoftheotherasiftheywerecommonacquaintance。Evenwithtrueaffection，

authorityontheonesideandsubordinationontheotherpreventperfect

confidence。Thoughnothingmaybeintentionallywithheld，muchisnotshown。

Intheanalogousrelationofparentandchild，thecorrespondingphenomenon

musthavebeenintheobservationofeveryone。Asbetweenfatherandson，

howmanyarethecasesinwhichthefather，inspiteofrealaffectionon

bothsides，obviouslytoalltheworlddoesnotknow，norsuspect，parts

oftheson’scharacterfamiliartohiscompanionsandequals。Thetruthis，

thatthepositionoflookinguptoanotherisextremelyunpropitioustocomplete

sincerityandopennesswithhim。Thefearoflosinggroundinhisopinion

orinhisfeelingsissostrong，thateveninanuprightcharacter，there

isanunconscioustendencytoshowonlythebestside，orthesidewhich，

thoughnotthebest，isthatwhichhemostlikestosee：anditmaybeconfidently

saidthatthoroughknowledgeofoneanotherhardlyeverexists，butbetween

personswho，besidesbeingintimates，areequals。Howmuchmoretrue，then，

mustallthisbe，whentheoneisnotonlyundertheauthorityoftheother，

buthasitinculcatedonherasadutytoreckoneverythingelsesubordinate

tohiscomfortandpleasure，andtolethimneitherseenorfeelanything

comingfromher，exceptwhatisagreeabletohim。Allthesedifficulties

standinthewayofaman’sobtaininganythoroughknowledgeevenofthe

onewomanwhomalone，ingeneral，hehassufficientopportunityofstudying。

Whenwefurtherconsiderthattounderstandonewomanisnotnecessarily

tounderstandanyotherwoman;thatevenifhecouldstudymanywomenof

onerank，orofonecountry，hewouldnottherebyunderstandwomenofother

ranksorcountries;andevenifhedid，theyarestillonlythewomenof

asingleperiodofhistory;wemaysafelyassertthattheknowledgewhich

mencanacquireofwomen，evenastheyhavebeenandare，withoutreference

towhattheymightbe，iswretchedlyimperfectandsuperficial，andalwayswillbeso，untilwomenthemselveshavetoldallthattheyhavetotell。Andthistimehasnotcome;norwillitcomeotherwisethangradually。

Itisbutofyesterdaythatwomenhaveeitherbeenqualifiedbyliterary

accomplishmentsorpermittedbysociety，totellanythingtothegeneral

public。Asyetveryfewofthemdaretellanything，whichmen，onwhomtheir

literarysuccessdepends，areunwillingtohear。Letusrememberinwhat

manner，uptoaveryrecenttime，theexpression，evenbyamaleauthor，

ofuncustomaryopinions，orwhataredeemedeccentricfeelings，usuallywas，

andinsomedegreestillis，received;andwemayformsomefaintconception

underwhatimpedimentsawoman，whoisbroughtuptothinkcustomandopinion

hersovereignrule，attemptstoexpressinbooksanythingdrawnfromthe

depthsofherownnature。Thegreatestwomanwhohasleftwritingsbehind

hersufficienttogiveheraneminentrankintheliteratureofhercountry，

thoughtitnecessarytoprefixasamottotoherboldestwork，\"Unhomme

peutbraverl’opinion;unefemmedoits’ysoumettre。\"（1*）Thegreater

partofwhatwomenwriteaboutwomenismeresycophancytomen。Inthecase

ofunmarriedwomen，muchofitseemsonlyintendedtoincreasetheirchance

ofahusband。Many，bothmarriedandunmarried，overstepthemark，andinculcate

aservilitybeyondwhatisdesiredorrelishedbyanyman，exceptthevery

vulgarest。Butthisisnotsooftenthecaseas，evenataquitelateperiod，

itstillwas。LiterarywomenIarebecomingmorefree—spoken，andmorewilling

toexpresstheirrealsentiments。Unfortunately，inthiscountryespecially，

theyarethemselvessuchartificialproducts，thattheirsentimentsarecompounded

ofasmallelementofindividualobservationandconsciousness，andavery

largeoneofacquiredassociations。Thiswillbelessandlessthecase，

butitwillremaintruetoagreatextent，aslongassocialinstitutions

donotadmitthesamefreedevelopmentoforiginalityinwomenwhichispossible

tomen。Whenthattimecomes，andnotbefore，weshallsee，andnotmerely

hear，asmuchasitisnecessarytoknowofthenatureofwomen，andtheadaptationofotherthingstoit。Ihavedweltsomuchonthedifficultieswhichatpresentobstructany

realknowledgebymenofthetruenatureofwomen，becauseinthisasin

somanyotherthings\"opiniocopiaeintermaximascausasinopiaeest\";

andthereislittlechanceofreasonablethinkingonthematterwhilepeople

flatterthemselvesthattheyperfectlyunderstandasubjectofwhichmost

menknowabsolutelynothing，andofwhichitisatpresentimpossiblethat

anyman，orallmentakentogether，shouldhaveknowledgewhichcanqualify

themtolaydownthelawtowomenastowhatis，orisnot，theirvocation。

Happily，nosuchknowledgeisnecessaryforanypracticalpurposeconnected

withthepositionofwomenisrelationtosocietyandlife。For，according

toalltheprinciplesinvolvedinmodernsociety，thequestionrestswith

womenthemselves——tobedecidedbytheirownexperience，andbytheuse

oftheirownfaculties。Therearenomeansoffindingwhateitheroneperson

ormanycando，butbytrying——andnomeansbywhichanyoneelsecandiscoverforthemwhatitisfortheirhappinesstodoorleaveundone。Onethingwemaybecertainof——thatwhatiscontrarytowomen’snature

todo，theyneverwillbemadetodobysimplygivingtheirnaturefreeplay。

Theanxietyofmankindtointerfereinbehalfofnature，forfearlestnature

shouldnotsucceedineffectingitspurpose，isanaltogetherunnecessary

solicitude。Whatwomenbynaturecannotdo，itisquitesuperfluoustoforbid

themfromdoing。Whattheycando，butnotsowellasthemenwhoaretheir

competitors，competitionsufficestoexcludethemfrom;sincenobodyasks

forprotectivedutiesandbountiesinfavourofwomen;itisonlyaskedthat

thepresentbountiesandprotectivedutiesinfavourofmenshouldberecalled。

Ifwomenhaveagreaternaturalinclinationforsomethingsthanforothers，

thereisnoneedoflawsorsocialinculcationtomakethemajorityofthem

dotheformerinpreferencetothelatter。Whateverwomen’sservicesare

mostwantedfor，thefreeplayofcompetitionwillholdoutthestrongest

inducementstothemtoundertake。And，asthewordsimply，theyaremost

wantedforthethingsforwhichtheyaremostfit;bytheapportionmentof

whichtothem，thecollectivefacultiesofthetwosexescanbeappliedonthewholewiththegreatestsumofvaluableresult。Thegeneralopinionofmenissupposedtobe，thatthenaturalvocation

ofawomanisthatofawifeandmother。Isay，issupposedtobe，because，

judgingfromacts——fromthewholeofthepresentconstitutionofsociety

——onemightinferthattheiropinionwasthedirectcontrary。Theymight

besupposedtothinkthattheallegednaturalvocationofwomenwasofall

thingsthemostrepugnanttotheirnature;insomuchthatiftheyarefree

todoanythingelse——ifanyothermeansoflivingoroccupationoftheir

timeandfaculties，isopen，whichhasanychanceofappearingdesirable

tothem——therewillnotbeenoughofthemwhowillbewillingtoaccept

theconditionsaidtobenaturaltothem。Ifthisistherealopinionof

meningeneral，itwouldbewellthatitshouldbespokenout。Ishouldlike

tohearsomebodyopenlyenunciatingthedoctrine（itisalreadyimpliedin

muchthatiswrittenonthesubject）——Itisnecessarytosocietythatwomen

shouldmarryandproducechildren。Theywillnotdosounlesstheyarecompelled。

Thereforeitisnecessarytocompelthem。\"Themeritsofthecasewould

thenbeclearlydefined。Itwouldbeexactlythatoftheslave—holdersof

SouthCarolinaandLouisiana。\"Itisnecessarythatcottonandsugar

shouldbegrown。Whitemencannotproducethem。Negroeswillnot，forany

wageswhichwechoosetogive。Ergotheymustbecompelled。\"Anillustration

stillclosertothepointisthatofimpressment。Sailorsmustabsolutely

behadtodefendthecountry。Itoftenhappensthattheywillnotvoluntarily

enlist。Thereforetheremustbethepowerofforcingthem。Howoftenhas

thislogicbeenused！and，butforoneflawinit，withoutdoubtitwould

havebeensuccessfuluptothisday。Butitisopentotheretort——First

paythesailorsthehonestvalueoftheirlabour。Whenyouhavemadeitas

wellworththeirwhiletoserveyou，astoworkforotheremployers，you

willhavenomoredifficultythanothershaveinobtainingtheirservices。

Tothisthereisnologicalanswerexcept\"Iwillnot\"：andas

peoplearenownotonlyashamed，butarenotdesirous，torobthelabourer

ofhishire，impressmentisnolongeradvocated。Thosewhoattempttoforce

womenintomarriagebyclosingallotherdoorsagainstthem，laythemselves

opentoasimilarretort。Iftheymeanwhattheysay，theiropinionmust

evidentlybe，thatmendonotrenderthemarriedconditionsodesirableto

women，astoinducethemtoacceptitforitsownrecommendations。Itis

notasignofone’sthinkingtheboononeoffersveryattractive，whenone

allowsonlyHobson’schoice，\"thatornone。\"Andhere，Ibelieve，

isthecluetothefeelingsofthosemen，whohavearealantipathytothe

equalfreedomofwomen。Ibelievetheyareafraid，notlestwomenshould

beunwillingtomarry，forIdonotthinkthatanyoneinrealityhasthat

apprehension;butlesttheyshouldinsistthatmarriageshouldbeonequal

conditions;lestallwomenofspiritandcapacityshouldpreferdoingalmost

anythingelse，notintheirowneyesdegrading，ratherthanmarry，whenmarrying

isgivingthemselvesamaster，andamastertooofalltheirearthlypossessions。

Andtruly，ifthisconsequencewerenecessarilyincidenttomarriage，Ithink

thattheapprehensionwouldbeverywellfounded。Iagreeinthinkingit

probablethatfewwomen，capableofanythingelse，would，unlessunderan

irresistibleentrainment，renderingthemforthetimeinsensibletoanything

butitself，choosesuchalot，whenanyothermeanswereopentothemof

fillingaconventionallyhonourableplaceinlife：andifmenaredetermined

thatthelawofmarriageshallbealawofdespotism，theyarequiteright，

inpointofmerepolicy，inleavingtowomenonlyHobson’schoice。But，in

thatcase，allthathasbeendoneinthemodernworldtorelaxthechain

onthemindsofwomen，hasbeenamistake。Theynevershouldhavebeenallowed

toreceivealiteraryeducation。Womenwhoread，muchmorewomenwhowrite，

are，intheexistingconstitutionofthings，acontradictionandadisturbing

element：anditwaswrongtobringwomenupwithanyacquirementsbutthose

ofanodalisque，orofadomesticservant。

NOTES：

1。Title—pageofMmedeStael’sDelphine。

CHAPTER2Itwillbewelltocommencethedetaileddiscussionofthesubjectby

theparticularbranchofittowhichthecourseofourobservationshasled

us：theconditionswhichthelawsofthisandallothercountriesannexto

themarriagecontract。Marriagebeingthedestinationappointedbysociety

forwomen，theprospecttheyarebroughtupto，andtheobjectwhichitis

intendedshouldbesoughtbyallofthem，exceptthosewhoaretoolittle

attractivetobechosenbyanymanashiscompanion;onemighthavesupposed

thateverythingwouldhavebeendonetomakethisconditionaseligibleto

themaspossible，thattheymighthavenocausetoregretbeingdeniedthe

optionofanyother。Society，however，bothinthis，and，atfirst，inall

othercases，haspreferredtoattainitsobjectbyfoulratherthanfair

means：butthisistheonlycaseinwhichithassubstantiallypersisted

inthemeventothepresentday。Originallywomenweretakenbyforce，or

regularlysoldbytheirfathertothehusband。UntilalateperiodinEuropean

history，thefatherhadthepowertodisposeofhisdaughterinmarriage

athisownwillandpleasure，withoutanyregardtohers。TheChurch，indeed，

wassofarfaithfultoabettermoralityastorequireaformal\"yes\"

fromthewomanatthemarriageceremony;buttherewasnothingtoshowthat

theconsentwasotherthancompulsory;anditwaspracticallyimpossible

forthegirltorefusecomplianceifthefatherpersevered，exceptperhaps

whenshemightobtaintheprotectionofreligionbyadeterminedresolution

totakemonasticvows。Aftermarriage，themanhadanciently（butthiswas

anteriortoChristianity）thepoweroflifeanddeathoverhiswife。She

couldinvokenolawagainsthim;hewashersoletribunalandlaw。Fora

longtimehecouldrepudiateher，butshehadnocorrespondingpowerinregard

tohim。BytheoldlawsofEngland，thehusbandwascalledthelordofthe

wife;hewasliterallyregardedashersovereign，inasmuchthatthemurder

ofamanbyhiswifewascalledtreason（pettyasdistinguishedfromhigh

treason），andwasmorecruellyavengedthanwasusuallythecasewithhigh

treason，forthepenaltywasburningtodeath。Becausethesevariousenormities

havefallenintodisuse（formostofthemwereneverformallyabolished，

ornotuntiltheyhadlongceasedtobepractised）mensupposethatallis

nowasitshouldbeinregardtothemarriagecontract;andwearecontinually

toldthatcivilisationandChristianityhaverestoredtothewomanherjust

rights。Meanwhilethewifeistheactualbondservantofherhusband：no

lessso，asfaraslegalobligationgoes，thanslavescommonlysocalled。

Shevowsalivelongobediencetohimatthealtar，andisheldtoitall

throughherlifebylaw。Casuistsmaysaythattheobligationofobedience

stopsshortofparticipationincrime，butitcertainlyextendstoeverything

else。Shecandonoactwhateverbutbyhispermission，atleasttacit。She

canacquirenopropertybutforhim;theinstantitbecomeshers，evenif

byinheritance，itbecomesipsofactohis。Inthisrespectthewife’sposition

underthecommonlawofEnglandisworsethanthat—ofslavesinthelaws

ofmanycountries：bytheRomanlaw，forexample，aslavemighthavehis

peculium，whichtoacertainextentthelawguaranteedtohimforhisexclusive

use。Thehigherclassesinthiscountryhavegivenananalogousadvantage

totheirwomen，throughspecialcontractssettingasidethelaw，byconditions

ofpin—money，etc。：sinceparentalfeelingbeingstrongerwithfathersthan

theclassfeelingoftheirownsex，afathergenerallyprefershisowndaughter

toason—in—lawwhoisastrangertohim。Bymeansofsettlements，therich

usuallycontrivetowithdrawthewholeorpartoftheinheritedproperty

ofthewifefromtheabsolutecontrolofthehusband：buttheydonotsucceed

inkeepingitunderherowncontrol;theutmosttheycandoonlyprevents

thehusbandfromsquanderingit，atthesametimedebarringtherightful

ownerfromitsuse。Thepropertyitselfisoutofthereachofboth;and

astotheincomederivedfromit，theformofsettlementmostfavourable

tothewife（thatcalled\"toherseparateuse\"）onlyprecludes

thehusbandfromreceivingitinsteadofher：itmustpassthroughherhands，

butifhetakesitfromherbypersonalviolenceassoonasshereceives

it，hecanneitherbepunished，norcompelledtorestitution。Thisisthe

amountoftheprotectionwhich，underthelawsofthiscountry，themost

powerfulnoblemancangivetohisowndaughterasrespectsherhusband。In

theimmensemajorityofcasesthereisnosettlement：andtheabsorption

ofallrights，allproperty，aswellasallfreedomofaction，iscomplete。

Thetwoarecalled\"onepersoninlaw，\"forthepurposeofinferring

thatwhateverishersishis，buttheparallelinferenceisneverdrawnthat

whateverishisishers;themaximisnotappliedagainsttheman，except

tomakehimresponsibletothirdpartiesforheracts，asamasterisfor

theactsofhisslavesorofhiscattle。Iamfarfrompretendingthatwives

areingeneralnobettertreatedthanslaves;butnoslaveisaslaveto

thesamelengths，andinsofullasenseoftheword，asawifeis。Hardly

anyslave，exceptoneimmediatelyattachedtothemaster’sperson，isaslave

atallhoursandallminutes;ingeneralhehas，likeasoldier，hisfixed

task，andwhenitisdone，orwhenheisoffduty，hedisposes，withincertain

limits，ofhisowntime，andhasafamilylifeintowhichthemasterrarely

intrudes。\"UncleTom\"underhisfirstmasterhadhisownlifein

his\"cabin，\"almostasmuchasanymanwhoseworktakeshimaway

fromhome，isabletohaveinhisownfamily。Butitcannotbesowiththe

wife。Aboveall，afemaleslavehas（inChristiancountries）anadmitted

right，andisconsideredunderamoralobligation，torefusetohermaster

thelastfamiliarity。Notsothewife：howeverbrutalatyrantshemayunfortunately

bechainedto——thoughshemayknowthathehatesher，thoughitmaybe

hisdailypleasuretotortureher，andthoughshemayfeelitimpossible

nottoloathehim——hecanclaimfromherandenforcethelowestdegradation

ofahumanbeing，thatofbeingmadetheinstrumentofananimalfunction

contrarytoherinclinations。Whilesheisheldinthisworstdescription

ofslaveryastoherownperson，whatisherpositioninregardtothechildren

inwhomsheandhermasterhaveajointinterest？Theyarebylawhischildren。

Healonehasanylegalrightsoverthem。Notoneactcanshedotowardsor

inrelationtothem，exceptbydelegationfromhim。Evenafterheisdead

sheisnottheirlegalguardian，unlesshebywillhasmadeherso。Hecould

evensendthemawayfromher，anddepriveherofthemeansofseeingorcorresponding

withthem，untilthispowerwasinsomedegreerestrictedbySerjeantTalfourd’s

Act。Thisisherlegalstate。Andfromthisstateshehasnomeansofwithdrawing

herself。Ifsheleavesherhusband，shecantakenothingwithher，neither

herchildrennoranythingwhichisrightfullyherown。Ifhechooses，he

cancompelhertoreturn，bylaw，orbyphysicalforce;orhemaycontent

himselfwithseizingforhisownuseanythingwhichshemayearn，orwhich

maybegiventoherbyherrelations。Itisonlylegalseparationbyadecree

ofacourtofjustice，whichentitleshertoliveapart，withoutbeingforced

backintothecustodyofanexasperatedjailer——orwhichempowersherto

applyanyearningstoherownuse，withoutfearthatamanwhomperhapsshe

hasnotseenfortwentyyearswillpounceuponhersomedayandcarryall

off。Thislegalseparation，untillately，thecourtsofjusticewouldonly

giveatanexpensewhichmadeitinaccessibletoanyoneoutofthehigher

ranks。Evennowitisonlygivenincasesofdesertion，oroftheextreme

ofcruelty;andyetcomplaintsaremadeeverydaythatitisgrantedtoo

easily。Surely，ifawomanisdeniedanylotinlifebutthatofbeingthe

personalbody—servantofadespot，andisdependentforeverythinguponthe

chanceoffindingonewhomaybedisposedtomakeafavouriteofherinstead

ofmerelyadrudge，itisaverycruelaggravationofherfatethatsheshould

beallowedtotrythischanceonlyonce。Thenaturalsequelandcorollary

fromthisstateofthingswouldbe，thatsinceherallinlifedependsupon

obtainingagoodmaster，sheshouldbeallowedtochangeagainandagain

untilshefindsone。Iamnotsayingthatsheoughttobeallowedthisprivilege。

Thatisatotallydifferentconsideration。Thequestionofdivorce，inthe

senseinvolvinglibertyofremarriage，isoneintowhichitisforeignto

mypurposetoenter。AllInowsayis，thattothosetowhomnothingbut

servitudeisallowed，thefreechoiceofservitudeistheonly，thougha

mostinsufficient，alleviation。Itsrefusalcompletestheassimilationof

thewifetotheslave——andtheslaveundernotthemildestformofslavery：

forinsomeslavecodestheslavecould，undercertaincircumstancesofill

usage，legallycompelthemastertosellhim。Butnoamountofillusage，withoutadulterysuperadded，willinEnglandfreeawifefromhertormentor。Ihavenodesiretoexaggerate，nordoesthecasestandinanyneedof

exaggeration。Ihavedescribedthewife’slegalposition，notheractual

treatment。Thelawsofmostcountriesarefarworsethanthepeoplewhoexecute

them，andmanyofthemareonlyabletoremainlawsbybeingseldomornever

carriedintoeffect。Ifmarriedlifewereallthatitmightbeexpectedto

be，lookingtothelawsalone，societywouldbeahelluponearth。Happily

therearebothfeelingsandinterestswhichinmanymenexclude，andinmost，

greatlytemper，theimpulsesandpropensitieswhichleadtotyranny：and

ofthosefeelings，thetiewhichconnectsamanwithhiswifeaffords，in

anormalstateofthings，incomparablythestrongestexample。Theonlytie

whichatallapproachestoit，thatbetweenhimandhischildren，tends，

inallsaveexceptionalcases，tostrengthen，insteadofconflictingwith，

thefirst。Becausethisistrue;becausemeningeneraldonotinflict，nor

womensuffer，allthemiserywhichcouldbeinflictedandsufferedifthe

fullpoweroftyrannywithwhichthemanislegallyinvestedwereactedon;

thedefendersoftheexistingformoftheinstitutionthinkthatallits

iniquityisjustified，andthatanycomplaintismerelyquarrellingwith

theevilwhichisthepricepaidforeverygreatgood。Butthemitigations

inpractice，whicharecompatiblewithmaintaininginfulllegalforcethis

oranyotherkindoftyranny，insteadofbeinganyapologyfordespotism，

onlyservetoprovewhatpowerhumannaturepossessesofreactingagainst

thevilestinstitutions，andwithwhatvitalitytheseedsofgoodaswell

asthoseofevilinhumancharacterdiffuseandpropagatethemselves。Not

awordcanbesaidfordespotisminthefamilywhichcannotbesaidforpolitical

despotism。Everyabsolutekingdoesnotsitathiswindowtoenjoythegroans

ofhistorturedsubjects，norstripsthemoftheirlastragandturnsthem

outtoshiverintheroadThedespotismofLouisXVIwasnotthedespotism

ofPhilippeleBel，orofNadirShah，orofCaligula;butitwasbadenough

tojustifytheFrenchRevolution，andtopalliateevenitshorrors。Ifan

appealbemadetotheintenseattachmentswhichexistbetweenwivesandtheir

husbands，exactlyasmuchmaybesaidofdomesticslavery。Itwasquitean

ordinaryfactinGreeceandRomeforslavestosubmittodeathbytorture

ratherthanbetraytheirmasters。IntheproscriptionsoftheRomancivil

warsitwasremarkedthatwivesandslaveswereheroicallyfaithful，sons

verycommonlytreacherous。YetweknowhowcruellymanyRomanstreatedtheir

slaves。Butintruththeseintenseindividualfeelingsnowhererisetosuch

aluxuriantheightasunderthemostatrociousinstitutions。ItISpartof

theironyoflife，thatthestrongestfeelingsofdevotedgratitudeofwhich

humannatureseemstobesusceptible，arecalledforthinhumanbeingstowards

thosewho，havingthepowerentirelytocrushtheirearthlyexistence，voluntarily

refrainfromusingthatpower。Howgreataplaceinmostmenthissentiment

fills，eveninreligiousdevotion，itwouldbecrueltoinquire。Wedaily

seehowmuchtheirgratitudetoHeavenappearstobestimulatedbythecontemplationoffellow—creaturestowhomGodhasnotbeensomercifulashehastothemselves。Whethertheinstitutiontobedefendedisslavery，politicalabsolutism，

