Book Cards

Woman: Her Sex and Love Life Flashcards

William J. (William Josephus) Robinson · Public domain edition · 253 cards · 67 chapters

William J. Robinson argues that sex knowledge matters more for women than men because women bear greater physical and social burdens. The deck covers his claims on female anatomy, pregnancy, the hymen and chastity, abstinence, and sex instruction for girls.

1 / 253

18+ roast lines

Chapter 1 · Question

What does the Hindu legend of Twashtri say about man and woman?

WakeCards · wakecards.com · Big ideas. Quick review.

Arrow keys move between cards. Space or Enter flips.

All questions and answers

Every card in the deck, in reading order. Click a chapter to expand. The reviewer above uses the same content.

Section 13 cards

What does the Hindu legend of Twashtri say about man and woman?
Twashtri, the Vulcan of Hindu mythology, created woman from leftover elements after making man. The man repeatedly asks Twashtri to take her back, then to return her, then to relieve him again. Twashtri finally tells him he can neither live with her nor without her, and the man goes away sorrowful. The author calls the legend superior to the Biblical creation narrative.
Chapter 1
Why does the author claim sex knowledge is more important for women than men?
In the preface, the author states that the first chapter shows, which he believes convincingly, why sex knowledge is even more important for women than for men. He says he examined books written for girls and women and found none satisfactory on sex hygiene, the sex instinct, or sex ethics, though some good general hygiene books exist. He wrote this book to fill that gap.
Chapter 1
What purpose does the author say the book should serve?
The author says science and art are both necessary to human happiness, but he insists everything must have a direct human purpose and application. He hopes the book will destroy medieval superstitions, dissipate hampering errors, instill hope in the hopeless, bring joy into joyless homes, and increase the sum total of human happiness, which would gloriously fulfill its mission.
Chapter 1

Section 22 cards

Which topics does Chapter II's listing cover regarding the female sex organs?
Chapter II, "The Female Sex Organs; Their Anatomy," lists the internal sex organs: ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and uterus, including its divisions and conditions such as anteversion, anteflexion, retroversion, retroflexion, and endometritis. It also lists the vagina, hymen (including imperforate hymen), external genitals (vulva, labia majora, labia minora, mons veneris, clitoris, urethra), breasts, and pelvis, plus differences between male and female pelvis.
Chapter 2
What does Chapter IX's listing say the ovum and spermatozoon foretell?
Chapter IX, "Fecundation or Fertilization," lists the process of fecundation, maturation of the ovum, the fate of the ovum when no intercourse has taken place, entrance of spermatozoa, their search for the ovum and rapidity of movement, absorption of the spermatozoon by the ovum, activity of the impregnated ovum in finding a place to develop, tubal pregnancy and its dangers, and twin pregnancy. It states that the passivity of the ovum and activity of the spermatozoon foretell the contrasting roles of man and woman throughout life.
Chapter 2

Section 33 cards

What does the chapter say about complete abstinence from intercourse during pregnancy?
The chapter discusses complete abstinence during pregnancy and the bad results of complete abstinence. It addresses the intensity of relations during the first four months, intercourse during the fifth, sixth, and seventh months, intercourse during the eighth and ninth months, and abstinence after the birth of the child.
Chapter 3
What does the chapter say about the belief that intercourse is only for propagation?
The chapter examines the belief in sexual intercourse for propagation only and asks what such a practice would lead to. It discusses nature and the sex-fanatics, sexual desire in women after menopause, the sex instinct of sterile men and women, and argues that the sex instinct has other high purposes.
Chapter 3
What does the chapter say about the hymen and chastity versus virginity?
The chapter distinguishes chastity from virginity and discusses the worship of an intact hymen. It notes that sacrificing the hymen is sometimes essential for the health of the girl, and it mentions obtaining a certificate from a physician who has ruptured the hymen.
Chapter 3

Section 42 cards

Why does the author argue sex instruction matters more for girls than boys?
The author argues a misstep harms a girl physically, morally, socially, and economically, while a boy's consequences are only physical. A boy is not ostracized or barred from marriage, but a girl risks pregnancy, abortion, an illegitimate child, loss of social standing, and ruined marriage prospects.
Chapter 4
What does the author identify as the real cause of harm from sex instruction?
The author argues it is not sex instruction itself but the wrong kind—lurid exaggeration, wrong emphasis, and misinformation—that causes mischief. Sane, honest, truthful information without exaggeration or maudlin sentimentality can only be beneficent. Better no information at all than false information.
Chapter 4

Section 54 cards

Why does the author consider sex instruction more necessary for girls than boys?
The author argues it is more necessary for girls because sexual ignorance and its possible missteps have far more disastrous consequences for a girl than for a boy, and because the sex instinct and its physical and psychic manifestations occupy a much more important part in woman's life than in man's. He stresses he does not underestimate the male's need, only that the female's is greater.
Chapter 5
What physical burdens does the author cite as handicapping women more than men?
The author cites menstruation, a monthly reminder from about age 13 or 14 to 45 or 50 that is mere annoyance to some but pain or disability to many; the consequences of pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation after sex relations; and the menopause, lasting one or two years with its own discomforts and dangers. He concludes Nature has handicapped woman more heavily.
Chapter 5
What are the ovaries, and what is their function?
The ovaries are the essential organs of reproduction, two in number, embedded in the broad ligaments on each side of the womb. They generate the eggs, or ova, which after fertilization by the male spermatozoa develop into children. The author compares their size and shape to a large blanched almond, about an inch and a half long.
Chapter 5
What are the Fallopian tubes and why does inflammation cause sterility?
The Fallopian tubes, or oviducts, are two thin tubes about five inches long and one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, running from the upper angles of the womb to the ovaries, ending in fringed, trumpet-shaped fimbria. They catch the ova and convey them to the uterus. Because their lumen is so narrow, even slight inflammation can clog them, blocking the eggs and rendering the woman sterile.
Chapter 5

Section 64 cards

What does the Greek word salpinx mean, and what is salpingitis?
Salpinx is Greek for tube, so the Fallopian tube is called the salpinx. Salpingitis is an inflammation of the Fallopian tube. The chapter states that salpingitis causes sterility in the female just as epididymitis does in the male. Salpingectomy is cutting away the whole or a piece of the Fallopian tube and corresponds to vasectomy in the male.
Chapter 6
How does the chapter describe the uterus's size, shape, and position?
The uterus is a hollow muscular organ about the size of a pear, with thick walls that expand greatly in pregnancy. In the adult woman it is about three inches long, two inches broad above, nearly an inch thick, and weighs one to one and a half ounces. It sits in the center of the pelvis between the bladder and rectum, supported chiefly by the broad ligaments.
Chapter 6
What are anteversion, anteflexion, retroversion, and retroflexion of the womb?
If the womb turns forward, the condition is anteversion; if it is bent or flexed forward on itself, it is anteflexion. If the womb turns backward, it is retroversion; if bent or flexed backward on itself, it is retroflexion. The chapter states that an extreme degree of any of these may interfere with impregnation, because spermatozoa may find it difficult or impossible to reach the external os.
Chapter 6
What does the chapter say about the hymen as proof of virginity?
The chapter argues the hymen's presence is no absolute proof of virginity and its absence no absolute proof of sexual relations. A girl may be born without a hymen, or it may be ruptured by vaginal examination, douche, scratching, or accident. An elastic hymen may persist untorn after intercourse. An imperforate hymen, with no opening, must be slit by a doctor so menstrual blood can escape.
Chapter 6

Section 73 cards

What are the two functions of the ovaries described in the chapter?
The chapter states the ovaries have two distinct functions: an egg-producing (oögenetic) or racial function, manufacturing ova so the race can perpetuate itself, and an individual function, manufacturing an internal secretion absorbed by the blood. The author notes ova production begins at puberty and ends at menopause, while the internal secretion lasts the woman's entire life.
Chapter 7
How does the female pelvis differ from the male pelvis, and why?
The chapter says the female pelvis is shallower and wider, less massive, with more widely separated bone margins giving greater hip prominence; the sacrum is shorter and less curved, and the pubic arch is wider and more rounded. The author states this is necessary to let the child's head pass through, and that a full-term living child could never pass through a pelvis exactly like the male's.
Chapter 7
How many ova are present at birth and at puberty, and how many ripen?
The chapter estimates each ovary contains about 100,000 ova at birth, but most disappear so that at puberty each ovary holds only about 30,000. Only one ovum ripens each month from puberty to menopause, roughly 300 to 400 in a lifetime at most. The author calls this lavishness nature's reserve supply for disease, comparing it to the quarter to half million spermatozoa per ejaculation.
Chapter 7

Section 84 cards

What happens to a Graafian follicle just before it bursts?
Before bursting, the follicle swells and enlarges and reaches the surface of the ovary. The whole follicle is congested with blood, but at one point near the ovarian surface it is pale and thin, and rupture takes place there. Each primordial ovum is embedded in a Graafian follicle, named for De Graaf, a Delft physician who described them in 1672.
Chapter 8
How do corpora lutea differ in pregnant versus non-pregnant women?
Up to about a month they are the same. Then the non-pregnant corpus luteum shrinks, becoming a small scar by two or three months and later unnoticeable. The pregnant one keeps growing until the end of the second month, stays about the same until the sixth, then gradually diminishes. The non-pregnant form is called false; the pregnancy form is called true.
Chapter 8
Where does fertilization usually occur, and what does the Fallopian tube do?
The Fallopian tubes catch the ovum as it bursts from the ovary and conduct it to the uterus. While the ovum is in the narrow lumen of the tube, the spermatozoön traveling up from the uterus usually finds it, and impregnation usually takes place in the tube near its entrance to the womb. The fertilized ovum then moves slowly to the uterus.
Chapter 8
What does the author argue about menstruation's usefulness?
The author argues that the uterus's sole useful function is housing and nourishing the embryo from conception to birth. He states that menstruation, though normal because it occurs regularly in healthy women during their child-bearing period, cannot be called necessary or useful. He adds that not every normal function is necessary or useful, and not everything that is is right or useful.
Chapter 8

Section 94 cards

How does the chapter compare the effects of frequent sex emissions in women versus men?
The author argues that pollutions are much rarer in women than in men, and that the fluid secreted by women during intercourse or an erotic dream is mucus, not a vital fluid like semen. Since secreting mucus, even excessively, does not drain the system, women can withstand frequently repeated sex relations and emissions much better than men can.
Chapter 9
What does the chapter say about the female skeleton, muscles, and body contour compared with the male?
The chapter states the entire female skeleton differs from the male's: all bones are smaller and more gracile, and the pelvis is shallower and wider. Muscles are smaller and more rounded, and the body's contour is rounded rather than angular as in man. It also notes finer skin, longer and finer head hair, less body hair, and a higher-pitched voice.
Chapter 9
What does the author say about claims of one sex being superior or inferior to the other?
The author argues it is foolish to speak of the superiority or inferiority of one sex to another. In some respects man is greatly superior, in others inferior, and on the whole the sexes balance one another. He calls the reactionary's claim that woman is inferior just as senseless as the ultra-militant feminist's claim that woman is superior.
Chapter 9
According to the chapter, are people responsible for sexual thoughts and feelings, or for actions?
The author argues we are not responsible for our thoughts and feelings, since they are not under our control, and a thought or feeling can never be sinful — only an action may be. We should still combat and drive away unwanted thoughts, but need not feel shame for their origin. Actions, being under our control to some extent, carry moral responsibility.
Chapter 9

Section 103 cards

What physical sign does the chapter call the first apparent sign of puberty in a girl?
The chapter states the first apparent physical sign of puberty in a girl is the gradual appearance of hair in the armpits, on the mons Veneris and the labia majora. It explains the word puberty derives from Latin puber (ripe), itself from pubes (fine hair), since mammals develop thicker hair at maturity. All genital organs also enlarge, and the ovaries begin manufacturing ova.
Chapter 10
According to the chapter, what psychic changes occur in girls during puberty?
The author argues puberty is a period of emotional development: the girl becomes sensitive, self-conscious with boys and men, and filled with vague longings rather than distinct sexual desire. He describes 'crushes' on girl friends as a harmless safety valve, rarely leading to abnormal development, and notes day-dreaming and romancing, urging older persons to guide girls toward books of noble ideals.
Chapter 10
How does the chapter define nubility, and what marriage ages does it recommend?
The chapter calls nubility the age or state when a boy or girl is 'fit' for marriage, but labels the term vague and unsatisfactory. Though physically capable of parenthood at thirteen to fifteen, the author argues such young parents produce weaklings, and advises the youngest marriage age as eighteen for girls and twenty for boys, with parenthood at twenty to twenty-two for mothers and twenty-three to twenty-five for fathers.
Chapter 10

