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PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS
fn/i^Sia^U.--^,^^
(The above portrait was given by the author to the translator.;
Entered at Stationers" Hall
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
Few people are conscious of the deep influence exerted by
sexual life upon the sentiment, thought and action of
man in his social relations to others. Schiller, in his
essay " Die Weltweisen," touches upon this subject in
these memorable words : "So long as philosophy keeps
together the structure of the Universe so long does it
maintain the world's machinery by hunger and love ".
From the standpoint of the philosopher sexual life
takes a subordinate position.
Schopenhauer (" Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung,"
third edition, vol. ii., p. 586, etc.) considers it peculiar
that love has hitherto offered material to the poet only
and not also to the philosopher, the scant researches by
Plato, Eousseau and Kant always excepted.
Whatever Schopenhauer, and after him E. von Hart-
mann, the philosopher of the unknown, discuss about
sexual relationship, is so thoroughly incorrect and illogical
that, so far as science is concerned, empirical psychology
and the metaphysics of man's .sexual existence are simply
virgin soil. Michelet's (" L'amour ") and Mantegazza's
("Physiology of Love") are merely clever causeries, and
cannot be considered in the hght of scientific research.
The poet is the better psychologist, for he is swayed
rather by sentiment than by reason, and always treats his
subject in a partial fashion. He cannot discern deep
shadows because he is dazed by the blazing light, and
overcome by the benign heat of the subject. Although
VI PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
the " Physiology of Love " provides inexhaustible material
for the poetry of all ages and of all peoples, nevertheless
the poet will not discharge his arduous task adequately
without the active co-operation of natural philosophy and,
above all, that of medicine, a science which ever seeks to
trace all psychological manifestations to their anatomical
and physiological sources.
In these efforts medicine succeeds, perhaps, in forming
a connection between the pessimistic reflections of the
philosopher of the stamp of Schopenhatier and Hartmann,^
and the gay and naive creations of the poet.
It is not intended to build up in this book a system of
the psychology of sexual life, still from the close study of
psychopathology there arise most important psychological
facts which it behoves the scientist to notice.
The object of this treatise is merely to record the various
psychopathological manifestations of sexual life in man
and to reduce them to their lawful conditions. This task
is by no means an easy one, and the author is well aware
of the fact that, despite his (varied) far-reaching experience
in psychiatry and criminal medicine, he is yet unable to
offer anything but an imperfected system.
The importance of the subject, however, demands
scientific research on account of its forensic bearing and
its deep influence upon the common weal. The medical
barrister only then finds out how sad the lack of our
knowledge is in the domain of sexuality when he is called
upon to express an opinion as to the responsibility of the
accused whose life, liberty arnd honour are at stake. He
then begins to appreciate the efforts that have been made
to bring light into darkness.
' Hartmann' s philosophical conception of love (" Philosophy of the
Unknown," Berlin, 1869, p. 583) is : " Love causes more pain than
pleasure. Pleasure is only an illusion. Reason would demand the
avoidance of love were it not for that fatal sexual instinct. Hence it
would be better to be castrated." Schopenhauer expresses the same view
in his work : " Die Welt als WiUo und Voistellung," third edition, vol. it.
p. 586, etc.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Vll
Certain it is that so far as sexual crimes are concerned
erroneous ideas prevail, unjust decisions are given, and
the law as well as public opinion are prima facie prejudiced
against the offender.
The scientific study of the psychopathology of sexual
life necessarily deals with the miseries of man and the
dark sides of his existence, the shadow of which contorts
the sublime image of the deity into horrid caricatures, and
leads astray aestheticism and morality.
It is the sad privilege of medicine, and especially that
of psychiatry to ever witness the weaknesses of human
nature and the reverse side of life.
The physician finds, perhaps, a (satisfaction) solace in
the fact that he may at times refer those manifestations
which offend against our ethical or aesthetical principles
to a diseased condition of the mind or the body. He can
save the honour of humanity in the forum of morality,
and the honour of the individual before the judge and his
fellow-men. It is from the search of truth that the
exalted duties and rights of medical science emanate.
The author adopts the saying of Tardieu {" Des at-
tentats aux moeurs ") : " Aucune misere physique ou
morale, aucune plaie, quelque corrompue quelle soit, ne
doit effrayer celui qui s'est voue a la science de Thomme, et
le ministere sacre du medecin, en I'obligeant a tout voir,
lui permet aussi de tout dire ".
He appeals to men engaged in serious study in the
domains of natural philosophy and medical jurisprudence.
A scientific title has been chosen, and technical terms
are used throughout the book in order to exclude the lay
reader. For the same reason certain portions are written
in Latin.
PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION.
This edition is entirely rewritten and considerably en-
larged. The (exceptionally) favourable criticisms which
have been accorded in professional circles to former edi-
tions are a guarantee that the book exercises a beneficent
influence upon legislation and jurisprudence, and will
assist in removing erroneous ideas and superannuated
laws.
Its commercial success is the best proof that large
numbers of unfortunate people find in its pages instruction
and relief in the frequently enigmatical manifestations of
sexual life. The hosts of letters that have reached the
author from all parts of the world substantiate this as-
sumption. Compassion and sympathy are strongly elicited
by the perusal of these letters, which are chiefly written
by men of refined thought and of high social and scientific
standing. They reveal sufferings of the soul in compari-
son to which all the other afflictions dealt out by Fate
appear as trifles.
May it continue to convey solace and social elevation
to its readers.
The number of technical terms has been increased,
and the Latin language is more frequently made use of
than in former editions. New observations, to which no
reference has been made in the ninth edition, will be
found in Nos. 58, 59, 67, 75, 76, 79, 80, 85, 87, 88, 101,
102, 116-20, 132, 139, 176, 188, 190, 192, 196, 203.
May the same kind reception be accorded to this
edition which was enjoyed by its predecessors. That it
may prove of utility in the service of science, justice and
humanity is the wish of the
AUTHOE.
Vienna, 1899.
PUBLISHERS' PREFACE.
The publishers sincerely trust that this translation from
the Tenth German Edition of PsycJiopathia Sexualis by Dr.
E. V. Krafft-Ebing will be received with favour by those
for whom the book is written, and that its readers will
derive that benefit which the author has in view.
The sale of the book is rigidly restricted to the members
of the medical and legal professions.
Any communications intended for the translator should
be addressed to "Translator" (Krafft-Ebing), care of
Rebman, Limited, 129 Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
THE PUBLISHERS.
London, 1899.
CONTENTS.
I. FRAGMENTS OF A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF
SEXUAL LIFE l
Force of sexual instincts, 1 — Sexual instinct the basis of ethical
sentiments, 2 — Love as a passion, 3 — Historical development
of sexual life, 3 — Chastity, 3 — Christianity, 4 — Monogamy, 3 —
Position of woman in Islam, 5 — Sensuality and morality, 7 —
Cultural demoralisation of sexual life, 7 — Episodes of the
, moral decay of nations, 8 — Development of sexual desire;
puberty, 8 — Sensuality and religious fanaticism, 9 — Re-
lation between religious and sexual domains, 10 — Sensuality
and art, 12 — Idealisation of first love, 13 — True love, 14 —
Sentimentality, 14 — Platonic love, 15 — Love and Friendship,
15 — Difference between the love of the man and that of the
woman, 15— Celibacy, 15— Adultery, 16— Matrimony, IB-
Fondness of dress, 16— Facts of physiological fetichism, .18
. — Religious and erotic fetichism, 18 — Hair, hand, foot of the
female as fetiches, 20 — Eye, smell, voice, psychical qualities
as fetich, 21.
II PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS 26
Puberty, 26— Time limit of sexual life, 27— Sexual sense, 27—
Localisation, 28 — Physiological development of sexual life,
28 — Erections ; Centre of erection, 29 — Sphere of sexuality
and olfaction, 31— Flagellation as a stimulant for sexual life,
34— Sect of flagellants, 35—" Flagellum Salutis " of Paulini, 37
— "Erogenous" (hyperaesthetic) zones, 37 — Control of sexual
instinct, 40 — Coitus, 41— Ejaculation, 42.