ortheabsolutismoftheheadofafamily，wearealwaysexpectedtojudge

ofitfromitsbestinstances;andwearepresentedwithpicturesofloving

exerciseofauthorityononeside，lovingsubmissiontoitontheother——

superiorwisdomorderingallthingsforthegreatestgoodofthedependents，

andsurroundedbytheirsmilesandbenedictions。Allthiswouldbeverymuch

tothepurposeifanyonepretendedthattherearenosuchthingsasgood

men。Whodoubtsthattheremaybegreatgoodness，andgreathappiness，and

greataffection，undertheabsolutegovernmentofagoodman？Meanwhile，

lawsandinstitutionsrequiretobeadapted，nottogoodmen，buttobad。

Marriageisnotaninstitutiondesignedforaselectfew。Menarenotrequired，

asapreliminarytothemarriageceremony，toprovebytestimonialsthat

theyarefittobetrustedwiththeexerciseofabsolutepower。Thetieof

affectionandobligationtoawifeandchildrenisverystrongwiththose

whosegeneralsocialfeelingsarestrong，andwithmanywhoarelittlesensible

toanyothersocialties;buttherearealldegreesofsensibilityandinsensibility

toit，asthereareallgradesofgoodnessandwickednessinmen，downto

thosewhomnotieswillbind，andonwhomsocietyhasnoactionbutthrough

itsultimaratio，thepenaltiesofthelaw。Ineverygradeofthisdescending

scalearementowhomarecommittedallthelegalpowersofahusband。The

vilestmalefactorhassomewretchedwomantiedtohim，againstwhomhecan

commitanyatrocityexceptkillingher，and，iftolerablycautious，cando

thatwithoutmuchdangerofthelegalpenalty。Andhowmanythousandsare

thereamongthelowestclassesineverycountry，who，withoutbeingina

legalsensemalefactorsinanyotherrespect，becauseineveryotherquarter

theiraggressionsmeetwithresistance，indulgetheutmosthabitualexcesses

ofbodilyviolencetowardstheunhappywife，whoalone，atleastofgrown

persons，canneitherrepelnorescapefromtheirbrutality;andtowardswhom

theexcessofdependenceinspirestheirmeanandsavagenatures，notwith

agenerousforbearance，andapointofhonourtobehavewelltoonewhose

lotinlifeistrustedentirelytotheirkindness，butonthecontrarywith

anotionthatthelawhasdeliveredhertothemastheirthing，tobeused

attheirpleasure，andthattheyarenotexpectedtopractisetheconsideration

towardsherwhichisrequiredfromthemtowardseverybodyelse。Thelaw，

whichtilllatelylefteventheseatrociousextremesofdomesticoppression

practicallyunpunished，haswithinthesefewyearsmadesomefeebleattempts

torepressthem。Butitsattemptshavedonelittle，andcannotbeexpected

todomuch，becauseitiscontrarytoreasonandexperiencetosupposethat

therecanbeanyrealchecktobrutality，consistentwithleavingthevictim

stillinthepoweroftheexecutioner。Untilaconvictionforpersonalviolence，

oratalleventsarepetitionofitafterafirstconviction，entitlesthe

womanipsofactotoadivorce，oratleasttoajudicialseparation，the

attempttorepressthese\"aggravatedassaults\"bylegalpenaltieswillbreakdownforwantofaprosecutor，orforwantofawitness。###第3章Whenweconsiderhowvastisthenumberofmen，inanygreatcountry，

whoarelittlehigherthanbrutes，andthatthisneverpreventsthemfrom

beingable，throughthelawofmarriage，toobtainavictim，thebreadth

anddepthofhumanmiserycausedinthisshapealonebytheabuseofthe

institutionswellstosomethingappalling。Yettheseareonlytheextreme

cases。Theyarethelowestabysses，butthereisasadsuccessionofdepth

afterdepthbeforereachingthem。Indomesticasinpoliticaltyranny，the

caseofabsolutemonsterschieflyillustratestheinstitutionbyshowing

thatthereisscarcelyanyhorrorwhichmaynotoccurunderitifthedespot

pleases，andthussettinginastronglightwhatmustbetheterriblefrequency

ofthingsonlyalittlelessatrocious。Absolutefiendsareasrareasangels，

perhapsrarer：ferocioussavages，withoccasionaltouchesofhumanity，are

howeververyfrequent：andinthewideintervalwhichseparatesthesefrom

anyworthyrepresentativesofthehumanspecies，howmanyaretheformsand

gradationsofanimalismandselfishness，oftenunderanoutwardvarnishof

civilisationandevencultivation，livingatpeacewiththelaw，maintaining

acreditableappearancetoallwhoarenotundertheirpower，yetsufficient

oftentomakethelivesofallwhoareso，atormentandaburthentothem！

Itwouldbetiresometorepeatthecommonplacesabouttheunfitnessofmen

ingeneralforpower，which，afterthepoliticaldiscussionsofcenturies，

everyoneknowsbyheart，wereitnotthathardlyanyonethinksofapplying

thesemaximstothecaseinwhichaboveallotherstheyareapplicable，that

ofpower，notplacedinthehandsofamanhereandthere，butofferedto

everyadultmale，downtothebasestandmostferocious。Itisnotbecause

amanisnotknowntohavebrokenanyoftheTenCommandments，orbecause

hemaintainsarespectablecharacterinhisdealingswiththosewhomhecannot

compeltohaveintercoursewithhim，orbecausehedoesnotflyoutinto

violentburstsofill—temperagainstthosewhoarenotobligedtobearwith

him，thatitispossibletosurmiseofwhatsorthisconductwillbeinthe

unrestraintofhome。Eventhecommonestmenreservetheviolent，thesulky，

theundisguisedlyselfishsideoftheircharacterforthosewhohavenopower

towithstandit。Therelationofsuperiorstodependentsisthenurseryof

thesevicesofcharacter，which，whereverelsetheyexist，areanoverflowing

fromthatsource。Amanwhoismoroseorviolenttohisequals，issureto

beonewhohaslivedamonginferiors，whomhecouldfrightenorworryinto

submission。Ifthefamilyinitsbestformsis，asitisoftensaidtobe，

aschoolofsympathy，tenderness，andlovingforgetfulnessofself，itis

stilloftener，asrespectsitschief，aschoolofwilfulness，overbearingness，

unboundedselfishindulgence，andadouble—dyedandidealisedselfishness，

ofwhichsacrificeitselfisonlyaparticularform：thecareforthewife

andchildrenbeingonlycareforthemaspartsoftheman’sowninterests

andbelongings，andtheirindividualhappinessbeingimmolatedineveryshape

tohissmallestpreferences。Whatbetteristobelookedforundertheexisting

formoftheinstitution？Weknowthatthebadpropensitiesofhumannature

areonlykeptwithinboundswhentheyareallowednoscopefortheirindulgence。

Weknowthatfromimpulseandhabit，whennotfromdeliberatepurpose，almost

everyonetowhomothersyield，goesonencroachinguponthem，untilapoint

isreachedatwhichtheyarecompelledtoresist。Suchbeingthecommontendency

ofhumannature;thealmostunlimitedpowerwhichpresentsocialinstitutions

givetothemanoveratleastonehumanbeing——theonewithwhomheresides，

andwhomhehasalwayspresent——thispowerseeksoutandevokesthelatent

germsofselfishnessintheremotestcornersofhisnature——fansitsfaintest

sparksandsmoulderingembers——offerstohimalicencefortheindulgence

ofthosepointsofhisoriginalcharacterwhichinallotherrelationshe

wouldhavefounditnecessarytorepressandconceal，andtherepression

ofwhichwouldintimehavebecomeasecondnature。Iknowthatthereis

anothersidetothequestion。Igrantthatthewife，ifshecannoteffectually

resist，canatleastretaliate;she，too，canmaketheman’slifeextremely

uncomfortable，andbythatpowerisabletocarrymanypointswhichsheought，

andmanywhichsheoughtnot，toprevailin。Butthisinstrumentofself—protection

——whichmaybecalledthepowerofthescold，ortheshrewishsanction——

hasthefataldefect，thatitavailsmostagainsttheleasttyrannicalsuperiors，

andinfavouroftheleastdeservingdependents。Itistheweaponofirritable

andself—willedwomen;ofthosewhowouldmaketheworstuseofpowerif

theythemselveshadit，andwhogenerallyturnthispowertoabaduse。The

amiablecannotusesuchaninstrument，thehighmindeddisdainit。Andon

theotherhand，thehusbandsagainstwhomitisusedmosteffectivelyare

thegentlerandmoreinoffensive;thosewhocannotbeinduced，evenbyprovocation，

toresorttoanyveryharshexerciseofauthority。Thewife’spowerofbeing

disagreeablegenerallyonlyestablishesacounter—tyranny，andmakesvictimsintheirturnchieflyofthosehusbandswhoareleastinclinedtobetyrants。Whatisit，then，whichreallytempersthecorruptingeffectsofthepower，

andmakesitcompatiblewithsuchamountofgoodasweactuallysee？Mere

feminineblandishments，thoughofgreateffectinindividualinstances，have

verylittleeffectinmodifyingthegeneraltendenciesofthesituation;

fortheirpoweronlylastswhilethewomanisyoungandattractive，often

onlywhilehercharmisnew，andnotdimmedbyfamiliarity;andonmanymen

theyhavenotmuchinfluenceatanytime。Therealmitigatingcausesare，

thepersonalaffectionwhichisthegrowthoftimeinsofarastheman’s

natureissusceptibleofitandthewoman’scharactersufficientlycongenial

withhistoexciteit;theircommoninterestsasregardsthechildren，and

theirgeneralcommunityofinterestasconcernsthirdpersons（towhichhowever

thereareverygreatlimitations）;therealimportanceofthewifetohis

dailycomfortsandenjoyments，andthevalueheconsequentlyattachesto

heronhispersonalaccount，which，inamancapableoffeelingforothers，

laysthefoundationofcaringforheronherown;andlastly，theinfluence

naturallyacquiredoveralmostallhumanbeingsbythoseneartotheirpersons

（ifnotactuallydisagreeabletothem）：who，bothbytheirdirectentreaties，

andbytheinsensiblecontagionoftheirfeelingsanddispositions，areoften

able，unlesscounteractedbysomeequallystrongpersonalinfluence，toobtain

adegreeofcommandovertheconductofthesuperior，altogetherexcessive

andunreasonable。Throughthesevariousmeans，thewifefrequentlyexercises

eventoomuchpowerovertheman;sheisabletoaffecthisconductinthings

inwhichshemaynotbequalifiedtoinfluenceitforgood——inwhichher

influencemaybenotonlyunenlightened，butemployedonthemorallywrong

side;andinwhichhewouldactbetteriflefttohisownprompting。But

neitherintheaffairsoffamiliesnorinthoseofstatesispoweracompensation

forthelossoffreedom。Herpoweroftengivesherwhatshehasnoright

to，butdoesnotenablehertoassertherownrights。ASultan’sfavourite

slavehasslavesunderher，overwhomshetyrannises;butthedesirablething

wouldbethatsheshouldneitherhaveslavesnorbeaslave。Byentirely

sinkingherownexistenceinherhusband;byhavingnowill（orpersuading

himthatshehasnowill）buthis，inanythingwhichregardstheirjoint

relation，andbymakingitthebusinessofherlifetoworkuponhissentiments，

awifemaygratifyherselfbyinfluencing，andveryprobablyperverting，

hisconduct，inthoseofhisexternalrelationswhichshehasneverqualified

herselftojudgeof，orinwhichsheisherselfwhollyinfluencedbysome

personalorotherpartialityorprejudice。Accordingly，asthingsnoware，

thosewhoactmostkindlytotheirwives，arequiteasoftenmadeworse，

asbetter，bythewife’sinfluence，inrespecttoallinterestsextending

beyondthefamily。Sheistaughtthatshehasnobusinesswiththingsout

ofthatsphere;andaccordinglysheseldomhasanyhonestandconscientious

opiniononthem;andthereforehardlyevermeddleswiththemforanylegitimate

purpose，butgenerallyforaninterestedone。Sheneitherknowsnorcares

whichistherightsideinpolitics，butsheknowswhatwillbringinmoney

orinvitations，giveherhusbandatitle，hersonaplace，orherdaughteragoodmarriage。Buthow，itwillbeasked，cananysocietyexistwithoutgovernment？In

afamily，asinastate，someonepersonmustbetheultimateruler。Who

shalldecidewhenmarriedpeopledifferinopinion？Bothcannothavetheirway，yetadecisiononewayortheothermustbecometo。Itisnottruethatinallvoluntaryassociationbetweentwopeople，one

ofthemmustbeabsolutemaster：stilllessthatthelawmustdeterminewhich

ofthemitshallbe。Themostfrequentcaseofvoluntaryassociation，next

tomarriage，ispartnershipinbusiness：anditisnotfoundorthoughtnecessary

toenactthatineverypartnership，onepartnershallhaveentirecontrol

overtheconcern，andtheothersshallbeboundtoobeyhisorders。Noone

wouldenterintopartnershipontermswhichwouldsubjecthimtotheresponsibilities

ofaprincipal，withonlythepowersandprivilegesofaclerkoragent。

Ifthelawdealtwithothercontractsasitdoeswithmarriage，itwould

ordainthatonepartnershouldadministerthecommonbusinessasifitwas

hisprivateconcern;thattheothersshouldhaveonlydelegatedpowers;and

thatthisoneshouldbedesignatedbysomegeneralpresumptionoflaw，for

exampleasbeingtheeldest。Thelawneverdoesthis：nordoesexperience

showittobenecessarythatanytheoreticalinequalityofpowershouldexist

betweenthepartners，orthatthepartnershipshouldhaveanyotherconditions

thanwhattheymaythemselvesappointbytheirarticlesofagreement。Yet

itmightseemthattheexclusivepowermightbeconcededwithlessdanger

totherightsandinterestsoftheinferior，inthecaseofpartnershipthan

inthatofmarriage，sinceheisfreetocancelthepowerbywithdrawing

fromtheconnexion。Thewifehasnosuchpower，andevenifshehad，itis

almostalwaysdesirablethatsheshouldtryallmeasuresbeforeresortingtoit。Itisquitetruethatthingswhichhavetobedecidedeveryday，andcannot

adjustthemselvesgradually，orwaitforacompromise，oughttodependon

onewill;onepersonmusthavetheirsolecontrol。Butitdoesnotfollow

thatthisshouldalwaysbethesameperson。Thenaturalarrangementisa

divisionofpowersbetweenthetwo;eachbeingabsoluteintheexecutive

branchoftheirowndepartment，andanychangeofsystemandprinciplerequiring

theconsentofboth。Thedivisionneithercannorshouldbepre—established

bythelaw，sinceitmustdependonindividualcapacitiesandsuitabilities。

Ifthetwopersonschose，theymightpre—appointitbythemarriagecontract，

aspecuniaryarrangementsarenowoftenpre—appointed。Therewouldseldom

beanydifficultyindecidingsuchthingsbymutualconsent，unlessthemarriage

wasoneofthoseunhappyonesinwhichallotherthings，aswellasthis，

becomesubjectsofbickeringanddispute。Thedivisionofrightswouldnaturally

followthedivisionofdutiesandfunctions;andthatisalreadymadeby

consent，oratalleventsnotbylaw，butbygeneralcustom，modifiedandmodifiableatthepleasureofthepersonsconcerned。Therealpracticaldecisionofaffairs，towhichevermaybegiventhe

legalauthority，willgreatlydepend，asitevennowdoes，uponcomparative

qualifications。Themerefactthatheisusuallytheeldest，willinmost

casesgivethepreponderancetotheman;atleastuntiltheybothattain

atimeoflifeatwhichthedifferenceintheiryearsisofnoimportance。

Therewillnaturallyalsobeamorepotentialvoiceontheside，whichever

itis，thatbringsthemeansofsupport。Inequalityfromthissourcedoes

notdependonthelawofmarriage，butonthegeneralconditionsofhuman

society，asnowconstituted。Theinfluenceofmentalsuperiority，either

generalorspecial，andofsuperiordecisionofcharacter，willnecessarily

tellformuch。Italwaysdoessoatpresent。Andthisfactshowshowlittle

foundationthereisfortheapprehensionthatthepowersandresponsibilities

ofpartnersinlife（asofpartnersinbusiness），cannotbesatisfactorily

apportionedbyagreementbetweenthemselves。Theyalwaysaresoapportioned，

exceptincasesinwhichthemarriageinstitutionisafailure。Thingsnever

cometoanissueofdownrightpowerononeside，andobedienceontheother，

exceptwheretheconnexionaltogetherhasbeenamistake，anditwouldbe

ablessingtobothpartiestoberelievedfromit。Somemaysaythatthe

verythingbywhichanamicablesettlementofdifferencesbecomespossible，

isthepoweroflegalcompulsionknowntobeinreserve;aspeoplesubmit

toanarbitrationbecausethereisacourtoflawinthebackground，which

theyknowthattheycanbeforcedtoobey。Buttomakethecasesparallel，

wemustsupposethattheruleofthecourtoflawwas，nottotrythecause，

buttogivejudgmentalwaysforthesameside，supposethedefendant。If

so，theamenabilitytoitwouldbeamotivewiththeplaintifftoagreeto

almostanyarbitration，butitwouldbejustthereversewiththedefendant。

Thedespoticpowerwhichthelawgivestothehusbandmaybeareasonto

makethewifeassenttoanycompromisebywhichpowerispracticallyshared

betweenthetwo，butitcannotbethereasonwhythehusbanddoes。Thatthere

isalwaysamongdecentlyconductedpeopleapracticalcompromise，though

oneofthematleastisundernophysicalormoralnecessityofmakingit，

showsthatthenaturalmotiveswhichleadtoavoluntaryadjustmentofthe

unitedlifeoftwopersonsinamanneracceptabletoboth，doonthewhole，

exceptingunfavourablecases，prevail。Thematteriscertainlynotimproved

bylayingdownasanordinanceoflaw，thatthesuperstructureoffreegovernment

shallberaiseduponalegalbasisofdespotismononesideandsubjection

ontheother，andthateveryconcessionwhichthedespotmakesmay，athis

merepleasure，andwithoutanywarning，berecalled。Besidesthatnofreedom

isworthmuchwhenheldonsoprecariousatenure，itsconditionsarenot

likelytobethemostequitablewhenthelawthrowssoprodigiousaweight

intoonescale;whentheadjustmentrestsbetweentwopersonsoneofwhom

isdeclaredtobeentitledtoeverything，theothernotonlyentitledto

nothingexceptduringthegoodpleasureofthefirst，butunderthestrongestmoralandreligiousobligationnottorebelunderanyexcessofoppression。Apertinaciousadversary，pushedtoextremities，maysay，thathusbands

indeedarewillingtobereasonable，andtomakefairconcessionstotheir

partnerswithoutbeingcompelledtoit，butthatwivesarenot：thatifallowed

anyrightsoftheirown，theywillacknowledgenorightsatallinanyone

else，andneverwillyieldinanything，unlesstheycanbecompelled，by

theman’smereauthority，toyieldineverything。Thiswouldhavebeensaid

bymanypersonssomegenerationsago，whensatiresonwomenwereinvogue，

andmenthoughtitacleverthingtoinsultwomenforbeingwhatmenmade

them。Butitwillbesaidbynoonenowwhoisworthreplyingto。Itisnot

thedoctrineofthepresentdaythatwomenarelesssusceptibleofgoodfeeling，

andconsiderationforthosewithwhomtheyareunitedbythestrongestties，

thanmenare。Onthecontrary，weareperpetuallytoldthatwomenarebetter

thanmen，bythosewhoaretotallyopposedtotreatingthemasiftheywere

asgood;sothatthesayinghaspassedintoapieceoftiresomecant，intended

toputacomplimentaryfaceuponaninjury，andresemblingthosecelebrations

ofroyalclemencywhich，accordingtoGulliver，thekingofLilliputalways

prefixedtohismostsanguinarydecrees。Ifwomenarebetterthanmenin

anything，itsurelyisinindividualself—sacrificeforthoseoftheirown

family。ButIlaylittlestressonthis，solongastheyareuniversally

taughtthattheyarebornandcreatedforself—sacrifice。Ibelievethat

equalityofrightswouldabatetheexaggeratedself—abnegationwhichisthe

presentartificialidealoffemininecharacter，andthatagoodwomanwould

notbemoreself—sacrificingthanthebestman：butontheotherhand，men

wouldbemuchmoreunselfishandself—sacrificingthanatpresent，because

theywouldnolongerbetaughttoworshiptheirownwillassuchagrand

thingthatitisactuallythelawforanotherrationalbeing。Thereisnothing

whichmensoeasilylearnasthisself—worship：allprivilegedpersons，and

allprivilegedclasses，havehadit。Themorewedescendinthescaleof

humanity，theintenseritis;andmostofallinthosewhoarenot，andcan

neverexpecttobe，raisedaboveanyoneexceptanunfortunatewifeandchildren。

Thehonourableexceptionsareproportionallyfewerthaninthecaseofalmost

anyotherhumaninfirmity。Philosophyandreligion，insteadofkeepingit

incheck，aregenerallysubornedtodefendit;andnothingcontrolsitbut

thatpracticalfeelingoftheequalityofhumanbeings，whichisthetheory

ofChristianity，butwhichChristianitywillneverpracticallyteach，while

itsanctionsinstitutionsgroundedonanarbitrarypreferenceofonehumanbeingoveranother。Thereare，nodoubt，women，astherearemen，whomequalityofconsideration

willnotsatisfy;withwhomthereisnopeacewhileanywillorwishisregarded

buttheirown。Suchpersonsareapropersubjectforthelawofdivorce。

Theyareonlyfittolivealone，andnohumanbeingsoughttobecompelled

toassociatetheirliveswiththem。Butthelegalsubordinationtendsto

makesuchcharactersamongwomenmore，ratherthanless，frequent。Ifthe

manexertshiswholepower，thewomanisofcoursecrushed：butifsheis

treatedwithindulgence，andpermittedtoassumepower，thereisnorule

tosetlimitstoherencroachments。Thelaw，notdeterminingherrights，

buttheoreticallyallowinghernoneatall，practicallydeclaresthatthemeasureofwhatshehasarightto，iswhatshecancontrivetoget。Theequalityofmarriedpersonsbeforethelaw，isnotonlythesolemode

inwhichthatparticularrelationcanbemadeconsistentwithjusticeto

bothsides，andconducivetothehappinessofboth，butitistheonlymeans

ofrenderingthedailylifeofmankind，inanyhighsense，aschoolofmoral

cultivation。Thoughthetruthmaynotbefeltorgenerallyacknowledgedfor

generationstocome，theonlyschoolofgenuinemoralsentimentissociety

betweenequals。Themoraleducationofmankindhashithertoemanatedchiefly

fromthelawofforce，andisadaptedalmostsolelytotherelationswhich

forcecreates。Inthelessadvancedstatesofsociety，peoplehardlyrecognise

anyrelationwiththeirequals。Tobeanequalistobeanenemy。Society，

fromitshighestplacetoitslowest，isonelongchain，orratherladder，

whereeveryindividualiseitheraboveorbelowhisnearestneighbour，and

whereverhedoesnotcommandhemustobey。Existingmoralities，accordingly，

aremainlyfittedtoarelationofcommandandobedience。Yetcommandand

obediencearebutunfortunatenecessitiesofhumanlife：societyinequality

isitsnormalstate。Alreadyinmodernlife，andmoreandmoreasitprogressively

improves，commandandobediencebecomeexceptionalfactsinlife，equalassociation

itsgeneralrule。Themoralityofthefirstagesrestedontheobligation

tosubmittopower;thatoftheagesnextfollowing，ontherightofthe

weaktotheforbearanceandprotectionofthestrong。Howmuchlongeris

oneformofsocietyandlifetocontentitselfwiththemoralitymadefor

another？Wehavehadthemoralityofsubmission，andthemoralityofchivalry

andgenerosity;thetimeisnowcomeforthemoralityofjustice。Whenever，

informerages，anyapproachhasbeenmadetosocietyinequality，Justice

hasasserteditsclaimsasthefoundationofvirtue。Itwasthusinthefree

republicsofantiquity。Buteveninthebestofthese，theequalswerelimited

tothefreemalecitizens;slaves，women，andtheunenfranchisedresidents

wereunderthelawofforce。ThejointinfluenceofRomancivilisationand

ofChristianityobliteratedthesedistinctions，andintheory（ifonlypartially

inpractice）declaredtheclaimsofthehumanbeing，assuch，tobeparamount

tothoseofsex，class，orsocialposition。Thebarrierswhichhadbegun

tobelevelledwereraisedagainbythenorthernconquests;andthewhole

ofmodernhistoryconsistsoftheslowprocessbywhichtheyhavesincebeen

wearingaway。Weareenteringintoanorderofthingsinwhichjusticewill

againbetheprimaryvirtue;groundedasbeforeonequal，butnowalsoon

sympatheticassociation;havingitsrootnolongerintheinstinctofequals

forselfprotection，butinacultivatedsympathybetweenthem;andnoone

beingnowleftout，butanequalmeasurebeingextendedtoall。Itisno

noveltythatmankinddonotdistinctlyforeseetheirownchanges，andthat

theirsentimentsareadaptedtopast，nottocomingages。Toseethefuturity

ofthespecieshasalwaysbeentheprivilegeoftheintellectualelite，or

ofthosewhohavelearntfromthem;tohavethefeelingsofthatfuturity

hasbeenthedistinction，andusuallythemartyrdom，ofastillrarerelite。

Institutions，books，education，society，allgoontraininghumanbeings

fortheold，longafterthenewhascome;muchmorewhenitisonlycoming。

Butthetruevirtueofhumanbeingsisfitnesstolivetogetherasequals;