Section 114 cards

Where does menstrual blood originate, and what happens to it if pregnancy occurs?
The blood comes from the inside lining of the womb (the endometrium), which becomes congested and its blood vessels distended before menstruation. If pregnancy occurs, this extra blood nourishes and develops the child. If no pregnancy occurs, the blood exudes from the vessels (some rupture) and is discharged from the uterus into the vagina and out.
Chapter 11
What ages does the chapter give for menstruation beginning and ceasing?
In this country menstruation usually begins at thirteen or fourteen, ranging from twelve to seventeen; earlier than twelve or later than seventeen is a rare exception. In cold northern climates eighteen is not rare, and in hot southern climates ten or eleven. Menstruation ceases at the menopause, usually forty-eight or fifty, sometimes as early as forty-four or as late as fifty-two.
Chapter 11
How does the chapter define menorrhagia, metrorrhagia, amenorrhea, and vicarious menstruation?
Menorrhagia is very profuse menstruation resembling a hemorrhage. Metrorrhagia is hemorrhage from the uterus outside the regular menstrual periods. Amenorrhea is when menses are skipped or so scanty hardly any blood is noticed. Vicarious menstruation is when menstruation comes from another body part instead of the uterus, such as the nose or breasts; the chapter calls such cases rare curiosities.
Chapter 11
What does the chapter say about the causes of dysmenorrhea and its frequency?
Dysmenorrhea means painful, difficult menstruation. The author argues it is a mistake to think all or most cases are due to local trouble such as inflamed ovaries or a displaced womb; many are of nervous origin, residing in the central nervous system. He advises against local treatment unless a competent physician examines and decides it is advisable. A statistical examination of 4,000 women found dysmenorrhea in 52 percent.
Chapter 11

Section 124 cards

What should a mother explain to a girl at twelve or thirteen?
The mother should explain menstruation and its likely near arrival, telling her there is nothing shameful about it and that she should tell her mother at once when it appears. She should be shown how to use sanitary napkins. Unwashed rags should not be used, since the author says unclean rags may lead to infection and that many cases of leucorrhea trace back to them.
Chapter 12
What douche does the author recommend for married women?
The author recommends a daily douche of two quarts of water with a teaspoonful of table salt, or a tablespoonful of borax or boric acid dissolved in it. Agents like alum, potassium permanganate, carbolic acid, lactic acid, or tincture of iodine should be used only when leucorrhea is present, and generally only under a physician's directions.
Chapter 12
What bathing does the author advise during menstruation?
The author says bathing is permissible but that only a lukewarm bath is safe. Cold tub baths, cold shower baths, and ocean or river bathing are best avoided, at least during the first two days. He does not give this as an absolute rule, noting he knows exceptionally robust women who swim in the ocean during their periods without injury, but says advice in books is for the average person.
Chapter 12
What happens to the ovum if no intercourse occurs?
The mature ovum breaks through its Graafian follicle, is caught by the fimbriated end of the Fallopian tube, and travels toward the uterus. If no intercourse has taken place, nothing happens: the ovum dries up or dies and either remains in the tube or womb or is removed with menstruation or mucous discharge.
Chapter 12

Section 134 cards

What is extra-uterine (ectopic) pregnancy, and why is it dangerous?
It occurs when the impregnated ovum remains in the Fallopian tube and develops there instead of the uterus. The tube cannot stretch like the uterus nor nourish the embryo as well. Unless diagnosed early and operated upon, the tube generally ruptures after a few weeks or months, placing the woman in great danger.
Chapter 13
How is the probable date of delivery calculated from the last menstruation?
Count back three months from the first day of the last menstruation and add seven days. For example, April 4th becomes January 4th, then January 11th. The chapter notes the result is approximate only, and short months like February may be disregarded.
Chapter 13
What terms does the chapter give for the developing offspring at different stages?
Once the ovum is joined by a spermatozoön it is technically a zygote, also called an embryo. The name embryo applies until about five or six weeks, though some use it up to two or three months. After that, until birth, it is called a fetus.
Chapter 13
What does the chapter say about the ovum's and spermatozoön's roles, and the author's view on equality?
The ovum has no motion of its own; it is moved by the tube's lining cells and remains passive. The spermatozoön is continuously active until reaching the ovum. The author argues woman's role is passive and man's active, and that while equality would be desirable, whether biological differences can be obliterated lies in the distant future.
Chapter 13

Section 144 cards

According to Dr. Ely's table, what date of confinement follows menstruation on June 1st?
The table places June 1st in the top line, with March 8th directly below it, so confinement may be expected on March 8th. The explanation adds that the date may be one day earlier if it is leap year.
Chapter 14
How is Dr. Ely's table used to estimate the date of confinement?
The date of menstruation is located in the top line of the table, and the figure printed directly below it indicates the date when confinement may be expected. The table is organized by month, pairing each month of menstruation with the month in which confinement is expected.
Chapter 14
What does the author argue about civilized women and the difficulty of pregnancy and childbirth?
The author argues that the civilized, refined woman has a harder ordeal in pregnancy and childbirth than her primitive sister, attributing this to confined, unnatural, often exhausting ways of living. He hopes true hygiene will become part of every girl's education, making pregnancy and parturition easier in the future.
Chapter 14
What does the author say about women whose pregnancy runs a smooth course?
The author says some women know they are pregnant only by the non-appearance of monthly periods, feel no discomfort in later months, attend to work and pleasures as usual, and find childbirth trifling. He notes, however, that the number of such women is not very large and is becoming smaller.
Chapter 14

Section 154 cards

When does morning sickness typically begin and end in pregnancy?
The chapter states morning sickness usually first appears in the third, fourth, or fifth week of pregnancy and lasts until the end of the third or fourth month. Some women experience it within days of impregnation and use the slight nausea on getting up to recognize their condition. Medicines are generally of little use; the condition can be relieved but not cured, and treatment includes staying in bed longer, breakfast in bed, and resting about half an hour afterward.
Chapter 15
What distinguishes pernicious vomiting from ordinary morning sickness?
Pernicious vomiting is so severe and uncontrollable that the patient cannot retain any food, not even liquids, vomits almost incessantly, and may become very run down and exhausted. The vomited matter may contain blood. The chapter says a competent physician must be consulted, because in some cases the patient's life may be in danger and an abortion has to be performed.
Chapter 15
What four forms can capricious appetite take during pregnancy?
The chapter lists four directions: (1) anorexia, near-total loss of appetite with only small amounts eaten with effort; (2) bulimia, an enormous appetite eating several times the usual amount; (3) aversion to certain foods, such as meat, whose sight or mention causes nausea; and (4) craving for peculiar articles, including non-foods like chalk and sand. The chapter notes chalk may serve a purpose, since the system needs extra lime and chalk is carbonate of lime.
Chapter 15
How does the chapter recommend managing constipation in pregnancy?
Constipation must be guarded against with mild measures. Dietary measures are preferred: plenty of fruit such as prunes, apples, figs, and dates, plus coarse bread and bran, while eliminating constipating items like cheese and coffee. If diet is insufficient, an enema of about 8 ounces of cold or lukewarm water with a pinch of salt, retained about ten minutes, may be used two or three times weekly, or glycerin enemas or suppositories. Only the mildest non-griping laxatives, such as mineral oil or fluid extract of cascara sagrada, should be used, and the chapter stresses not using the same remedy for long, since the bowels adapt and require larger doses.
Chapter 15

Section 164 cards

What does the chapter recommend to prevent varicose veins during pregnancy?
The author advises wearing a well-fitting abdominal belt or maternity corset to support the womb and keep it from sinking too low into the pelvis. If varicose veins have already developed, the woman should wear well-fitting rubber stockings or have the legs bandaged with woven elastic bandages, applied uniformly and not too tightly by a competent person. Constipation should also be addressed, and severe cases may require bed rest with legs elevated.
Chapter 16
How does the chapter treat liver spots (chloasma) in pregnancy?
The author states that irregular brownish patches may develop on the skin around the breasts, on the sides, or on the face. Nothing can be done for them, but they generally disappear after the pregnancy is over, though a few patches here and there may remain permanently.
Chapter 16
When does the author say a pregnant woman should engage a physician?
The author argues a woman should consult a physician as soon as she knows she is pregnant and remain under care for the entire pregnancy, or at least by the third or fourth month and certainly no later than the fifth. Waiting until the eighth or ninth month is decidedly wrong, since it may be too late to correct troubles that could have been easily cured earlier.
Chapter 16
What diet and exercise does the chapter recommend during a normal pregnancy?
If there is no severe vomiting or kidney trouble, the usual mixed diet may continue, with plenty of hot water (six to twelve glasses daily), milk, buttermilk, fermented milk, fruit and vegetables, meat only once a day, and whole wheat, rye or bran bread for constipation. The author argues both extremes of exercise are injurious; moderate exercise and short, non-fatiguing walks are right.
Chapter 16

Section 174 cards

How does the fetus receive nourishment and oxygen from the mother?
The author explains that fetal and maternal blood do not mix; thin vessel walls separate them, and fetal blood receives needed ingredients from the mother's blood by absorption or osmosis. The blood from the placenta also supplies the fetal blood with oxygen, so the fetus breathes by aid of the placenta, not its own lungs.
Chapter 17
What does the chapter say about nervous connection between mother and child?
The author states there is absolutely no nervous connection between mother and child; the umbilical cord contains no nerves, so the two nervous systems are entirely separate. This, he argues, explains why nervous shocks received by the mother are not readily transmitted to the child. The fetus can be influenced only through changes in the mother's blood, and the author is skeptical of 'maternal impressions.'
Chapter 17
What are the chapter's conditions for a mother nursing her child?
The author argues every mother should nurse if she can, since there is no perfect substitute for mother's milk. The only excuses are having no milk, milk of such poor quality the child does not thrive, or the mother being run down or threatened with or suffering from tuberculosis, in which case nursing would injure both mother and child.
Chapter 17
What precautions does the author recommend before engaging a wet nurse?
The author advises great care: make sure the wet nurse is healthy, that her own child's age is approximately the same as the child she will nurse, and particularly that she is free from any syphilitic taint. He recommends one, two, or more Wassermann tests to settle the question definitely. A wet nurse is only needed if a delicate child does not thrive on modified cow's milk or other artificial foods.
Chapter 17

Section 184 cards

How does the author recommend treating cracked nipples during nursing?
The author recommends nursing through a nipple shield and applying a preparation of thymol iodide (½ dram) and olive oil (½ ounce) every hour between nursings, covered with cotton. Before each nursing it must be washed off with warm water or warm boric acid solution, and the infant's lips should also be wiped with boric acid solution to prevent bacteria from entering the cracks and causing mastitis.
Chapter 18
What does the author say is the best way to dry up breast milk?
The author argues the best approach is to leave the breasts alone, gently supporting them with a bandage, and the secretion will gradually disappear in three or four days. He condemns tight bandaging as causing unnecessary pain and pumping as counterproductive, since it keeps up the secretion rather than stopping it. Some discomfort in the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours is expected but is less than with manipulation.
Chapter 18
What does the chapter say about menstruation and pregnancy during nursing?
The chapter states many women do not menstruate or become pregnant while nursing, and some use prolonged nursing to avoid another child. However, about fifty percent begin menstruating in the sixth month of lactation, and some become pregnant even before menstruation returns. The author warns that women relying on lactation as a safeguard may find themselves pregnant. If a nursing woman discovers pregnancy, she should stop nursing at once.
Chapter 18
How does the chapter distinguish abortion, miscarriage, and premature labor?
The chapter states abortion in the strict sense applies to expulsion of the fetus up to the end of the 16th week; miscarriage applies between the 16th and 28th weeks; and premature labor applies after the 28th week but before full term. The laity dislikes the term abortion, believing it always means criminal abortion, so it prefers miscarriage regardless of timing. The chapter also defines spontaneous, induced, therapeutic, criminal, missed, and habitual abortion.
Chapter 18