IIL-GENERAL NEUROPATHOLOGY AND PSYCHO-
PATHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE .... 43
Frequency and importance of pathological manifestations, 44 —
Sexual neuroses systematised, 44 — Influences stimulating the
erectile tissues, 45 — Paralysis of the erectile tissues, 45—
Temporary impotence, 45— Neurosis of the nerve centres of
ejaculation, 46 — Neurosis produced by cerebral causes, 46
XIV CONTENTS.
— Paradoxia, i.e., sexual instinct outside the period of ana-
tomical-physiological processes, 47 — Sexual instinct in early
childhood, 48— Sexual instinct reappearing in old age, 50 —
Sexual perversions in seniles due to impotence or dementia, 51
— Anesthesia sexualis, i.e., absence of sexual instinct, 54 — con-
genital, 54 — acquired, 61 — Hypercesthesia, i.e., pathologically
exaggerated sexual instinct, 62 — Conditions and manifestations
of this anomaly, 63 — ParcBstliesia or perversion of the sexual
instinct, 75 — Perversion and perversity, 76 — Sadism, an
attempted explanation of sadism, 76 — Sadistic lust murder,
82 — Anthropophagy, 85 — Mutilation of corpses, 90— Maltreat-
ment of women by cutting or flogging, etc., 95 — Defilement of
female persons, 102 — Symbolical sadism, i.e., brutal force em-
ployed against female persons, 105 — Sadism practised on any
other object, 106 — Flogging of boys, 106 — Sadistic acts on
animals, 109 — Sadism in vyoman, 112 — Kleist's " Penthesilea,"
114 — Masochism, 115 — Essence and clinical manifestations of
masochism, 115 — Maltreatment and humiliation invited for
the purpose of sexual gratification, 117 — Passive flagellation
and its relations to masochism, 133 — Frequency and practices
of masochism, 146 — Symbolical masochism, 148 — Ideal
masochism, 150 — Jean Jacques Rousseau, 154 — Masochism in
scientific and belletristical literature, 157 — Latent masochism,
159 — Shoe and foot fetichism, 159 — Koprolagnia, 178 —
Masochism in woman, 187 — An attempted explanation of
masochism, 191 — Sexual bondage, 194 — Masochism and
sadism, 202 — Fetichism, definition of, 207 — Cases in which
the fetich is a part of the female body, 213 — Hand fetichism,
214 — Bodily defects as fetiches, 223 — Hair fetichism, 228 — •
Hair despoilers, 229 — The fetich is a part of female attire, 235
— Mania for (theft of) female handkerchiefs, 243 — Shoe
fetichism, 248 — The fetich consists of some special fabric, 255
— Fur, silk, velvet fetichism, 257 — Beast fetichism, 267 —
Antipathic sexual instinct, 269 — Acquired sexual inversion in
either sex, 273 — Neurotic taint a condition of antipathic sexual
instinct, 275 — Grades of acquired perversion, 276 — Simple in-
version of sexual instinct, 276 — Eviration and defemination, 284
— Insanity among the Scythians, 290 — Mujerados, 291 — Transi-
tion to tnetamorplwsis sexualis, 292 — Metamorphosis sexualis
paranoica, 316 — Congenital antipathic sexuality, 323 — Various
clinical forms thereof, 325 — General symptoms, 325 — At-
tempted explanation of this anomaly, 330 — Congenital anti-
pathic sexuality in the male, 339 — Psychical hermaphrodism,
342 — Homosexuality, 357— Urnings, Z51—Effemination, 373 —
Androgyny, 384 — Congenital antipathic sexuality in the female,
390 — Other manifestations of sexual perversion, 428— Diag-
nosis, prognosis and therapy of sexual inversion, 431.
CONTENTS. XV
PAGE
IV. SPECIAL PATHOLOGY 445
The manifestations of pathological sexual life in the various forms
and conditions of mental disturbance, 446— Inhibition of
psychical development, 446 — Acquired mental debility, 449
— Dementia following psychosis or apoplexy, 449 — Or injuries
to the head, 450— Or lues cerebralis, 451 — Dementia parahjtica,
451— Epilepsy, 453— Periodical dementia, ^Ql—Psyclwpathia
sexualis periodica, 463 — Mania, 465— Symptoms of sexual
excitement in maniacs, 465— Satyriasis and nymphomania,
465 — Chronic satyriasis and nymphomania, 466 — Melancholia,
467— Hysteria, 467— Paranoia, 469.
V. PATHOLOGICAL SEXUAL LIFE BEFORE THE
CRIMINAL FORUM 472
Sexual crimes endanger the common weal, 472 — On the increase,
473— Probable causes, 478 — Clinical researches, 474 — Sexual
crimes not properly understood by the law profession, 475 —
Points for the proper judgment of sexual crimes, 475 — Con-
ditions for the cessation of responsibility, 476 — Points for the
psycho-pathological importance of sexual crimes, ilG—Sexiial
■ crimes classified, 476— Exhibitionists, 477 — Frotteurs, 496 — De-
filers of statues, 499 — Rape and lust-murder, 500 — Bodily injury,
violation of things, cruelty to animals caused by sadism, 507
— Masochism and sexual bondage, 513 — Bodily injury, robbery,
theft emanating from fetichism, 517 — Immorahty with
persons under the age of fourteen, 521— Violation, 530
Unnatural abuse, 530 — Violation of animals, sodomy,
bestiality, 530 — Zooerasty, 539 — Unnatural sexual relations
with persons of the same sex, pederasty, 539 — In relation to
sexual inversion, 541 — Necessity to distinguish between patho-
logical and normal conditions of pederasty, 541 — Forensic
opinion on congenital sexual inversion and when pathologically
acquired, 542 — Letter from an urning, 542 — Reasons why
legal proceedings against homosexual acts should be stopped,
547— Cultivated pederasty (not pathological), 554— Causes of
the vice, 554 — Social life of pederasts, 556 — A woman-hater's
ball in Berlin, 559 — Various categories of niale-loviug men,
562 — Pcrdicatio mulierum, 563 — Amor lesbicus, 576 — Necro-
philia, 580— Incest, 580— Violation of wards, 582.
INDEX
583
I. FEAGMENTS OF A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY
OF SEXUAL LIFE.
The propagation of the human* race is not left to mere
accident or the caprices of the individual, but is guaran-
teed by the hidden laws of nature which are enforced by
a mighty, irresistible impulse. Sensual enjoyment and
physical fitness are not the only conditions for the en-
forcement of these laws, but higher motives and aims,
such as the desire to continue the species or the individu-
ality of mental and physical qualities beyond time and
space, exert a considerable influence, Man puts himself
at once on a level with the beast if he seeks to gratify
lust alone, but he elevates his superior position when by
curbing the animal desire he combines with the sexual
functions ideas of morality, of the sublime, and the beau-
tiful.
Placed upon this lofty pedestal he stands far above
nature and draws from inexhaustible sources material for
nobler enjoyments, for serious work and for the realisation
of ideal aims. Maudsley ("Deutsche Klinik," 1873, 2, 3)
justly claims that sexual feeling is the basis upon which
social advancement is developed : —
If man were deprived of sexual distinction and the
nobler enjoyments arising therefrom, all poetry and prob-
ably all moral tendency would be eliminated from his life.
Sexual life no doubt is the one mighty factor in the
individual and social relations of man which disclose his
powers of activity, of acquiring property, of establishing a
I PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
home, of awakening altruistic sentiments towards a person
of the opposite sex, and towards his own issue as well as
towards the whole human race.
Sexual feeling is really the root of all ethics, and no
doubt of aistheticism and religion.
The subliiuest virtues, even the sacrifice of self, may
spring from sexual life, which, however, on account of its
sensual power, may easily degenerate into the lowest
passion and basest vice.
Love unbridled is a volcano that burns down and lays
waste all around it ; it is an abyss that devours all —
honour, substance and health.