claimingnothingforthemselvesbutwhattheyasfreelyconcedetoeveryone

else;regardingcommandofanykindasanexceptionalnecessity，andinall

casesatemporaryone;andpreferring，wheneverpossible，thesocietyof

thosewithwhomleadingandfollowingcanbealternateandreciprocal。To

thesevirtues，nothinginlifeasatpresentconstitutedgivescultivation

byexercise。Thefamilyisaschoolofdespotism，inwhichthevirtuesof

despotism，butalsoitsvices，arelargelynourished。Citizenship，infree

countries，ispartlyaschoolofsocietyinequality;butcitizenshipfills

onlyasmallplaceinmodernlife，anddoesnotcomenearthedailyhabits

orinmostsentiments。Thefamily，justlyconstituted，wouldbetherealschool

ofthevirtuesoffreedom。Itissuretobeasufficientoneofeverything

else。Itwillalwaysbeaschoolofobedienceforthechildren，ofcommand

fortheparents。Whatisneededis，thatitshouldbeaschoolofsympathy

inequality，oflivingtogetherinlove，withoutpowerononesideorobedience

ontheother。Thisitoughttobebetweentheparents。Itwouldthenbean

exerciseofthosevirtueswhicheachrequirestofitthemforallotherassociation，

andamodeltothechildrenofthefeelingsandconductwhichtheirtemporary

trainingbymeansofobedienceisdesignedtorenderhabitual，andtherefore

natural，tothem。Themoraltrainingofmankindwillneverbeadaptedto

theconditionsofthelifeforwhichallotherhumanprogressisapreparation，

untiltheypractiseinthefamilythesamemoralrulewhichisadaptedto

thenormalconstitutionofhumansociety。Anysentimentoffreedomwhich

canexistinamanwhosenearestanddearestintimacies，arewiththoseof

whomheisabsolutemaster，isnotthegenuineorChristianloveoffreedom，

but，whattheloveoffreedomgenerallywasintheancientsandinthemiddle

ages——anintensefeelingofthedignityandimportanceofhisownpersonality;

makinghimdisdainayokeforhimself，ofwhichhehasnoabhorrencewhatever

intheabstract，butwhichheisabundantlyreadytoimposeonothersforhisowninterestorglorification。Ireadilyadmit（anditistheveryfoundationofmyhopes）thatnumbers

ofmarriedpeopleevenunderthepresentlaw（inthehigherclassesofEngland

probablyagreatmajority），liveinthespiritofajustlawofequality。

Lawsneverwouldbeimproved，iftherewerenotnumerouspersonswhosemoral

sentimentsarebetterthantheexistinglaws。Suchpersonsoughttosupport

theprincipleshereadvocated;ofwhichtheonlyobjectistomakeallother

marriedcouplessimilartowhatthesearenow。Butpersonsevenofconsiderable

moralworth，unlesstheyarealsothinkers，areveryreadytobelievethat

lawsorpractices，theevilsofwhichtheyhavenotpersonallyexperienced，

donotproduceanyevils，but（ifseemingtobegenerallyapprovedof）probably

dogood，andthatitiswrongtoobjecttothem。Itwould，however，bea

greatmistakeinsuchmarriedpeopletosuppose，becausethelegalconditions

ofthetiewhichunitesthemdonotoccurtotheirthoughtsonceinatwelve

month，andbecausetheyliveandfeelinallrespectsasiftheywerelegally

equals，thatthesameisthecasewithallothermarriedcouples，wherever

thehusbandisnotanotoriousruffian。Tosupposethis，wouldbetoshow

equalignoranceofhumannatureandoffact。Thelessfitamanisforthe

possessionofpower——thelesslikelytobeallowedtoexerciseitover

anypersonwiththatperson’svoluntaryconsent——themoredoeshehughimself

intheconsciousnessofthepowerthelawgiveshim，exactitslegalrights

totheutmostpointwhichcustom（thecustomofmenlikehimself）willtolerate，

andtakepleasureinusingthepower，merelytoenliventheagreeablesense

ofpossessingit。Whatismore;inthemostnaturallybrutalandmorally

uneducatedpartofthelowerclasses，thelegalslaveryofthewoman，and

somethinginthemerelyphysicalsubjectiontotheirwillasaninstrument，

causesthemtofeelasortofdisrespectandcontempttowardstheirownwife

whichtheydonotfeeltowardsanyotherwoman，oranyotherhumanbeing，

withwhomtheycomeincontact;andwhichmakesherseemtothemanappropriate

subjectforanykindofindignity。Letanacuteobserverofthesignsof

feeling，whohastherequisiteopportunities，judgeforhimselfwhetherthis

isnotthecase：andifhefindsthatitis，lethimnotwonderatanyamount

ofdisgustandindignationthatcanbefeltagainstinstitutionswhichleadnaturallytothisdepravedstateofthehumanmind。Weshallbetold，perhaps，thatreligionimposesthedutyofobedience;

aseveryestablishedfactwhichistoobadtoadmitofanyotherdefence，

isalwayspresentedtousasaninjunctionofreligion。TheChurch，itis

verytrue，enjoinsitinherformularies，butitwouldbedifficulttoderive

anysuchinjunctionfromChristianity。WearetoldthatSt。Paulsaid，\"Wives，

obeyyourhusbands\"：buthealsosaid，\"Slaves，obeyyourmasters。\"

ItwasnotSt。Paul’sbusiness，norwasitconsistentwithhisobject，the

propagationofChristianity，toinciteanyonetorebellionagainstexisting

laws。TheApostle’sacceptanceofallsocialinstitutionsashefoundthem，

isnomoretobeconstruedasadisapprovalofattemptstoimprovethemat

thepropertime，thanhisdeclaration，\"Thepowersthatbeareordained

ofGod，\"giveshissanctiontomilitarydespotism，andtothatalone，

astheChristianformofpoliticalgovernment，orcommandspassiveobedience

toit。TopretendthatChristianitywasintendedtostereotypeexistingforms

ofgovernmentandsociety，andprotectthemagainstchange，istoreduce

ittothelevelofIslamismorofBrahminism。ItispreciselybecauseChristianity

hasnotdonethis，thatithasbeenthereligionoftheprogressiveportion

ofmankind，andIslamism，Brahminism，etc。havebeenthoseofthestationary

portions;orrather（forthereisnosuchthingasareallystationarysociety）

ofthedecliningportions。Therehavebeenabundanceofpeople，inallages

ofChristianity，whotriedtomakeitsomethingofthesamekind;toconvert

usintoasortofChristianMussulmans，withtheBibleforaKoran，prohibiting

allimprovement：andgreathasbeentheirpower，andmanyhavehadtosacrifice

theirlivesinresistingthem。Buttheyhavebeenresisted，andtheresistancehasmadeuswhatweare，andwillyetmakeuswhatwearetobe。Afterwhathasbeensaidrespectingtheobligationofobedience，itis

almostsuperfluoustosayanythingconcerningthemorespecialpointincluded

inthegeneralone——awoman’srighttoherownproperty;forIneednot

hopethatthistreatisecanmakeanyimpressionuponthosewhoneedanything

toconvincethemthatawoman’sinheritanceorgainsoughttobeasmuch

herownaftermarriageasbefore。Theruleissimple：whateverwouldbethe

husband’sorwife’siftheywerenotmarried，shouldbeundertheirexclusive

controlduringmarriage;whichneednotinterferewiththepowertotieup

propertybysettlement，inordertopreserveitforchildren。Somepeople

aresentimentallyshockedattheideaofaseparateinterestinmoneymatters

asinconsistentwiththeidealfusionoftwolivesintoone。Formyownpart，

Iamoneofthestrongestsupportersofcommunityofgoods，whenresulting

fromanentireunityoffeelingintheowners，whichmakesallthingscommon

betweenthem。ButIhavenorelishforacommunityofgoodsrestingonthe

doctrine，thatwhatismineisyours，butwhatisyoursisnotmine;and

Ishouldprefertodeclineenteringintosuchacompactwithanyone，thoughIweremyselfthepersontoprofitbyit。Thisparticularinjusticeandoppressiontowomen，whichis，tocommon

apprehensions，moreobviousthanalltherest，admitsofremedywithoutinterfering

withanyothermischiefs：andtherecanbelittledoubtthatitwillbeone

oftheearliestremedied。Already，inmanyofthenewandseveralofthe

oldStatesoftheAmericanConfederation，provisionshavebeeninsertedeven

inthewrittenConstitutions，securingtowomenequalityofrightsinthis

respect：andtherebyimprovingmateriallytheposition，inthemarriagerelation，

ofthosewomenatleastwhohaveproperty，byleavingthemoneinstrument

ofpowerwhichtheyhavenotsignedaway;andpreventingalsothescandalous

abuseofthemarriageinstitution，whichisperpetratedwhenamanentraps

agirlintomarryinghimwithoutasettlement，forthesolepurposeofgetting

possessionofhermoney。Whenthesupportofthefamilydepends，notonproperty，

butonearnings，thecommonarrangement，bywhichthemanearnstheincome

andthewifesuperintendsthedomesticexpenditure，seemstomeingeneral

themostsuitabledivisionoflabourbetweenthetwopersons。If，inaddition

tothephysicalsufferingofbearingchildren，andthewholeresponsibility

oftheircareandeducationinearlyyears，thewifeundertakesthecareful

andeconomicalapplicationofthehusband’searningstothegeneralcomfort

ofthefamily;shetakesnotonlyherfairshare，butusuallythelarger

share，ofthebodilyandmentalexertionrequiredbytheirjointexistence。

Ifsheundertakesanyadditionalportion，itseldomrelievesherfromthis，

butonlypreventsherfromperformingitproperly。Thecarewhichsheis

herselfdisabledfromtakingofthechildrenandthehousehold，nobodyelse

takes;thoseofthechildrenwhodonotdie，growupastheybestcan，and

themanagementofthehouseholdislikelytobesobad，aseveninpoint

ofeconomytobeagreatdrawbackfromthevalueofthewife’searnings。

Inanotherwisejuststateofthings，itisnot，therefore，Ithink，adesirable

custom，thatthewifeshouldcontributebyherlabourtotheincomeofthe

family。Inanunjuststateofthings，herdoingsomaybeusefultoher，

bymakingherofmorevalueintheeyesofthemanwhoislegallyhermaster;

but，ontheotherhand，itenableshimstillfarthertoabusehispower，

byforcinghertowork，andleavingthesupportofthefamilytoherexertions，

whilehespendsmostofhistimeindrinkingandidleness。Thepowerofearning

isessentialtothedignityofawoman，ifshehasnotindependentproperty。

Butifmarriagewereanequalcontract，notimplyingtheobligationofobedience;

iftheconnexionwerenolongerenforcedtotheoppressionofthosetowhom

itispurelyamischief，butaseparation，onjustterms（Idonotnowspeak

ofadivorce），couldbeobtainedbyanywomanwhowasmorallyentitledto

it;andifshewouldthenfindallhonourableemploymentsasfreelyopen

toherastomen;itwouldnotbenecessaryforherprotection，thatduring

marriagesheshouldmakethisparticularuseofherfaculties。Likeaman

whenhechoosesaprofession，so，whenawomanmarries，itmayingeneral

beunderstoodthatshemakeschoiceofthemanagementofahousehold，and

thebringingupofafamily，asthefirstcalluponherexertions，during

asmanyyearsofherlifeasmayberequiredforthepurpose;andthatshe

renounces，notallotherobjectsandoccupations，butallwhicharenotconsistent

withtherequirementsofthis。Theactualexercise，inahabitualorsystematic

manner，ofoutdooroccupations，orsuchascannotbecarriedonathome，

wouldbythisprinciplebepracticallyinterdictedtothegreaternumber

ofmarriedwomen。Buttheutmostlatitudeoughttoexistfortheadaptation

ofgeneralrulestoindividualsuitabilities;andthereoughttobenothing

topreventfacultiesexceptionallyadaptedtoanyotherpursuit，fromobeying

theirvocationnotwithstandingmarriage：dueprovisionbeingmadeforsupplying

otherwiseanyfalling—shortwhichmightbecomeinevitable，inherfullperformance

oftheordinaryfunctionsofmistressofafamily。Thesethings，ifonce

opinionwererightlydirectedonthesubject，mightwithperfectsafetybe

lefttoberegulatedbyopinion，withoutanyinterferenceoflaw。

CHAPTER3Ontheotherpointwhichisinvolvedinthejustequalityofwomen，their

admissibilitytoallthefunctionsandoccupationshithertoretainedasthe

monopolyofthestrongersex，Ishouldanticipatenodifficultyinconvincing

anyonewhohasgonewithmeonthesubjectoftheequalityofwomeninthe

family。Ibelievethattheirdisabilitieselsewhereareonlyclungtoin

ordertomaintaintheirsubordinationindomesticlife;becausethegenerality

ofthemalesexcannotyettoleratetheideaoflivingwithanequal。Were

itnotforthat，Ithinkthatalmosteveryone，intheexistingstateofopinion

inpoliticsandpoliticaleconomy，wouldadmittheinjusticeofexcluding

halfthehumanracefromthegreaternumberoflucrativeoccupations，and

fromalmostallhighsocialfunctions;ordainingfromtheirbirtheither

thattheyarenot，andcannotbyanypossibilitybecome，fitforemployments

whicharelegallyopentothestupidestandbasestoftheothersex，orelse

thathoweverfittheymaybe，thoseemploymentsshallbeinterdictedtothem，

inordertobepreservedfortheexclusivebenefitofmales。Inthelast

twocenturies，when（whichwasseldomthecase）anyreasonbeyondthemere

existenceofthefactwasthoughttoberequiredtojustifythedisabilities

ofwomen，peopleseldomassignedasareasontheirinferiormentalcapacity;

which，intimeswhentherewasarealtrialofpersonalfaculties（fromwhich

allwomenwerenotexcluded）inthestrugglesofpubliclife，noonereally

believedin。Thereasongiveninthosedayswasnotwomen’sunfitness，but

theinterestofsociety，bywhichwasmeanttheinterestofmen：justas

theraisond’etat，meaningtheconvenienceofthegovernment，andthesupport

ofexistingauthority，wasdeemedasufficientexplanationandexcusefor

themostflagitiouscrimes。Inthepresentday，powerholdsasmootherlanguage，

andwhomsoeveritoppresses，alwayspretendstodosofortheirowngood：

accordingly，whenanythingisforbiddentowomen，itisthoughtnecessary

tosay，anddesirabletobelieve，thattheyareincapableofdoingit，and

thattheydepartfromtheirrealpathofsuccessandhappinesswhenthey

aspiretoit。Buttomakethisreasonplausible（Idonotsayvalid），those

bywhomitisurgedmustbepreparedtocarryittoamuchgreaterlength

thananyoneventurestodointhefaceofpresentexperience。Itisnotsufficient

tomaintainthatwomenontheaveragearelessgiftedthenmenontheaverage，

withcertainofthehighermentalfaculties，orthatasmallernumberof

womenthanofmenarefitforoccupationsandfunctionsofthehighestintellectual

character。Itisnecessarytomaintainthatnowomenatallarefitforthem，

andthatthemosteminentwomenarcinferiorinmentalfacultiestothemost

mediocreofthemenonwhomthosefunctionsatpresentdevolve。Forifthe

performanceofthefunctionisdecidedeitherbycompetition，orbyanymode

ofchoicewhichsecuresregardtothepublicinterest，thereneedsbeno

apprehensionthatanyimportantemploymentswillfallintothehandsofwomen

inferiortoaveragemen，ortotheaverageoftheirmalecompetitors。The

onlyresultwouldbethattherewouldbefewerwomenthanmeninsuchemployments;

aresultcertaintohappeninanycase，ifonlyfromthepreferencealways

likelytobefeltbythemajorityofwomenfortheonevocationinwhich

thereisnobodytocompetewiththem。Now，themostdetermineddepreciator

ofwomenwillnotventuretodeny，thatwhenweaddtheexperienceofrecent

timestothatofagespast，women，andnotafewmerely，butmanywomen，

haveprovedthemselvescapableofeverything，perhapswithoutasingleexception，

whichisdonebymen，andofdoingitsuccessfullyandcreditably。Theutmost

thatcanbesaidis，thattherearcmanythingswhichnoneofthemhavesucceeded

indoingaswellastheyhavebeendonebysomemen——manyinwhichthey

havenotreachedtheveryhighestrank。Butthereareextremelyfew，dependent

onlyonmentalfaculties，inwhichtheyhavenotattainedtheranknextto

thehighest。Isnotthisenough，andmuchmorethanenough，tomakeita

tyrannytothem，andadetrimenttosociety，thattheyshouldnotbeallowed

tocompetewithmenfortheexerciseofthesefunctions？Isitnotamere

truismtosay，thatsuchfunctionsareoftenfilledbymenfarlessfitfor

themthannumbersofwomen，andwhowouldbebeatenbywomeninanyfair

fieldofcompetition？Whatdifferencedoesitmakethattheremaybemen

somewhere，fullyemployedaboutotherthings，whomaybestillbetterqualified

forthethingsinquestionthanthesewomen？Doesnotthistakeplacein

allcompetitions？Istheresogreatasuperfluityofmenfitforhighduties，

thatsocietycanaffordtorejecttheserviceofanycompetentperson？Are

wesocertainofalwaysfindingamanmadetoourhandsforanydutyorfunction

ofsocialimportancewhichfallsvacant，thatwelosenothingbyputting

abanupononehalfofmankind，andrefusingbeforehandtomaketheirfaculties

available，howeverdistinguishedtheymaybe？Andevenifwecoulddowithout

them，woulditbeconsistentwithjusticetorefusetothemtheirfairshare

ofhonouranddistinction，ortodenytothemtheequalmoralrightofall

humanbeingstochoosetheiroccupation（shortofinjurytoothers）according

totheirownpreferences，attheirownrisk？Noristheinjusticeconfined

tothem：itissharedbythosewhoareinapositiontobenefitbytheir

services。Toordainthatanykindofpersonsshallnotbephysicians，or

shallnotbeadvocates，orshallnotbeMembersofParliament，istoinjure

notthemonly，butallwhoemployphysiciansoradvocates，orelectMembers

ofParliament，andwhoaredeprivedofthestimulatingeffectofgreater

competitionontheexertionsofthecompetitors，aswellasrestrictedtoanarrowerrangeofindividualchoice。ItwillperhapsbesufficientifIconfinemyself，inthedetailsofmy

argument，tofunctionsofapublicnature：since，ifIamsuccessfulasto

those，itprobablywillbereadilygrantedthatwomenshouldbeadmissible

toallotheroccupationstowhichitisatallmaterialwhethertheyare

admittedornot。Andhereletmebeginbymarkingoutonefunction，broadly

distinguishedfromallothers，theirrighttowhichisentirelyindependent

ofanyquestionwhichcanberaisedconcerningtheirfaculties。Imeanthe

suffrage，bothparliamentaryandmunicipal。Therighttoshareinthechoice

ofthosewhoaretoexerciseapublictrust，isaltogetheradistinctthing

fromthatofcompetingforthetrustitself。IfnoonecouldvoteforaMember

ofParliamentwhowasnotfittobeacandidate，thegovernmentwouldbe

anarrowoligarchyindeed。Tohaveavoiceinchoosingthosebywhomone

istobegoverned，isameansofself—protectionduetoeveryone，though

heweretoremainforeverexcludedfromthefunctionofgoverning：andthat

womenareconsideredfittohavesuchachoice，maybepresumedfromthe

fact，thatthelawalreadygivesittowomeninthemostimportantofall

casestothemselves：forthechoiceofthemanwhoistogovernawomanto

theendoflife，isalwayssupposedtobevoluntarilymadebyherself。In

thecaseofelectiontopublictrusts，itisthebusinessofconstitutional

lawtosurroundtherightofsuffragewithallneedfulsecuritiesandlimitations;

butwhateversecuritiesaresufficientinthecaseofthemalesex，noothers

needberequiredinthecaseofwomen。Underwhateverconditions，andwithin

whateverlimits，menareadmittedtothesuffrage，thereisnotashadow

ofjustificationfornotadmittingwomenunderthesame。Themajorityof

thewomenofanyclassarenotlikelytodifferinpoliticalopinionfrom

themajorityofthemenofthesameclass，unlessthequestionbeonein

whichtheinterestsofwomen，assuch，areinsomewayinvolved;andifthey

areso，womenrequirethesuffrage，astheirguaranteeofjustandequal

consideration。Thisoughttobeobviouseventothosewhocoincideinno

otherofthedoctrinesforwhichIcontend。Evenifeverywomanwereawife，

andifeverywifeoughttobeaslave，allthemorewouldtheseslavesstand

inneedoflegalprotection：andweknowwhatlegalprotectiontheslaveshave，wherethelawsaremadebytheirmasters。Withregardtothefitnessofwomen，notonlytoparticipateinelections，

butthemselvestoholdofficesorpractiseprofessionsinvolvingimportant

publicresponsibilities;Ihavealreadyobservedthatthisconsideration

isnotessentialtothepracticalquestionindispute：sinceanywoman，who

succeedsinanopenprofession，provesbythatveryfactthatsheisqualified

forit。Andinthecaseofpublicoffices，ifthepoliticalsystemofthe

countryissuchastoexcludeunfitmen，itwillequallyexcludeunfitwomen：

whileifitisnot，thereisnoadditionalevilinthefactthattheunfit

personswhomitadmitsmaybeeitherwomenormen。Aslongthereforeasit

isacknowledgedthatevenafewwomenmaybefitfortheseduties，thelaws

whichshutthedooronthoseexceptionscannotbejustifiedbyanyopinion

whichcanbeheldrespectingthecapacitiesofwomeningeneral。But，though

thislastconsiderationisnotessential，itisfarfrombeingirrelevant。

Anunprejudicedviewofitgivesadditionalstrengthtotheargumentsagainst

thedisabilitiesofwomen，andreinforcesthembyhighconsiderationsofpracticalutility。Letusfirstmakeentireabstractionofallpsychologicalconsiderations

tendingtoshow，thatanyofthementaldifferencessupposedtoexistbetween

womenandmenarebutthenaturaleffectofthedifferencesintheireducation

andcircumstances，andindicatenoradicaldifference，farlessradicalinferiority，

ofnature。Letusconsiderwomenonlyastheyalreadyare，orastheyare

knowntohavebeen;andthecapacitieswhichtheyhavealreadypractically

shown。Whattheyhavedone，thatatleast，ifnothingelse，itisproved

thattheycando。Whenweconsiderhowsedulouslytheyarealltrainedaway

from，insteadofbeingtrainedtowards，anyoftheoccupationsorobjects

reservedformen，itisevidentthatIamtakingaveryhumblegroundfor

them，whenIresttheircaseonwhattheyhaveactuallyachieved。For，in

thiscase，negativeevidenceisworthlittle，——whileanypositiveevidence

isconclusive。Itcannotbeinferredtobeimpossiblethatawomanshould

beaHomer，oranAristotle，oraMichaelAngelo，oraBeethoven，because

nowomanhasyetactuallyproducedworkscomparabletotheirsinanyofthose

linesofexcellence。Thisnegativefactatmostleavesthequestionuncertain，

andopentopsychologicaldiscussion。Butitisquitecertainthatawoman

canbeaQueenElizabeth，oraDeborah，oraJoanofArc，sincethisisnot

inference，butfact。Nowitisacuriousconsideration，thattheonlythings

whichtheexistinglawexcludeswomenfromdoing，arethethingswhichthey

haveprovedthattheyareabletodo。Thereisnolawtopreventawoman

fromhavingwrittenalltheplaysofShakespeare，orcomposedalltheoperas

ofMozart。ButQueenElizabethorQueenVictoria，hadtheynotinherited

thethrone，couldnothavebeenentrustedwiththesmallestofthepoliticalduties，ofwhichtheformershowedherselfequaltothegreatest。###第4章Ifanythingconclusivecouldbeinferredfromexperience，withoutpsychological