Section 194 cards

According to the author, when is abortion relatively safe versus gravely dangerous?
The author states that abortion performed by an experienced physician with strict asepsis and antisepsis carries very little or no danger. But when performed carelessly by incompetent or non-conscientious physicians and midwives, it threatens the patient's health or life. He adds that abortion is a major cause of premature death and chronic invalidism among women.
Chapter 19
What moral position does the author take on abortion?
The author argues abortion is sometimes morally justifiable, for instance in cases of rape or when the mother is unmarried, yet he insists it must still be recognized as an evil—a necessary evil now and then. He says it should never be undertaken lightly or frivolously, and that serious-minded people should work to remove the conditions making abortion necessary.
Chapter 19
Does the author believe maternal emotions or illness during pregnancy reliably harm the child?
The author argues the child has no nervous connection with the mother, and only very violent or prolonged shocks are apt to injure it. He reports cases of children born normal despite maternal anger, jealousy, pneumonia, typhoid, and even attempted abortions. He still advises hygiene during pregnancy but warns against taking prenatal care in too absolute a sense.
Chapter 19
What does the author say about a father's drinking at conception and child defects?
The author argues a chronic alcoholic has a defective germ-plasm, so his children are apt to be defective. But he says a glass of wine at a wedding banquet cannot affect previously formed spermatozoa, and claims that statements linking an occasional glass of wine to defective children are unworthy of serious consideration.
Chapter 19

Section 204 cards

What is the normal age range for menopause, and what is the average?
The chapter states the average age of menopause is about forty-eight. Some women menstruate until fifty, fifty-two, or even fifty-five, while others stop at forty-five or forty-two. The normal limits are between forty-four and fifty-two; anything before or beyond that range is described as exceptional.
Chapter 20
According to the author, what causes most distressing menopause symptoms?
The author argues that many, if not most, distressing menopause symptoms are due not to the menopause itself but to wrong ideas about it. Women believe the menopause ends their sexual life and makes them neuter beings, which depresses them. He insists the reproductive function is not synonymous with the sexual function.
Chapter 20
What does the author say about sexual desire during and after menopause?
The author insists that sexual desire in women lasts long beyond the cessation of menopause, with many women as passionate at sixty as at thirty. He also notes some women experience heightened libido during the transitional years, which may be normal, due to local congestion, or psychic and autosuggestive.
Chapter 20
What treatments and support does the author recommend for menopause symptoms?
Treatment should be in the hands of a competent physician. The author says a little wholesome advice may be more efficient than gallons of medicine and bushels of pills. He recommends a calm life, daily warm baths, guarding against constipation, hot vaginal douches for flushes, and a husband who is doubly kind and considerate.
Chapter 20

Section 214 cards

What does the author recommend when a woman's sexual demands seem abnormally strong?
The author argues that when libido is normal it should be normally gratified, but when demands are abnormally strong and too frequent, sexual gratification should not be indulged in, since it only adds fuel to the fire and demands may grow more insistent, possibly reaching nymphomania. In such cases the aid of a tactful physician is indispensable.
Chapter 21
What signs does the author attribute to the male climacteric between forty-five and fifty-five?
The author states that sexologists and psychologists believe men undergo a change of life, or male climacteric, between forty-five and fifty-five. Men become irritable, capricious, susceptible to feminine charms, apt to fall in love, and in many the sexual instinct is greatly increased. This increase may stem from pathologic causes such as an inflamed prostate gland, or from psychic origin.
Chapter 21
How does the author compare the frequency of masturbation among girls and boys?
The author states the habit is much less widespread among girls than boys: about ninety per cent of boys, nine out of ten, masturbate more or less, while only about ten or at most twenty per cent of girls are addicted. Despite the lower percentage, the author argues the habit is injurious and more permanent in its effects on girls.
Chapter 21
What does the author say about parents' reaction to discovering a child masturbates?
The author argues parents react as if a calamity occurred, scolding, frightening, and shaming the child, sometimes in front of others, with disastrous results worse than the masturbation itself. He urges leaving aside the moral side, emphasizing physical injuriousness kindly, and notes the habit's harm has been greatly exaggerated and most children outgrow it.
Chapter 21

Section 223 cards

Why does the author say leucorrhea resists treatment, especially in girls?
The author argues the discharge usually does not originate in the vagina but in the neck of the womb, so vaginal injections cannot reach the root of the trouble. Only a physician, using a speculum, can treat the cervix. In girls, fear of rupturing the hymen makes them refuse thorough examination, so leucorrhea may progress to chronic inflammation of the womb and Fallopian tubes.
Chapter 22
What sleeping arrangements does the author demand to prevent masturbation in children?
The author insists no two people share a bed under any circumstances, including mother, father, brother, or sister, since intimate contact may unintentionally initiate masturbation. Children should sleep alone on a rather hard mattress with light covering, arms out on the cover, never under it. They should not loll in bed and must rise as soon as they awake.
Chapter 22
What does the author identify as causes of the catarrh behind leucorrhea?
The author says leucorrhea's cause is catarrh in any part of the female genital tract, and lists catarrh's causes: colds, wet feet and chilling during menses, long standing, lifting heavy bundles, dancing in overheated rooms then going out scantily clad, prolonged ungratified sexual excitement, lack of genital cleanliness, plus rundown condition, worry, overwork, hard study, and lack of fresh air.
Chapter 22

Section 234 cards

What general hygienic measures does the author recommend for the patient?
The author advises limiting time on her feet, avoiding walking to exhaustion, and preferring several short walks over one long one. A modern corset, if worn, should support and raise the abdominal organs rather than press them down, lacing from below up, without interfering with respiration. Constipation should be treated mildly with regular bowel habits, and iron preparations or a cold bath with brisk dry rubbing may help where anemia and weakness aggravate the condition.
Chapter 23
When does the author consider self-treatment justified, and what limits does he set?
The author argues self-treatment is justified when no physician is available, when a woman strongly objects to gynecological examination, or when she is too poor to pay. He permits it only if the remedies are harmless and sure to do some good, improving the condition even without a complete cure. Local application to the vagina and uterus should be done by a physician or nurse; suppositories and douches the patient may do herself.
Chapter 23
How is an alum tampon prepared and used according to the chapter?
Take absorbent cotton about the size of a fist, spread it out, add about a tablespoonful of powdered alum, fold it, tie a string around the center, and insert it as far as it will go, leaving it for twenty-four hours. Then pull it gently by the string and syringe with one or two quarts of warm water. It may be inserted every other or every third day; the author reports many cases cured by this alone.
Chapter 23
How should iodine and lactic acid douches be prepared and administered?
Use two teaspoonfuls of tincture of iodine in two quarts of hot water, or two tablespoonfuls of lactic acid per two quarts; iodine stains, lactic acid is colorless. They may be alternated, and doses reduced as the condition improves. The author directs douching lying down over a douche pan with the bag only about a foot above the bed, remaining in bed at least half an hour afterward, and avoiding patent medicines.
Chapter 23

Section 244 cards

What exaggerated claim by Dr. Noeggerath does the author cite as absurd?
The author cites Dr. Noeggerath's claim that 80 percent of all men have gonorrhea and that 90 percent of these remain uncured and infect or are apt to infect their wives. The author calls this a ridiculously absurd exaggeration, noting that if true the race would be dying out, yet the statement is copied from book to book as gospel truth.
Chapter 24
What did Dr. Morrow claim that the author calls self-contradictory?
Dr. Morrow claimed there is more venereal disease among innocent, virtuous wives than among prostitutes. The author calls this ridiculous, since Morrow also said every prostitute without exception was diseased at one time or another. If disease among prostitutes is 100 percent, it cannot be greater among virtuous wives; careful venereologists believe it does not exceed five percent among married women.
Chapter 24
What harmful effects did Miriam C. Gould's study find from girls' knowledge of venereal disease?
Gould interviewed 50 young girls, 25 college students and 25 not. She found a large percentage of harmful results bordering on neurasthenia, melancholia, pessimism and sex antagonism. Eleven developed pronounced repulsion for men, six lost faith in men's moral cleanness, and eight refused or intended to refuse marriage because the risk of infection seemed too great, leaving them unhappy.
Chapter 24
What figures does the author give as the actual prevalence of gonorrhea and syphilis?
The author says exact figures are unobtainable, but unbiased investigations suggest about 20 percent of adult males have gonorrhea at some time, 8 to 10 percent are not entirely cured when marrying, and 4 or 5 percent (some say 2 percent) of wives become infected. Syphilis prevalence he gives as between 2 and 5 percent, far below the 75, 50 or 25 percent some lecturers claim.
Chapter 24

Section 254 cards

What causes gonorrhea, and who discovered the germ?
Gonorrhea is an inflammation caused by a germ called the gonococcus, discovered by Dr. A. Neisser of Breslau, Germany, in 1879. Any mucous membrane may be affected, but it prefers the genital organs and the eye. Principal symptoms are inflammation, pain, burning, and discharge. In men it attacks the urethra; in women the cervix, urethra, and vulva.
Chapter 25
Why is gonorrhea seldom found in the adult vagina but common in little girls?
The mucous membrane of the adult vagina is rather tough and does not offer a good soil for the gonococcus germ, so the vagina is seldom attacked in adult women. In little girls, whose vaginal lining is tender, gonorrhea of the vagina and vulva is common. In women the discharge comes principally or exclusively from the neck of the womb.
Chapter 25
Why is gonorrhea not considered hereditary, and how do newborns get eye inflammation?
Nobody inherits gonorrhea. A child may be born with gonorrheal eye inflammation (ophthalmia neonatorum), but this is not inherited; it is acquired when pus in the mother's birth canal gets into the child's eyes during birth. This simple infection can be avoided by keeping the mother's birth canal clean with antiseptic douches before childbirth.
Chapter 25
Why is gonorrhea dangerous in women despite being less painful?
Gonorrhea is generally less painful in women, which is a bad thing: women neglect treatment and lose valuable time, letting the disease develop. It often starts in the cervix and may last a long time before the woman notices. A woman may have chronic gonorrhea for months or years unaware, and the author urges seeking aid at any change in discharge, odor, urination, or painful intercourse.
Chapter 25

Section 264 cards

What is the principal symptom of vulvovaginitis in little girls?
The principal symptom is a creamy discharge, often first noticed by the mother on the girl's linen or underwear. The discharge may be very profuse, covering the vulva, vagina, and cervix. In severe cases the urethra may also be infected, causing burning at urination, itching and pain around the vulva and anus, slight abdominal pain, moderate fever up to 101°F, and occasionally mild joint inflammation.
Chapter 26
What measures does the author recommend to prevent vulvovaginitis in children?
The author recommends that all children always sleep alone, never with a sister, mother, friend, governess, or servant. He advises caution about overnight visits to friends' homes, since a boarder or relative there may be infected. Children should be kept from contact with anyone known to have gonorrheal infection, genitals should be frequently inspected and kept scrupulously clean, and schools should use open-front U-shaped toilet seats rather than wooden ones.
Chapter 26
What serious long-term effects does the chapter attribute to vulvovaginitis in girls?
The author lists several evil sequelae: the disease is long-drawn and persistent, often lasting months to years, with common relapses; treatment is disagreeable and occasionally painful; it damages the child's morale, making her feel an outcast; it frequently interrupts her education; it hastens sexual maturity and increases sexual demand; and even a mild case may cause permanent sterility.
Chapter 26
When was the syphilis germ discovered, and what is the chancre?
The germ, spirocheta pallida, a pale spiral-shaped organism, was discovered in 1905 by the German scientist Fritz Schaudinn. The chancre, or primary lesion, appears ten days to three weeks after infection at the spot where the germs entered. By then the spirochetes are already circulating in the blood, so the disease is constitutional and cutting out the chancre will not cure it.
Chapter 26

Section 274 cards

What does the chapter say about a syphilitic woman conceiving or bearing a child?
The author argues that no woman who had syphilis, or whose husband had it, should dare to conceive or give birth unless a competent physician gives permission. He treats this as a social matter, not merely personal: a woman may risk her own body, but society has a right to interfere to prevent syphilitically tainted children.
Chapter 27
Why can the mild course of syphilis in women be considered a misfortune?
The chapter explains that syphilis runs milder in women than in men, but this is not an unmixed blessing. Because symptoms may be vague or absent for months or years, women sincerely deny any infection and treatment is delayed until internal organs are deeply affected. Often only a Wassermann test reveals the real trouble.
Chapter 27
How does the chapter compare locomotor ataxia and general paresis in women versus men?
The chapter states that locomotor ataxia, described as one of the most terrible sequelae of syphilis, is much more rare in women than in men. General paresis, also called general paralysis of the insane or softening of the brain, is likewise much more rare in women than in men.
Chapter 27
What are chancroids, and how significant are they compared with syphilis and gonorrhea?
Chancroids are little ulcers on the genitals that are purely local and do not affect the system. The chapter attributes them largely to uncleanliness, found among poorer prostitutes and poorer men, and says they are now rare in private practice. They are of little significance compared with syphilis and gonorrhea, the two diseases meant by the venereal peril.
Chapter 27