It is of great psychological interest to follow up the
gradual development of civilisation and the influence
exerted by sexual life upon habits and morality.^ The
gratification of the sexual instinct seems to be the primary
motive in man as well as in beast. Sexual intercourse is
done openly, and man and woman are not ashamed of
their nakedness. The savage races, e.g., Australasians,
Polynesians, Malays of the Philippines are still in this stage
{vide Ploss). Woman is the common property of man,
the spoil of the strongest and mightiest, who chooses the
most winsome for his own, a sort of instinctive sexual
selection of the fittest.
Woman is a " chattel," an article of commerce, exchange
or gift, a vessel for sensual gratification, an implement for
toil. The presence of shame in the manifestations and
exercise of the sexual functions, and of modesty in the
mutual relations between the sexes are the foundations of
morality. Thence arises the desire to cover the nakedness
("and they saw that they were naked") and to perform
the act in private.
The development of this grade of civilisation is furthered
by the conditions of frigid climes which necessitate the
1 Cf. Lombroso, " The Criminal " ; Westeniiarck, " The History of
Marriage"; Ploss, "Das Weib in der Natur- und Volkerkunde," third
edition, vol. ii., p. 413-90.
A SYSTEM or PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 3
protection of the whole body agaiust the cold. It is an
anthropological fact that modesty can be traced to much
earlier periods among northern races. ^
Another element which tends to promote the refined
development of sexual life is the fact that woman ceases
to be a " chattel ". She becomes an individual being, and,
although socially stdl far below man, she gradually acquires
rights, independence of action, and the privilege to bestow
her favours where she inclines. She is wooed by man.
Traces of ethical sentiments pervade the rude sensual
appetite, idealisation begins and community of woman
ceases. The sexes are drawn to each other by mental and
physical merits a^d exchange favours of preference. In
this stage woman is conscious of the fact that her charms
belong only to the man of her choice. She seeks to hide
them from others. This forms the foundation of modesty,
chastity and sexual fidelity so long as love endures.
This development is hastened wherever nomadic habits
yield to the spirit of colonisation, where man establishes'
a household. He feels the necessity for a companion in
life, a housewife in a settled home.
The Egyptians, the Israelites, and the Greeks reached
this level at early periods, so did the Teutonic races. Its
principal characteristics are high appreciation of virginity,
chastity, modesty and sexual fidelity in strong contrast
to the habits of other peoples where the host places the
personal charms of the wife at the disposal of the guest.
The history of Japan furnishes a striking proof that
this high grade of civilisation is often the last stage of
moral development, for in that country to within ten
years ago prostitution was not considered to impair in
any way the social status of the future wife.
Christianity raised the union of the sexes to a sublime
1 According to Wcstermarck, op. cit., it was " not the feeling of shame
which suggested the garment, but the garment engendered shame. The
desire to make themselves more attractive originated the habit among
men and women to cover their nakedness."
4 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
position by making woman socially the equal of man and
by elevating the bond of love to a moral and religious
institution.^ Thence emanates the fact that the love of
^ This assertion may be modified in so far that the symbolical and
sacramental character of matrimony was clearly defined only by the
Council of Trent, although the spirit of Christianity always tended to raisa
woman from the inferior position which she occupied in previous centuries
and in the Old Testament.
The tradition that woman was created from the rib of the sleeping
man (see Genesis) is one of the causes of delay in this direction, for after
the fall she is told " thy will shall be subject to man ". According to the
Old Testament, woman is responsible for the fall of man, and this became
the corner-stone of Christian teaching. Thus the social position of woman
had to be neglected, as it were, until the spirit of Christianity had con-
quered tradition and scholastic tenets.
It is a remarkable fact that the gospels (barring divorce. Matt. xix. 9)
contain not a word in favour Oj." woman. The clemency shown towards
the adulteress and the penitent Magdalen do not affect the position of
woman in general. The epistles of St. Paul definitely insist that no
change can be permitted in the position of woman (2 Cor. xi. 3-12 ; Eph.
V. 22, "woman shall be subject to man," and 23, "woman shall fear
man").
How much the fathers of the Church are prejudiced against woman
on account of Eve's part in the temptation may be easily learned from
TertulUan, " Woman, thou shouldst ever go in mourning and sackcloth, thy
eyes filled with tears. Thou hast brought about the ruin of mankind.'
St. Jerome has aught but good to say about woman. " Woman is the gate
of the devil, the road of evil, the sting of the scorpion " (" De Cultu Femin-
arum," i. 1).
Canon law declares: "Man only is created to the image of God not
womon ; therefore woman shall serve him and be his handmaid ".
The Provincial Council of Macon (sixth century) seriously discussed
the question whether woman had a soul at all.
These opinions of the Church had a sympathetic influence upon the
peoples who embraced Christianity. Among the converted Germanic
races the dower value of woman fell considerably {J. Falke, "Die ritter-
liche Gesellschaft," Berlin, 1862, p. 49. Be the valuation of the two sexes
among the Jews, cf. 3 Moses, xxvii. 3-4).
E\en polygamy, which is distinctly recognised in the Old Testament,
(Deut. xxi. 15) is nowhere in the New Testament definitely prohibited.
In fact many Christian princes {e.g. the Merovingian kings : Chlotar I.,
Charibert I., Pippin I. and other Frankish nobles) indulged in polygamy
without a protest being raised by the Church at the time (Weinhold, " Die
deutschen Frauen im Mittelalter," ii., p. 15 ; cf. linger, " Marriage," etc.,
and Lotiis Bridel, " La Femme et le Droit," Paris, 1884).
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 5
man, if considered from the standpoint of advanced civilisa-
tion, can only be of a monogamic nature and must rest upon
a staple basis. Even though nature should claim merely
the law of propagation, a community (family or state)
cannot subsist without the guarantee that the offspring
thrive physically, morally and intellectually. From the
moment when woman was recognised the peer of man,
when monogamy became a law and was consolidated by
legal, religious and moral conditions, the Christian nations
obtained a mental and material superiority over the poly-
gamic races, and especially over Islam.
Mohammed strove to raise woman from the position
of the slave and mere handmaid of enjoyment, to a higher
social and matrimonial grade ; yet she remained still far
below man, who alone could obtain divorce, and that on
the easiest terms.
Above all things Islamism excludes woman from public
life and enterprise, and stifles her intellectual and moral
advancement. The Mohammedan woman is simply a
means for sensual gratification and the propagation of
the species ; whilst in the sunny balm of Christian doctrine,
blossom forth her divine virtues and her qualities of
housewife, companion and mother. What a contrast !
Compare the two religions and their standard of future
happiness. The Christian expects a heaven of spiritual bhss
absolutely free from carnal pleasure ; the Mohammedan
au eternal harem, a paradise among lovely houris. Yet,
in spite of the aid which religion, law, education and the
moral code offer him, the Christian (to subdue his sensual
inclination) often drags pure and chaste love from its
sublime pedestal and wallows in the quagmire of sensual
enjoyment and lust.
Life is a never-ceasing duel between the animal in-
stinct and morality. Only will-power and a strong character
can emancipate man from the meanness of his corrupt
nature, and teach him how to enjoy the pure pleasures of
love and pluck the noble fruits of earthly existence.
6 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
It is an open question whether the moral status of
mankind has undergone an improvement in our times.
No doubt society at large shows a greater veneer of
modesty and virtue, and vice is not as flagrantly practised
as of yore.
The reader of Scherr (" Deutsche Culturgeschichte ")
will gain the impression that our moral code is not so
gross as was that of the middle ages, even if only more re-
fined manners have taken the place of former coarseness.
In comparing the various stages of civilisation it be-
comes evident that, despite periodical relapses, public
morality has made steady progress, and that Christianity
is the chief factor in this advance.
We are certainly far beyond sodomitic idolatry, the
public life, legislation and religious exercises of ancient
Greece, not to speak of the worship of Phallus and Priapus
in vogue among the Athenians and Babylonians, or the
Bacchanalian feasts of the Eomans and the privileged posi-
tion held by the courtesans of those days.
There are stagnant and fluctuating periods in this slow
progress, but they are only like the ebb- and flood- tide
of sexual hfe in the individual.