analysis，itwouldbethatthethingswhichwomenarenotallowedtodoare

theveryonesforwhichtheyarepeculiarlyqualified;sincetheirvocation

forgovernmenthasmadeitsway，andbecomeconspicuous，throughthevery

fewopportunitieswhichhavebeengiven;whileinthelinesofdistinction

whichapparentlywerefreelyopentothem，theyhavebynomeanssoeminently

distinguishedthemselves。Weknowhowsmallanumberofreigningqueenshistory

presents，incomparisonwiththatofkings。Ofthissmallernumberafar

largerproportionhaveshowntalentsforrule;thoughmanyofthemhaveoccupied

thethroneindifficultperiods。Itisremarkable，too，thattheyhave，in

agreatnumberofinstances，beendistinguishedbymeritsthemostopposite

totheimaginaryandconventionalcharacterofwomen：theyhavebeenasmuch

remarkedforthefirmnessandvigouroftheirrule，asforitsintelligence。

When，toqueensandempresses，weaddregents，andviceroysofprovinces，

thelistofwomenwhohavebeeneminentrulersofmankindswellstoagreat

length。（1*）Thisfactissoundeniable，thatsomeone，longago，triedto

retorttheargument，andturnedtheadmittedtruthintoanadditionalinsult，

bysayingthatqueensarebetterthankings，becauseunderkingswomengovern，butunderqueens，men。Itmayseemawasteofreasoningtoargueagainstabadjoke;butsuch

thingsdoaffectpeople’sminds;andIhaveheardmenquotethissaying，

withanairasiftheythoughtthattherewassomethinginit。Atanyrate，

itwillserveasanything，elseforastarting—pointindiscussion。Isay，

then，thatitisnottruethatunderkings，womengovern。Suchcasesare

entirelyexceptional：andweakkingshavequiteasoftengovernedillthrough

theinfluenceofmalefavourites，asoffemale。Whenakingisgovernedby

awomanmerelythroughhisamatorypropensities，goodgovernmentisnotprobable，

thougheventhenthereareexceptions。ButFrenchhistorycountstwokings

whohavevoluntarilygiventhedirectionofaffairsduringmanyyears，the

onetohismother，theothertohissister：oneofthem，CharlesVIII，was

amereboy，butindoingsohefollowedtheintentionsofhisfatherLouis

XI，theablestmonarchofhisage。Theother，SaintLouis，wasthebest，

andoneofthemostvigorousrulers，sincethetimeofCharlemagne。Both

theseprincessesruledinamannerhardlyequalledbyanyprinceamongtheir

contemporaries。TheEmperorCharlestheFifth，themostpoliticprinceof

histime，whohadasgreatanumberofablemeninhisserviceasaruler

everhad，andwasoneoftheleastlikelyofallsovereignstosacrifice

hisinteresttopersonalfeelings，madetwoprincessesofhisfamilysuccessively

GovernorsoftheNetherlands，andkeptoneorotheroftheminthatpost

duringhiswholelife（theywereafterwardssucceededbyathird）。Bothruled

verysuccessfully，andoneofthem，MargaretofAustria，asoneoftheablest

politiciansoftheage。Somuchforonesideofthequestion。Nowastothe

other。Whenitissaidthatunderqueensmengovern，isthesamemeaning

tobeunderstoodaswhenkingsaresaidtobegovernedbywomen？Isitmeant

thatqueenschooseastheirinstrumentsofgovernment，theassociatesof

theirpersonalpleasures？Thecaseisrareevenwiththosewhoareasunscrupulous

onthelatterpointasCatherineII：anditisnotinthesecasesthatthe

goodgovernment，allegedtoarisefrommaleinfluence，istobefound。If

itbetrue，then，thattheadministrationisinthehandsofbettermenunder

aqueenthanunderanaverageking，itmustbethatqueenshaveasuperior

capacityforchoosingthem;andwomenmustbebetterqualifiedthanmenboth

forthepositionofsovereign，andforthatofchiefminister;fortheprincipal

businessofaPrimeMinisterisnottogoverninperson，buttofindthe

fittestpersonstoconducteverydepartmentofpublicaffairs。Themorerapid

insightintocharacter，whichisoneoftheadmittedpointsofsuperiority

inwomenovermen，mustcertainlymakethem，withanythinglikeparityof

qualificationsinotherrespects，moreaptthanmeninthatchoiceofinstruments，

whichisnearlythemostimportantbusinessofeveryonewhohastodowith

governingmankind。EventheunprincipledCatherinedeMedicicouldfeelthe

valueofaChancellordel’Hopital。Butitisalsotruethatmostgreatqueens

havebeengreatbytheirowntalentsforgovernment，andhavebeenwellserved

preciselyforthatreason。Theyretainedthesupremedirectionofaffairs

intheirownhands：andiftheylistenedtogoodadvisers，theygavebythat

factthestrongestproofthattheirjudgmentfittedthemfordealingwiththegreatquestionsofgovernment。Isitreasonabletothinkthatthosewhoarefitforthegreaterfunctions

ofpolitics，areincapableofqualifyingthemselvesfortheless？Isthere

anyreasoninthenatureofthings，thatthewivesandsistersofprinces

should，whenevercalledon，befoundascompetentastheprincesthemselves

totheirbusiness，butthatthewivesandsistersofstatesmen，andadministrators，

anddirectorsofcompanies，andmanagersofpublicinstitutions，shouldbe

unabletodowhatisdonebytheirbrothersandhusbands？Therealreason

isplainenough;itisthatprincesses，beingmoreraisedabovethegenerality

ofmenbytheirrankthanplacedbelowthembytheirsex，haveneverbeen

taughtthatitwasimproperforthemtoconcernthemselveswithpolitics;

buthavebeenallowedtofeeltheliberalinterestnaturaltoanycultivated

humanbeing，inthegreattransactionswhichtookplacearoundthem，and

inwhichtheymightbecalledontotakeapart。Theladiesofreigningfamilies

aretheonlywomenwhoareallowedthesamerangeofinterestsandfreedom

ofdevelopmentasmen;anditispreciselyintheircasethatthereisnot

foundtobeanyinferiority。Exactlywhereandinproportionaswomen’scapacitiesforgovernmenthavebeentried，inthatproportionhavetheybeenfoundadequate。Thisfactisinaccordancewiththebestgeneralconclusionswhichthe

world’simperfectexperienceseemsasyettosuggest，concerningthepeculiar

tendenciesandaptitudescharacteristicofwomen，aswomenhavehitherto

been。Idonotsay，astheywillcontinuetobe;for，asIhavealreadysaid

morethanonce，Iconsideritpresumptioninanyonetopretendtodecide

whatwomenareorarenot，canorcannotbe，bynaturalconstitution。They

havealwayshithertobeenkept，asfarasregardsspontaneousdevelopment，

insounnaturalastate，thattheirnaturecannotbuthavebeengreatlydistorted

anddisguised;andnoonecansafelypronouncethatifwomen’snaturewere

lefttochooseitsdirectionasfreelyasmen’s，andifnoartificialbent

wereattemptedtobegiventoitexceptthatrequiredbytheconditionsof

humansociety，andgiventobothsexesalike，therewouldbeanymaterial

difference，orperhapsanydifferenceatall，inthecharacterandcapacities

whichwouldunfoldthemselves。Ishallpresentlyshow，thateventheleast

contestableofthedifferenceswhichnowexist，aresuchasmayverywell

havebeenproducedmerelybycircumstances，withoutanydifferenceofnatural

capacity。But，lookingatwomenastheyareknowninexperience，itmaybe

saidofthem，withmoretruththanbelongstomostothergeneralisations

onthesubject，thatthegeneralbentoftheirtalentsistowardsthepractical。

Thisstatementisconformabletoallthepublichistoryofwomen，inthe

presentandthepast。Itisnolessborneoutbycommonanddailyexperience。

Letusconsiderthespecialnatureofthementalcapacitiesmostcharacteristic

ofawomanoftalent。Theyareallofakindwhichfitsthemforpractice，

andmakesthemtendtowardsit。Whatismeantbyawoman’scapacityofintuitive

perception？Itmeans，arapidandcorrectinsightintopresentfact。Ithas

nothingtodowithgeneralprinciples。Nobodyeverperceivedascientific

lawofnaturebyintuition，norarrivedatageneralruleofdutyorprudence

byit。Theseareresultsofslowandcarefulcollectionandcomparisonof

experience;andneitherthemennorthewomen。Ofintuitionusuallyshine

inthisdepartment，unless，indeed，theexperiencenecessaryissuchasthey

canacquirebythemselves。Forwhatiscalledtheirintuitivesagacitymakes

thempeculiarlyaptingatheringsuchgeneraltruthsascanbecollected

fromtheirindividualmeansofobservation。When，consequently，theychance

tobeaswellprovidedasmenarewiththeresultsofotherpeople’sexperience，

byreadingandeducation（Iusethewordchanceadvisedly，for，inrespect

totheknowledgethattendstofitthemforthegreaterconcernsoflife，

theonlyeducatedwomenaretheself—educated）theyarebetterfurnished

thanmeningeneralwiththeessentialrequisitesofskilfulandsuccessful

practice。Menwhohavebeenmuchtaught，areapttobedeficientinthesense

ofpresentfact;theydonotsee，inthefactswhichtheyarecalledupon

todealwith，whatisreallythere，butwhattheyhavebeentaughttoexpect。

Thisisseldomthecasewithwomenofanyability。Theircapacityof\"intuition\"

preservesthemfromit。Withequalityofexperienceandofgeneralfaculties，

awomanusuallyseesmuchmorethanamanofwhatisimmediatelybeforeher。

Nowthissensibilitytothepresent，isthemainqualityonwhichthecapacity

forpractice，asdistinguishedfromtheory，depends。Todiscovergeneral

principles，belongstothespeculativefaculty：todiscernanddiscriminate

theparticularcasesinwhichtheyareandarenotapplicable，constitutes

practicaltalent：andforthis，womenastheynowarehaveapeculiaraptitude。

Iadmitthattherecanbenogoodpracticewithoutprinciples，andthatthe

predominantplacewhichquicknessofobservationholdsamongawoman’sfaculties，

makesherparticularlyapttobuildoverhastygeneralisationsuponherown

observation;thoughatthesametimenolessreadyinrectifyingthosegeneralisations，

asherobservationtakesawiderrange。Butthecorrectivetothisdefect，

isaccesstotheexperienceofthehumanrace;generalknowledge——exactly

thethingwhicheducationcanbestsupply。Awoman’smistakesarespecifically

thoseofacleverself—educatedman，whooftenseeswhatmentrainedinroutine

donotsee，butfallsintoerrorsforwantofknowingthingswhichhavelong

beenknown。Ofcoursehehasacquiredmuchofthepre—existingknowledge，

orhecouldnothavegotonatall;butwhatheknowsofithehaspickedupinfragmentsandatrandom，aswomendo。Butthisgravitationofwomen’smindstothepresent，tothereal，to

actualfact，whileinitsexclusivenessitisasourceoferrors，isalso

amostusefulcounteractiveofthecontraryerror。Theprincipalandmost

characteristicaberrationofspeculativemindsassuch，consistsprecisely

inthedeficiencyofthislivelyperceptionandever—presentsenseofobjective

fact。Forwantofthis，theyoftennotonlyoverlookthecontradictionwhich

outwardfactsopposetotheirtheories，butlosesightofthelegitimate

purposeofspeculationaltogether，andlettheirspeculativefacultiesgo

astrayintoregionsnotpeopledwithrealbeings，animateorinanimate，even

idealised，butwithpersonifiedshadowscreatedbytheillusionsofmetaphysics

orbythemereentanglementofwords，andthinktheseshadowstheproper

objectsofthehighest，themosttranscendant，philosophy。Hardlyanything

canbeofgreatervaluetoamanoftheoryandspeculationwhoemployshimself

notincollectingmaterialsofknowledgebyobservation，butinworkingthem

upbyprocessesofthoughtintocomprehensivetruthsofscienceandlaws

ofconduct，thantocarryonhisspeculationsinthecompanionship，andunder

thecriticism，ofareallysuperiorwoman。Thereisnothingcomparableto

itforkeepinghisthoughtswithinthelimitsofrealthings，andtheactual

factsofnature。Awomanseldomrunswildafteranabstraction。Thehabitual

directionofhermindtodealingwiththingsasindividualsratherthanin

groups，and（whatiscloselyconnectedwithit）hermorelivelyinterest

inthepresentfeelingsofpersons，whichmakesherconsiderfirstofall，

inanythingwhichclaimstobeappliedtopractice，inwhatmannerpersons

willbeaffectedbyit——thesetwothingsmakeherextremelyunlikelyto

putfaithinanyspeculationwhichlosessightofindividuals，anddeals

withthingsasiftheyexistedforthebenefitofsomeimaginaryentity，

somemerecreationofthemind，notresolvableintothefeelingsofliving

beings。Women’sthoughtsarethusasusefulingivingrealitytothoseof

thinkingmen，asmen’sthoughtsingivingwidthandlargenesstothoseof

women。Indepth，asdistinguishedfrombreadth，Igreatlydoubtifevennow，women，comparedwithmen，areatanydisadvantage。Iftheexistingmentalcharacteristicsofwomenarethusvaluableeven

inaidofspeculation，theyarestillmoreimportant，whenspeculationhas

doneitswork，forcarryingouttheresultsofspeculationintopractice。

Forthereasonsalreadygiven，womenarecomparativelyunlikelytofallinto

thecommonerrorofmen，thatofstickingtotheirrulesinacasewhose

specialitieseithertakeitoutoftheclasstowhichtherulesareapplicable，

orrequireaspecialadaptationofthem。Letusnowconsideranotherofthe

admittedsuperioritiesofcleverwomen，greaterquicknessofapprehension。

Isnotthispre—eminentlyaqualitywhichfitsapersonforpractice？In

action，everythingcontinuallydependsupondecidingpromptly。Inspeculation，

nothingdoes。Amerethinkercanwait，cantaketimetoconsider，cancollect

additionalevidence;heisnotobligedtocompletehisphilosophyatonce，

lesttheopportunityshouldgoby。Thepowerofdrawingthebestconclusion

possiblefrominsufficientdataisnotindeeduselessinphilosophy;the

constructionofaprovisionalhypothesisconsistentwithallknownfacts

isoftentheneedfulbasisforfurtherinquiry。Butthisfacultyisrather

serviceableinphilosophy，thanthemainqualificationforit：and，forthe

auxiliaryaswellasforthemainoperation，thephilosophercanallowhimself

anytimehepleases。Heisinnoneedofthecapacityofdoingrapidlywhat

hedoes;whatheratherneedsispatience，toworkonslowlyuntilimperfect

lightshavebecomeperfect，andaconjecturehasripenedintoatheorem。

Forthose，onthecontrary，whosebusinessiswiththefugitiveandperishable

——withindividualfacts，notkindsoffacts——rapidityofthoughtisa

qualificationnextonlyinimportancetothepowerofthoughtitself。He

whohasnothisfacultiesunderimmediatecommand，inthecontingenciesof

action，mightaswellnothavethematall。Hemaybefittocriticise，but

heisnotfittoact。Nowitisinthisthatwomen，andthemenwhoaremost

likewomen，confessedlyexcel。Theothersortofman，howeverpre—eminent

maybehisfaculties，arrivesslowlyatcompletecommandofthem：rapidity

ofjudgmentandpromptitudeofjudiciousaction，eveninthethingsheknowsbest，arethegradualandlateresultofstrenuouseffortgrownintohabit。Itwillbesaid，perhaps，thatthegreaternervoussusceptibilityofwomen

isadisqualificationforpractice，inanythingbutdomesticlife，byrendering

themmobile，changeable，toovehementlyundertheinfluenceofthemoment，

incapableofdoggedperseverance，unequalanduncertaininthepowerofusing

theirfaculties。Ithinkthatthesephrasessumupthegreaterpartofthe

objectionscommonlymadetothefitnessofwomenforthehigherclassof

seriousbusiness。Muchofallthisisthemereoverflowofnervousenergy

runtowaste，andwouldceasewhentheenergywasdirectedtoadefinite

end。Muchisalsotheresultofconsciousorunconsciouscultivation;as

weseebythealmosttotaldisappearanceof\"hysterics\"andfainting—fits，

sincetheyhavegoneoutoffashion。Moreover，whenpeoplearebroughtup，

likemanywomenofthehigherclasses（thoughlesssoinourowncountry

thananyother），akindofhot—houseplants，shieldedfromthewholesome

vicissitudesofairandtemperature，anduntrainedinanyoftheoccupations

andexerciseswhichgivestimulusanddevelopmenttothecirculatoryand

muscularsystem，whiletheirnervoussystem，especiallyinitsemotional

department，iskeptinunnaturallyactiveplay;itisnowonderifthose

ofthemwhodonotdieofconsumption，growupwithconstitutionsliable

toderangementfromslightcauses，bothinternalandexternal，andwithout

staminatosupportanytask，physicalormental，requiringcontinuityof

effort。Butwomenbroughtuptoworkfortheirlivelihoodshownoneofthese

morbidcharacteristics，unlessindeedtheyarechainedtoanexcessofsedentary

workinconfinedandunhealthyrooms。Womenwhointheirearlyyearshave

sharedinthehealthfulphysicaleducationandbodilyfreedomoftheirbrothers，

andwhoobtainasufficiencyofpureairandexerciseinafter—life，very

rarelyhaveanyexcessivesusceptibilityofnerveswhichcandisqualifythem

foractivepursuits。Thereisindeedacertainproportionofpersons，in

bothsexes，inwhomanunusualdegreeofnervoussensibilityisconstitutional，

andofsomarkedacharacterastobethefeatureoftheirorganisationwhich

exercisesthegreatestinfluenceoverthewholecharacterofthevitalphenomena。

Thisconstitution，likeotherphysicalconformations，ishereditary，and

istransmittedtosonsaswellasdaughters;butitispossible，andprobable，

thatthenervoustemperament（asitiscalled）isinheritedbyagreater

numberofwomenthanofmen。Wewillassumethisasafact：andletmethen

ask，aremenofnervoustemperamentfoundtobeunfitforthedutiesand

pursuitsusuallyfollowedbymen？Ifnot，whyshouldwomenofthesametemperament

beunfitforthem？Thepeculiaritiesofthetemperamentare，nodoubt，within

certainlimits，anobstacletosuccessinsomeemployments，thoughanaid

toitinothers。Butwhentheoccupationissuitabletothetemperament，

andsometimesevenwhenitisunsuitable，themostbrilliantexamplesof

successarecontinuallygivenbythemenofhighnervoussensibility。They

aredistinguishedintheirpracticalmanifestationschieflybythis，that

beingsusceptibleofahigherdegreeofexcitementthanthoseofanother

physicalconstitution，theirpowerswhenexciteddiffermorethaninthe

caseofotherpeople，fromthoseshownintheirordinarystate：theyare

raised，asitwere，abovethemselves，anddothingswitheasewhichthey

arewhollyincapableofatothertimes。Butthisloftyexcitementisnot，

exceptinweakbodilyconstitutions，amereflash，whichpassesawayimmediately，

leavingnopermanenttraces，andincompatiblewithpersistentandsteady

pursuitofanobject。Itisthecharacterofthenervoustemperamenttobe

capableofsustainedexcitement，holdingoutthroughlong—continuedefforts。

Itiswhatismeantbyspirit。Itiswhatmakesthehigh—bredracehorserun

withoutslackeningspeedtillhedropsdowndead。Itiswhathasenabled

somanydelicatewomentomaintainthemostsublimeconstancynotonlyat

thestake，butthroughalongpreliminarysuccessionofmentalandbodily

tortures。Itisevidentthatpeopleofthistemperamentareparticularly

aptforwhatmaybecalledtheexecutivedepartmentoftheleadershipof

mankind。Theyarethematerialofgreatorators，greatpreachers，impressive

diffusersofmoralinfluences。Theirconstitutionmightbedeemedlessfavourable

tothequalitiesrequiredfromastatesmaninthecabinet，orfromajudge。

Itwouldbeso，iftheconsequencenecessarilyfollowedthatbecausepeople

areexcitabletheymustalwaysbeinastateofexcitement。Butthisiswholly

aquestionoftraining。Strongfeelingistheinstrumentandelementofstrong

self—control：butitrequirestobecultivatedinthatdirection。Whenit

is，itformsnottheheroesofimpulseonly，butthosealsoofself—conquest。

Historyandexperienceprovethatthemostpassionatecharactersarethe

mostfanaticallyrigidintheirfeelingsofduty，whentheirpassionhas

beentrainedtoactinthatdirection。Thejudgewhogivesajustdecision

inacasewherehisfeelingsareintenselyinterestedontheotherside，

derivesfromthatsamestrengthoffeelingthedeterminedsenseoftheobligation

ofjustice，whichenableshimtoachievethisvictoryoverhimself。Thecapability

ofthatloftyenthusiasmwhichtakesthehumanbeingoutofhisevery—day

character，reactsuponthedailycharacteritself。Hisaspirationsandpowers

whenheisinthisexceptionalstate，becomethetypewithwhichhecompares，

andbywhichheestimates，hissentimentsandproceedingsatothertimes：

andhishabitualpurposesassumeacharactermouldedbyandassimilatedto

themomentsofloftyexcitement，althoughthose，fromthephysicalnature

ofahumanbeing，canonlybetransient。Experienceofraces，aswellas

ofindividuals，doesnotshowthoseofexcitabletemperamenttobelessfit，

ontheaverage，eitherforspeculationorpractice，thanthemoreunexcitable。

TheFrench，andtheItalians，areundoubtedlybynaturemorenervouslyexcitable

thantheTeutonicraces，and，comparedatleastwiththeEnglish，theyhave

amuchgreaterhabitualanddailyemotionallife：buthavetheybeenless

greatinscience，inpublicbusiness，inlegalandjudicialeminence，or

inwar？ThereisabundantevidencethattheGreekswereofold，astheir

descendantsandsuccessorsstillare，oneofthemostexcitableoftheraces

ofmankind。Itissuperfluoustoask，whatamongtheachievementsofmen

theydidnotexcelin。TheRomans，probably，asanequallysouthernpeople，

hadthesameoriginaltemperament：butthesterncharacteroftheirnational

discipline，likethatoftheSpartans，madethemanexampleoftheopposite

typeofnationalcharacter;thegreaterstrengthoftheirnaturalfeelings

beingchieflyapparentintheintensitywhichthesameoriginaltemperament

madeitpossibletogivetotheartificial。Ifthesecasesexemplifywhat

anaturallyexcitablepeoplemaybemade，theIrishCeltsaffordoneofthe

aptestexamplesofwhattheyarewhenlefttothemselves;（ifthosecanbe

saidtobelefttothemselveswhohavebeenforcenturiesundertheindirect

influenceofbadgovernment，andthedirecttrainingofaCatholichierarchy

andofasincerebeliefintheCatholicreligion）。TheIrishcharactermust

beconsidered，therefore，asanunfavourablecase：yet，wheneverthecircumstances

oftheindividualhavebeenatallfavourable，whatpeoplehaveshowngreater

capacityforthemostvariedandmultifariousindividualeminence？Likethe

FrenchcomparedwiththeEnglish，theIrishwiththeSwiss，theGreeksor

ItalianscomparedwiththeGermanraces，sowomencomparedwithmenmaybe

found，ontheaverage，todothesamethingswithsomevarietyintheparticular

kindofexcellence。But，thattheywoulddothemfullyaswellonthewhole，

iftheireducationandcultivationwereadaptedtocorrectinginsteadof

aggravatingtheinfirmitiesincidenttotheirtemperament，Iseenotthesmallestreasontodoubt。Supposingit，however，tobetruethatwomen’smindsarebynaturemore