Section 284 cards

What does the author recommend a woman do if suspicious intercourse occurs?
The author advises using an antiseptic douche both before and after suspicious intercourse; if inconvenient, a douche after alone must suffice, though both is safer. A bichloride tablet of about 7½ grains dissolved in two quarts of water is given as an effective formula, with alternatives including carbolic acid, chinosol, lysol, or boric acid.
Chapter 28
What non-venereal sources of infection does the chapter warn women against?
The author warns against public toilets (cover the seat with paper), public drinking cups (keep lips off the rim), public towels and roller towels, used hotel bed linen, and public brushes or combs. He also urges choosing a dentist who sterilizes instruments, a syphilis-free manicurist, and avoiding promiscuous kissing, since mucous patches on lips and tongue are infectious.
Chapter 28
How does the author illustrate alcohol's role in venereal infection?
The author argues alcohol befuddles the mind so men forget prophylaxis, and cites a 28-year-old engaged lawyer who abstained a year, then at a bachelor dinner with champagne and smutty stories met a siren, used no prophylactic, and three weeks later had a primary syphilitic lesion. The author insists this is not isolated but typical.
Chapter 28
What does the author claim about kissing as a source of syphilis?
The author argues promiscuous kissing is a real peril, especially for young girls, and that thousands of syphilis cases were contracted directly from kissing. People with syphilis often have infectious mucous patches on lips, tongue, and inside cheeks; kissing games have spread syphilis to many. He cites a nineteen-year-old girl infected from kissing a man once.
Chapter 28

Section 294 cards

What percentage of venereal infections did Dr. Hugo Hecht's analysis of 1,000 cases attribute to alcohol?
In his analysis of 1,000 cases of venereal infection, Dr. Hugo Hecht found over 40 per cent occurred under the influence of alcohol. The chapter contrasts this with Forel's claim of 76 per cent and Notthaft's more moderate 30 per cent, noting Hecht's figure falls between them. Among the infected were 75 married men, 45 of whom (60 per cent) were under alcohol's influence when infected extra-maritally.
Chapter 29
According to the author, how does alcohol directly and indirectly spread venereal disease?
The author argues alcohol increases the amount of intercourse, stimulates the sex instinct beyond natural needs, and paralyzes willpower and judgment. He lists five counts: unnecessary indulgence, loss of discrimination in partners, longer exposure, increased genital congestion making both sexes more susceptible to infection, and carelessness with prophylactics. He also claims alcohol affects women more strongly than men.
Chapter 29
What conditions must a man who had gonorrhea meet before being pronounced safe for marriage?
The chapter lists five conditions: no discharge; perfectly clear urine free from shreds; prostatic and seminal vesicle secretions free from pus and gonococci, best confirmed by repeating the examination three times; no stricture or patches in the urethra; and a negative complement-fixation blood test. The author notes he sometimes permits marriage with minor catarrhal discharge or shreds, but only after repeated exams show no gonococci.
Chapter 29
What does the author propose as a prerequisite to a marriage license, and why?
The author argues people should present a certificate of freedom from transmissible venereal disease before receiving a marriage license, to prevent marital infection, gonorrheal ophthalmia in children, and hereditary syphilis. He believes custom may be more efficient than law, and that if premarital examination became a universal custom, no law would be needed. He also predicts all venereal disease will eventually disappear.
Chapter 29

Section 304 cards

When may a woman who once had gonorrhea be considered presumably cured?
The author says urine must be clear, urethra normal, discharge free of gonococci and pus, and complement-fixation tests negative. Examinations should be made on the last day of menstruation or the first two days after, because hidden gonococci may appear with menstrual blood. If there was salpingitis, cure can never be stated positively—only presumed.
Chapter 30
How does the author determine fertility in a male candidate for marriage?
He says the problem is simple: obtain a specimen of semen and examine it microscopically. If it contains a normal number of lively, rapidly moving spermatozoa, the man is fertile regardless of past epididymitis. If there are no spermatozoa, or only a few deformed or lazily moving ones, he is sterile.
Chapter 30
Why can a woman's fertility after gonorrhea not be determined?
The author argues it is absolutely impossible, since there is no way to express an ovum from the ovary. Tubes may be closed by inflammation without pain, or a woman may have had severe bilateral salpingitis and still be fertile. Ovarian capacity cannot be assessed either; only surmise is possible, and it is as often wrong as right.
Chapter 30
What rules does the author set for a syphilitic patient to marry?
He would make it invariable that no syphilitic patient marry before five years have elapsed from infection. Time alone is insufficient: the patient must also have received thorough systematic treatment for at least three years, constantly or off and on, according to the physician's judgment. He notes syphilis differs from gonorrhea because danger to offspring remains.
Chapter 30

Section 314 cards

What four conditions must a syphilitic person meet before being permitted to marry?
The chapter lists four conditions: at least one year free from any manifestations of syphilis such as skin eruptions, mucous patches, bone swelling, or ulcerations; and four Wassermann tests, taken three months apart while receiving no specific treatment, must be absolutely negative. If all four conditions are fully met, the patient may be permitted to marry.
Chapter 31
Why are requirements stricter for syphilitics who expect children soon?
The author argues that if a man is free of skin lesions and mucous patches, his wife is safe from infection as long as she does not become pregnant. But if she conceives, she may become infected through the fetus, and the child is liable to be syphilitic. Hence much stricter requirements are needed for syphilitics who expect to become parents than for those who do not.
Chapter 31
What does the author say about marriage and children when both partners are syphilitic?
The author argues permission to marry may be granted without hesitation because the danger of infection between them is absent, but permission to have children must be refused absolutely and unequivocally. Regardless of elapsed time, treatment, or Wassermann tests, the danger to the child is too great if both parents carry the syphilitic taint. A healthy child may be born, but the author says we have no right to take the chance.
Chapter 31
In the case of the fiancée and the man with past syphilis, what did the physician decide and what happened?
The man had contracted syphilis ten years earlier and received irregular treatment; he had no symptoms for five years and a negative Wassermann test, but the physician noticed slowness in thinking and slight hesitation in speech. He could not give a clean bill of health, told the woman she must decide never to have children, and warned of possible general paresis or locomotor ataxia. They married childless; he developed general paresis three years later and died about a year afterward.
Chapter 31

Section 324 cards

Does the chapter say tuberculosis is hereditary?
The chapter states tuberculosis is not hereditary: the germs are not transmitted by heredity. It was formerly thought hereditary because whole families were carried off, but the disease actually spread by infection, such as dried sputum mixed with dust and inhaled. However, the weak constitution that favors development of tuberculosis is inherited, so children of tuberculous parents need special care.
Chapter 32
What marriage advice does the chapter give for tuberculous patients?
The author advises that a person with an active tuberculous lesion should not marry, and a tuberculous person should wait two or three years until lesions are declared healed by a competent physician. He adds that tuberculous patients are often poor providers and that sexual intercourse strongly influences disease development. He argues no tuberculous woman should ever marry because pregnancy has an extremely pernicious effect.
Chapter 32
Why does the chapter call serious heart disease a contraindication to marriage?
The chapter gives three reasons: the patient's life may be cut off at any time; sexual intercourse is injurious and may aggravate the disease or cause sudden death, more so than in tuberculosis; and pregnancy has a very detrimental effect on a diseased heart, sometimes snapping it suddenly during delivery. The author argues women with serious heart disease should never be permitted to become pregnant.
Chapter 32
Does the chapter consider cancer hereditary, and when is marriage inadvisable?
The chapter states cancer is not a hereditary disease, contrary to prevailing opinion, and if a matrimonial candidate is otherwise healthy, no hesitation need be felt on the score of heredity. The author argues fear of hereditary transmission has caused unnecessary anxiety. However, if many members of one family died of cancer, that indicates some disease or dyscrasia in the family, making marriage with a member inadvisable.
Chapter 32

Section 334 cards

According to the chapter, what makes obesity a dysgenic factor?
The author argues obesity is a dysgenic factor because the obese are prone to heart disease, asthma, apoplexy, gallstones, gout, diabetes, and constipation, withstand pneumonia and infectious diseases poorly, and are bad surgical risks. He notes exceptions: some obese people are indefatigable workers, and if family history is healthy and there are no circulatory disturbances, no strong objections can be raised.
Chapter 33
Why does the chapter argue gout is not truly hereditary?
The author argues gout was long mistaken for hereditary because it appeared across generations. He contends the real cause is excessive eating, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, and faulty elimination; since children generally live as their fathers did, they develop the same diseases. Gout is rare among the abstemious poor, so it is not a bar to marriage if the individual is healthy.
Chapter 33
How can mumps in childhood affect later fertility, and what does the chapter advise?
Mumps (parotitis) can inflame the testicles or ovaries, sometimes shrivelling them or leaving them unable to produce spermatozoa or ova, even without noticeable symptoms. The prostate may also atrophy. The author says a man who had mumps should be examined for sterility before marriage, that mumps reduces fertility chances, and that no one who had mumps should marry without informing their partner.
Chapter 33
What inheritance pattern does the chapter describe for hemophilia?
The author describes hemophilia as attacking almost exclusively males but being transmitted almost exclusively through females. In his example, a non-bleeder woman from a bleeder family has sons who are bleeders and daughters who are not; the sons' children are not bleeders, but the daughters' male children are. He concludes bleeder boys may marry, but girls from hemophilic families must not.
Chapter 33

Section 342 cards

What does the chapter say about anemia and chlorosis as barriers to marriage?
The author states that anemia and chlorosis are not contra-indications to marriage because they are usually treatable. Some cases, he claims, stem from lack of normal sexual relations and improve soon after marriage. Still, he advises anemic patients to undergo treatment and improve their condition before marrying.
Chapter 34
How hereditary is epilepsy according to the chapter, and what marriage advice follows?
The author says epilepsy is less hereditary than once thought, ascertainable in only about 5 percent of cases, yet still calls it a decidedly dysgenic agent and advises against marriage with an epileptic. If both parents are epileptic, children are almost sure to be epileptic, and such marriages should be prohibited by law.
Chapter 34

Section 354 cards

According to the chapter, what distinguishes functional from organic insanity?
The chapter states functional insanity may be temporary or periodical, caused by external factors like shock, trouble, anxiety, or accidents, is curable, and is not hereditary. Organic insanity, expressed as manic-depressive mania and melancholy, is due to degeneration of brain and nerve tissue and is hereditary.
Chapter 35
What does the chapter say about puerperal insanity and its transmissibility?
The chapter describes puerperal insanity as insanity some women develop during childbirth, probably due to toxic infection. It may be extreme and maniacal, but often passes in a few days without leaving any trace, may never return or return only during another childbirth, and is not transmissible.
Chapter 35
What does the chapter claim about heredity versus environment in insanity?
The author argues the hereditary character of insanity is no longer taken as absolute. While still considered a dysgenic factor, environment and proper bringing-up, including mental and physical discipline, can counteract any hereditary taint. The author is inclined to consider environment a more important factor than heredity.
Chapter 35
Why does the chapter argue eugenics from animals cannot fully apply to humans?
The chapter says neuroses and psychopathy are dysgenic factors, but people with these conditions are often among the world's greatest geniuses. Since insanity is allied to genius, preventing marriage among abnormal people would deprive the world of great men and women. Similarly, physically inferior people may be great poets, philosophers, or discoverers.
Chapter 35