The episodes of moral decay always coincide with the
progression of effeminacy, lewdness and luxuriance of the
nations. These phenomena can only be ascribed to the
hifrher and more stringent demands which circumstances
make upon the nervous system. Exaggerated tension of
the nervous system stimulates sensuality, leads the indi-
vidual as well as the masses to excesses, and undermines
the very foundations of society, and the morality and purity
of family life. The material and moral ruin of the com-
munity is readily brought about by debauchery, adultery
and luxury. Greece, the Roman Empire, and France
under Louis XIV. and XV., are striking examples of this
assertion. In such periods of civic and moral decline the
most monstrous excesses of sexual life may be observed,
which, however, can always be traced to ps5xho-patho-
A SYSTEM OF PSYCnOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. /
logical or neuro-pathological conditions of the nation in-
volved.^
Large cities are hotbeds in which neuroses and low
morality are bred, vide the history of Babylon, Nineveh,
Rome and the mysteries of modern metropolitan life. It
is a remarkable fact that among savages and half-civilised
races sexual intemperance is not observed (except among
the Aleutians and the Oriental and Nama- Hottentot
women who practise masturbation).^
The study of sexual life in the individual naturally
deals with its various phases, beginning with the stage of
puberty to the extinction of sexual feeling.
Mantegazza (" Physiology of Love ") draws a beautiful
picture of the bodings and yearnings of awakening love, of
the mysterious sensations, foretastes and impulses that fill
the heart, long before the period of puberty has arrived.
Psychologically speaking, this is, perhaps, the most mo-
mentous epoch of life, for the wealth of ideas and senti-
ments engendered through it, forms the standard by which
psychic activity may be measured.
The advance of puberty develops the impulses of youth,
hitherto vague and undefined, into conscious realisation of
the sexual power. The psychological reactions of animal
passion manifest themselves in the irresistible desires of
intimacy, and the longing to bestow the strange affections
of nature upon others.
Religion and poetry frequently become the temporary
haven of rest, even after the period of storm and stress is
passed. Religious enthusiasm is more commonly met
with in the young than the old. The lives of the saints^
^ Cf. Friedldnder ^ " Sittengeschichte Roms " ; Wiedemeister, " Der
Casarenwahnsinn " ; Suetonius, Moreau, " Des aberrations du sens
gendsique ".
2 Friedreich (" Hdb. der gerichtlicharztlich. Praxis," 1843, i. p. 271) ia
of a different opinion, for according to him the Red Indians of America are
addicted to the practice of pederasty. Cf. also Lombroao, p. 42.
^ Cf. Friedreich (" Gerichtl. Psychologic, " p. 3S9) who quotes numerous
examples. For instance, Blankebin, the nun, was constantly tormented
8 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
are replete with remarkable records of temptations. The
religious feasts of the ancients often degenerated into orgies,
or into mystic cults of a voluptuous character. Even
the meetings of certain modern sects dissolve themselves
simply into obscene practices.
On the contrary we find that the sexual instinct,
when disappointed and unappeased, frequently seeks and
fends a substitute in rehgion.
Even where psycho-pathological conditions are diag-
nosed beyond dispute, this relation between religious and
sexual feelings can easily be established. The cause of re-
hgious insanity is often to be found in sexual aberration.
In psychosis a motley mixture of religious and sexual delu-
sions is observable, viz., in female lunatics who imagine
that they are or will be the mother of God, and especially
in persons slaves to masturbation. The cruel, sensual acts
of chastisement, violation, emasculation and even crucifix-
ion perpetrated upon self by religious maniacs, bear out
this assertion.^
Any attempt to explain the psychological relations be-
by the thought of what could have become of that part of Christ which
was removed in circumcision.
Veronica Juliani, beatified by Pope Pius II., in memory of the divine
lamb, took a real lamb to bed with her, kissed it and suckled it on her
breasts.
St. Catharine of Genoa often burned with such intense inward fire that
in order to cool herself she would throw herself upon the ground crying,
" Love, love, I can endure it no longer ". At the same time she felt a
peculiar inclination to her confessor. One day lifting his hand to her nose
she noticed a peculiar odour which penetrated to her heart " a heavenly
perfume that would awaken the dead ".
St. Armelle and St. Elizabeth were troubled with a similar longing
for the Infant Jesus. The temptations of St. Anthony, of Padua, are known
to the world. Of significance is an old Protestant prayer : " Oh 1 that I
had found thee, bless'd Emanuel ; that thou wert with me in my bed, to
bring delight to body and soul. Come and be mine. My heart shall be
thy resting place."
^ Cf. Friedreich, " Diagnostik der psych. Krankheiten," p. 247 etc.;
Neumann, Lehrb. d. " PsychiatriCj" p. 80.
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 9
tween religion and love must needs meet with difficulties,
for analogous instances are met with in great numbers.
Sexual inclinations and religious leanings (if considered
as psychological factors), are composed of two elements.
Schleiermacher recognised the primary feeling of depen-
dence as the paramount element in religion, long before
modern anthropological and ethnographic research in the
domain of primitive causes, arrived at the same conclu-
sions.
The secondary and truly ethical element, i.e., the love
of God, enters the religious sentiment only when a higher
stage of culture is attained. At first, the double-faced,
now benevolent, now angry, chimeras of complicated
mythologies, take the place of the evil spirits, until they
in turn are dislodged by the benign form of the deity, the
giver of perpetual happiness, whether it be in the shape
of Jehovah as the author of all earthly blessings, or Allah
who bestows physical delight in Paradise, or Christ who
is gone before to prepare mansions of eternal light and
bliss, or Nirvana who reigns in the heaven of the Buddhist.
The primary element of sexical preference is love, i.e.,
the expectation of unsurpassed pleasure. The secondary
element is the feeling of dependence, although it is in
reality the root from which both spring alike, as the
former may be entirely absent. It certainly exists in a
stronger measure in woman, on account of her. social
position, and the passive part which she takes in the act
of procreation ; but at times it is also found in men who
are of a feminine type.
Eeligion as well as sexual love is mystical and trans-
cendental. In sexual love the real object of the instinct,
i.e., propagation of the species, is not always present to
the mind during the act, and the impulse is much
stronger than could be justified by the gratification that
can possibly be derived from it. Keligious love strives
for the possession of an object that is absolutely ideal,
and cannot be defined by experimental knowledge. Both
10 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
are metaphysical processes which give unlimited scope to
imagination.
They converge, however, in a similar indefinite focus ;
for the gratification of the sensual appetite promises a
boon which far surpasses all other conceivable pleasures,
and faith has in store a bliss that endures for ever.
In either condition the mind is conscious of the enor-
mous importance of the object to be obtained ; thus im-
pulses often become irresistible and overcome all opposing
motives. But because neither of them can at times grasp
the real object of their existence they easily degenerate
into fanaticism, in which intensity of emotion overbalances
clearness and stability of reason. Expectation of un-
fathomed bliss is now coupled with reckless resignation
and unconditional submission.
Owing to this conformity it happens that under high
tension one dislodges the other, or that both make their
appearance together ; for every violent upheaval in the
soul must necessarily sweep along its surroundings.
Nature, always the same, draws alike upon these two
spheres of conception, now forcing one then the other
into stronger activity, which degenerates even into acts of
cruelty either actively exercised, or passively endured.
In religious life this may assume the shape of self-
sacrifice or self-destruction, prompted by the idea that
the victim is necessary for the material sustenance of the
deity. The sacrifice is brought as a sign of reverence or
submission, as a tribute, as an atonement for sins com-
mitted, or as a price whei-ewith to purchase happiness.
If, however, the offering consists in self-punishment —
and that occurs in all rehgions ! — it serves not only as a
symbol of submission, or an equivalent in the exchange
of present pain for future bliss, but everything that is
thought to come from the deity, all that is done in
obedience to divine mandates or to the honour of the
Godhead, is felt directly as pleasure. Thus religious
exuberance leads to ecstasy, a condition in which con-
A SYSTEM OP PSYCHOLOGY OP SEXUAL LIFE. li
sciousness is so preoccupied with feelinf::;s of mental
pleasure, that distress is stripped of its painful quality.
Exaggerated reii,i;ious enthusiasm also finds pleasure
in the sacrifice of another person, when rapture combines
with sympathy.