mobilethanthoseofmen，lesscapableofpersistinglonginthesamecontinuous

effort，morefittedfordividingtheirfacultiesamongmanythingsthanfor

travellinginanyonepathtothehighestpointwhichcanbereachedbyit：

thismaybetrueofwomenastheynoware（thoughnotwithoutgreatandnumerous

exceptions），andmayaccountfortheirhavingremainedbehindthehighest

orderofmeninpreciselythethingsinwhichthisabsorptionofthewhole

mindinonesetofideasandoccupationsmayseemtobemostrequisite。Still，

thisdifferenceisonewhichcanonlyaffectthekindofexcellence，not

theexcellenceitself，oritspracticalworth：anditremainstobeshown

whetherthisexclusiveworkingofapartofthemind，thisabsorptionof

thewholethinkingfacultyinasinglesubject，andconcentrationofiton

asinglework，isthenormalandhealthfulconditionofthehumanfaculties，

evenforspeculativeuses。Ibelievethatwhatisgainedinspecialdevelopment

bythisconcentration，islostinthecapacityofthemindfortheother

purposesoflife;andeveninabstractthought，itismydecidedopinion

thattheminddoesmorebyfrequentlyreturningtoadifficultproblem，than

bystickingtoitwithoutinterruption。Forthepurposes，atallevents，

ofpractice，fromitshighesttoitshumblestdepartments，thecapacityof

passingpromptlyfromonesubjectofconsiderationtoanother，withoutletting

theactivespringoftheintellectrundownbetweenthetwo，isapowerfar

morevaluable;andthispowerwomenpre—eminentlypossess，byvirtueofthe

verymobilityofwhichtheyareaccused。Theyperhapshaveitfromnature，

buttheycertainlyhaveitbytrainingandeducation;fornearlythewhole

oftheoccupationsofwomenconsistinthemanagementofsmallbutmultitudinous

details，oneachofwhichthemindcannotdwellevenforaminute，butmust

passontootherthings，andifanythingrequireslongerthought，muststeal

timeatoddmomentsforthinkingofit。Thecapacityindeedwhichwomenshow

fordoingtheirthinkingincircumstancesandattimeswhichalmostanyman

wouldmakeanexcusetohimselffornotattemptingit，hasoftenbeennoticed：

andawoman’smind，thoughitmaybeoccupiedonlywithsmallthings，can

hardlyeverpermititselftobevacant，asaman’ssoofteniswhennot

engagedinwhathechoosestoconsiderthebusinessofhislife。Thebusiness

ofawoman’sordinarylifeisthingsingeneral，andcanaslittleceasetogoonastheworldtogoround。But（itissaid）thereisanatomicalevidenceofthesuperiormentalcapacity

ofmencomparedwithwomen：theyhavealargerbrain。Ireply，thatinthe

firstplacethefactitselfisdoubtful。Itisbynomeansestablishedthat

thebrainofawomanissmallerthanthatofaman。Ifitisinferredmerely

becauseawoman’sbodilyframegenerallyisoflessdimensionsthanaman’s，

thiscriterionwouldleadtostrangeconsequences。Atallandlarge—boned

manmustonthisshowingbewonderfullysuperiorinintelligencetoasmall

man，andanelephantorawhalemustprodigiouslyexcelmankind。Thesize

ofthebraininhumanbeings，anatomistssay，variesmuchlessthanthesize

ofthebody，orevenofthehead，andtheonecannotbeatallinferredfrom

theother。Itiscertainthatsomewomenhaveaslargeabrainasanyman。

Itiswithinmyknowledgethatamanwhohadweighedmanyhumanbrains，said

thattheheaviestheknewof，heaviereventhanCuvier’s（theheaviestpreviously

recorded），wasthatofawoman。Next，Imustobservethatthepreciserelation

whichexistsbetweenthebrainandtheintellectualpowersisnotyetwell

understood，butisasubjectofgreatdispute。Thatthereisaveryclose

relationwecannotdoubt。Thebrainiscertainlythematerialorganofthought

andfeeling：and（makingabstractionofthegreatunsettledcontroversyrespecting

theappropriationofdifferentpartsofthebraintodifferentmentalfaculties）

Iadmitthatitwouldbeananomaly，andanexceptiontoallweknowofthe

generallawsoflifeandorganisation，ifthesizeoftheorganwerewholly

indifferenttothefunction;ifnoaccessionofpowerwerederivedfromthe

greatmagnitudeoftheinstrument。Buttheexceptionandtheanomalywould

befullyasgreatiftheorganexercisedinfluencebyitsmagnitudeonly。

Inallthemoredelicateoperationsofnature——ofwhichthoseoftheanimated

creationarethemostdelicate，andthoseofthenervoussystembyfarthe

mostdelicateofthese——differencesintheeffectdependasmuchondifferences

ofqualityinthephysicalagents，asontheirquantity：andifthequality

ofaninstrumentistobetestedbythenicetyanddelicacyoftheworkit

cando，theindicationspointtoagreateraveragefinenessofqualityin

thebrainandnervoussystemofwomenthanofmen。Dismissingabstractdifference

ofquality，athingdifficulttoverify，theefficiencyofanorganisknown

todependnotsolelyonitssizebutonitsactivity：andofthiswehave

anapproximatemeasureintheenergywithwhichthebloodcirculatesthrough

it，boththestimulusandthereparativeforcebeingmainlydependenton

thecirculation。Itwouldnotbesurprising——itisindeedanhypothesis

whichaccordswellwiththedifferencesactuallyobservedbetweenthemental

operationsofthetwosexes——ifmenontheaverageshouldhavetheadvantage

inthesizeofthebrain，andwomeninactivityofcerebralcirculation。

Theresultswhichconjecture，foundedonanalogy，wouldleadustoexpect

fromthisdifferenceoforganisation，wouldcorrespondtosomeofthosewhich

wemostcommonlysee。Inthefirstplace，thementaloperationsofmenmight

beexpectedtobeslower。Theywouldneitherbesopromptaswomeninthinking，

norsoquicktofeel。Largebodiestakemoretimetogetintofullaction。

Ontheotherhand，whenoncegotthoroughlyintoplay，men’sbrainwould

bearmorework。Itwouldbemorepersistentinthelinefirsttaken;itwould

havemoredifficultyinchangingfromonemodeofactiontoanother，but，

intheonethingitwasdoing，itcouldgoonlongerwithoutlossofpower

orsenseoffatigue。Anddowenotfindthatthethingsinwhichmenmost

excelwomenarethosewhichrequiremostploddingandlonghammeringata

singlethought，whilewomendobestwhatmustbedonerapidly？Awoman’s

brainissoonerfatigued，soonerexhausted;butgiventhedegreeofexhaustion，

weshouldexpecttofindthatitwouldrecoveritselfsooner。Irepeatthat

thisspeculationisentirelyhypothetical;itpretendstonomorethanto

suggestalineofinquiry。Ihavebeforerepudiatedthenotionofitsbeing

yetcertainlyknownthatthereisanynaturaldifferenceatallintheaverage

strengthordirectionofthementalcapacitiesofthetwosexes，muchless

whatthatdifferenceis。Norisitpossiblethatthisshouldbeknown，so

longasthepsychologicallawsoftheformationofcharacterhavebeenso

littlestudied，eveninageneralway，andintheparticularcaseneverscientifically

appliedatall;solongasthemostobviousexternalcausesofdifference

ofcharacterarehabituallydisregarded——leftunnoticedbytheobserver，

andlookeddownuponwithakindofsuperciliouscontemptbytheprevalent

schoolsbothofnaturalhistoryandofmentalphilosophy：who，whetherthey

lookforthesourceofwhatmainlydistinguisheshumanbeingsfromoneanother，

intheworldofmatterorinthatofspirit，agreeinrunningdownthose

whoprefertoexplainthesedifferencesbythedifferentrelationsofhumanbeingstosocietyandlife。Tosoridiculousanextentarethenotionsformedofthenatureofwomen，

mereempiricalgeneralisations，framed，withoutphilosophyoranalysis，upon

thefirstinstanceswhichpresentthemselves，thatthepopularideaofit

isdifferentindifferentcountries，accordingastheopinionsandsocial

circumstancesofthecountryhavegiventothewomenlivinginitanyspeciality

ofdevelopmentornon—development。Anorientalthinksthatwomenarebynature

peculiarlyvoluptuous;seetheviolentabuseofthemonthisgroundinHindoo

writings。AnEnglishmanusuallythinksthattheyarebynaturecold。The

sayingsaboutwomen’sficklenessaremostlyofFrenchorigin;fromthefamous

distichofFrancistheFirst，upwardanddownward。InEnglanditisacommon

remark，howmuchmoreconstantwomenarethanmen。Inconstancyhasbeenlonger

reckoneddiscreditabletoawoman，inEnglandthaninFrance;andEnglishwomen

arebesides，intheirinmostnature，muchmoresubduedtoopinion。Itmay

beremarkedbytheway，thatEnglishmenareinpeculiarlyunfavourablecircumstances

forattemptingtojudgewhatisorisnotnatural，notmerelytowomen，but

tomen，ortohumanbeingsaltogether，atleastiftheyhaveonlyEnglish

experiencetogoupon：becausethereisnoplacewherehumannatureshows

solittleofitsoriginallineaments。Bothinagoodandabadsense，the

Englisharefartherfromastateofnaturethananyothermodernpeople。

Theyare，morethananyotherpeople，aproductofcivilisationanddiscipline。

Englandisthecountryinwhichsocialdisciplinehasmostsucceeded，not

somuchinconquering，asinsuppressing，whateverisliabletoconflict

withit。TheEnglish，morethananyotherpeople，notonlyactbutfeelaccording

torule。Inothercountries，thetaughtopinion，ortherequirementofsociety，

maybethestrongerpower，butthepromptingsoftheindividualnatureare

alwaysvisibleunderit，andoftenresistingit：rulemaybestrongerthan

nature，butnatureisstillthere。InEngland，rulehastoagreatdegree

substituteditselffornature。Thegreaterpartoflifeiscarriedon，not

byfollowinginclinationunderthecontrolofrule，butbyhavingnoinclination

butthatoffollowingarule。Nowthishasitsgoodsidedoubtless，though

ithasalsoawretchedlybadone;butitmustrenderanEnglishmanpeculiarly

ill—qualifiedtopassajudgmentontheoriginaltendenciesofhumannature

fromhisownexperience。Theerrorstowhichobserverselsewhereareliable

onthesubject，areofadifferentcharacter。AnEnglishmanisignorantrespecting

humannature，aFrenchmanisprejudiced。AnEnglishman’serrorsarenegative，

aFrenchman’spositive。AnEnglishmanfanciesthatthingsdonotexist，because

heneverseesthem;aFrenchmanthinkstheymustalwaysandnecessarilyexist，

becausehedoesseethem。AnEnglishmandoesnotknownature，becausehe

hashadnoopportunityofobservingit;aFrenchmangenerallyknowsagreat

dealofit，butoftenmistakesit，becausehehasonlyseenitsophisticated

anddistorted。Fortheartificialstatesuperinducedbysocietydisguises

thenaturaltendenciesofthethingwhichisthesubjectofobservation，

intwodifferentways：byextinguishingthenature，orbytransformingit。

Intheonecasethereisbutastarvedresiduumofnatureremainingtobe

studied;intheothercasethereismuch，butitmayhaveexpandedinanydirectionratherthanthatinwhichitwouldspontaneouslygrow。Ihavesaidthatitcannotnowbeknownhowmuchoftheexistingmental

differencesbetweenmenandwomenisnaturalandhowmuchartificial;whether

thereareanynaturaldifferencesatall;or，supposingallartificialcauses

ofdifferencetobewithdrawn，whatnaturalcharacterwouldberevealedI

amnotabouttoattemptwhatIhavepronouncedimpossible：butdoubtdoes

notforbidconjecture，andwherecertaintyisunattainable，theremayyet

bethemeansofarrivingatsomedegreeofprobability。Thefirstpoint，

theoriginofthedifferencesactuallyobserved，istheonemostaccessible

tospeculation;andIshallattempttoapproachit，bytheonlypathbywhich

itcanbereached;bytracingthementalconsequencesofexternalinfluences。

Wecannotisolateahumanbeingfromthecircumstancesofhiscondition，

soastoascertainexperimentallywhathewouldhavebeenbynature;but

wecanconsiderwhatheis，andwhathiscircumstanceshavebeen，andwhethertheonewouldhavebeencapableofproducingtheother。Letustake，then，theonlymarkedcasewhichobservationaffords，of

apparentinferiorityofwomentomen，ifweexceptthemerelyphysicalone

ofbodilystrength。Noproductioninphilosophy，science，orart，entitled

tothefirstrank，hasbeentheworkofawoman。Isthereanymodeofaccounting

forthis，withoutsupposingthatwomenarenaturallyincapableofproducingthem？Inthefirstplace，wemayfairlyquestionwhetherexperiencehasafforded

sufficientgroundsforaninduction。Itisscarcelythreegenerationssince

women，savingveryrareexceptionshavebeguntotrytheircapacityinphilosophy，

science，orart。Itisonlyinthepresentgenerationthattheirattempts

havebeenatallnumerous;andtheyareevennowextremelyfew，everywhere

butinEnglandandFrance。Itisarelevantquestion，whetheramindpossessing

therequisitesoffirstrateeminenceinspeculationorcreativeartcould

havebeenexpected，onthemerecalculationofchances，toturnupduring

thatlapseoftime，amongthewomenwhosetastesandpersonalpositionadmitted

oftheirdevotingthemselvestothesepursuitsInallthingswhichthere

hasyetbeentimefor——inallbuttheveryhighestgradesinthescale

ofexcellence，especiallyinthedepartmentinwhichtheyhavebeenlongest

engaged，literature（bothproseandpoetry）——womenhavedonequiteasmuch，

haveobtainedfullyashighprizesandasmanyofthem，ascouldbeexpected

fromthelengthoftimeandthenumberofcompetitors。Ifwegobacktothe

earlierperiodwhenveryfewwomenmadetheattempt，yetsomeofthosefew

madeitwithdistinguishedsuccess。TheGreeksalwaysaccountedSapphoamong

theirgreatpoets;andwemaywellsupposethatMyrtis，saidtohavebeen

theteacherofPindar，andCorinna，whofivetimesboreawayfromhimthe

prizeofpoetry，mustatleasthavehadsufficientmerittoadmitofbeing

comparedwiththatgreatname。Aspasiadidnotleaveanyphilosophicalwritings;

butitisanadmittedfactthatSocratesresortedtoherforinstruction，andavowedhimselftohaveobtainedit。Ifweconsidertheworksofwomeninmoderntimes，andcontrastthemwith

thoseofmen，eitherintheliteraryortheartisticdepartment，suchinferiority

asmaybeobservedresolvesitselfessentiallyintoonething：butthatis

amostmaterialone;deficiencyoforiginality。Nottotaldeficiency;for

everyproductionofmindwhichisofanysubstantivevalue，hasanoriginality

ofitsown——isaconceptionoftheminditself，notacopyofsomething

else。Thoughtsoriginal，inthesenseofbeingunborrowed——ofbeingderived

fromthethinker’sownobservationsorintellectualprocesses——areabundant

inthewritingsofwomen。Buttheyhavenotyetproducedanyofthosegreat

andluminousnewideaswhichformanerainthought，northosefundamentally

newconceptionsinart，whichopenavistaofpossibleeffectsnotbefore

thoughtof，andfoundanewschool。Theircompositionsaremostlygrounded

ontheexistingfundofthought，andtheircreationsdo—notdeviatewidely

fromexistingtypes。Thisisthesortofinferioritywhichtheirworksmanifest：

forinpointofexecution，inthedetailedapplicationofthought，andthe

perfectionofstyle，thereisnoinferiority。Ourbestnovelistsinpoint

ofcomposition，andofthemanagementofdetail，havemostlybeenwomen;

andthereisnotinallmodernliteratureamoreeloquentvehicleofthought

thanthestyleofMadamedeStael，nor，asaspecimenofpurelyartistic

excellence，anythingsuperiortotheproseofMadameSand，whosestyleacts

uponthenervoussystemlikeasymphonyofHaydnorMozart。Highoriginality

ofconceptionis，asIhavesaid，whatischieflywanting。Andnowtoexamineifthereisanymannerinwhichthisdeficiencycanbeaccountedfor。Letusremember，then，sofarasregardsmerethought，thatduringall

thatperiodintheworld’sexistence，andintheprogressofcultivation，

inwhichgreatandfruitfulnewtruthsIcouldbearrivedatbymereforce

ofgenius，withlittlepreciousstudyandaccumulationofknowledge——during

allthattimewomendidnotconcernthemselveswithspeculationatall。From

thedaysofHypatiatothoseoftheReformation，theillustriousHeloisa

isalmosttheonlywomantowhomanysuchachievementmighthavebeenpossible;

andweknownothowgreatacapacityofspeculationinhermayhavebeen

losttomankindbythemisfortunesofherlife。Neversinceanyconsiderable

numberofwomenhavebegantocultivateseriousthought，hasoriginality

beenpossibleoneasyterms。Nearlyallthethoughtswhichcanbereached

bymerestrengthoforiginalfaculties，havelongsincebeenarrivedat;

andoriginality，inanyhighsenseoftheword，isnowscarcelyeverattained

butbymindswhichhaveundergoneelaboratediscipline，andaredeeplyversed

intheresultsofpreviousthinking。ItisMr。Maurice，Ithink，whohas

remarkedonthepresentage，thatitsmostoriginalthinkersarethosewho

haveknownmostthoroughlywhathadbeenthoughtbytheir;predecessors：

andthiswillalwayshenceforthbethecase。Everyfreshstoneintheedifice

hasnowtobeplacedonthetopofsomanyothers，thatalongprocessof

climbing，andofcarryingupmaterials，hastobegonethroughbywhoever

aspirestotakeashareinthepresentstageofthework。Howmanywomen

aretherewhohavegonethroughanysuchprocess？Mrs。Somerville，alone

perhapsofwomen，knowsasmuchofmathematicsasisnowneedfulformaking

anyconsiderablemathematicaldiscovery：isitanyproofofinferiorityin

women，thatshehasnothappenedtobeoneofthetwoorthreepersonswho

inherlifetimehaveassociatedtheirnameswithsomestrikingadvancement

ofthescience？Twowomen，sincepoliticaleconomyhasbeenmadeascience，

haveknownenoughofittowriteusefullyonthesubject：ofhowmanyof

theinnumerablemenwhohavewrittenonitduringthesametime，isitpossible

withtruthtosaymore？Ifnowomanhashithertobeenagreathistorian，

whatwomanhashadthenecessaryerudition？Ifnowomanisagreatphilologist，

whatwomanhasstudiedSanscritandSlavonic，theGothicofUlphilaandthe

PersicoftheZendavesta？Eveninpracticalmattersweallknowwhatisthe

valueoftheoriginalityofuntaughtgeniuses。Itmeans，inventingoveragain

initsrudimentaryformsomethingalreadyinventedandimproveduponbymany

successiveinventors。Whenwomenhavehadthepreparationwhichallmennow

requiretobeeminentlyoriginal，itwillbetimeenoughtobeginjudgingbyexperienceoftheircapacityfororiginality。Itnodoubtoftenhappensthataperson，whohasnotwidelyandaccurately

studiedthethoughtsofothersonasubject，hasbynaturalsagacityahappy

intuition，whichhecansuggest，butcannotprove，whichyetwhenmatured

maybeanimportantadditiontoknowledge：buteventhen，nojusticecan

bedonetoituntilsomeotherperson，whodoespossessthepreviousacquirements，

takesitinhand，testsit，givesitascientificorpracticalform，and

fitsitintoitsplaceamongtheexistingtruthsofphilosophyorscience。

Isitsupposedthatsuchfelicitousthoughtsdonotoccurtowomen？They

occurbyhundredstoeverywomanofintellect。Buttheyaremostlylost，

forwantofahusbandorfriendwhohastheotherknowledgewhichcanenable

himtoestimatethemproperlyandbringthembeforetheworld：andevenwhen

theyarebroughtbeforeit，theygenerallyappearashisideas，nottheir

realauthor’s。Whocantellhowmanyofthemostoriginalthoughtsputforth

bymalewriters，belongtoawomanbysuggestion，tothemselvesonlybyverifyingandworkingout？IfImayjudgebymyowncase，averylargeproportionindeed。Ifweturnfrompurespeculationtoliteratureinthenarrowsenseof

theterm，andthefinearts，thereisaveryobviousreasonwhywomen’sliterature

is，initsgeneralconceptionandinitsmainfeatures，animitationofmen’s。

WhyistheRomanliterature，ascriticsproclaimtosatiety，notoriginal，

butanimitationoftheGreek？SimplybecausetheGreekscamefirst。Ifwomen

livedinadifferentcountryfrommen，andhadneverreadanyoftheirwritings，

theywouldhavehadaliteratureoftheirown。Asitis，theyhavenotcreated

one，becausetheyfoundahighlyadvancedliteraturealreadycreated。If

therehadbeennosuspensionoftheknowledgeofantiquity，oriftheRenaissance

hadoccurredbeforetheGothiccathedralswerebuilt，theyneverwouldhave

beenbuilt。Weseethat，inFranceandItaly，imitationoftheancientliterature

stoppedtheoriginaldevelopmentevenafterithadcommenced。Allwomenwho

writearepupilsofthegreatmalewriters。Apainter’searlypictures，even

ifhebeaRaffaello，areundistinguishableinstylefromthoseofhismaster。

EvenaMozartdoesnotdisplayhispowerfuloriginalityinhisearliestpieces。

Whatyearsaretoagiftedindividual，generationsaretoamass。Ifwomen’s

literatureisdestinedtohaveadifferentcollectivecharacterfromthat

ofmen，dependingonanydifferenceofnaturaltendencies，muchlongertime

isnecessarythanhasyetelapsed，beforeitcanemancipateitselffromthe

influenceofacceptedmodels，andguideitselfbyitsownimpulses。Butif，

asIbelieve，therewillnotprovetobeanynaturaltendenciescommonto

women，anddistinguishingtheirgeniusfromthatofmen，yeteveryindividual

writeramongthemhasherindividualtendencies，whichatpresentarestill

subduedbytheinfluenceofprecedentandexample：anditwillrequiregenerations

more，beforetheirindividualityissufficientlydevelopedtomakeheadagainstthatinfluence。###第5章Itisinthefinearts，properlysocalled，thattheprimafacieevidence

ofinferiororiginalpowersinwomenatfirstsightappearsthestrongest：

sinceopinion（itmaybesaid）doesnotexcludethemfromthese，butrather

encouragesthem，andtheireducation，insteadofpassingoverthisdepartment，

isintheaffluentclassesmainlycomposedofit。Yetinthislineofexertion

theyhavefallenstillmoreshortthaninmanyothers，ofthehighesteminence

attainedbymen。Thisshortcoming，however，needsnootherexplanationthan

thefamiliarfact，moreuniversallytrueinthefineartsthaninanything

else;thevastsuperiorityofprofessionalpersonsoveramateurs。Womenin

theeducatedclassesarealmostuniversallytaughtmoreorlessofsomebranch

orotherofthefinearts，butnotthattheymaygaintheirlivingortheir

socialconsequencebyit。Womenartistsareallamateurs。Theexceptions

areonlyofthekindwhichconfirmthegeneraltruth。Womenaretaughtmusic，

Ibutnotforthepurposeofcomposing，onlyofexecutingit：andaccordingly

itisonlyascomposers，thatmen，inmusic，aresuperiortowomen。Theonly

oneofthefineartswhichwomendofollow，toanyextent，asaprofession，

andanoccupationforlife，isthehistrionic;andinthattheyareconfessedly

equal，ifnotsuperior，tomen。Tomakethecomparisonfair，itshouldbe

madebetweentheproductionsofwomeninanybranchofart，andthoseof

mennotfollowingitasaprofession。Inmusicalcomposition，forexample，

womensurelyhaveproducedfullyasgoodthingsashaveeverbeenproduced

bymaleamateurs。Therearenowafewwomen，averyfew，whopractisepainting

asaprofession，andthesearealreadybeginningtoshowquiteasmuchtalent

ascouldbeexpected。Evenmalepainters（paceMr。Ruskin）havenotmade

anyveryremarkablefiguretheselastcenturies，anditwillbelongbefore

theydoso。Thereasonwhytheoldpaintersweresogreatlysuperiortothe

modern，isthatagreatlysuperiorclassofmenappliedthemselvestothe

art。InthefourteenthandfifteenthcenturiestheItalianpainterswere

themostaccomplishedmenoftheirage。Thegreatestofthemweremenof

encyclopaedicalacquirementsandpowers，likethegreatmenofGreece。But

intheirtimesfineartwas，tomen’sfeelingsandconceptions，amongthe

grandestthingsinwhichahumanbeingcouldexcel;andbyitmenweremade，—

whatonlypoliticalormilitarydistinctionnowmakesthem，thecompanions

ofsovereigns，andtheequalsofthehighestnobility。Inthepresentage，

menofanythinglikesimilarcalibrefindsomethingmore—importanttodo，

fortheirownfameandtheusesofthemodernworld，thanpainting：andit

isonlynowandthenthataReynoldsoraTurner（ofwhoserelativerank

amongeminentmenIdonotpretendtoanopinion）applieshimselftothat

art。Musicbelongstoadifferentorderofthings：itdoesnotrequirethe

samegeneralpowersofmind，butseemsmoredependentonanaturalgift：

anditmaybethoughtsurprisingthatnooneofthegreatmusicalcomposers

hasbeenawoman。Buteventhisnaturalgift，tobemadeavailableforgreat

creations，requiresstudy，andprofessionaldevotiontothepursuit。The

onlycountrieswhichhaveproducedfirst—ratecomposers，evenofthemale

sex，areGermanyandItaly——countriesinwhich，bothinpointofspecial

andofgeneralcultivation，womenhaveremainedfarbehindFranceandEngland，

beinggenerally（itmaybesaidwithoutexaggeration）verylittleeducated，

andhavingscarcelycultivatedatallanyofthehigherfacultiesofmind。

Andinthosecountriesthemenwhoareacquaintedwiththeprinciplesof

musicalcompositionmustbecountedbyhundreds，ormoreprobablybythousands，

thewomenbarelybyscores：sothathereagain，onthedoctrineofaverages，

wecannotreasonablyexpecttoseemorethanoneeminentwomantofiftyeminent

men;andthelastthreecenturieshavenotproducedfiftyeminentmalecomposerseitherinGermanyorinItaly。Thereareotherreasons，besidesthosewhichwehavenowgiven，thathelp