Section 364 cards

According to the chapter, when is a marriage between close blood relatives acceptable?
The author argues consanguineous marriages are not bad per se; the risk depends on heredity. If a bad trait like epilepsy or insanity runs in the family, both cousins may carry it, so such marriages should be forbidden. But if there is no hereditary taint and the family is intelligent or talented, the author says there is no objection and such marriages should even be encouraged.
Chapter 36
What evidence does the chapter offer against the idea that consanguineous marriages cause deaf-mutism?
The author cites recent statistics from German asylums showing only about five percent of deaf and dumb children had consanguineous parents. Since 95 percent had non-consanguineous parents, he argues one cannot call consanguinity the cause even in the remaining five percent, and may assume mere coincidence. He also notes Egyptian kings married sisters and Darwin's parents were first cousins.
Chapter 36
Why does the chapter say a homosexual person has no right to marry?
The author argues the wrong is double: to the normal partner, who will discover the abnormality or receive no satisfaction from an act done with loathing, and to the offspring, since he claims homosexuality is hereditary. He states no homosexual should marry, and adds that long sexual repression favors the development of homosexuality.
Chapter 36
What does the chapter say about drug addiction as a hereditary factor?
The author argues addiction itself is not transmissible, but the weakened constitution or degeneracy generally responsible for it is inheritable. He notes rare external cases, where a healthy person given morphine during illness becomes addicted; if fully cured, such a person may marry. In most cases, he says, degeneracy causes the addiction, making addicts bad matrimonial risks.
Chapter 36

Section 373 cards

Why does the author say male impotence should bar marriage?
The author argues impotence, whether complete or relative (premature ejaculation), should bar marriage even though it may not prevent impregnation and children will not be defective. The wife, unless completely frigid, may suffer terribly and become a nervous wreck or develop a psychosis. He advises treatment before marriage, and if incurable, abandoning marriage, except when the prospective wife knows and does not mind.
Chapter 37
When does the chapter consider frigidity a bar to marriage?
The author argues frigidity does not affect offspring, and a merely cold woman who raises no objection to the act is not barred; some less strong men even want such wives. But frigidity amounting to strong physical aversion to the act should bar marriage, as it often disrupts the home and is legally sufficient grounds for divorce or annulment, like impotence in men.
Chapter 37
How does the chapter distinguish excessive libido from satyriasis and nymphomania?
The author argues excessive libido in otherwise normal men who can control their desires is abnormal but not insanity; such husbands may demand sex daily and ruin a weaker wife's health. Satyriasis is excessive libido beyond control, even risking venereal infection or prison, placing men on the borderland of insanity. Nymphomania is the corresponding disease in women, and the author argues both should be institutionalized rather than marry.
Chapter 37

Section 384 cards

What does the chapter say about the inheritability of criminality?
The author argues that few criminologists now accept Lombroso's idea that criminality is largely inherited with physical stigmata. He holds that most crime results from environment, poverty, bad upbringing and bad companions, and that a criminal's child properly raised can become a model citizen. He also notes some crimes are merely infractions of man-made laws or rebellion against unjust social orders.
Chapter 38
How does the chapter distinguish pauperism from poverty?
The author says pauperism is generally confused with poverty but differs radically. People may be poor for generations and still not be paupers. Pauperism implies lack of physical and mental stamina, loss of self-respect, and unconquerable laziness, which may rest on a physical basis such as imperfect gland function. Pauperism itself is not called hereditary, but the qualities making up the pauper are transmissible.
Chapter 38
What does the chapter say about myopia as a hereditary trait?
Myopia means nearsightedness and is hereditary to a certain degree. The author says it is doubtful any man would reject a girl for it, though extreme cases and marriages where both partners are strongly myopic deserve hesitation. He states the defect is more or less sex-limited: a myopic father may transmit it to sons but not daughters, and those daughters may pass it to their sons.
Chapter 38
What position does the chapter take on ancestral criminality as a bar to marriage?
The author argues ancestral criminality should be no bar as long as the candidate is not a criminal, since it is unlikely to reappear atavistically in children. He adds that an ex-criminal who offended in passion or under slight influence of liquor may still be a desirable parent, and that the kind of crime must always be considered, with each case decided on its merits.
Chapter 38

Section 394 cards

What does the author say about forcing people to limit children?
The author argues that the notion birth control advocates would forcibly regulate the number of children is absurd and false. He advises limitation only for couples unable, for financial, hereditary, or hygienic reasons, to have many children. He insists healthy couples of untainted heredity with means should have at least half a dozen children, and that parents should decide the number.
Chapter 39
How does the author answer the objection that contraceptives are not absolutely safe?
The author concedes contraceptives are not absolutely reliable but gives three answers: many failures stem from improper or careless use, not the method; efficiency of 98 or 99 percent is still a blessing; and imperfections are due to the secrecy surrounding the subject. He argues open medical discussion would soon produce certain methods.
Chapter 39
What does the author call the most important item in a woman's sex education?
The author argues that every young woman should learn how to avoid too frequent pregnancies, and calls this the most important item in her sex education. He says if she has learned nothing else she should learn this, because such knowledge is absolutely necessary to her future health and happiness.
Chapter 39
What happened to Mrs. Smith when she sought help from her doctor?
Mrs. Smith, married nine years with five children, was exhausted and obsessed with fear of another pregnancy. Her doctor dismissed her request for a preventive with 'Just be careful.' When she became pregnant and asked for an abortion, he refused indignantly, calling it murder. The author uses her case to illustrate the tragedy of unwanted motherhood.
Chapter 39

Section 404 cards

Why does the author say anti-preventionists help professional abortionists?
The author argues that the prevalence of abortion, with its infection, ill health, chronic invalidism and death, is the single greatest factor driving his birth control propaganda. He claims that those who forbid dissemination of information about preventing conception play directly into the hands of professional abortionists, and could not act more zealously if they were paid by them.
Chapter 40
How does the author want prevention and abortion treated in propaganda?
The author insists they be kept separate in speeches and writings. He notes that stupid laws put them in the same paragraph and that ignorant laymen and physicians treat them as identical, but propaganda must show the essential difference between refraining from creating life and destroying life already created. He adds that some abortions are justifiable or imperative, but that is a different question.
Chapter 40
What happened to Mrs. Smith after the doctor refused her?
She went to a neighbor-recommended midwife who was neither expert nor clean. After two or three visits and about ten days of bleeding, she developed blood poisoning and died at twenty-nine, leaving five motherless children. The author comments that one may find a substitute for a wife, but there is no substitute for a mother.
Chapter 40
What does Case 4 illustrate about heredity and refusal of prevention?
A couple with badly tainted blood were warned by the husband's doctor that they had no right to have children. Pious Roman Catholics, they refused precautions. Of four children, one is fairly normal but silly, two are deaf and blind in one eye, and the fourth is a cretin, practically an idiot. The author argues eugenic agitation and education should create public opinion against such breeding.
Chapter 40

Section 414 cards

What happened to the home in Case 5 after the wife refused further relations?
After eight years and five children, the couple practiced coitus interruptus with mutual disgust. When the wife conceived again she refused her husband entirely. He went elsewhere, contracted syphilis, lost his position, and the home broke up; the wife worked and the children scattered. The author attributes this to lack of timely contraceptive information.
Chapter 41
Why did the couple in Case 6 remain unmarried, and what changed?
Mr. A and Miss B, a reporter and a story writer aged twenty-eight and twenty-five, loved each other but feared children they could not afford, so they stayed single to the injury of both. After accidentally learning means of regulating conception, they married and lived happily until able to raise children properly.
Chapter 41
Why did Mr. and Mrs. E decide to avoid conception in Case 8?
Their four-year-old showed unmistakable symptoms of epilepsy, and investigation revealed epilepsy in the wife's family in the preceding generation. Judging that responsible parents would not take the chance, they gave up conjugal relations for thirteen or fourteen months, until an accident left her pregnant; she then obtained an abortion. Learning contraception let them stay together.
Chapter 41
What does the author argue about laws against imparting contraceptive information?
Presenting Cases 5 through 10 as typical of millions, the author argues such laws are brutal, vicious, and antisocial, since the information restored harmony and health without injuring anyone. He notes a doctor giving it could be imprisoned for years, and asks whether the law should be repealed and wiped off the statute books.
Chapter 41

Section 424 cards

According to the author, what two dangers does a young unmarried woman face from sexual relations?
The author names two dangers: first, the risk of venereal infection, which he says is not as great as formerly but still great enough, since some men knowingly expose women while uncured. Second, and greater and more certain, the danger of impregnation, which under present moral and social-economic conditions he calls a terrible calamity, meaning social ostracism and social death if discovered.
Chapter 42
How does the author respond to the argument that contraceptives prevent pregnancy?
The author, a birth-control advocate, denies ever claiming contraceptives are absolutely infallible or 100 percent effective in all cases. He argues effectiveness in 999 or even 990 of every 1000 cases is a blessing. But he holds accidents are likelier for unmarried women, who lack privacy and proper preparation, and that an accidental pregnancy is far worse for an unmarried than a married woman.
Chapter 42
What does the author claim about men's behavior after a woman yields to them?
The author argues that the very men who strain every effort to get a woman will despise and detest her once she yields, calling this a blot on male character from which the female character is free. He adds that a small number of men boast publicly of their conquests and spread the girl's name, making it difficult or impossible for her to marry.
Chapter 42
What does the author say about how many men are bad and mean?
The author explicitly warns against the false idea that all or most men are bad and mean and constantly looking to ruin young girls. He states most men are good, honorable, and too conscientious to ruin a young life. But he says some men, young and old, lack conscience and pursue only their own pleasure, using false love claims, marriage promises, or arguments that chastity is superstition.
Chapter 42

Section 434 cards

To whom is Robinson's advice against illicit relations mainly directed?
The author addresses his advice principally to young girls between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. He states that a woman of twenty-eight or thirty who enters illicit relations with her eyes open and full knowledge of possible consequences is acting in her own affair, and nobody has a right to interfere. He also excludes cases of sincere reciprocal affection and mutual understanding.
Chapter 43
What does Robinson say happens to babies placed in foundling asylums?
The author states that statistics show about ninety to ninety-five per cent of all babies in foundling asylums or baby farms die within a few months. The few who survive and grow up, he says, face a hard life handicapped by the disgrace of illegitimacy. He describes mothers placing babies there with a breaking heart, hoping and praying for a speedy death.
Chapter 43
What risks does Robinson attribute to abortion performed by careless or ignorant practitioners?
The author says abortion by a thoroughly competent physician with aseptic precautions is practically free from danger. But with a careless physician or ignorant midwife, blood poisoning may set in, the patient may be very sick, may remain a chronic invalid for life, and occasionally dies. He urges women to go to a conscientious physician and avoid quacks and midwives.
Chapter 43
What pernicious idea about girls who lost their virginity does Robinson criticize?
The author criticizes men of low moral and mental caliber who believe that a girl who has lost her virginity, under any circumstances, no longer amounts to much and is free prey for anybody. He says such men pester her with more impudence than they dare show a virgin, and that girls themselves become poisoned by this idea and resist less, often yielding with resignation and disgust.
Chapter 43

Section 444 cards

What does the author urge a non-virgin woman not to believe about herself?
The author argues she should reject the medieval idea that loss of an intact hymen makes her "ruined," "no good," or an outcast. He says it is her affair or misfortune, not others', and she should carry her head high, not avoid people, and treat the jeers of the stupid and ignorant with contempt, since character does not depend on the hymen.
Chapter 44
What blame does the author assign to parents of an "unfortunate girl"?
The author argues the girl is not entirely to blame and that some blame lies with the parents: if she had been properly brought up, the misfortune would not have happened. He asks whether parents will disgrace her or stand by her, shield her against an inquisitive world, and put her on a path of self-improvement and useful social work.
Chapter 44
How did Edith's father change after ordering her out?
After ordering Edith to leave, the father underwent a sudden change, took her in his arms, kissed her, and told her to stay. She was taken to a physician who performed an abortion; she was sick about six weeks with danger of blood poisoning, then recovered, shed her frivolity, repeated her last high school year, graduated from Barnard near the top, and later taught at that high school.
Chapter 44
What happened to Mary B. and Bridget C. after their parents rejected them?
Mary B. was put out of the house and brought back two days later a corpse fished from the East River. Bridget C. was kicked out penniless and afterward seen powdered and painted soliciting men and boys; her mother died of a broken heart and her father became an incorrigible drunkard. The author contrasts these with Edith's parents' kinder, wiser response.
Chapter 44