Similar manifestations may be observed in sexual life,
as will be shown later on und(?r the headings of Sadism
and Masochism.
Thus the relations existing between religion, lust, and
cruelty,^ may be condensed into the fornmla : Eeligious
and sexual hyperaesthesia at the acme of development
show the same volume of intensity and the same quality
of excitement, and may therefore under given circum-
stances interchange. Both will in certain pathological
states degenerate into cruelty.
Sexual influence is just as potent in the awakening of
aesthetic sentiments. What other foundation is tlicre for
the plastic art or poetry? From (sensual) love arises
that warmth of fancy which alone can inspire the creative
mind, and the fire of sensual feeling kindles and preserves
the glow and fervour of art.
This explains the sensual natures of great poets and
artists.
The world of fancy keeps pace with the development
of sexual power. Whoever during that period cannot be
animated by the ideals of all that is great, noble and
beautiful remains a "Philistine" all his life. Even the
dolt tries his hand at poetry when in love.
On the borders of physiological reaction may be
observed those mysterious processes of maturing puberty,
which give origin to obscure yearnings and moods of
' This may be observed in the actual life as well as in the fiction and
the plastic arts of degonerato eras. For instance, Bernmi's carving,
which roprosents St. Teresa " sinking in a hysterical faint upon a marble
cloud, whilst an amorous angel plunges the arrow (of divine love) into her
heart.'' — Lilbke.
12 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
despondency and Weltschmerz, rendering life tedious, and
coupled with the impulse to inflict pain and sorrow upon
others (weak analogies of a psychological connection be-
tween lust and cruelty).
First love for ever trends in a romantic idealising
direction. It wraps the beloved object in the halo of
perfection. In its incipient stages it is of a platonic
character, and turns rather to forms of poetry and history.
With the approach of puberty it runs the risk of trans-
ferring the idealising powers upon persons of the opposite
sex, even though mentally, physically and socially they be
of an inferior station. To this may easily be traced many
cases of misalliance, abduction, elopement and errors of
early youth, and those sad tragedies of passionate love that
are in conflict with the principles of morality or social
standing, and often terminate in murder, self-destruction,
and double suicide.
Purely sensual love is never true and lasting, for which
reason first love is, as a rule, but a passing infatuation, a
fleeting passion.
True love is rooted in the recognition of the moral
and mental qualities of the beloved person, and is equally
ready to share pleasures and sorrows and even to make
sacrifices. True love shrinks from no dangers or obstacles
in the struggle for the undisputed possession of the beloved.
Deeds of daring and heroism lie in its wake. But un-
less the moral foundation be solid it will lead to crime,
and jealousy often mars its beauty.
The love of the feeble-minded is based upon senti-
mentality, and when unrequited results in suicide.
Sentimental love is hkely to degenerate into a burlesque,
especially when the sensual element lacks force {e.g. the
Knight of Joggenburg, Don Quixote, and many of the
minstrels and troubadours of the middle ages).
This kind of love is nauseating and has a repulsive or
ludicrous effect on others, whilst true love and its mani-
festations command sympathy, respect, and even fear.
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OP SEXUAL LIFE. 13
Love when weak is frequently turned away from its
real object into different channels, such as voluptuous
poetry, bizarre aesthetics, or rehgion. In the latter case
it readily falls a prey to mysticism, fanaticism, sectarianism
or religious mania. A smattering of all this can always
be found in the immature love of early puberty. The
poetical effusions of that period of life are only then
worthy of perusal when emanating from the pen of the
truly endowed genius.
Ethical surroundings are necessary in order to elevate
love to its true and pure form, but, notwithstanding
sensuahty will ever remain its principal basis.
Platonic love is a platitude, a misnomer for " kindred
spirits ".
Since love imphes the presence of sexual desire it can
only exist between persons of different sex capable of
sexual intercourse. When these conditions are wantinsr
or destroyed it is replaced by friendship.
The sexual functions of man exercise a very marked
influence upon the development and preservation of char-
acter. Manliness and self-reliance are not the qualities
which adorn the impotent onanist.
Gynrkovechky (" Mannl. Impotenz," Wien, 1889) is
correct in his observation that virility establishes the ratio
of difference between old men and young, and that im-
potence impairs health, mental freshness, activity, self-
confidence and imagination. The damage stands in
proportion to the age of the subject and the extent of
his debauchery.
The sudden loss of the virile powers often produces
melancholia, or is the cause of suicide when life without
love is a mere blank.
In ca'-es where the reaction is less pronounced, the
victim is morose, peevish, egotistical, jealous, narrow-
minded, cowardly, devoid of energy, self-respect and
honour.
14 PSYCnOPATIIIA SEXUAI.IS.
The Skopzes for instance after castration rapidly
degenerate.
This m itter will be further elucidated under the
heading of " Effeminatio " {v. i.).
In the sedate matron this condition is of minor psy-
chological importance, though it is noticeable. The
biological change affects her but little if her sexual career
has been successful, and loving children gladden the ma-
ternal heart. The situation is different, however, where
sterility has denied that happiness, or where enforced
celibacy prevented the performance of the natural func-
tions.
These facts characterise strongly the differences that
prevail in the psychology of sexual life in man and
woman, and the dissimilarity of sexual feeling and desire
in both.
Man has beyond doubt the stronger sexual appetite of
the two. From the period of pubescence he is instinc-
tively drawn towards woman. His love is sensual, and
his choice is strongly prejudiced in favour of physical
attractions. A mighty impulse of nature makes him
aggressive and impetuous in his courtsliip. Yet the law
of nature does not wholly fill his psychic being. Having
won the prize, his love is temporarily eclipsed by other
vital and social interests.
Woman, however, if physically and mentally normal,
and properly educated, has but little sensual desire. If
it were otherwise, marriage and family life would be
empty words. As yet the man who avoids women, and
the woman who seeks men are sheer anomalies.
Woman is wooed for her favour. She remains passive.
Her sexual organisation demands it, and the dictates of
good breeding come to her aid.
Nevertheless, sexual consciousness is stronger in
woman than in man. Her need of love is greater, it
is continual not periodical, but her love is more spiritual
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 15
than sensual. Man primarily loves woinaij as his wife,
and then as the mother of his children ; the first place in
woman's heart helon^s to the father of her child, the
second to him as husband. Woman is influenced in
her choice more by mental than by physical qualities.
As mother she divides her love between offspring and
husband. Sensuality is merged in the mother's love.
Thereafter the wife accepts marital intercourse not so
much as a sensual gratification than as a proof of her hus-
band's affection.
Woman loves with her whole soul. To woman love
is life, to man it is the joy of life. Misfortune in love
bruises the heart of man ; but it ruins the life of woman
and wrecks her happiness. It is really a psychological
question worthy of consideration whether woman can
truly love twice in her life. Woman's mind certainly
inclines more to monogamy than that of man.
In the sexual demands of man's nature will be found
the motives of his weakness towards woman. He is
enslaved by her, and becomes more and more dependent
upon her as he grows weaker, and the more he yields to
sensuality. This accounts for the fact that in the periods
of decline and luxury sensuousness was the predominant
factor. Whence arises the social danger when courtesans
and their dependants rule the State and finally encompass
its ruin.
History shows that great (states)men have often been
the slaves of women in consequence of the neuropathic
conditions of their constitution.
It shows a masterly psychological knowledge of human
nature that the Roman Catholic Church enjoins celibacy
upon its priests in order to emancipate them from sensu-
ality, and to concentrate their entire activity in the pursuit
of their calling. Nevertheless it is a pity that the celibate
state deprives the priest of the ennobling influence exer-
cised by love and marital life upon the character.
From the fact that by nature man plays the aggressive
16 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
rdle in sexual life, he is exposed to the danger of over-
stepping the limits set by law and morality.
The unfaithfulness of the wife, as compared with
that of the husband, is morally of much wider bearing,
and should always meet with severer punishment at the
hands of the law. The unfaithful wife not only dishon-
ours herself, but also her husband and her family, not to
speak of the possible uncertainty of paternity.