toexplainwhywomenremainbehindmen，eveninthepursuitswhichareopen

toboth。Foronething，veryfewwomenhavetimeforthem。Thismayseem

aparadox;itisanundoubtedsocialfact。Thetimeandthoughtsofevery

womanhavetosatisfygreatpreviousdemandsonthemforthingspractical。

Thereis，first，thesuperintendenceofthefamilyandthedomesticexpenditure，

whichoccupiesatleastonewomanineveryfamily，generallytheoneofmature

yearsandacquiredexperience;unlessthefamilyissorichastoadmitof

delegatingthattasktohiredagency，andsubmittingtoallthewasteand

malversationinseparablefromthatmodeofconductingit。Thesuperintendence

ofahousehold，evenwhennotinotherrespectslaborious，isextremelyonerous

tothethoughts;itrequiresincessantvigilance，aneyewhichnodetail

escapes，andpresentsquestionsforconsiderationandsolution，foreseen

andunforeseen，ateveryhouroftheday，fromwhichthepersonresponsible

forthemcanhardlyevershakeherselffree。Ifawomanisofarankand

circumstanceswhichrelieveherinameasurefromthesecares，shehasstill

devolvingonherthemanagementforthewholefamilyofitsintercoursewith

others——ofwhatiscalledsociety，andthelessthecallmadeonherby

theformerduty，thegreaterisalwaysthedevelopmentofthelatter：the

dinnerparties，concerts，eveningparties，morningvisits，letter—writing，

andallthatgoeswiththem。Allthisisoverandabovetheengrossingduty

whichsocietyimposesexclusivelyonwomen，ofmakingthemselvescharming。

Acleverwomanofthehigherranksfindsnearlyasufficientemploymentof

hertalentsincultivatingthegracesofmannerandtheartsofconversation。

Tolookonlyattheoutwardsideofthesubject：thegreatandcontinual

exerciseofthoughtwhichallwomenwhoattachanyvaluetodressingwell

（Idonotmeanexpensively，butwithtaste，andperceptionofnaturaland

ofartificialconvenance）mustbestowupontheirowndress，perhapsalso

uponthatoftheirdaughters，wouldalonegoagreatwaytowardsachieving

respectableresultsinart，orscience，orliterature，anddoesactually

exhaustmuchofthetimeandmentalpowertheymighthavetospareforeither。（2*）

Ifitwerepossiblethatallthisnumberoflittlepracticalinterests（which

aremadegreattothem）shouldleavethemeithermuchleisure，ormuchenergy

andfreedomofmind，tobedevotedtoartorspeculation，theymusthave

amuchgreateroriginalsupplyofactivefacultythanthevastmajorityof

men。Butthisisnotall。Independentlyoftheregularofficesoflifewhich

devolveuponawoman，sheisexpectedtohavehertimeandfacultiesalways

atthedisposalofeverybody。Ifamanhasnotaprofessiontoexempthim

fromsuchdemands，still，ifhehasapursuit，heoffendsnobodybydevoting

histimetoit;occupationisreceivedasavalidexcuseforhisnotanswering

toeverycasualdemandwhichmaybemadeonhim。Areawoman’soccupations，

especiallyherchosenandvoluntaryones，everregardedasexcusingherfrom

anyofwhataretermedthecallsofsociety？Scarcelyarehermostnecessary

andrecogniseddutiesallowedasanexemption。Itrequiresanillnessin

thefamily，orsomethingelseoutofthecommonway，toentitlehertogive

herownbusinesstheprecedenceoverotherpeople’samusement。Shemustalways

beatthebeckandcallofsomebody，generallyofeverybody。Ifshehasa

studyorapursuit，shemustsnatchanyshortintervalwhichaccidentally

occurstobeemployedinit。Acelebratedwoman，inaworkwhichIhopewill

somedaybepublished，remarkstrulythateverythingawomandoesisdone

atoddtimes。Isitwonderful，then，ifshedoesnotattainthehighesteminence

inthingswhichrequireconsecutiveattention，andtheconcentrationonthem

ofthechiefinterestoflife？Suchisphilosophy，andsuch，aboveall，is

art，inwhich，besidesthedevotionofthethoughtsandfeelings，thehandalsomustbekeptinconstantexercisestoattainhighskill。Thereisanotherconsiderationtobeaddedtoallthese。Inthevarious

artsandintellectualoccupations，thereisadegreeofproficiencysufficient

forlivingbyit，andthereisahigherdegreeonwhichdependthegreat

productionswhichimmortaliseaname。Totheattainmentoftheformer，there

areadequatemotivesinthecaseofallwhofollowthepursuitprofessionally：

theotherishardlyeverattainedwherethereisnot，orwheretherehas

notbeenatsomeperiodoflife，anardentdesireofcelebrity。Nothingless

iscommonlyasufficientstimulustoundergothelongandpatientdrudgery，

which，inthecaseevenofthegreatestnaturalgifts，isabsolutelyrequired

forgreateminenceinpursuitsinwhichwealreadypossesssomanysplendid

memorialsofthehighestgenius。Now，whetherthecausebenaturalorartificial，

womenseldomhavethiseagernessforfame。Theirambitionisgenerallyconfined

withinnarrowerbounds。Theinfluencetheyseekisoverthosewhoimmediately

surroundthem。Theirdesireistobeliked，loved，oradmired，bythosewhom

theyseewiththeireyes：andtheproficiencyinknowledge，arts，andaccomplishments，

whichissufficientforthat，almostalwayscontentsthem。Thisisatrait

ofcharacterwhichcannotbeleftoutoftheaccountinjudgingofwomen

astheyare。Idonotatallbelievethatitisinherentinwomen。Itis

onlythenaturalresultoftheircircumstances。Theloveoffameinmenis

encouragedbyeducationandopinion：to\"scorndelightsandlivelaborious

days\"foritssake，isaccountedthepartof\"nobleminds，\"

evenifspokenofastheir\"lastinfirmity，\"andisstimulated

bytheaccesswhichfamegivestoallobjectsofambition，includingeven

thefavourofwomen;whiletowomenthemselvesalltheseobjectsareclosed，

andthedesireoffameitselfconsidereddaringandunfeminine。Besides，

howcoulditbethatawoman’sinterestsshouldnotbeallconcentratedupon

theimpressionsmadeonthosewhocomeintoherdailylife，whensociety

hasordainedthatallherdutiesshouldbetothem，andhascontrivedthat

allhercomfortsshoulddependonthem？Thenaturaldesireofconsideration

fromourfellow—creaturesisasstronginawomanasinaman;butsociety

hassoorderedthingsthatpublicconsiderationis，inallordinarycases，

onlyattainablebyherthroughtheconsiderationofherhusbandorofher

malerelations，whileherprivateconsiderationisforfeitedbymakingherself

individuallyprominent，orappearinginanyothercharacterthanthatof

anappendagetomen。Whoeverisintheleastcapableofestimatingtheinfluence

onthemindoftheentiredomesticandsocialpositionandthewholehabit

ofalife，musteasilyrecogniseinthatinfluenceacompleteexplanation

ofnearlyalltheapparentdifferencesbetweenwomenandmen，includingthewholeofthosewhichimplyanyinferiority。Asformoraldifferences，consideredasdistinguishedfromintellectual，

thedistinctioncommonlydrawnistotheadvantageofwomen。Theyaredeclared

tobebetterthanmen;anemptycompliment，whichmustprovokeabittersmile

fromeverywomanofspirit，sincethereisnoothersituationinlifein

whichitistheestablishedorder，andconsideredquitenaturalandsuitable，

thatthebettershouldobeytheworse。Ifthispieceofidletalkisgood

foranything，itisonlyasanadmissionbymen，ofthecorruptinginfluence

ofpower;forthatiscertainlytheonlytruthwhichthefact，ifitbea

fact，eitherprovesorillustrates。Anditistruethatservitude，except

whenitactuallybrutalises，thoughcorruptingtoboth，islesssotothe

slavesthantotheslave—masters。Itiswholesomerforthemoralnatureto

berestrained，evenbyarbitrarypower，thantobeallowedtoexercisearbitrary

powerwithoutrestraint。Women，itissaid，seldomerfallunderthepenal

law——contributeamuchsmallernumberofoffenderstothecriminalcalendar，

thanmen。Idoubtnotthatthesamethingmaybesaid，withthesametruth，

ofnegroslaves。Thosewhoareunderthecontrolofotherscannotoftencommit

crimes，unlessatthecommandandforthepurposesoftheirmasters。Ido

notknowamoresignalinstanceoftheblindnesswithwhichtheworld，including

theherdofstudiousmen，ignoreandpassoveralltheinfluencesofsocial

circumstances，thantheirsillydepreciationoftheintellectual，andsillypanegyricsonthemoral，natureofwomen。Thecomplimentarydictumaboutwomen’ssuperiormoralgoodnessmaybe

allowedtopairoffwiththedisparagingonerespectingtheirgreaterliability

tomoralbias。Women，wearetold，arenotcapableofresistingtheirpersonal

partialities：theirjudgmentingraveaffairsiswarpedbytheirsympathies

andantipathies。Assumingittobeso，itisstilltobeprovedthatwomen

areoftenermisledbytheirpersonalfeelingsthanmenbytheirpersonal

interests。Thechiefdifferencewouldseeminthatcasetobe，thatmenare

ledfromthecourseofdutyandthepublicinterestbytheirregardforthemselves，

women（notbeingallowedtohaveprivateinterestsoftheirown）bytheir

regardforsomebodyelse。Itisalsotobeconsidered，thatalltheeducation

whichwomenreceivefromsocietyinculcatesonthemthefeelingthatthe

individualsconnectedwiththemaretheonlyonestowhomtheyoweanyduty

——theonlyoneswhoseinteresttheyarecalledupontocarefor;while，

asfaraseducationisconcerned，theyareleftstrangerseventotheelementary

ideaswhicharepresupposedinanyintelligentregardforlargerinterests

orhighermoralobjects。Thecomplaintagainstthemresolvesitselfmerely

intothis，thattheyfulfilonlytoofaithfullythesoledutywhichtheyaretaught，andalmosttheonlyonewhichtheyarepermittedtopractise。Theconcessionsoftheprivilegedtotheunprivilegedaresoseldombrought

aboutbyanybettermotivethanthepoweroftheunprivilegedtoextortthem，

thatanyargumentsagainsttheprerogativeofsexarelikelytobelittle

attendedtobythegenerality，aslongastheyareabletosaytothemselves

thatwomendonotcomplainofit。Thatfactcertainlyenablesmentoretain

theunjustprivilegesometimelonger;butdoesnotrenderitlessunjust。

Exactlythesamethingmaybesaidofthewomenintheharemofanoriental：

theydonotcomplainofnotbeingallowedthefreedomofEuropeanwomen。

Theythinkourwomeninsufferablyboldandunfeminine。Howrarelyitisthat

evenmencomplainofthegeneralorderofsociety;andhowmuchrarerstill

wouldsuchcomplaintbe，iftheydidnotknowofanydifferentorderexisting

anywhereelse。Womendonotcomplainofthegenerallotofwomen;orrather

theydo，forplaintiveelegiesonitareverycommoninthewritingsofwomen，

andwerestillmoresoaslongasthelamentationscouldnotbesuspected

ofhavinganypracticalobject。Theircomplaintsarelikethecomplaints

whichmenmakeofthegeneralunsatisfactorinessofhumanlife;theyare

notmeanttoimplyblame，ortopleadforanychange。Butthoughwomendo

notcomplainofthepowerofhusbands，eachcomplainsofherownhusband，

orofthehusbandsofherfriends。Itisthesameinallothercasesofservitude，

atleastinthecommencementoftheemancipatorymovement。Theserfsdid

notatfirstcomplainofthepoweroftheirlords，butonlyoftheirtyranny。

Thecommonsbeganbyclaimingafewmunicipalprivileges;theynextasked

anexemptionforthemselvesfrombeingtaxedwithouttheirownconsent;but

theywouldatthattimehavethoughtitagreatpresumptiontoclaimany

shareintheking’ssovereignauthority。Thecaseofwomenisnowtheonly

caseinwhichtorebelagainstestablishedrulesisstilllookeduponwith

thesameeyesaswasformerlyasubject’sclaimtotheIrightofrebelling

againsthisking。Awomanwhojoinsinanymovementwhichherhusbanddisapproves，

makesherselfamartyr，withoutevenbeingabletobeanapostle，forthe

husbandcanlegallyputastoptoherapostleship。Womencannotbeexpected

todevotethemselvestotheemancipationofwomen，untilmeninconsiderable

numberarepreparedtojoinwiththemintheundertaking。

NOTES：1。EspeciallyisthistrueifwetakeintoconsiderationAsiaaswell

asEurope。IfaHindooprincipalityisstrongly，vigilantly，andeconomically

governed;iforderispreservedwithoutoppression;ifcultivationisextending，

andthepeopleprosperous，inthreecasesoutoffourthatprincipalityis

underawoman’srule。Thisfact，tomeanentirelyunexpectedone，Ihave

collectedfromalongknowledgeofHindoogovernments。Therearemanysuch

instances：forthough，byHindooinstitutions，awomancannotreign，she

isthelegalregentofakingdomduringtheminorityoftheheir;andminorities

arefrequent，thelivesofthemalerulersbeingsooftenprematurelyterminated

throughtheeffectofinactivityandsensualexcesses。Whenweconsiderthat

theseprincesseshaveneverbeenseeninpublic，haveneverconversedwith

anymannotoftheirownfamilyexceptfrombehindacurtain，thattheydo

notread，andiftheydidthereisnobookintheirlanguageswhichcangive

themthesmallestinstructiononpoliticalaffairs;theexampletheyaffordofthenaturalcapacityofwomenforgovernmentisverystriking。2。\"Itappearstobethesamerightturnofmindwhichenablesa

mantoacquirethetruth，orjustideaofwhatisright，intheornaments，

asinthemorestableprinciplesofart。Ithasstillthesamecentreof

perfection，thoughitisthecentreofasmallercircle。——Toillustrate

thisbyfashionofdress，inwhichthereisallowedtobeagoodorbadtaste。

Thecomponentpartsofdressarecontinuallychangingfromgreattolittle，

fromshorttolong;butthegeneralformstillremains;itisstillthesame

generaldresswhichiscomparativelyfixed，thoughonaveryslenderfoundation;

butitisonthiswhichfashionmustrest。Hewhoinventswiththemostsuccess，

ordressesinthebesttaste，wouldprobably，fromthesamesagacityemployed

togreaterpurposes，havediscoveredequalskill，orhaveformedthesame

correcttaste，inthehighestlaboursofart。\"——SirJoshuaReynold’s

Discourses，Disc。vii。

CHAPTER4Thereremainsaquestion，notoflessimportancethanthosealreadydiscussed，

andwhichwillbeaskedthemostimportunatelybythoseopponentswhoseconviction

issomewhatshakenonthemainpoint。Whatgoodarewetoexpectfromthe

changesproposedinourcustomsandinstitutions？Wouldmankindbeatall

betteroffifwomenwerefree？Ifnot，whydisturbtheirminds，andattempttomakeasocialrevolutioninthenameofanabstractright？Itishardlytobeexpectedthatthisquestionwillbeaskedinrespect

tothechangeproposedintheconditionofwomeninmarriage。Thesufferings，

immoralities，evilsofallsorts，producedininnumerablecasesbythesubjection

ofindividualwomentoindividualmen，arefartooterribletobeoverlooked。

Unthinkingoruncandidpersons，countingthosecasesalonewhichareextreme，

orwhichattainpublicity，maysaythattheevilsareexceptional;butno

onecanbeblindtotheirexistence，nor，inmanycases，totheirintensity。

Anditisperfectlyobviousthattheabuseofthepowercannotbeverymuch

checkedwhilethepowerremains。Itisapowergiven，oroffered，notto

goodmen，ortodecentlyrespectablemen，buttoallmen;themostbrutal，

andthemostcriminal。Thereisnocheckbutthatofopinion，andsuchmen

areingeneralwithinthereachofnoopinionbutthatofmenlikethemselves。

Ifsuchmendidnotbrutallytyranniseovertheonehumanbeingwhomthe

lawcompelstobeareverythingfromthem，societymustalreadyhavereached

aparadisiacalstate。Therecouldbenoneedanylongeroflawstocurbmen’s

viciouspropensities。Astraeamustnotonlyhavereturnedtoearth，butthe

heartoftheworstmanmusthavebecomehertemple。Thelawofservitude

inmarriageisamonstrouscontradictiontoalltheprinciplesofthemodern

world，andtoalltheexperiencethroughwhichthoseprincipleshavebeen

slowlyandpainfullyworkedout。Itisthesolecase，nowthatnegroslavery

hasbeenabolished，inwhichahumanbeingintheplenitudeofeveryfaculty

isdelivereduptothetendermerciesofanotherhumanbeing，inthehope

forsooththatthisotherwillusethepowersolelyforthegoodoftheperson

subjectedtoit。Marriageistheonlyactualbondageknowntoourlaw。Thereremainnolegalslaves，exceptthemistressofeveryhouse。Itisnot，therefore，onthispartofthesubject，thatthequestionis

likelytobeasked，Cuibono。Wemaybetoldthattheevilwouldoutweigh

thegood，buttherealityofthegoodadmitsofnodispute。Inregard，however，

tothelargerquestion，theremovalofwomen’sdisabilities——theirrecognition

astheequalsofmeninallthatbelongstocitizenship——theopeningto

themofallhonourableemployments，andofthetrainingandeducationwhich

qualifiesforthoseemployments——therearemanypersonsforwhomitis

notenoughthattheinequalityhasnojustorlegitimatedefence;theyrequiretobetoldwhatexpressadvantagewouldbeobtainedbyabolishingit。Towhichletmefirstanswer，theadvantageofhavingthemostuniversal

andpervadingofallhumanrelationsregulatedbyjusticeinsteadofinjustice。

Thevastamountofthisgaintohumannature，itishardlypossible，byany

explanationorillustration，toplaceinastrongerlightthanitisplaced

bythebarestatement，toanyonewhoattachesamoralmeaningtowords。All

theselfishpropensities，theself—worship，theunjustself—preference，which

existamongmankind，havetheirsourceandrootin，andderivetheirprincipal

nourishmentfrom，thepresentconstitutionoftherelationbetweenmenand

women。Thinkwhatitistoaboy，togrowuptomanhoodinthebeliefthat

withoutanymeritoranyexertionofhisown，thoughhemaybethemostfrivolous

andemptyorthemostignorantandstolidofmankind，bythemerefactof

beingbornamaleheisbyrightthesuperiorofallandeveryoneofan

entirehalfofthehumanrace：includingprobablysomewhoserealsuperiority

tohimselfhehasdailyorhourlyoccasiontofeel;butevenifinhiswhole

conducthehabituallyfollowsawoman’sguidance，still，ifheisafool，

shethinksthatofcoursesheisnot，andcannotbe，equalinabilityand

judgmenttohimself;andifheisnotafool，hedoesworse——heseesthat

sheissuperiortohim，andbelievesthat，notwithstandinghersuperiority，

heisentitledtocommandandsheisboundtoobey。Whatmustbetheeffect

onhischaracter，ofthislesson？Andmenofthecultivatedclassesareoften

notawarehowdeeplyitsinksintotheimmensemajorityofmaleminds。For，

amongright—feelingandwellbredpeople，theinequalityiskeptasmuchas

possibleoutofsight;aboveall，outofsightofthechildren。Asmuchobedience

isrequiredfromboystotheirmotherastotheirfather：theyarenotpermitted

todomineerovertheirsisters，noraretheyaccustomedtoseethesepostponed

tothem，butthecontrary;thecompensationsofthechivalrousfeelingbeing

madeprominent，whiletheservitudewhichrequiresthemiskeptinthebackground。

Wellbrought—upyouthsinthehigherclassesthusoftenescapethebadinfluences

ofthesituationintheirearlyyears，andonlyexperiencethemwhen，arrived

atmanhood，theyfallunderthedominionoffactsastheyreallyexist。Such

peoplearelittleaware，whenaboyisdifferentlybroughtup，howearly

thenotionofhisinherentsuperioritytoagirlarisesinhismind;how

itgrowswithhisgrowthandstrengthenswithhisstrength;howitisinoculated

byoneschoolboyuponanother;howearlytheyouththinkshimselfsuperior

tohismother，owingherperhapsforbearance，butno—realrespect;anahow

sublimeandsultan—likeasenseofsuperiorityhefeels，aboveall，over

thewomanwhomhehonoursbyadmittinghertoapartnershipofhislife。

Isitimaginedthatallthisdoesnotpervertthewholemannerofexistence

oftheman，bothasanindividualandasasocialbeing？Itisanexactparallel

tothefeelingofahereditarykingthatheisexcellentaboveothersby

beingbornaking，oranoblebybeingbornanoble。Therelationbetween

husbandandwifeisverylikethatbetweenlordandvassal，exceptthatthe

wifeisheldtomoreunlimitedobediencethanthevassalwas。Howeverthe

vassal’scharactermayhavebeenaffected，forbetterandforworse，byhis

subordination，whocanhelpseeingthatthelord’swasaffectedgreatlyfor

theworse？whetherhewasledtobelievethathisvassalswerereallysuperior

tohimself，ortofeelthathewasplacedincommandoverpeopleasgood

ashimself，fornomeritsorlaboursofhisown，butmerelyforhaving，as

Figarosays，takenthetroubletobeborn。Theself—worshipofthemonarch，

orofthefeudalsuperior，ismatchedbytheself—worshipofthemale。Human

beingsdonotgrowupfromchildhoodinthepossessionofunearneddistinctions，

withoutplumingthemselvesuponthem。Thosewhomprivilegesnotacquired

bytheirmerit，andwhichtheyfeeltobedisproportionedtoit，inspire

withadditionalhumility，arealwaysthefew，andthebestfew。Therest

areonlyinspiredwithpride，andtheworstsortofpride，thatwhichvalues

itselfuponaccidentaladvantages，notofitsownachieving。Aboveall，when

thefeelingofbeingraisedabovethewholeoftheothersexiscombined

withpersonalauthorityoveroneindividualamongthem;thesituation，if

aschoolofconscientiousandaffectionateforbearancetothosewhosestrongest

pointsofcharacterareconscienceandaffection，istomenofanotherquality

aregularlyconstitutedacademyorgymnasiumfortrainingtheminarrogance

andoverbearingness;whichvices，ifcurbedbythecertaintyofresistance

intheirintercoursewithothermen，theirequals，breakouttowardsall

whoareinapositiontobeobligedtotoleratethem，andoftenrevengethemselves

upontheunfortunatewifefortheinvoluntaryrestraintwhichtheyareobligedtosubmittoelsewhere。Theexampleafforded，andtheeducationgiventothesentiments，bylaying

thefoundationofdomesticexistenceuponarelationcontradictorytothe

firstprinciplesofsocialjusticemust，fromtheverynatureofman，have

apervertinginfluenceofsuchmagnitude，thatitishardlypossiblewith

ourpresentexperiencetoraiseourimaginationstotheconceptionofso

greatachangeforthebetteraswouldbemadebyitsremoval。Allthateducation

andcivilisationaredoingtoeffacetheinfluencesoncharacterofthelaw

offorce，andreplacethembythoseofjustice，remainsmerelyonthesurface，

aslongasthecitadeloftheenemyisnotattacked。Theprincipleofthe

modernmovementinmoralsandpolitics，isthatconduct，andconductalone，

entitlestorespect：thatnotwhatmenare，butwhattheydo，constitutes

theirclaimtodeference;that，aboveall，merit，andnotbirth，istheonly

rightfulclaimtopowerandauthority。Ifnoauthority，notinitsnature

temporary，wereallowedtoonehumanbeingoveranother，societywouldnot

beemployedinbuildinguppropensitieswithonehandwhichithastocurb

withtheother。Thechildwouldreally，forthefirsttimeinman’sexistence

onearth，betrainedinthewayheshouldgo，andwhenhewasoldtherewould

beachancethathewouldnotdepartfromit。Butsolongastherightof

thestrongtopowerovertheweakrulesintheveryheartofsociety，the

attempttomaketheequalrightoftheweaktheprincipleofitsoutward

actionswillalwaysbeanuphillstruggle;forthelawofjustice，which

isalsothatofChristianity，willnevergetpossessionofmen’sinmostsentiments;theywillbeworkingagainstit，evenwhenbendingtoit。Thesecondbenefittobeexpectedfromgivingtowomenthefreeuseof