Section 454 cards

Why does the author say intercourse during menstruation should generally be discouraged?
The author gives four reasons: an esthetic one he does not detail; possible congestion of the uterus and ovaries; the menstrual discharge (blood, mucus, and degenerated uterine lining) may cause catarrh of the man's urethra; and any discharge a woman already has is aggravated during menstruation. He adds that the ancient belief in disastrous results rests on a very slender, unscientific foundation.
Chapter 45
When may intercourse be permitted during menstruation, and under what conditions?
The author argues that where a woman has strong libido only during her menses and none at other times, relations may be indulged in during the last day or two of the period. Unpleasantness or discharge can be addressed by the woman taking a mild, warm antiseptic injection before coitus. He notes many couples do this regularly without injury to husband or wife.
Chapter 45
What does the author recommend regarding intercourse during the first four months of pregnancy?
The author argues no change need be made in usual sex relations during the first four months. Their intensity should be moderated, but frequency need not be reduced. He rejects claims that intercourse injures mother or child as lacking proof, and warns that demanded complete abstinence may wreck the couple's love-life and even drive the husband to other women.
Chapter 45
What schedule does the author give for intercourse in the later months of pregnancy and after birth?
During the fifth, sixth, and seventh months, intercourse should occur at rarer intervals—once in two or three weeks—without violence or intensity, with the usual position reversed or changed to a lateral one. During the eighth and ninth months it should be given up altogether, and abstinence should last until about six weeks after birth, while the uterus undergoes involution back to its former size and shape.
Chapter 45

Section 464 cards

According to the author, what is the most common cause of sterility in women?
The author states that the most common cause of sterility in women is salpingitis, an inflammation of the Fallopian tubes, which may be caused by gonorrhea or any other inflammation. Other listed causes include severe leucorrhea fatal to spermatozoa, severe bending of the uterus, closure of the os from ulceration or strong applications, and severe constitutional disease with anemia.
Chapter 46
How does the author distinguish genuine vaginismus from dyspareunia?
The author defines vaginismus as a painful spasm of the vaginal orifice making intercourse difficult or impossible; genuine cases are nervous in origin with no local disease found. Dyspareunia means painful or difficult intercourse from any cause, usually local, and may occur with one man but not another. In vaginismus intercourse is impossible and present with all men; in dyspareunia it is possible but painful.
Chapter 46
What does the author say about the frequency of sex relations and the belief that sex is only for reproduction?
The author argues that the sex instinct has high purposes besides perpetuating the race, and relations may and should be indulged in as often as they promote physical, mental, and spiritual health. He says no iron-clad rules can be laid down: three times a year may suffice for some, three times a month is best for the average, and others want three times a week. He dismisses religious fanatics who ignore physiology and psychology.
Chapter 46
Why does the author recommend examining the husband first in cases of sterility?
The author states that in at least fifty per cent of childless marriages the fault is not the woman's but the man's. He therefore calls it unwise to subject the wife to treatment without first examining the husband, noting that women often go from doctor to doctor for years while a simple examination of the husband would reveal the cause.
Chapter 46

Section 474 cards

What does the author say about chastity versus virginity?
The author argues chastity and virginity are not synonymous: a girl may have physical virginity (an intact hymen) yet be morally unchaste, possibly through unnatural sexual practices. Conversely, absence of the hymen does not prove unchastity. He notes the laity ignores or resists these facts and still worships the intact hymen like a fetish, which causes unnecessary suffering.
Chapter 47
Why does the author urge sacrificing the hymen when health requires it?
The author argues fear of tampering with the hymen causes much disease and sterility. Mothers delay taking daughters with genital itching or discharge to a doctor, fearing hymen damage, and temporize with salves while disease progresses. When a physician says the hymen must be stretched or opened, mothers withhold consent. When health and future child-bearing demand it, no hesitation should be felt.
Chapter 47
Why should a physician give a certificate after rupturing the hymen?
The author argues that since the average husband stresses an unruptured hymen, a physician who cuts or ruptures it during treatment should give the patient a certificate. If the girl's chastity is later questioned, she can prove the loss of virginity was not due to sexual relations. He admits ideally no certificate should be needed, but reality differs from the ideal.
Chapter 47
How should a husband handle a strong, resistant hymen?
The author advises the new husband not to use brute force. Pain may be excruciating and create lasting aversion to intercourse; severe hemorrhage may require a physician. He recommends several attempts, gradual gentle dilatation with vaseline rather than forcible rupture, usually satisfactory. In exceptional cases a physician may be called; cutting the hymen is a trifling operation.
Chapter 47

Section 484 cards

What does Robinson claim causes some passionate women to fail to become mothers?
The author argues that some passionate women with strong orgastic feelings fail to become mothers not because they do not conceive, but because the impregnated ovum is expelled each month—a miniature miscarriage. He attributes this to spasmodic contractions of the uterus and its adnexae accompanying the orgasm, and reports advising such women to remain passive and repress the orgasm, sometimes with good results.
Chapter 48
What does Robinson say about the claim that orgastic conception produces healthier offspring?
Some claim offspring from an orgastic act are healthier and better developed than those from intercourse without orgasm, the reason given being that quick conception means better-nourished, more vigorous spermatozoa. The author rejects this: in his opinion it is merely a fanciful hypothesis which needn't be taken seriously.
Chapter 48
What five principal causes of frigidity in women does Robinson list?
Robinson lists: first, repression of sexual manifestations that unmarried women have practiced for centuries, making part of the frigidity hereditary; second, excessive masturbation; third, sexual weakness in the husband, such as premature ejaculation; fourth, dislike of the husband; fifth, fear of pregnancy. He adds other causes such as uterine disease, lacerated cervix, ovarian inflammation, vaginismus, and thyroid disease.
Chapter 48
What advice does Robinson give a frigid married woman about telling her husband?
The author advises a frigid married woman not to inform her husband, since some men react with fury, disgust, loss of pleasure, infidelity, or divorce demands. Because a woman's sensation is subjective and undetectable, he argues she may simulate feeling and imitate the orgasm—an innocent deception benefiting all concerned. He concedes that a woman who values total honesty may instead accept possible separation.
Chapter 48

Section 494 cards

According to the chapter, what makes intercourse rape besides force?
The chapter defines rape as intercourse with a woman by force, without her consent. It also constitutes rape when the woman cannot give consent—if she is insane, feebleminded, unconscious, or drunk—or when she is below the legal age of consent. In that case, even if she consents or urges the man, he is punished as if he had committed rape.
Chapter 49
What does the chapter say about the age of consent and rape penalties?
The chapter states the age of consent varies by country and State but as a rule falls between sixteen and eighteen years. A girl below that age cannot legally consent, so intercourse with her is rape regardless of her willingness. Punishment for rape is severe in all civilized countries, ranging from ten years' imprisonment to life, and in some States of the Union it is death.
Chapter 49
What is the experts' view on whether a woman can resist rape?
The author states it is the almost unanimous opinion of experts that rape on a normal adult woman is practically impossible if she offers all the resistance she is capable of, unless the man uses brutality such as knocking her unconscious. He adds that fear may paralyze a woman so she cannot resist, and threats of death or severe injury make it rape even without resistance.
Chapter 49
What does the chapter claim about the truth of rape accusations?
The author asserts that of accusations of rape brought before the courts, most are false—only about ten out of a hundred are true. He attributes false accusations to a peculiar perversion, hysteria, imagination (women genuinely believing it happened), revenge, or blackmail. He also warns anesthetics can cause erotic dreams leading to false complaints against doctors and dentists.
Chapter 49

Section 504 cards

According to the chapter, what may a girl rightfully demand of her future husband?
The author argues a girl may demand only that her future husband be in good physical and sexual health and free from venereal disease. His previous sexual life, if he is of fine general moral character, is no concern of hers. A cured case of gonorrhea should be no bar to marriage; only syphilis is the exception, since an absolute cure can never be guaranteed.
Chapter 50
Why does the chapter say demanding a chaste, inexperienced husband may lead to disillusionment?
The author argues the supply of chaste young men is even more restricted than the demand, and the article is of inferior quality. Many physically intact people are far more contaminated than those with sexual experience, and some are ethically inferior to the unchaste. Careful fathers seeking virginity in sons-in-law will seldom find it a guarantee of solid moral qualities.
Chapter 50
In Case One, why did the college graduate break her engagement and what followed?
Influenced by single-standard teachings, she asked her fiancé if he had been chaste; he truthfully said he had not but was healthy and uninfected. She impulsively broke the engagement, soon regretted it, but pride kept her from reconciling. He married another woman, and after four years she married a man inferior to him in every way, into an unhappy marriage.
Chapter 50
In Case Three, why did the chaste fiancé break the engagement?
The young lady demanded a specialist's certificate proving he had no venereal disease, though he said he had never had relations and had no trace of disease. He refused the expense and annoyance of tests, saying she should trust his word. She grew suspicious, he broke the engagement, and she remained unmarried.
Chapter 50

Section 514 cards

According to the author, what does a man generally do if attentions won't lead to sex?
The author argues that a man will generally tire of paying attentions to a woman if he feels they will not eventually lead to the biologic goal of sexual relations. A woman, by contrast, can keep up with a man for years without intercourse, being satisfied or more or less satisfied with sexual substitutes such as embraces and kisses. He notes he speaks of the average, with exceptions in both sexes.
Chapter 51
What does the author say about the belief that refusing a man keeps his affection?
The author argues this notion, inculcated in young women, is false for the male sex as a whole, though it may hold for the morally lowest men. He credits Marcel Prevost (in Le Jardin Secret) with first pointing this out, and claims nothing holds a man's affections so surely as normal sex relations—for physiological reasons, not merely honor or duty. Excesses must be avoided, since satiety is as inimical to love as unsatisfied excitement.
Chapter 51
If forced to choose, what would a man versus a woman pick: physical or spiritual love?
The author argues that if forced to choose between physical love (actual sex relations) and spiritual love (love making, kisses, love letters), a man would generally choose the former and a woman the latter. Both would prefer both at once, but the question is choice. He adds that a man can enjoy intercourse without preliminaries, while for a woman preliminaries are of the utmost importance; lacking them, pleasure is often replaced by dissatisfaction or disgust.
Chapter 51
How does the author contrast a man's and a woman's experience of love and separation?
The author argues love occupies a subordinate place in man's life, distinguishing it from 'being in love,' which he calls pathological, akin to insanity. A loving man works smoothly and is satisfied seeing his love briefly, even parting for months. A woman who loves counts every day without her lover as lost, is unhappy and inefficient, and bears separation harder—not because her love is more intense, but because most women's thoughts center on the man, while he has other interests.
Chapter 51

Section 524 cards

What is the author's stated rule about loyalty in sex and love life?
The author argues that the rule is that woman is much more loyal, faithful, and single-affectioned than man. He says a man may love a woman deeply yet make love to another or have relations with prostitutes, which he calls common in men and rare in women, while granting there are always exceptional cases.
Chapter 52
Why does the author reject maternal impressions as a cause of birthmarks?
The author argues there is not a single well-authenticated case of maternal impression. He notes many women are frightened yet bear normal children, and many defective children are born with no alleged impression. He insists that because a thing follows another does not mean it was caused by it, and that after the child is fully formed no psychic impression can mark it.
Chapter 52
What is the author's objection to Dr. Savage's green frog case?
The author calls the case ridiculous and says the physician is either lying or as credulous as an illiterate old woman. He argues that at the middle of pregnancy the child is fully formed, so an already formed human being cannot change its shape into that of an animal. He treats the hickory-nut story as evidence of the doctor's mentality.
Chapter 52
How does the author explain alleged shocks reported after a marked birth?
The author says the so-called shock or fright is often a product of the mother's imagination. In many cases the mother never mentioned any incident until after the child was born with a mark or defect; only then did she hunt for causes and claim something happened during pregnancy, and close investigation traced the alleged event to her brain.
Chapter 52

Section 534 cards

What does the author say maternal impressions can and cannot cause?
The author argues that a mother's bad health, worry, anxiety, fright, or shock during pregnancy may harm the child's general health, possibly causing stillbirth or miscarriage. However, he insists such experiences will not produce the specific marks, deformities, and monstrosities commonly attributed to maternal impressions.
Chapter 53
How does the author explain the baby with one dark and one blue-gray eye?
The author first considers maternal impression, since the mother had been startled by the dark-eyed Mexican. But investigation showed the baby's maternal grandfather had big, dark, flashing eyes and the grandmother had mild, blue-gray eyes. The author argues this supports the physical law of reversion rather than mental impression.
Chapter 53
Why does the author stress the subject of maternal impressions?
The author says he pities mothers and wants to spare them as much unnecessary worry and anxiety as possible. He also wants them to believe in truth rather than error. He clarifies he is not claiming a mother's condition has no effect on the child or that she need take no precautions.
Chapter 53
What is the author's stated purpose for the chapter on advice to the married?
The author declines to debate whether marriage is ideal or needs reform. Noting most adults are or wish to be married and most civilized people live in monogamic marriage, he argues we should make the best of it, maximize happiness, minimize unhappiness, and make it permanent. Divorce is a last resort to be avoided.
Chapter 53