Natural instincts and social position are frequent
causes of disloyalty in man (the husband), whilst the
wife is surrounded by many protecting influences.
Sexual intercourse is of different import to the spinster
and to the bachelor. Society claims of the latter modesty,
but exacts of the former chastity as well. Modern civil-
isation concedes only to the wife that exalted position, in
which woman sexually furthers the moral interests of
society.
The ultimate aim, the ideal, of woman, even when she
is dragged in the mire of vice, ever is and will be marriage.
Woman, as Mantegazza properly observes, seeks not only
gratification of sensual desires, but also protection and
support for herself and her offspring. No matter how
sensual man may be, unless also thoroughly depraved, he
seeks for a consort only that woman whose chastity he
cannot doubt.
The emblem and ornament of woman aspiring to this
state, truly worthy of herself, is modesty, so beautifully
defined by Mantegazza as "one of the forms of physical
self-esteem ".
To discuss here the evolution of this, the most graceful
of virtues in woman, is out of place, but most likely it is
an outgrowth of the gradual rise of civilisation.
A remarkable contrast may be found in the occasional
exposure of physical charms, conventionally sanctioned by
the world of fashion, in which even the most discreet
maiden will indulge when robed for the ball-room, theatre,
or similiar social functions. Although the reasons for such
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 17
a display are obvious, the modest woman is fortunately
no more conscious of them, than of the motives which
underlie periodical fashions that bring certain forms of
the body into undue prominence, to say nothing of
corsets, etc.
In all times, and among all races, the women are fond
of toilet and finery. In the animal kingdom nature has
distinguished the male with the greater beauty. Men
designate women as the beautiful sex, a gallantry which
clearly arises from their sensual requirements. So long
as woman seeks only self-gratification in this personal
adornment, and so long as she remains unconscious of
the psychological reasons for thus making herself attrac-
tive, no objection can be raised against it, but when done
with the fixed purpose to please men it degenerates into
coquetry.
Under analogous circumstances man would make him-
self ridiculous.
Woman far surpasses man in the natural psychology
of love, partly because evolution and training have made
love her proper element, and partly because she is ani-
mated by more refined feelings {Mantegazza).
Even the best of breeding concedes to man that he
looks upon woman mainly as a means by which to satisfy
the cravings of his natural instinct, though it confines
him only to the woman of his choice. Thus civilisation
establishes a binding social contract which is called mar-
riage, and grants by legal statutes protection and support
to the wife and her issue.
It is important, and on account of certain 4)athological
manifestations (to be referred to later on) indispensable, to
examine into those psychological events which draw man
and woman into that close union which concentrates the
fulness of affection upon the beloved one only, to the ex-
clusion of all other persons of the same sex.
If one could demonstrate design in the processes of
nature — adaptation cannot be denied them — then the fact
18 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
of fascination by one person of the opposite sex with in-
difference towards all others, as it occurs between true
and happy lovers, would appear as a wonderful provision
to ensure monogamy for the promotion of its object.
The scientific observer finds in this loving bond of
hearts by no means simply a mystery of souls, but he can
refer it nearly always to certain physical or mental pecu-
harities by which the attracting power is qualified.
Hence the words fetich and fetichism. The word
fetich signifies an object, or parts or attributes of objects,
which by virtue of association to sentiment, personality, or
absorbing ideas, exert a charm (the Portuguese " fetisso "),
(jr at least produce a peculiar individual impression which
is in no wise connected with the external appearance of
the sign, symbol or fetich.^
The individual valuation of the fetich extending even
to unreasoning enthusiasm is called fetichism. This in-
teresting psychological phenomenon may be explained by
an empiricial law of association, i.e., the relation existing
between the notion itself and the parts thereof which are
essentially active in the production of pleasurable emotions.
It is most commonly found in religious and erotic spheres.
lielifjious fetichism finds its original motive in the delusion
that its object, i.e., the idol, is not a mere symbol, but
possesses divine attributes, and ascribes to it peculiar
wonder-working (relics) or protective (amulets) virtues.
Erotic fetichism makes an idol of physical or mental
qualities of a person or even merely of objects used by
that person, etc., because they awaken mighty associations
with the bel^jved person, thus originating strong emotions
of sexual pleasure. Analogies with religious fetichism
are always discernible ; for, in the latter, the most in-
significant objects (hair, nails, bones, etc.) become at
times fetiches which produce feelings of delight and even
ecstasy.
^ Cf. Max Mullcr who derives the word teticli etymologically from
faciitius, i.e., artificial, iusiguificaut.
A SYSTEM OF PSYCIiOLOGy OF SEXUAL LIFE. 19
The germ of sexual love is probably to be found in the
individual charm (fetich) with which persons of opposite
sex sway each other
The case is simple enough when the sight of a person
of the opposite sex occurs simultaneously with sexual
excitement, whereby the latter is intensified.
Emotional and optical impressions combine and are
so deeply embedded in the mind that a recurring sensation
awakens the visual memory and causes renewed sexual
excitement, even orgasm and pollution (often only in
dreams), in which case the physical appearance acts as
a fetich.
Binet, inter alia, contends that mere peculiarities,
whether physical or mental, may have the effect of the
fetich, if their perception coincides with sexual emotion.
Experience shows that chance controls in a large
measure this mental association, that the nature of the
fetich varies with the personality of the individual, thus
arousing the oddest sympathies or antipathies.
These physiological facts of fetichism often account
for the affections that suddenly arise between man and
woman, the preference of a certain person to all others
of the same sex. Since the fetich assumes the form of
a distinctive mark it is clear that its effect can only be
of an individual character. Being accentuated by the
strongest feelings of pleasure, it follows, that existing faults
in the beloved are overlooked ("Love is Wind") and an
infatuation is produced which appears incomprehensible
or silly to others. Thus it happens that the devoted
lover who worships and invests his love with quahties
which in reality do not exist, is looked upon by others
simi.ly as mad. Thus love exhibits itself now as a mere
passion, now as a pronounced psychical anomaly which
attains what seemed impossible, renders the ugly beautiful,
the profane sublime, and obliterates all consciousness of
existing duties towards others.
Tarda ("Archives de I'Anthropologie Criminolle," vol.
20 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
v., No. 30) argues that the type of this fetich(ism) varies
with persons as well as with nations, but that the ideal
of beauty remains the same among civilised peoples of the
same era.
Binet has more thoroughly analysed and studied this
fetichism of love.
From it springs the particular choice for slender or
plump forms, for blondes or brunettes, for particular form
or colour of the eyes, tone of the voice, odour of the hair
or body (even artificial perfume), shape of the hand, foot
or ear, etc., which constitute the individual charm, the
first link in a complicated chain of mental processes, all
converging in that one focus, love, i.e., the physical and
mental possession of the beloved.
This fact establishes the existence of physiological
fetichism.
Without showing a pathological condition the fetich
may exercise its power so long as its leading qualities
represent the integral parts, and so long as the love en-
gendered by it comprises the entire mental and physical
personality.
Normal love can only be synthetic, a generalisation.
Max Dessoir (pseudonym Ludwig Brunn) ^ in an article,
" The Fetichism of Love," cleverly says : —
" Normal love appears to us as a symphony of tones
of all kinds. It is roused by the most varied agencies.
It is, so to speak, polytheistic. Fetichism recognises
only the tone-colour of a single instrument ; it issues
forth from a single motive ; it is monotheistic."
Even moderate thought will carry the conviction that
the term real love (so often misused) can only apply
where the entire person of the beloved becomes the phy-
sical and mental object of veneration.
Of course, there is always a sensual element in love,
i.e., the desire to enjoy the full possession of the beloved
object, and, in union with it, to fulfil the laws of nature.
1 " Deutsclies Montagsblatt," Berlin 20, 8, 80
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 2]
But where the body of the beloved person is made
the sole object of love, or if sexual pleasure only is sought
without regard to the communion of soul and mind, true
love does not exist. Neither is it found among the disciples
of Plato, who love the soul only and despise sexual en-
joyment. In the one case the body is the fetich, in the
other the soul, and love is fetichism.
Instances such as these represent simply transitions
to pathological fetichism.