theirfaculties，byleavingthemthefreechoiceoftheiremployments，and

openingtothemthesamefieldofoccupationandthesameprizesandencouragements

astootherhumanbeings，wouldbethatofdoublingthemassofmentalfaculties

availableforthehigherserviceofhumanity。Wherethereisnowoneperson

qualifiedtobenefitmankindandpromotethegeneralimprovement，asapublic

teacher，oranadministratorofsomebranchofpublicorsocialaffairs，

therewouldthenbeachanceoftwo。Mentalsuperiorityofanykindisat

presenteverywheresomuchbelowthedemand;thereissuchadeficiencyof

personscompetenttodoexcellentlyanythingwhichitrequiresanyconsiderable

amountofabilitytodo;thatthelosstotheworld，byrefusingtomake

useofonehalfofthewholequantityoftalentitpossesses，isextremely

serious。Itistruethatthisamountofmentalpowerisnottotallylost。

Muchofitisemployed，andwouldinanycasebeemployed，indomesticmanagement，

andinthefewotheroccupationsopentowomen;andfromtheremainderindirect

benefitisinmanyindividualcasesobtained，throughthepersonalinfluence

ofindividualwomenoverindividualmen。Butthesebenefitsarepartial;

theirrangeisextremelycircumscribed;andiftheymustbeadmitted，on

theonehand，asadeductionfromtheamountoffreshsocialpowerthatwould

beacquiredbygivingfreedomtoone—halfofthewholesumofhumanintellect，

theremustbeadded，ontheother，thebenefitofthestimulusthatwould

begiventotheintellectofmenbythecompetition;or（touseamoretrue

expression）bythenecessitythatwouldbeimposedonthemofdeservingprecedencybeforetheycouldexpecttoobtainit。Thisgreataccessiontotheintellectualpowerofthespecies，andto

theamountofintellectavailableforthegoodmanagementofitsaffairs，

wouldbeobtained，partly，throughthebetterandmorecompleteintellectual

educationofwomen，whichwouldthenimproveparipassuwiththatofmen。

Womeningeneralwouldbebroughtupequallycapableofunderstandingbusiness，

publicaffairs，andthehighermattersofspeculation，withmenInthesame

classofsociety;andtheselectfewoftheoneaswellasoftheothersex，

whowerequalifiednotonlytocomprehendwhatisdoneorthoughtbyothers，

buttothinkordosomethingconsiderablethemselves，wouldmeetwiththe

samefacilitiesforimprovingandtrainingtheircapacitiesintheonesex

asintheother。Inthisway，thewideningofthesphereofactionforwomen

wouldoperateforgood，byraisingtheireducationtothelevelofthatof

men，andmakingtheoneparticipateinallimprovementsmadeintheother。

Butindependentlyofthis，themerebreakingdownofthebarrierwouldof

itselfhaveaneducationalvirtueofthehighestworth。Themeregetting

ridoftheideathatallthewidersubjectsofthoughtandaction，allthe

thingswhichareofgeneralandnotsolelyofprivateinterest，aremen’s

business，fromwhichwomenaretobewarnedoff——positivelyinterdicted

frommostofit，coldlytoleratedinthelittlewhichisallowedthem——

themereconsciousnessawomanwouldthenhaveofbeingahumanbeinglike

anyother，entitledtochooseherpursuits，urgedorinvitedbythesame

inducementsasanyoneelsetointerestherselfinwhateverisinteresting

tohumanbeings，entitledtoexerttheshareofinfluenceonallhumanconcerns

whichbelongstoanindividualopinion，whethersheattemptedactualparticipation

inthemornot——thisalonewouldeffectanimmenseexpansionofthefacultiesofwomen，aswellasenlargementoftherangeoftheirmoralsentiments。Besidestheadditiontotheamountofindividualtalentavailablefor

theconductofhumanaffairs，whichcertainlyarenotatpresentsoabundantly

providedinthatrespectthattheycanaffordtodispensewithone—halfof

whatnatureproffers;theopinionofwomenwouldthenpossessamorebeneficial，

ratherthanagreater，influenceuponthegeneralmassofhumanbeliefand

sentiment。Isayamorebeneficial，ratherthanagreaterinfluence;for

theinfluenceofwomenoverthegeneraltoneofopinionhasalways，orat

leastfromtheearliestknownperiod，beenveryconsiderable。Theinfluence

ofmothersontheearlycharacteroftheirsons，andthedesireofyoung

mentorecommendthemselvestoyoungwomen，haveinallrecordedtimesbeen

importantagenciesintheformationofcharacter，andhavedeterminedsome

ofthechiefstepsintheprogressofcivilisation。EvenintheHomericage，

{alphaiotadeltaomegasigma}towardsthe{TAUrhoomegaalphadeltaalpha

sigma}{epsilonlambdachiepsilonsigmaiotapiepsilonpilambdaomega

upsilsonsigma}isanacknowledgedandpowerfulmotiveofactioninthegreat

Hector。Themoralinfluenceofwomenhashadtwomodesofoperation。First，

ithasbeenasofteninginfluence。Thosewhoweremostliabletobethevictims

ofviolence，havenaturallytendedasmuchastheycouldtowardslimiting

itssphereandmitigatingitsexcesses。Thosewhowerenottaughttofight，

havenaturallyinclinedinfavourofanyothermodeofsettlingdifferences

ratherthanthatoffighting。Ingeneral，thosewhohavebeenthegreatest

sufferersbytheindulgenceofselfishpassion，havebeenthemostearnest

supportersofanymorallawwhichofferedameansofbridlingpassion。Women

werepowerfullyinstrumentalininducingthenorthernconquerorstoadopt

thecreedofChristianity，acreedsomuchmorefavourabletowomenthan

anythatprecededit。TheconversionoftheAnglo—SaxonsandoftheFranks

maybesaidtohavebeenbegunbythewivesofEthelbertandClovis。The

othermodeinwhichtheeffectofwomen’sopinionhasbeenconspicuous，is

bygiving，apowerfulstimulustothosequalitiesinmen，which，notbeing

themselvestrainedin，itwasnecessaryforthemthattheyshouldfindin

theirprotectors。Courage，andthemilitaryvirtuesgenerally，haveatall

timesbeengreatlyindebtedtothedesirewhichmenfeltofbeingadmired

bywomen：andthestimulusreachesfarbeyondthisoneclassofeminentqualities，

since，byaverynaturaleffectoftheirposition，thebestpassporttothe

admirationandfavourofwomenhasalwaysbeentobethoughthighlyofby

men。Fromthecombinationofthetwokindsofmoralinfluencethusexercised

bywomen，arosethespiritofchivalry：thepeculiarityofwhichis，toaim

atcombiningthehigheststandardofthewarlikequalitieswiththecultivation

ofatotallydifferentclassofvirtues——thoseofgentleness，generosity，

andself—abnegation，towardsthenon—militaryanddefenselessclassesgenerally，

andaspecialsubmissionandworshipdirectedtowardswomen;whoweredistinguished

fromtheotherdefencelessclassesbythehighrewardswhichtheyhadit

intheirpowervoluntarilytobestowonthosewhoendeavouredtoearntheir

favour，insteadofextortingtheirsubjection。Thoughthepracticeofchivalry

fellevenmoresadlyshortofitstheoreticstandardthanpracticegenerally

fallsbelowtheory，itremainsoneofthemostpreciousmonumentsofthe

moralhistoryofourrace;asaremarkableinstanceofaconcertedandorganised

attemptbyamostdisorganisedanddistractedsociety，toraiseupandcarry

intopracticeamoralidealgreatlyinadvanceofitssocialconditionand

institutions;somuchsoastohavebeencompletelyfrustratedinthemain

object，yetneverentirelyinefficacious，andwhichhasleftamostsensible，

andforthemostpartahighlyvaluableimpressontheideasandfeelingsofallsubsequenttimes。Thechivalrousidealistheacmeoftheinfluenceofwomen’ssentiments

onthemoralcultivationofmankind：andifwomenaretoremainintheir

subordinatesituation，itweregreatlytobelamentedthatthechivalrous

standardshouldhavepassedaway，foritistheonlyoneatallcapableof

mitigatingthedemoralisinginfluencesofthatposition。Butthechanges

inthegeneralstateofthespeciesrenderedinevitablethesubstitution

ofatotallydifferentidealofmoralityforthechivalrousone。Chivalry

wastheattempttoinfusemoralelementsintoastateofsocietyinwhich

everythingdependedforgoodorevilonindividualprowess，underthesoftening

influencesofindividualdelicacyandgenerosity。Inmodernsocieties，all

things，eveninthemilitarydepartmentofaffairs，aredecided，notbyindividual

effort，butbythecombinedoperationsofnumbers;whilethemainoccupation

ofsocietyhaschangedfromfightingtobusiness，frommilitarytoindustrial

life。Theexigenciesofthenewlifearenomoreexclusiveofthevirtues

ofgenerositythanthoseoftheold，butitnolongerentirelydependson

them。Themainfoundationsofthemorallifeofmoderntimesmustbejustice

andprudence;therespectofeachfortherightsofeveryother，andthe

abilityofeachtotakecareofhimself。Chivalryleftwithoutlegalcheck

allformsofwrongwhichreignedunpunishedthroughoutsociety;itonlyencouraged

afewtodorightinpreferencetowrong，bythedirectionitgavetothe

instrumentsofpraiseandadmiration。Buttherealdependenceofmorality

mustalwaysbeuponitspenalsanctions——itspowertodeterfromevil。

Thesecurityofsocietycannotrestonmerelyrenderinghonourtoright，

amotivesocomparativelyweakinallbutafew，andwhichonverymanydoes

notoperateatall。Modernsocietyisabletorepresswrongthroughalldepartments

oflife，byafitexertionofthesuperiorstrengthwhichcivilisationhas

givenit，andthustorendertheexistenceoftheweakermembersofsociety

（nolongerdefenselessbutprotectedbylaw）tolerabletothem，withoutreliance

onthechivalrousfeelingsofthosewhoareinapositiontotyrannise。The

beautiesandgracesofthechivalrouscharacterarestillwhattheywere，

buttherightsoftheweak，andthegeneralcomfortofhumanlife，nowrest

onafarsurerandsteadiersupport;orrather，theydosoineveryrelationoflifeexcepttheconjugal。Atpresentthemoralinfluenceofwomenisnolessreal，butitisno

longerofsomarkedanddefiniteacharacter：ithasmorenearlymergedin

thegeneralinfluenceofpublicopinion。Boththroughthecontagionofsympathy，

andthroughthedesireofmentoshineintheeyesofwomen，theirfeelings

havegreateffectinkeepingalivewhatremainsofthechivalrousideal——

infosteringthesentimentsandcontinuingthetraditionsofspiritandgenerosity。

Inthesepointsofcharacter，theirstandardishigherthanthatofmen;

inthequalityofjustice，somewhatlower。Asregardstherelationsofprivate

lifeitmaybesaidgenerally，thattheirinfluenceis，onthewhole，encouraging

tothesoftervirtues，discouragingtothesterner：thoughthestatement

mustbetakenwithallthemodificationsdependentonindividualcharacter。

Inthechiefofthegreatertrialstowhichvirtueissubjectintheconcerns

oflife——theconflictbetweeninterestandprinciple——thetendencyof

women’sinfluence——isofaverymixedcharacter。Whentheprincipleinvolved

happenstobeoneoftheveryfewwhichthecourseoftheirreligiousor

moraleducationhasstronglyimpresseduponthemselves，theyarepotentauxiliaries

tovirtue：andtheirhusbandsandsonsareoftenpromptedbythemtoacts

ofabnegationwhichtheyneverwouldhavebeencapableofwithoutthatstimulus。

But，withthepresenteducationandpositionofwomen，themoralprinciples

whichhavebeenimpressedonthemcoverbutacomparativelysmallpartof

thefieldofvirtue，andare，moreover，principallynegative;forbidding

particularacts，buthavinglittletodowiththegeneraldirectionofthe

thoughtsandpurposes。Iamafraiditmustbesaid，thatdisinterestedness

inthegeneralconductoflife——thedevotionoftheenergiestopurposes

whichholdoutnopromiseofprivateadvantagestothefamily——isvery

seldomencouragedorsupportedbywomen’sinfluence。Itissmallblameto

themthattheydiscourageobjectsofwhichtheyhavenotlearnttoseethe

advantage，andwhichwithdrawtheirmenfromthem，andfromtheinterests

ofthefamily。Buttheconsequenceisthatwomen’sinfluenceisoftenanythingbutfavourabletopublicvirtue。Womenhave，however，someshareofinfluenceingivingthetonetopublic

moralitiessincetheirsphereofactionhasbeenalittlewidened，andsince

aconsiderablenumberofthemhaveoccupiedthemselvespracticallyinthe

promotionofobjectsreachingbeyondtheirownfamilyandhousehold。The

influenceofwomencountsforagreatdealintwoofthemostmarkedfeatures

ofmodernEuropeanlife——itsaversiontowar，anditsaddictiontophilanthropy。

Excellentcharacteristicsboth;butunhappily，iftheinfluenceofwomen

isvaluableintheencouragementitgivestothesefeelingsingeneral，in

theparticularapplicationsthedirectionitgivestothemisatleastas

oftenmischievousasuseful。Inthephilanthropicdepartmentmoreparticularly，

thetwoprovinceschieflycultivatedbywomenarereligiousproselytismand

charity。Religiousproselytismathome，isbutanotherwordforembittering

ofreligiousanimosities：abroad，itisusuallyablindrunningatanobject，

withouteitherknowingorheedingthefatalmischiefs——fataltothereligious

objectitselfaswellastoallotherdesirableobjects——whichmaybeproduced

bythemeansemployed。Asforcharity，itisamatterinwhichtheimmediate

effectonthepersonsdirectlyconcerned，andtheultimateconsequenceto

thegeneralgood，areapttobeatcompletewarwithoneanother：whilethe

educationgiventowomen——aneducationofthesentimentsratherthanof

theunderstanding——andthehabitinculcatedbytheirwholelife，oflooking

toimmediateeffectsonpersons，andnottoremoteeffectsonclassesof

persons——makethembothunabletosee，andunwillingtoadmit，theultimate

eviltendencyofanyformofcharityorphilanthropywhichcommendsitself

totheirsympatheticfeelings。Thegreatandcontinuallyincreasingmass

ofunenlightenedandshortsightedbenevolence，which，takingthecareof

people’slivesoutoftheirownhands，andrelievingthemfromthedisagreeable

consequencesoftheirownacts，sapstheveryfoundationsoftheself—respect，

self—help，andself—controlwhicharetheessentialconditionsbothofindividual

prosperityandofsocialvirtue——thiswasteofresourcesandofbenevolent

feelingsindoingharminsteadofgood，isimmenselyswelledbywomen’scontributions，

andstimulatedbytheirinfluence。Notthatthisisamistakelikelytobe

madebywomen，wheretheyhaveactuallythepracticalmanagementofschemes

ofbeneficence。Itsometimeshappensthatwomenwhoadministerpubliccharities

——withthatinsightintopresentfact，andespeciallyintothemindsand

feelingsofthosewithwhomtheyareinimmediatecontact，inwhichwomen

generallyexcelmen——recogniseintheclearestmannerthedemoralising

influenceofthealmsgivenorthehelpafforded，andcouldgivelessons

onthesubjecttomanyamalepoliticaleconomist。Butwomenwhoonlygive

theirmoney，andarenotbroughtfacetofacewiththeeffectsitproduces，

howcantheybeexpectedtoforeseethem？Awomanborntothepresentlot

ofwomen，andcontentwithit，howshouldsheappreciatethevalueofself—dependence？

Sheisnotself—dependent;sheisnottaughtself—dependence;herdestiny

istoreceiveeverythingfromothers，andwhyshouldwhatisgoodenough

forherbebadforthepoor？Herfamiliarnotionsofgoodareofblessings

descendingfromasuperior。Sheforgetsthatsheisnotfree，andthatthe

poorare;thatifwhattheyneedisgiventothemunearned，theycannotbe

compelledtoearnit：thateverybodycannotbetakencareofbyeverybody，

buttheremustbesomemotivetoinducepeopletotakecareofthemselves;

andthattobehelped—tohelpthemselves，iftheyarephysicallycapableofit，istheonlycharitywhichprovestobecharityintheend。###第6章Theseconsiderationsshowhowusefullythepartwhichwomentakeinthe

formationofgeneralopinion，wouldbemodifiedforthebetterbythatmore

enlargedinstruction，andpracticalconversancywiththethingswhichtheir

opinionsinfluence，thatwouldnecessarilyarisefromtheirsocialandpolitical

emancipation。Buttheimprovementitwouldworkthroughtheinfluencetheyexercise，eachinherownfamily，wouldbestillmoreremarkable。Itisoftensaidthatintheclassesmostexposedtotemptation，aman’s

wifeandchildrentendtokeephimhonestandrespectable，bothbythewife’s

directinfluence，andbytheconcernhefeelsfortheirfuturewelfare。This

maybeso，andnodoubtoftenisso，withthosewhoaremoreweakthanwicked;

andthisbeneficialinfluencewouldbepreservedandstrengthenedunderequal

laws;itdoesnotdependonthewoman’sservitude，butis，onthecontrary，

diminishedbythedisrespectwhichtheinferiorclassofmenalwaysatheart

feeltowardsthosewhoaresubjecttotheirpower。Butwhenweascendhigher

inthescale，wecomeamongatotallydifferentsetofmovingforces。The

wife’sinfluencetends，asfarasitgoes，topreventthehusbandfromfalling

belowthecommonstandardofapprobationofthecountry。Ittendsquiteas

stronglytohinderhimfromrisingaboveit。Thewifeistheauxiliaryof

thecommonpublicopinion。Amanwhoismarriedtoawomanhisinferiorin

intelligence，findsheraperpetualdeadweight，or，worsethanadeadweight，

adrag，uponeveryaspirationofhistobebetterthanpublicopinionrequires

himtobe。Itishardlypossibleforonewhoisinthesebonds，toattain

exaltedvirtue。Ifhediffersinhisopinionfromthemass——ifhesees

truthswhichhavenotyetdawneduponthem，orif，feelinginhishearttruths

whichtheynominallyrecognise，hewouldliketoactuptothosetruthsmore

conscientiouslythanthegeneralityofmankind——toallsuchthoughtsand

desires，marriageistheheaviestofdrawbacks，unlesshebesofortunateastohaveawifeasmuchabovethecommonlevelashehimselfis。For，inthefirstplace，thereisalwayssomesacrificeofpersonalinterest

required;eitherofsocialconsequence，orofpecuniarymeans;perhapsthe

riskofeventhemeansofsubsistence。Thesesacrificesandriskshemay

bewillingtoencounterforhimself;buthewillpausebeforeheimposes

themonhisfamily。Andhisfamilyinthiscasemeanshiswifeanddaughters;

forhealwayshopesthathissonswillfeelashefeelshimself，andthat

whathecandowithout，theywilldowithout，willingly，isthesamecause。

Buthisdaughters——theirmarriagemaydependuponit：andhiswife，who

isunabletoenterintoorunderstandtheobjectsforwhichthesesacrifices

aremade——who，ifshethoughtthemworthanysacrifice，wouldthinkso

ontrust，andsolelyforhissake——whocouldparticipateinnoneofthe

enthusiasmortheself—approbationhehimselfmayfeel，whilethethings

whichheisdisposedtosacrificeareallinalltoher;willnotthebest

andmostunselfishmanhesitatethelongestbeforebringingonherthisconsequence？

Ifitbenotthecomfortsoflife，butonlysocialconsideration，thatis

atstake，theburthenuponhisconscienceandfeelingsisstillverysevere。

WhoeverhasawifeandchildrenhasgivenhostagestoMrsGrundy。Theapprobation

ofthatpotentatemaybeamatterofindifferencetohim，butitisofgreat

importancetohiswife。Themanhimselfmaybeaboveopinion，ormayfind

sufficientcompensationintheopinionofthoseofhisownwayofthinking。

Buttothewomenconnectedwithhim，hecanoffernocompensation。Thealmost

invariabletendencyofthewifetoplaceherinfluenceinthesamescale

withsocialconsideration，issometimesmadeareproachtowomen，andrepresented

asapeculiartraitoffeeblenessandchildishnessofcharacterinthem：

surelywithgreatinjustice。Societymakesthewholelifeofawoman，in

theeasyclasses，acontinuedselfsacrifice;itexactsfromheranunremitting

restraintofthewholeofhernaturalinclinations，andthesolereturnit

makestoherforwhatoftendeservesthenameofamartyrdom，isconsideration。

Herconsiderationisinseparablyconnectedwiththatofherhusband，and

afterpayingthefullpriceforit，shefindsthatsheistoloseit，for

noreasonofwhichshecanfeelthecogency。Shehassacrificedherwhole

lifetoit，andherhusbandwillnotsacrificetoitawhim，afreak，an

eccentricity;somethingnotrecognisedorallowedforbytheworld，andwhich

theworldwillagreewithherinthinkingafolly，ifitthinksnoworse！

Thedilemmaishardestuponthatverymeritoriousclassofmen，who，without

possessingtalentswhichqualifythemtomakeafigureamongthosewithwhom

theyagreeinopinion，holdtheiropinionfromconviction，andfeelbound

inhonourandconsciencetoserveit，bymakingprofessionoftheirbelief，

andgivingtheirtime，labour，andmeans，toanythingundertakeninitsbehalf。

Theworstcaseofalliswhensuchmenhappentobeofarankandposition

whichofitselfneithergivesthem，norexcludesthemfrom，whatisconsidered

thebestsociety;whentheiradmissiontoitdependsmainlyonwhatisthought

ofthempersonally——andhoweverunexceptionabletheirbreedingandhabits，

theirbeingidentifiedwithopinionsandpublicconductunacceptabletothose

whogivethetonetosocietywouldoperateasaneffectualexclusion。Many

awomanflattersherself（ninetimesoutoftenquiteerroneously）thatnothing

preventsherandherhusbandfrommovinginthehighestsocietyofherneighbourhood

——societyinwhichotherswellknowntoher，andinthesameclassoflife，

mixfreely——exceptthatherhusbandisunfortunatelyaDissenter，orhas

thereputationofminglinginlowradicalpolitics。Thatitis，shethinks，

whichhindersGeorgefromgettingacommissionoraplace，Carolinefrom

makinganadvantageousmatch，andpreventsherandherhusbandfromobtaining

invitations，perhapshonours，which，foraughtshesees，theyareaswell

entitledtoassomefolks。Withsuchaninfluenceineveryhouse，either

exertedactively，oroperatingallthemorepowerfullyfornotbeingasserted，

isitanywonderthatpeopleingeneralarekeptdowninthatmediocrityofrespectabilitywhichisbecomingamarkedcharacteristicofmoderntimes？Thereisanotherveryinjuriousaspectinwhichtheeffect，notofwomen’s