Section 544 cards

According to the author, what is the greatest single cause of male infidelity?
The author argues that the wife's attitude toward sexual relations is probably responsible for more male infidelity than all other causes combined. He says too many women treat the sexual act as a nuisance or ordeal and behave in ways that cool the ardor of a refined, sensitive man. He cites congenital frigidity and prudish upbringing as causes, and recommends a frank heart-to-heart talk.
Chapter 54
What does the author advise a wife to do about her individuality in marriage?
The author advises wives to retain their individuality. He says some husbands become dictatorial after marriage and treat the wife as absorbed, with no right to her own opinions, tastes, or friends. He recommends gentleness and firmness rather than militancy, and suggests a serious talk, since many husbands act from stupidity or thoughtlessness rather than viciousness.
Chapter 54
Why does the author say a wife should understand her husband's business?
The author gives two reasons. First, a wife who understands his work can be a sympathetic listener, so he won't seek that understanding from other women. Second, if the husband dies young, a wife who knows the business can continue it and remain economically independent. He cites two widows of medical journal publishers who kept the journals running successfully.
Chapter 54
What does the author say about the first weeks or months of marriage?
The author says the first few weeks or months are the most important in a married couple's life, and that the stability and future happiness of the marriage often depend on what is done or left undone then. He advises speaking up at the very start about displeasing behavior, since it is easier to prevent a habit than to break one already established.
Chapter 54

Section 554 cards

According to the chapter, what is the remedy when a wife refuses sex out of fear of pregnancy?
The author states that in this case the wife is right, and the remedy is simple: give her full instruction in the use of contraceptive measures. He lists other causes of refusal, including excessive masturbation, vaginismus, local malformation, and inflammation, and argues all are amenable to treatment—medical, psychic, or simply a common-sense, heart-to-heart talk.
Chapter 55
What does the author say about the frequency of marital relations and its effects?
The author argues that households where relations occur rather frequently, with the wife's full and eager participation, are happier than those where the act is rare and accompanied by grumbling. But he warns against the other extreme: too frequent demands exhaust the man and may lead to satiety or impotence, forcing longer continence. He concludes that non-use, insufficient use, and excessive use are all bad, and moderation is most important in sex life.
Chapter 55
Why does the author consider dainty underwear important in marital life?
The author argues that nice underwear or dainty lingerie plays an important role in marital life, and every married woman should have as fine and dainty underwear as she can afford—a fine nightgown may matter more than an expensive skirt or hat. He says underwear should be immaculately fresh and clean, prefers silk, lace, and delicate batiste, and claims a delicate pink is the color most men prefer. He asserts the condition of underwear may determine a man's desire and ability to accomplish the act.
Chapter 55
What esthetic habits does the author warn wives against, and why?
The author argues some wives wrongly think marriage excuses them from esthetic consideration, doing before their husbands what they would never show a stranger—such as urinating in his presence or letting him see soiled menstrual napkins. He claims men on the whole are more esthetic than women, and that such vulgar or unesthetic procedures may originate indifference. He reports that micturition before the man has instantly abolished sexual desire, and that one man could not enjoy relations for months after seeing blood-soiled rags.
Chapter 55

Section 564 cards

What foot treatment does the chapter recommend for perspiration and bad odor?
Bathe the feet night and morning in a basin of water with one ounce (two tablespoonfuls) of formaldehyde solution added, dry carefully, then rub in a powder of salicylic acid one dram, boric acid one ounce, dried alum two ounces, and talcum four ounces. Shake some powder into stockings each morning and change stockings once or twice daily. The powder also works for armpits.
Chapter 56
Why does the author refuse to give a treatment for bad breath?
The author argues bad breath may have many causes—the nose, decaying teeth, throat, tonsils, a bad stomach, lung disease, or overeating—so what helps one condition may be useless in another. He advises seeing a competent physician to find the cause and outline proper treatment rather than using a single remedy.
Chapter 56
How can a husband's knowledge of a wife's leucorrhea affect the marriage?
The author argues some men become entirely impotent upon knowing a woman has leucorrhea, because disgust is fatal to sexual power. He describes a patient married five years whose happy marriage changed after she told her husband of her profuse leucorrhea; he ceased intercourse, and she feared separation or divorce. The author advises treating leucorrhea and not initiating a husband into all unesthetic ailments.
Chapter 56
What does the author say about a wife's loyalty and flirting?
The author argues a wife's loyalty is almost as important as fidelity, and it is highly disloyal to discuss her husband's peculiarities or weaknesses with friends; such matters should be a professional secret. He advises against flirting, since men misunderstand it and a woman may gain a loose reputation undeservedly, though a mild flirtation may be justifiable when a husband begins to neglect her.
Chapter 56

Section 574 cards

What does the author say every husband should carry and why?
The author argues that every husband should carry some life insurance, and he praises the habit of a bridegroom presenting the bride with a substantial life insurance policy. He says it is not only a financial protection to the wife but also more or less a guarantee of the husband's fair health.
Chapter 57
What does the author claim a will does and does not do?
The author argues that a will doesn't shorten anybody's life but is very convenient in case of a sudden taking off, especially if there is property. Without a will, the wife faces endless trouble and red tape: an executor must be appointed and she must give bonds. A will naming her sole executrix without bond avoids this, assuming he trusts her wisdom and integrity.
Chapter 57
What is the author's motto about marriage and divorce?
The author argues the motto should be 'Make marriage harder and divorce easier.' He favors a rational divorce system, calling current obstacles and expense disgraceful, and says divorce is preferable to separation because both spouses may lead a new and happier life. Where there are no children, a simple declaration repeated after three or six months should suffice.
Chapter 57
Why does the author advise against calling in outsiders to settle marital disagreements?
The author argues a stranger's paws are too coarse and unsympathetic to meddle with delicate marital adjustments, and after reconciliation you will be ashamed to face that third party and probably bear a grudge. He says outsiders cannot judge who is guilty, since sometimes both are right, and people who seem honorable outside may be devils at home.
Chapter 57

Section 584 cards

According to the author, what is the foundation of all love between the sexes?
The author argues that sexual attraction is the foundation and basis of all love between opposite sexes. Without sexual attraction in greater or lesser degree, there can be no love; where it is entirely lacking, love cannot exist. What remains may be friendship, gratitude, respect, pity, habit, or a readiness to love, but it is not love.
Chapter 58
How does the author distinguish love from mere sexual desire?
The author argues that if love were merely sexual desire, one attractive member of the opposite sex would be as good as any other. He says this is the case in animals and lower races, where love as he understands it does not exist—any mate serves. Love requires many more factors beyond the sexual foundation.
Chapter 58
What does the author mean by saying love is blind yet sees acutely?
The author calls this a paradox that is nonetheless true: love's blindness hides defects others clearly see, while its penetrating vision reveals good qualities invisible to the indifferent. A homely person may possess compensating physical qualities, such as passionate ardor or strong sexual power, that make them irresistible to the opposite sex.
Chapter 58
What limits does the author place on homeliness in the genesis of love?
The author argues homeliness, ugliness, or deformity have limits. He challenges anyone to produce an authenticated case of a man falling in love with a woman with an enormous facial tumor, a nose sunk by lupus or syphilis, or a cheek eaten by cancer. Physical aversion is fatal to love's genesis; a man may continue loving a woman disfigured later, but cannot fall in love with her.
Chapter 58

Section 594 cards

According to the author, how does love in primitive versus civilized people differ?
The author argues that real, true love is a comparatively modern feeling absent in lower races and reaching its highest development only in people of high civilization, culture and education. He compares the difference to that between a bushman's intellect and that of a Shakespeare or Darwin: primitive love is practically equivalent to desire for sexual gratification, while cultured love, though based on sexual attraction, is complex and defies analysis.
Chapter 59
What distinction does the author draw between sensual and sentimental love?
The author argues there is no distinct line of demarcation between sensual and sentimental love; one merges imperceptibly into the other. He contends most altruistic feelings have an egotistic substratum, and the quality of love depends on the lover, not the love: a noble man loves nobly, a coarse man coarsely. There are not two varieties of love but distinct varieties of men.
Chapter 59
What does the author say about a man who loves a woman without sexual desire for her?
The author asserts that to say a man may deeply love a woman and have no sexual desire for her is nonsense. A man who loves a woman and does not want to possess her does not love her, or he is completely impotent. He may abstain from sex relations if circumstances would cause her unhappiness, but refraining by reason does not mean not wanting the thing.
Chapter 59
How does the author distinguish being in love from infatuation?
The author argues being in love is pathological: the person sees no flaws, cannot be argued with, and does not want to be free. In infatuation the man may know the object is unworthy, may despise or hate her, and uses his will-power to break free. Sexual satisfaction may shatter infatuation but often strengthens love. Neither lasts forever; both are acute maladies of short duration.
Chapter 59

Section 604 cards

How does the chapter answer whether sudden-passion marriages succeed?
The author argues no ironclad rules fit all cases. Some such marriages turn out very unhappily, as couples discover incompatible temperaments, views, and likes, and what seemed great love proves mere infatuation followed by satiety and disgust. In other cases the sudden passion becomes warm, life-long love and the couple lives happily. As a rule, the author says, slow-developing love is more reliable than the suddenly bursting flame.
Chapter 60
What case does Dr. Nyström relate about a French physician?
Dr. Nyström relates the case of a prominent French physician of high social and scientific standing who saw a young girl accidentally in the street, followed her onto the same omnibus to the house she entered, rang the bell, and introduced himself, begging pardon for the intrusion, but was dismissed. He returned, declared his ardent passion, and asked permission to visit her well-to-do country parents; the climax was mutual love and a happy marriage.
Chapter 60
What does the chapter say fosters love, and what is love based upon?
The author argues love is the most complex, mysterious, and unanalyzable of human emotions, based upon the difference in sex—the attraction of one sex for another. It is fostered by physical beauty, daintiness, normal sexuality, fine character, high aspirations, culture and education, common interests, kindness and consideration, pity, habit, and a thousand other subtle feelings, qualities, and actions difficult to classify or enumerate. A footnote limits the discussion to love between opposite sexes.
Chapter 60
How does the chapter compare reciprocated and unreciprocated great love?
The author argues a great love, greatly reciprocated, can render a human being supremely happy—nothing else can. Wealth, power, fame, success, and great discoveries may give supreme satisfaction and contentment, but supreme, buoyant happiness is the gift of a great love only; such loves are rare. A great love unreciprocated, especially admixed with jealousy, is the most frightful of tortures, crushing a man like nothing else.
Chapter 60

Section 613 cards

What does the author identify as the essential factor in jealousy?
The author argues that the essential factor in jealousy is fear: fear of losing the beloved object, fear of losing a sexual partner, or the economic fear of losing a material provider. He claims this economic fear appears more often in women, who may be fiercely jealous without love because they fear desertion and a precarious economic condition.
Chapter 61
Besides fear, what other components make up jealousy?
The author lists wounded vanity (disliking another's superiority, as in rivalry or exams), anger over loss of property (spouses treating each other as possessions, present even without love), pain that love is not reciprocated or has transferred, and pure envy of what others have or what one may lose. He calls these the essential components of jealousy.
Chapter 61
Why does the author say impotent men are more intensely jealous?
The author argues that husbands who have become impotent, especially those who lost the power rather than the desire, experience jealousy without bounds. No strongly potent man reaches the same intensity. Knowing another man displaced him and that he could not replace that man even if permitted fills him with impotent rage, which the author says is always more intense than potent rage.
Chapter 61