This assumption is enlianced by another criterion of
true love, viz., the mental satisfaction derived from the
sexual act.^
A striking phenomenon in fetichism is that among
the many things which may serve as fetiches there are
some which gain that significance more commonly than
others ; for instance, the hair, the hand, the foot of
woman, or the expression of the eye. This is important
in the pathology of fetichism.
Woman certainly seems to be more or less conscious
of these facts. For she devotes great attention to her
hair and often spends an unreasonable amount of time
^ Magnan's "spinal cerebral posterieur" who finds gratification with
any sort of woman, is only animated by lust. Meretricious love that is
purchased cannot be genuine {Mantegazza). Whoever coined the adage:
" Sublata lucerna muUum discrimen inter feminas," was a cynic, indeed.
The power to perform love's act is by no means a guarantee of the noblest
enjoyment of love.
There are urnings who are potent for women — men who do not love
their wives, but are nevertheless able to perform the marital "duty ". In
the majority of these cases even lustful pleasure is absent ; for it is simply
an onanistic act rendered possible by the aid of imagination which sub-
stitutes another beloved being. This deception may, indeed, superinduce
sexual pleasure, but, rudimentary gratification as it is, it can only arise
from a psychic trick, just as in solitary onanism voluptuous satisfac-
tion is obtained chiefly with the assistance of fancy. As a matter of
fact that degree of orgasm which completes the lustful act is entirely
dependent upon the intervention of fancy.
Where psychic impediments exist (such as indifference, disgust,
aversion, fear of contagion or impregnation, etc.) the feeling of sexual
gratification seems to be wanting altogether.
22 PSYCHOrATniA sexualis.
and money upon its cultivation. How carefully the
mother looks after her little daughter's hair ! What an
important part the hairdresser plays ! The falling out of
the hair causes despair to many a young lady. The
author remembers the case of a vain woman who fell
into melanchoHa on account of this trouble, and finally
committed suicide. A favourite subject of conversation
among ladies is coijf^ires. They are envious of each
other's luxuriant tresses.
Beautiful hair is a mighty fetich with many men. In
the legend of the Lorelei, who lured men to destruction,
the "golden hair" which she combs with a golden comb
appears as a fetich. Frequently the hand or the foot
possesses an attractiveness no less powerful ; but in these
instances masochistic and sadistic feelings often — though
not always — assist in determining the peculiar kind of
fetich.
By a transference through association of ideas, gloves
or shoes obtain the significance of a fetich.
Max Dessoir {op. cit.) points out that among the cus-
toms of the middle ages diinking from the shoe of a
beautiful woman (still to be found in Poland) played a
remarkable part in gallantry and homage. The shoe also
plays an important role in the legend of Aschenbrodel.
The expression of the eye is particularly important
as a means of kindling the spark of love. A neuropathic
eye frequently affects persons of either sex as a fetich.
"Madame, vos beaux yeux me font mourir d'amour."
{Moliere).
There are many examples showing that odours of the
body become fetiches.
This fact is taken advantage of in the " Ars amandi "
by woman either consciously or unconsciously. Ruth
sought to attract Boaz by perfuming herself. The demi-
monde of ancient and modern times is noted for its lavish
use of strong scents. Jdger, in his " Discovery of the
Soul," calls attention to many olfactory sympathies.
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 23
Cases are known where men have married ugly women
solely because their personal odours were exceedingly
pleasing.
Binct makes it probable that the voice also may act as
a fetich.
Belot in his novel " Les baigneuses de Trouville"
makes the same assertion. Binet thinks that many
marriages with singers are due to the fetich (^f their
voices. He also observes that among the singing birds
the voice has the same sexual significance as odours
among the quadrupeds. The birds allure by. their song,
and the male that sings most beautifully is joined at night
by the charmed mate.
The pathological facts of masochism and sadism show
that mental peculiarities may also act as fetiches but in a
wider sense.
Thus the fact of idiosyncrasies is explained, and the
old proverb " De cjustihus non est disputandum " retains its
force.
With regard to fetichism in woman, science must at
least for the present time be content with mere con-
jectures. This much seems to be certain, that being a
a physiological factor, its effects are analogous to those
in men, i.e., producing sexual sympathies towards persons
of the same sex.
Details will come to our knowledge only when medical
women enter into the study of this subject.
We may take it for granted that the physical as well
as the mental qualities of man assume the form of the
female fetich. In most cases, no doubt, physical attributes
in the male exercise this power without regard to the
existence of conscious sensuality. On the other hand it
will be found that the mental superiority of man con-
stitutes the attractive power where physical beauty is
wanting. In the upper "strata" of society this is more
apparent, even if we disregard the enormous influence
exercised by "blue l)lood" and high breeding. The
24 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
possibility that superior intellectual development favours
advantcement in social position, and opens the way to a
brilliant career, does not seem to v^^eigh heavily in the
balance of judgment.
The fetichism of body and mind is of importance in
progeneration ; it favours the selection of the fittest and
the transmission of physical and mental virtues.
Generally speaking the follov^ing masculine virtues
impose on v^oman, viz., physical strength, courage, nobility
of mind, chivalry, self-confidence, even self-assertion, inso-
lence, bravado, and a conscious show of mastery over the
weaker sex.
A "Don Juan" impresses many women and elicits
admiration, for he establishes the proof of his virile powers,
although the inexperienced maiden can in no wise suspect
the many risks of lues and chronic urethritis she runs
from a marital union with this otherwise interestincr
rake.
The successful actor, musician, or vocal artiste, the
circus rider, the athlete, and even the criminal, often fasci-
nate the bread and butter miss as well as the maturer
woman. At any rate women rave over them, and inun-
date them with love letters.
It is a well-known fact that the female heart has pre-
dominant weakness for military uniforms, that of the
cavalry-man ever having the preference.
The hair of man, especially the beard, the emblem of
virility, the secondary symbol of generative power — is a
predominant fetich with woman. In the measure in
which women bestow special care upon the cultivation
of their hair, men who seek to attract and please women,
cultivate the elegant growth of the beard, and especially
that of the moustache.
The eye as well as the voice exert the same charm.
Singers of renown easily touch woman's heart. They are
overwhelmed with love letters and offers of marriage.
Tenors have a decided advantage.
A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUAL LIFE. 25
Binet (op cit.) refers to an observation of this character
made by Dumas in his novel "La maison du vent". A
woman who falls in love with a tenor-voice loses her
virtue.
'J he author has thus far not succeeded in obtaining
O
facts with regard to pathological fetichism io woman.
II. PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS.
During the time of the physiological processes in the
reproductive glands, desires arise in the consciousness of
the individual, vi^hich have for their purpose the perpetua-
tion of the species (sexual instinct).
Sexual desire during the years of sexual maturity is a
physiological law. The duration of the physiological pro-
cesses in the sexual organs, as well as the strength of the
sexual desire manifested, vary, both in individuals and in
races. Eace, climate, heredity and social circumstances
have a very decided influence upon it. The greater sensu-
ality of southern races as compared with the sexual needs
of those of the north is well known. Sexual development
in the inhabitants of tropical climes takes place much
earlier than in those of more northern regions. In women
of northern countries ovulation, recognisable in the de-
velopment of the body and the occurrence of a periodical
flow of blood from the genitals (menstruation), usually
begins about the thirteenth to the fifteenth year ; in men
puberty, recognisable in the deepening of the voice, the
appearance of hair on the face and mons veneris, and the
occasional occurrence of pollutions, etc., takes place about
the fifteenth year. In the inhabitants of tropical countries,
however, sexual development obtains several years earlier
in women — sometimes as early as the eighth year.
It is worthy of remark that girls who live in cities
develop about a year earlier than girls living in the
country, and that the larger the town the earlier, ceteris
paribus, the development takes place.
Heredity, however, has no small influence on libido
(26)
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 27
and sexual power. Thus there are famihcs in which,
with threat physical strenf^th and longevity, great libido
and virility are preserved until a great age, while in other
families the vita sexualis develops late and is early ex-
tinguished.