disabilitiesdirectly，butofthebroadlineofdifferencewhichthosedisabilities

createbetweentheeducationandcharacterofawomanandthatofaman，

requirestobeconsidered。Nothingcanbemoreunfavourabletothatunion

ofthoughtsandinclinationswhichistheidealofmarriedlife。Intimate

societybetweenpeopleradicallydissimilartooneanother，isanidledream。

Unlikenessmayattract，butitislikenesswhichretains;andinproportion

tothelikenessisthesuitabilityoftheindividualstogiveeachother

ahappylife。Whilewomenaresounlikemen，itisnotwonderfulthatselfish

menshouldfeeltheneedofarbitrarypowerintheirownhands，toarrest

inliminethelife—longconflictofinclinations，bydecidingeveryquestion

onthesideoftheirownpreference。Whenpeopleareextremelyunlike，there

canbenorealidentityofinterest。Veryoftenthereisconscientiousdifference

ofopinionbetweenmarriedpeople，onthehighestpointsofduty。Isthere

anyrealityinthemarriageunionwherethistakesplace？Yetitisnotuncommon

anywhere，whenthewomanhasanyearnestnessofcharacter;anditisavery

generalcaseindeedinCatholiccountries，whensheissupportedinherdissent

bytheonlyotherauthoritytowhichsheistaughttobow，thepriest。With

theusualbarefacednessofpowernotaccustomedtofinditselfdisputed，

theinfluenceofpriestsoverwomenisattackedbyProtestantandLiberal

writers，lessforbeingbadinitself，thanbecauseitisarivalauthority

tothehusband，andraisesuparevoltagainsthisinfallibility。InEngland，

similardifferencesoccasionallyexistwhenanEvangelicalwifehasallied

herselfwithahusbandofadifferentquality;butingeneralthissource

atleastofdissensionisgotridof，byreducingthemindsofwomentosuch

anullity，thattheyhavenoopinionsbutthoseofMrs。Grundy，orthose

whichthehusbandtellsthemtohave。Whenthereisnodifferenceofopinion，

differencesmerelyoftastemaybesufficienttodetractgreatlyfromthe

happinessofmarriedlife。Andthoughitmaystimulatetheamatorypropensities

ofmen，itdoesnotconducetomarriedhappiness，toexaggeratebydifferences

ofeducationwhatevermaybethenativedifferencesofthesexes。Ifthe

marriedpairarewell—bredandwell—behavedpeople，theytolerateeachother’s

tastes;butismutualtolerationwhatpeoplelookforwardto，whentheyenter

intomarriage？Thesedifferencesofinclinationwillnaturallymaketheir

wishesdifferent，ifnotrestrainedbyaffectionorduty，astoalmostall

domesticquestionswhicharise。Whatadifferencetheremustbeinthesociety

whichthetwopersonswillwishtofrequent，orbefrequentedby！Eachwill

desireassociateswhosharetheirowntastes：thepersonsagreeabletoone，

willbeindifferentorpositivelydisagreeabletotheother;yettherecan

benonewhoarenotcommontoboth，formarriedpeopledonotnowlivein

differentpartsofthehouseandhavetotallydifferentvisitinglists，as

inthereignofLouisXV。Theycannothelphavingdifferentwishesasto

thebringingupofthechildren：eachwillwishtoseereproducedinthem

theirowntastesandsentiments：andthereiseitheracompromise，andonly

ahalfsatisfactiontoeither，orthewifehastoyield——oftenwithbitter

suffering;and，withorwithoutintention，heroccultinfluencecontinuestocounterworkthehusband’spurposes。Itwouldofcoursebeextremefollytosupposethatthesedifferences

offeelingandinclinationonlyexistbecausewomenarebroughtupdifferently

frommen，andthattherewouldnotbedifferencesoftasteunderanyimaginable

circumstances。Butthereisnothingbeyondthemarkinsayingthatthedistinction

inbringingupimmenselyaggravatesthosedifferences，andrendersthemwholly

inevitable。Whilewomenarebroughtupastheyare，amanandawomanwill

butrarelyfindinoneanotherrealagreementoftastesandwishesasto

dailylife。Theywillgenerallyhavetogiveitupashopeless，andrenounce

theattempttohave，intheintimateassociateoftheirdailylife，that

idemvelle，idemnolle，whichistherecognisedbondofanysocietythat

isreallysuch：orifthemansucceedsinobtainingit，hedoessobychoosing

awomanwhoissocompleteanullitythatshehasnovelleornolleatall，

andisasreadytocomplywithonethingasanotherifanybodytellsher

todoso。Eventhiscalculationisapttofail;dullnessandwantofspirit

arenotalwaysaguaranteeofthesubmissionwhichissoconfidentlyexpected

fromthem。Butiftheywere，isthistheidealofmarriage？What，inthis

case，doesthemanobtainbyit，exceptanupperservant，anurse，oramistress？

onthecontrary，wheneachoftwopersons，insteadofbeinganothing，is

asomething;whentheyareattachedtooneanother，andarenottoomuch

unliketobeginwith;theconstantpartakinginthesamethings，assisted

bytheirsympathy，drawsoutthelatentcapacitiesofeachforbeinginterested

inthethingswhichwereatfirstinterestingonlytotheother;andworks

agradualassimilationofthetastesandcharacterstooneanother，partly

bytheinsensiblemodificationofeach，butmorebyarealenrichingofthe

twonatures，eachacquiringthetastesandcapacitiesoftheotherinaddition

toitsown。Thisoftenhappensbetweentwofriendsofthesamesex，whoare

muchassociatedintheirdailylife：anditwouldbeacommon，ifnotthe

commonest，caseinmarriage，didnotthetotallydifferentbringingupof

thetwosexesmakeitnexttoanimpossibilitytoformareallywell—assorted

union。Werethisremedied，whateverdifferencestheremightstillbeinindividual

tastes，therewouldatleastbe，asageneralrule，completeunityandunanimity

astothegreatobjectsoflife。Whenthetwopersonsbothcareforgreat

objects，andareahelpandencouragementtoeachotherinwhateverregards

these，theminormattersonwhichtheirtastesmaydifferarenotall—important

tothem;andthereisafoundationforsolidfriendship，ofanenduringcharacter，

morelikelythananythingelsetomakeit，throughthewholeoflife，agreaterpleasuretoeachtogivepleasuretotheother，thantoreceiveit。Ihaveconsidered，thusfar，theeffectsonthepleasuresandbenefits

ofthemarriageunionwhichdependonthemereunlikenessbetweenthewife

andthehusband：buttheeviltendencyisprodigiouslyaggravatedwhenthe

unlikenessisinferiority。Mereunlikeness，whenitonlymeansdifference

ofgoodqualities，maybemoreabenefitinthewayofmutualimprovement，

thanadrawbackfromcomfort。Wheneachemulates，anddesiresandendeavours

toacquire，theother’speculiarqualitiesthedifferencedoesnotproduce

diversityofinterest，butincreasedidentityofit，andmakeseachstill

morevaluabletotheother。Butwhenoneismuchtheinferiorofthetoin

mentalabilityandcultivation，andisnotactivelyattemptingbytheother’s

aidtorisetotheother’slevel，thewholeinfluenceoftheconnexionupon

thedevelopmentofthesuperiorofthetwoisdeteriorating：andstillmore

soinatolerablyhappymarriagethaninanunhappyone。Itisnotwithimpunity

thatthesuperiorinintellectshutshimselfupwithaninferior，andelects

thatinferiorforhischosen，andsolecompletelyintimate，associate。Any

societywhichisnotimprovingisdeteriorating：andthemoreso，thecloser

andmorefamiliaritis。Evenareallysuperiormanalmostalwaysbegins

todeterioratewhenheishabitually（asthephraseis）kingofhiscompany：

andinhismosthabitualcompanythehusbandwhohasawifeinferiortohim

isalwaysso。Whilehisself—satisfactionisincessantlyministeredtoon

theonehand，ontheotherheinsensiblyimbibesthemodesoffeeling，and

oflookingatthings，whichbelongtoamorevulgaroramorelimitedmind

thanhisown。Thisevildiffersfrommanyofthosewhichhavehithertobeen

dwelton，bybeinganincreasingone。Theassociationofmenwithwomenin

dailylifeismuchcloserandmorecompletethaniteverwasbefore。Men’s

lifeismoredomestic。Formerly，theirpleasuresandchosenoccupationswere

amongmen，andinmen’scompany：theirwiveshadbutafragmentoftheir

lives。Atthepresenttime，theprogressofcivilisation，andtheturnof

opinionagainsttheroughamusementsandconvivialexcesseswhichformerly

occupiedmostmenintheirhoursofrelaxation——togetherwith（itmust

besaid）theimprovedtoneofmodernfeelingastothereciprocityofduty

whichbindsthehusbandtowardsthewife——havethrownthemanverymuch

moreuponhomeanditsinmates，forhispersonalandsocialpleasures：while

thekindanddegreeofimprovementwhichhasbeenmadeinwomen’seducation，

hasmadetheminsomedegreecapableofbeinghiscompanionsinideasand

mentaltaste，whileleavingthem，inmostcases，stillhopelesslyinferior

tohim。Hisdesireofmentalcommunionisthusingeneralsatisfiedbya

communionfromwhichhelearnsnothing。Anunimprovingandunstimulating

companionshipissubstitutedfor（whathemightotherwisehavebeenobliged

toseek）thesocietyofhisequalsinpowersandhisfellowsinthehigher

pursuits。Wesee，accordingly，thatyoungmenofthegreatestpromisegenerally

ceasetoimproveassoonastheymarry，and，notimproving，inevitablydegenerate。

Ifthewifedoesnotpushthehusbandforward，shealwaysholdshimback。

Heceasestocareforwhatshedoesnotcarefor;henolongerdesires，and

endsbydislikingandshunning，societycongenialtohisformeraspirations，

andwhichwouldnowshamehisfalling—offfromthem;hishigherfaculties

bothofmindandheartceasetobecalledintoactivity。Andthischange

coincidingwiththenewandselfishinterestswhicharecreatedbythefamily，

afterafewyearshediffersinnomaterialrespectfromthosewhohavenever

hadwishesforanythingbutthecommonvanitiesandthecommonpecuniaryobjects。Whatmarriagemaybeinthecaseoftwopersonsofcultivatedfaculties，

identicalinopinionsandpurposes，betweenwhomthereexiststhatbestkind

ofequality，similarityofpowersandcapacitieswithreciprocalsuperiority

inthem——sothateachcanenjoytheluxuryoflookinguptotheother，

andcanhavealternatelythepleasureofleadingandofbeingledinthe

pathofdevelopment——Iwillnotattempttodescribe。Tothosewhocanconceive

it，thereisnoneed;tothosewhocannot，itwouldappearthedreamofan

enthusiast。ButImaintain，withtheprofoundestconviction，thatthis，and

thisonly，istheidealofmarriage;andthatallopinions，customs，and

institutionswhichfavouranyothernotionofit，orturntheconceptions

andaspirationsconnectedwithitintoanyotherdirection，bywhateverpretences

theymaybecoloured，arerelicsofprimitivebarbarism。Themoralregeneration

ofmankindwillonlyreallycommence，whenthemostfundamentalofthesocial

relationsisplacedundertheruleofequaljustice，andwhenhumanbeings

learntocultivatetheirstrongestsympathywithanequalinnightsandincultivation。Thusfar，thebenefitswhichithasappearedthattheworldwouldgain

byceasingtomakesexadisqualificationforprivilegesandabadgeofsubjection，

aresocialratherthanindividual;consistinginanincreaseofthegeneral

fundofthinkingandactingpower，andanimprovementinthegeneralconditions

oftheassociationofmenwithwomen。Butitwouldbeagrievousunderstatement

ofthecasetoomitthemostdirectbenefitofall，theunspeakablegain

inprivatehappinesstotheliberatedhalfofthespecies;thedifference

tothembetweenalifeofsubjectiontothewillofothers，andalifeof

rationalfreedom。Aftertheprimarynecessitiesoffoodandraiment，freedom

isthefirstandstrongestwantofhumannature。Whilemankindarelawless，

theirdesireisforlawlessfreedom。Whentheyhavelearnttounderstand

themeaningofdutyandthevalueofreason，theyinclinemoreandmoreto

beguidedandrestrainedbytheseintheexerciseoftheirfreedom;butthey

donotthereforedesirefreedomless;theydonotbecomedisposedtoaccept

thewillofotherpeopleastherepresentativeandinterpreterofthoseguiding

principles。Onthecontrary，thecommunitiesinwhichthereasonhasbeen

mostcultivated，andinwhichtheideaofsocialdutyhasbeenmostpowerful，

arethosewhichhavemoststronglyassertedthefreedomofactionofthe

individual——thelibertyofeachtogovernhisconductbyhisownfeelings

ofduty，andbysuchlawsandsocialrestraintsashisownconsciencecansubscribeto。Hewhowouldrightlyappreciatetheworthofpersonalindependenceas

anelementofhappiness，shouldconsiderthevaluehehimselfputsuponit

asaningredientofhisown。Thereisnosubjectonwhichthereisagreater

habitualdifferenceofjudgmentbetweenamanjudgingforhimself，andthe

samemanjudgingforotherpeople。Whenhehearsotherscomplainingthat

theyarenotallowedfreedomofaction——thattheirownwillhasnotsufficient

influenceintheregulationoftheiraffairs——hisinclinationis，toask，

whataretheirgrievances？whatpositivedamagetheysustain？andinwhat

respecttheyconsidertheiraffairstobemismanaged？andiftheyfailto

makeout，inanswertothesequestions，whatappearstohimasufficient

case，heturnsadeafear，andregardstheircomplaintasthefancifulquerulousness

ofpeoplewhomnothingreasonablewillsatisfy。Buthehasaquitedifferent

standardofjudgmentwhenheisdecidingforhimself。Then，themostunexceptionable

administrationofhisinterestsbyatutorsetoverhim，doesnotsatisfy

hisfeelings：hispersonalexclusionfromthedecidingauthorityappears

itselfthegreatestgrievanceofall，renderingitsuperfluouseventoenter

intothequestionofmismanagement。Itisthesamewithnations。Whatcitizen

ofafreecountrywouldlistentoanyoffersofgoodandskilfuladministration，

inreturnfortheabdicationoffreedom？Evenifhecouldbelievethatgood

andskilfuladministrationcanexistamongapeopleruledbyawillnottheir

own，wouldnottheconsciousnessofworkingouttheirowndestinyundertheir

ownmoralresponsibilitybeacompensationtohisfeelingsforgreatrudeness

andimperfectioninthedetailsofpublicaffairs？Lethimrestassuredthat

whateverhefeelsonthispoint，womenfeelinafullyequaldegree。Whatever

hasbeensaidorwritten，fromthetimeofHerodotustothepresent，ofthe

ennoblinginfluenceoffreegovernment——thenerveandspringwhichitgives

toallthefaculties，thelargerandhigherobjectswhichitpresentsto

theintellectandfeelings，themoreunselfishpublicspirit，andcalmer

andbroaderviewsofduty，thatitengenders，andthegenerallyloftierplatform

onwhichitelevatestheindividualasamoral，spiritual，andsocialbeing

——iseveryparticleastrueofwomenasofmen。Arethesethingsnoimportant

partofindividualhappiness？Letanymancalltomindwhathehimselffelt

onemergingfromboyhood——fromthetutelageandcontrolofevenlovedand

affectionateelders——andenteringupontheresponsibilitiesofmanhood。

Wasitnotlikethephysicaleffectoftakingoffaheavyweight，orreleasing

himfromobstructive，evenifnototherwisepainful，bonds？Didhenotfeel

twiceasmuchalive，twiceasmuchahumanbeing，asbefore？Anddoeshe

imaginethatwomenhavenoneofthesefeelings？Butitisastrikingfact，

thatthesatisfactionsandmortificationsofpersonalpride，thoughallin

alltomostmenwhenthecaseistheirown，havelessallowancemadefor

theminthecaseofotherpeople，andarelesslistenedtoasagroundor

ajustificationofconduct，thananyothernaturalhumanfeelings;perhaps

becausemencomplimentthemintheirowncasewiththenamesofsomanyother

qualities，thattheyareseldomconscioushowmightyaninfluencethesefeelings

exerciseintheirownlives。Nolesslargeandpowerfulistheirpart，we

mayassureourselves，inthelivesandfeelingsofwomen。Womenareschooled

intosuppressingthemintheirmostnaturalandmosthealthydirection，but

theinternalprincipleremains，inadifferentoutwardform。Anactiveand

energeticmind，ifdeniedliberty，willseekforpower：refusedthecommand

ofitself，itwillassertitspersonalitybyattemptingtocontrolothers。

Toallowtoanyhumanbeingsnoexistenceoftheirownbutwhatdependson

others，isgivingfartoohighapremiumonbendingotherstotheirpurposes。

Wherelibertycannotbehopedfor，andpowercan，powerbecomesthegrand

objectofhumandesire;thosetowhomotherswillnotleavetheundisturbed

managementoftheirownaffairs，willcompensatethemselves，iftheycan，

bymeddlingfortheirownpurposeswiththeaffairsofothers。Hencealso

women’spassionforpersonalbeauty，anddressanddisplay;andalltheevils

thatflowfromit，inthewayofmischievousluxuryandsocialimmorality。

Theloveofpowerandtheloveoflibertyareineternalantagonism。Where

thereisleastliberty，thepassionforpoweristhemostardentandunscrupulous。

Thedesireofpoweroverotherscanonlyceasetobeadepravingagencyamong

mankind，wheneachofthemindividuallyisabletodowithoutit：whichcan

onlybewhererespectforlibertyinthepersonalconcernsofeachisanestablishedprinciple。Butitisnotonlythroughthesentimentofpersonaldignity，thatthe

freedirectionanddisposaloftheirownfacultiesisasourceofindividual

happiness，andtobefetteredandrestrictedinit，asourceofunhappiness，

tohumanbeings，andnotleasttowomen。Thereisnothing，afterdisease，

indigence，andguilt，sofataltothepleasurableenjoymentoflifeasthe

wantofaworthyoutletfortheactivefaculties。Womenwhohavethecares

ofafamily，andwhiletheyhavethecaresofafamily，havethisoutlet，

anditgenerallysufficesforthem：butwhatofthegreatlyincreasingnumber

ofwomen，whohavehadnoopportunityofexercisingthevocationwhichthey

aremockedbytellingthemistheirproperone？Whatofthewomenwhosechildren

havebeenlosttothembydeathordistance，orhavegrownup，married，and

formedhomesoftheirown？Thereareabundantexamplesofmenwho，after

alifeengrossedbybusiness，retirewithacompetencytotheenjoyment，

astheyhope，ofrest，buttowhom，astheyareunabletoacquirenewinterests

andexcitementsthatcanreplacetheold，thechangetoalifeofinactivity

bringsennui，melancholy，andprematuredeath。Yetnoonethinksoftheparallel

caseofsomanyworthyanddevotedwomen，who，havingpaidwhattheyare

toldistheirdebttosociety——havingbroughtupafamilyblamelesslyto

manhoodandwomanhood——havingkeptahouseaslongastheyhadahouse

needingtobekept——aredesertedbythesoleoccupationforwhichthey

havefittedthemselves;andremainwithundiminishedactivitybutwithno

employmentforit，unlessperhapsadaughterordaughter—in—lawiswilling

toabdicateintheirfavourthedischargeofthesamefunctionsinheryounger

household。Surelyahardlotfortheoldageofthosewhohaveworthilydischarged，

aslongasitwasgiventothemtodischarge，whattheworldaccountstheir

onlysocialduty。Ofsuchwomen，andofthoseotherstowhomthisdutyhas

notbeencommittedatall——manyofwhompinethroughlifewiththeconsciousness

ofthwartedvocations，andactivitieswhicharenotsufferedtoexpand——

theonlyresources，speakinggenerally，arereligionandcharity。Buttheir

religion，thoughitmaybeoneoffeeling，andofceremonialobservance，

cannotbeareligionofaction，unlessintheformofcharity。Forcharity

manyofthemarebynatureadmirablyfitted;buttopractiseitusefully，

orevenwithoutdoingmischief，requirestheeducation，themanifoldpreparation，

theknowledgeandthethinkingpowers，ofaskilfuladministrator。There

arefewoftheadministrativefunctionsofgovernmentforwhichaperson

wouldnotbefit，whoisfittobestowcharityusefully。Inthisasinother

cases（pre—eminentlyinthatoftheeducationofchildren），thedutiespermitted

towomencannotbeperformedproperly，withouttheirbeingtrainedforduties

which，tothegreatlossofsociety，arenotpermittedtothem。Andhere

letmenoticethesingularwayinwhichthequestionofwomen’sdisabilities

isfrequentlypresentedtoview，bythosewhofinditeasiertodrawaludicrous

pictureofwhattheydonotlike，thantoanswertheargumentsforit。When

itissuggestedthatwomen’sexecutivecapacitiesandprudentcounselsmight

sometimesbefoundvaluableinaffairsofState，theseloversoffunhold

uptotheridiculeoftheworld，assittinginParliamentorintheCabinet，

girlsintheirteens，oryoungwivesoftwoorthreeandtwenty，transported

bodily，exactlyastheyare，fromthedrawing—roomtotheHouseofCommons。

Theyforgetthatmalesarenotusuallyselectedatthisearlyageforaseat

inParliament，orforresponsiblepoliticalfunctions。Commonsensewould

tellthemthatifsuchtrustswereconfidedtowomen，itwouldbetosuch

ashavingnospecialvocationformarriedlife，orpreferringanotheremployment

oftheirfaculties（asmanywomenevennowprefertomarriagesomeofthe

fewhonourableoccupationswithintheirreach），havespentthebestyears

oftheiryouthinattemptingtoqualifythemselvesforthepursuitsinwhich

theydesiretoengage;orstillmorefrequentlyperhaps，widowsorwives

offortyorfifty，bywhomtheknow—ledgeoflifeandfacultyofgovernment

whichtheyhaveacquiredintheirfamilies，couldbytheaidofappropriate

studiesbemadeavailableonalesscontractedscale。Thereisnocountry

ofEuropeinwhichtheablestmenhavenotfrequentlyexperienced，andkeenly

appreciated，thevalueoftheadviceandhelpofcleverandexperiencedwomen

oftheworld，intheattainmentbothofprivateandofpublicobjects;and

thereareimportantmattersofpublicadministrationtowhichfewmenare

equallycompetentwithsuchwomen;amongothers，thedetailedcontrolof

expenditure。Butwhatwearenowdiscussingisnottheneedwhichsociety

hasoftheservicesofwomeninpublicbusiness，butthedullandhopeless

lifetowhichitsooftencondemnsthem，byforbiddingthemtoexercisethe

practicalabilitieswhichmanyofthemareconsciousof，inanywiderfield

thanonewhichtosomeofthemneverwas，andtoothersisnolonger，open。

Ifthereisanythingvitallyimportanttothehappinessofhumanbeings，

itisthattheyshouldrelishtheirhabitualpursuit。Thisrequisiteofan

enjoyablelifeisveryimperfectlygranted，oraltogetherdenied，toalarge

partofmankind;andbyitsabsencemanyalifeisafailure，whichisprovided，

inappearance，witheveryrequisiteofsuccess。Butifcircumstanceswhich

societyisnotyetskilfulenoughtoovercome，rendersuchfailuresoften

forthepresentinevitable，societyneednotitselfinflictthem。Theinjudiciousness

ofparents，ayouth’sowninexperience，ortheabsenceofexternalopportunities

forthecongenialvocation，andtheirpresenceforanuncongenial，condemn

numbersofmentopasstheirlivesindoingonethingreluctantlyandill，

whenthereareotherthingswhichtheycouldhavedonewellandhappily。

Butonwomenthissentenceisimposedbyactuallaw，andbycustomsequivalent

tolaw。What，inunenlightenedsocieties，colour，race，religion，orinthe

caseofaconqueredcountry，nationality，aretosomemen，sexistoall

women;aperemptoryexclusionfromalmostallhonourableoccupations，but

eithersuchascannotbefulfilledbyothers，orsuchasthoseothersdo

notthinkworthyoftheiracceptance。Sufferingsarisingfromcausesofthis

natureusuallymeetwithsolittlesympathy，thatfewpersonsareawareof

thegreatamountofunhappinessevennowproducedbythefeelingofawasted

life。Thecasewillbeevenmorefrequent，asincreasedcultivationcreates

agreaterandgreaterdisproportionbetweentheideasandfaculties——ofwomen，andthescopewhichsocietyallowstotheiractivity。Whenweconsiderthepositiveevilcausedtothedisqualifiedhalfof

thehumanracebytheirdisqualification——firstinthelossofthemost

inspiritingandelevatingkindofpersonalenjoyment，andnextintheweariness，

disappointment，andprofounddissatisfactionwithlife，whicharesooften

thesubstituteforit;onefeelsthatamongallthelessonswhichmenrequire

forcarryingonthestruggleagainsttheinevitableimperfectionsoftheir

lotonearth，thereisnolessonwhichtheymoreneed，thannottoaddto

theevilswhichnatureinflicts，bytheirjealousandprejudicedrestrictions

ononeanother。Theirvainfearsonlysubstituteotherandworseevilsfor

thosewhichtheyareidlyapprehensiveof：whileeveryrestraintonthefreedom

ofconductofanyoftheirhumanfellow—creatures（otherwisethanbymaking

themresponsibleforanyevilactuallycausedbyit），driesupprotanto

theprincipalfountainofhumanhappiness，andleavesthespecieslessrich，

toaninappreciabledegree，inallthatmakeslifevaluabletotheindividual

humanbeing。