Section 624 cards

What does Nordau claim about loving several people at once?
Max Nordau, described as a man of high and austere ideals, argues in Conventional Lies that we can love several individuals at the same time with nearly equal tenderness, and that we do not necessarily lie when assuring each one of our passion. He adds that however deeply in love with one person, we do not cease to be susceptible to the influence of the entire sex.
Chapter 62
How does Iwan Bloch answer whether simultaneous love is possible?
Iwan Bloch, whom the author calls the greatest investigator in sexology, answers with an unconditional yes. He explains that the extraordinary manifold spiritual differentiation of modern civilized humanity makes simultaneous love for two individuals possible, since our spiritual nature has the most varied coloring and it is difficult to find the corresponding complements in one single individual.
Chapter 62
What does the author say is the first step in combating jealousy?
The author argues that recognizing a man's interest or affection toward another woman does not mean the death of love, or even diminished love, is the first step in combating the demon of jealousy. Convincing wives, fiancées and sweethearts of this, he claims, would end half the misery, quarrels, self-torture and disrupted homes caused by jealousy.
Chapter 62
Toward whom or what can jealousy be directed besides sexual rivals?
The author says jealousy need not be toward a sexual rival; it may target people who could never be rivals, or even inanimate objects, work, profession or hobby. Examples include a wife jealous of her husband's mother, her own children, his male friends, or his success and reputation. He also rejects the idea that jealousy is woman's prerogative, saying men can be as savagely jealous.
Chapter 62

Section 634 cards

According to the chapter, how can jealousy defeat its own object?
The author argues that baseless accusations and constant suspicion can act as suggestion, driving an innocent spouse toward the very infidelity suspected. He gives the example of a husband who repeatedly accused his blameless wife of being X's mistress until she finally went to X's rooms, reasoning that if she had the name she might as well have the game.
Chapter 63
What example shows a free-love believer acting against his stated principles?
The author describes a man living in free union who preached that love alone should bind people and that a partner should be free to take another lover. Yet when he came home unexpectedly and found another man, he shot at him, beat and choked his wife, then married her and abandoned his free-love talk.
Chapter 63
How does the chapter say public opinion has changed regarding a wife's adultery?
The author argues that formerly a wife's sin was held the most unpardonable crime, dishonoring her husband and requiring him to shoot the rival or cast her out. He says ideas have changed: many rational people now see a wife's adultery as different in degree, not kind, from a husband's, and forgiving the erring wife is becoming common.
Chapter 63
What does the author claim about reason's influence on feelings?
The author argues feelings are stronger than reason, so jealousy cannot be cured by argument alone, and he merely sympathizes with its victims. But he contends feelings can still be influenced by reason, and their manifestations modified, especially in more cultured and educated people; he also believes in the effect of public opinion on feelings and actions.
Chapter 63

Section 644 cards

What does the author say a wife should first do about a flirtatious, inconsiderate husband?
The author advises the wife to have a frank and firm talk with her husband, telling him she dislikes his behavior and that it makes her unhappy. In many instances, he argues, this alone will change the husband's conduct. Only if the husband is too egotistic to give up his pleasures does the author suggest the wife adopt similar flirtatious tactics, which he claims work nine times out of ten.
Chapter 64
What does the author claim about men for whom monogamy is impossible?
The author argues that some men find an ironclad monogamous relation an absolute impossibility, and that stimulation from other women is to them like breath in the nostrils. He claims some men can love their wives tenderly only if allowed freedom of association with other women, and if cut off entirely they may become irritable, bored, ill, or resentful toward their wives. He presents this as a fact to deal with, not to judge.
Chapter 64
What does the author recommend for the abandoned lover suffering from unrequited love?
The author says there is but one remedy: the sufferer should use all his energies to find a living substitute. He argues a great unrequited love cannot be replaced by work, study, or a hobby, only by another love, even a minor love or a series of minor loves. The substitute may not fully satisfy but will dull the pain while the person recovers.
Chapter 64
What is the author's stated view of a wife who leaves or sues for divorce over a husband's affair?
The author says he has the deepest contempt for a wife who, on discovering a transgression or love affair, leaves in a huff, makes a public scandal, or sues for divorce. He asserts such a wife never loved her husband and that he is well rid of her. He adds that what he said about the wife applies with almost equal force to the husband.
Chapter 64

Section 653 cards

What does the author argue about loveless sex relations under the present social code?
The author argues that while purchasable, loveless sex relations cannot compare to love relations, under the present social, economic and moral code they are the only relations thousands of men and women can enjoy, and they are better than none. He adds that in a considerable percentage of cases romance and some permanency attach to them, making them a more or less satisfactory substitute for genuine love.
Chapter 65
How did the street-walker help the Columbia senior student recover?
After his fiancée broke off their engagement and became engaged to a banker, the student suffered complete insomnia, lost appetite, and could not study. He met a street-walker on Broadway and had his first sex experience. A friendship grew; she learned his grief and consoled him with maternal solicitude. He gave up drinking, recovered over six to eight months, and graduated. She later died of pneumonia.
Chapter 65
What happened to the twenty-eight-year-old woman after her fiancé abandoned her?
Her fiancé, secretly married with children, ended their year-long relationship by letter. She suffered absolute insomnia, anorexia, fainting spells, palpitations and tremors, plus consuming jealousy though she said her love had turned to hatred. She attempted suicide twice, with gas and bichloride, and was saved both times. Friends then introduced her to radical gentlemen, and about six months of active sex life restored her sleep and normality; she is now happily married.
Chapter 65

Section 663 cards

What does the author believe will remain even in a perfected society free of pain?
The author argues that while almost all disease, accidents, poverty, and unemployment could be conquered, the tragedies of the heart will never be entirely eliminated. He says no State physician or official can console someone whose love is unreturned, and no convalescent home can mend a broken heart, though he believes such suffering will become less acute.
Chapter 66
According to the author, what would reduce and help cure heart tragedies?
The author argues that proper ideas about love, freer intercourse between the sexes, a normal and regular sex life, and a saner attitude toward things now unjustly considered shameful or criminal will largely prevent heart tragedies and help cure those that cannot be prevented. He also holds that feelings, though often stronger than reason, can be modified and held in check by reason.
Chapter 66
What duty does the author assign to everyone who loves mankind?
The author states it is the duty of everybody who loves mankind to study the various phases of human sexuality and help spread sane and humane ideas on the subject of Sex and Love. He expresses the hope that his book will help spread healthy, sane, and honest ideas about sex among the men and women of America.
Chapter 66

Section 674 cards

What is the title and subtitle of Grete Meisel-Hess's book advertised here?
The book is titled "The Sexual Crisis," with the subtitle "A Critique of Our Sex Life: A Psychologic and Sociologic Study." It is an authorized translation by Eden and Cedar Paul, edited with an introduction by William J. Robinson, M.D., and published by the Eugenics Publishing Company.
Chapter 67
According to the advertisement, what topics does The Sexual Crisis address?
The ad says the book interests readers in sexual ethics, the marriage system, free motherhood, trial marriages, and the question of sexual abstinence. It claims no one who discusses, writes, or lectures on any phase of the sex question has a right to overlook the volume.
Chapter 67
What does Dr. Robinson's introduction claim about the book?
Robinson writes that he considers himself extremely fortunate to have been instrumental in making this remarkable book accessible to the English reading public, calling it a great book well worth a careful perusal. The advertisement also calls it one of the greatest books on the sex question of the twentieth century.
Chapter 67
What publication details are given for The Sexual Crisis?
It runs 360 pages and costs $3.00, published by the Eugenics Publishing Company at 250 W. 54th Street, New York. The ad notes a complete synopsis of contents will be sent on request.
Chapter 67

Source and licence

Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #21840 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.

Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-31. Cards reviewed 2026-10-31.

These cards paraphrase the text for study. They are not a substitute for reading the book, and they do not reproduce long passages.

Turn your own notes into cards

Upload a PDF, Word, or text file and get question-and-answer cards for closed-notes practice. Five cards are free, no signup.

Try 5 free cards

All questions and answers

What does the Hindu legend of Twashtri say about man and woman?

Why does the author claim sex knowledge is more important for women than men?

What purpose does the author say the book should serve?

Which topics does Chapter II's listing cover regarding the female sex organs?

What does Chapter IX's listing say the ovum and spermatozoon foretell?

What does the chapter say about complete abstinence from intercourse during pregnancy?

What does the chapter say about the belief that intercourse is only for propagation?

What does the chapter say about the hymen and chastity versus virginity?

Why does the author argue sex instruction matters more for girls than boys?

What does the author identify as the real cause of harm from sex instruction?

Why does the author consider sex instruction more necessary for girls than boys?

What physical burdens does the author cite as handicapping women more than men?

What are the ovaries, and what is their function?

What are the Fallopian tubes and why does inflammation cause sterility?

What does the Greek word salpinx mean, and what is salpingitis?

How does the chapter describe the uterus's size, shape, and position?

What are anteversion, anteflexion, retroversion, and retroflexion of the womb?

What does the chapter say about the hymen as proof of virginity?

What are the two functions of the ovaries described in the chapter?

How does the female pelvis differ from the male pelvis, and why?

How many ova are present at birth and at puberty, and how many ripen?

What happens to a Graafian follicle just before it bursts?

How do corpora lutea differ in pregnant versus non-pregnant women?

Where does fertilization usually occur, and what does the Fallopian tube do?

What does the author argue about menstruation's usefulness?

How does the chapter compare the effects of frequent sex emissions in women versus men?

What does the chapter say about the female skeleton, muscles, and body contour compared with the male?

What does the author say about claims of one sex being superior or inferior to the other?

According to the chapter, are people responsible for sexual thoughts and feelings, or for actions?

What physical sign does the chapter call the first apparent sign of puberty in a girl?

According to the chapter, what psychic changes occur in girls during puberty?

How does the chapter define nubility, and what marriage ages does it recommend?

Where does menstrual blood originate, and what happens to it if pregnancy occurs?

What ages does the chapter give for menstruation beginning and ceasing?

How does the chapter define menorrhagia, metrorrhagia, amenorrhea, and vicarious menstruation?

What does the chapter say about the causes of dysmenorrhea and its frequency?

What should a mother explain to a girl at twelve or thirteen?

What douche does the author recommend for married women?

What bathing does the author advise during menstruation?

What happens to the ovum if no intercourse occurs?

What is extra-uterine (ectopic) pregnancy, and why is it dangerous?

How is the probable date of delivery calculated from the last menstruation?

What terms does the chapter give for the developing offspring at different stages?

What does the chapter say about the ovum's and spermatozoön's roles, and the author's view on equality?

According to Dr. Ely's table, what date of confinement follows menstruation on June 1st?

How is Dr. Ely's table used to estimate the date of confinement?

What does the author argue about civilized women and the difficulty of pregnancy and childbirth?

What does the author say about women whose pregnancy runs a smooth course?

When does morning sickness typically begin and end in pregnancy?

What distinguishes pernicious vomiting from ordinary morning sickness?

What four forms can capricious appetite take during pregnancy?

How does the chapter recommend managing constipation in pregnancy?

What does the chapter recommend to prevent varicose veins during pregnancy?

How does the chapter treat liver spots (chloasma) in pregnancy?

When does the author say a pregnant woman should engage a physician?

What diet and exercise does the chapter recommend during a normal pregnancy?

How does the fetus receive nourishment and oxygen from the mother?

What does the chapter say about nervous connection between mother and child?

What are the chapter's conditions for a mother nursing her child?

What precautions does the author recommend before engaging a wet nurse?

How does the author recommend treating cracked nipples during nursing?

What does the author say is the best way to dry up breast milk?

What does the chapter say about menstruation and pregnancy during nursing?

How does the chapter distinguish abortion, miscarriage, and premature labor?

According to the author, when is abortion relatively safe versus gravely dangerous?

What moral position does the author take on abortion?

Does the author believe maternal emotions or illness during pregnancy reliably harm the child?

What does the author say about a father's drinking at conception and child defects?

What is the normal age range for menopause, and what is the average?

According to the author, what causes most distressing menopause symptoms?

What does the author say about sexual desire during and after menopause?

What treatments and support does the author recommend for menopause symptoms?

What does the author recommend when a woman's sexual demands seem abnormally strong?

What signs does the author attribute to the male climacteric between forty-five and fifty-five?

How does the author compare the frequency of masturbation among girls and boys?

What does the author say about parents' reaction to discovering a child masturbates?

Why does the author say leucorrhea resists treatment, especially in girls?

What sleeping arrangements does the author demand to prevent masturbation in children?

What does the author identify as causes of the catarrh behind leucorrhea?