In woman the period of activity of the reproductive
glands is shorter than in man, in whom sexual power
may last until a great age ; ovulation ceases about thirty
years after puberty. The period of waning activity of the
ovaries is called the change of life {climacterium, meno-
paiise). This biological phase does not represent merely
a cessation of functional potency and final atrophy of the
reproductive organs, but a transformation of the whole
organism.
In Middle Europe the sexual maturity of man begins
about the eighteenth year, and virility reaches its acme
at forty. After that age it slowly declines. The potentia
gencrandi ceases usually at the age of sixty-two, but po-
tcntia coeundi may be present much longer.
The existence of the sexual instinct is continuous
during the time of sexual hfe, but it varies in intensity.
Under physiological conditions it is never periodical in the
human male, as it is in animals ; it manifests an organic
variation of intensity in consonance with the collection
and expenditure of semen. In woman the degree of sexual
desire coincides with the process of ovulation in such a way
that libido sexualis is intensified after the menstrual period.
Sexual instinct — as emotion, idea and impulse — is a
function of the cerebral cortex. Thus far no definite
region of the cortex has been proved to be exclusively
the seat of sexual sensations and impulses. This psycho-
sexual centre is nothing more than a junction and crossing
of principal paths which lead on the one hand to the sensi-
tive motor apparatus of the sexual organs, and on the other
hand to those nerve centres of the visual and olfactory
organs which are the carriers of that consciousness which
distinguishes between the "male" and the " female ".
28 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Owing to the close relations which exist between the
sexual instinct and the olfactory sense/ it is to be pre-
sumed that the sexual and olfactory centres lie close
together in the cerebral cortex. The development of
sexual life has its beginning in the organic sensations
which arise from the maturing reproductive glands. These
excite the attention of the individual. Reading and the
experiences of every-day life (which, unfortunately, are
now-a-days too early and too frequently suggestive), con-
vert these notions into clear ideas, which are accentuated
by organic sensations of a pleasurable character. With
this accentuation of erotic ideas through lustful feelings,
an impulse to induce them is developed (sexual desire).
Thus there is established a mutual dependence between
the cerebral cortex (as the place of origin of sensations
and ideas), and the reproductive organs. The latter, by
reason of physiological processes (hypereemia, secretion of
semen, ovulation), give rise to sexual ideas, images, and
impulses.
The cerebral cortex, by means of preconceived or re-
produced sensual ideas, reacts on the reproductive organs,
including hyperaemia, production of semen, erection, ejacu-
lation. This is effected by means of centres for vasomotor
innervation and ejaculation, which are situated in the
lumbar regions of the cord, and lie close together. Both
are reflex centres.
The centre of erection {Goltz, Eckhard) is an inter-
mediate station placed between the brain and the genital
apparatus. The nervous paths which connect it with the
brain probably run through the pedunculi cerebri and the
pons. This centre may be excited by central (psychical
and organic) stimuli, by direct irritation of the nerve-tract
in the pedunculis cerebri, pons, or cervical portion of the
^The olfactory centre is presumed by Ferrier ("Functions of the
Brain") to be in the region of the gyrus icncinatus. Zuckerkandl (" Ueber
das Riechcentrum," 1837), from researches in comparative anatomy, con-
cludes that the olfactory centre has its seat in the Hippocampus major.
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 29
cord, as well as by peripheral irritation of the sensory
nerves (penis, clitoris and annexa). It is not directly sub-
ordinated to the will.
The excitation of this centre is conveyed to the corpora
cavernosa by means of nerves {nervi erigentes — Eckhard)
running into the first three sacral nerves.
The action of the nervi erigentes, which renders erec-
tion possible, is inhibitory in so far as it inhibits the
ganghonic nervous mechanism in the corpora cavernosa,
upon the action of which the smooth muscle-fibres of the
corpora cavernosa are dependent (ZoZZi/cer a,nd Kohlrausch) .
Under the influence of the action of the nervi erigentes,
these fibres of the corpora cavernosa become relaxed, and
their spaces fill with blood. Simultaneously, as a result
of the dilatation of the capillary net-work of the corpora
cavernosa, pressure is exerted upon the veins of the penis
and the return of blood is impeded. This effect is aided
by the contraction of the hulho cavernosus and Erector penis
muscles, which extend by means of an aponeurosis over
the dorsal surface of the penis.
The erection-centre is under the influence of both
exciting and inhibitory innervation arising from the cere-
brum. Ideas and sense-perceptions of sexual content
have an exciting effect. According to observations made
on men that have been hung, it is evident that the
erection-centre may also be aroused by excitation of the
tract in the spinal cord. Observations on the insane and
those suffering with cerebral disease show that this is
also possible as a result of organic irritation in the
cerebral cortex (psycho-sexual centre?). Spinal diseases
(tabes, especially myelitis) affecting the lumbar portion
of the cord, in their earlier stages, may directly excite
the erection-centre.
Keflex excitation of the centre is possible and frequent
in the following ways : by irritation of the (^peripheral)
sensory nerves of the genitals and surrounding parts by
friction ; by irritation of the urethra (gonorrhoea), of the
30 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
rectum (hoomorrhoids, oxyuris), of the bladder (distension
with urine, especially in the morning ; irritation of cal-
culi); by distension of the vesicula3 senjinales with semen;
by hyperaemia of the genitals, occasioned by lying on the
back and thus inducing pressure of the intestines upon
the blood-vessels of the pelvis.
The erection-centre may also be excited by irritation
of the nervous ganglia which are so abundant in the
prostatic tissue (prostatitis, introduction of catheter, etc.).
The experiment of Goltz, according to whom, when
(in dogs) the lumbar portion of the cord is severed,
erection is more easily induced, shows that the erection-
centre is also subject to inhibitory influences from the
brain.
In men the fact that will-power and emotions, (fear of
unsuccessful coitus, surprise inter actum scx7ialem, etc.)
may inhibit the occurrence of erection, and cause it, when
present, to disappear, also indicates this.
The duration of erection is dependent upon the dura-
tion of its exciting causes (sensory stimuli), the absence
of inhibitory influences, the nervous energy of the centre,
and the early or late occurrence of ejaculation {v. infra).
The central point of sexual mechanism is the cerebral
cortex. It is justifiable to presume that there is a definite
region of the cortex (cerebral centre), which gives rise to
sexual feehngs, ideas and impulses, and is the place of
origin of the psycho-somatic processes which we designate
as sexual life, sexual instinct, and sexual desire. This
centre is susceptible to both central ari,d peripheral stimuli.
Central stimuH, in the form of organic excitation, may
be due to diseases of the cerebral cortex. Physiologically
they are dominated by psychical impressions (memory and
sensory perceptions, lascivious stories, touch, pressure of
the hand, kiss, etc.). Auditory and olfactory perceptions
certainly play but a veiy subordinate role. Under patho-
logical conditions {v. infra), the latter have a very decided
influence in inducing sexual excitement.
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 31
In beasts the influence of olfactory perception on the
sexual sense is unmistakable. AUhmis (" Beitraij^e zur
Ph3^siol. und Pathol, des Olfactorius," " Archiv fiir Psych."
xii., H. 1) declares that the sense -of smell is important
with reference to the reproduction of the species. He
shows that animals of opposite sexes are drawn to each
other by means of olfactory perception, and that almost
all animals, at the time of rutting, emit a specially distinct
odour from their genitals. An experiment by Schiff is
confirmatory of this. He extirpated the olfactory nerves
in puppies, and found that, as the animals grew up, the
male was unable to distinguish the female. Again, an
experiment by Mantegazza ("Hygiene of Love"), who re-
moved the eyes of rabbits and found that the defect con-
stituted no obstacle to procreation, shows how important
in animals the olfactory sense is for the vita sexualis.
It is also remarkable that many animals (musk-ox,
civet-cat, beaver), possess on their sexual organs, glands
which secrete substances having a very strong odour.
AUhaus also shows that in man there are certain re-
lations existing between the olfactory and sexual senses.
He mentions Gloquet (" Osphresiologie," Paris, 182G), who
calls attention to the sensual pleasure excited by the odour
of flowers, and tells how Richelieu lived in an atmosphere
laden with the heaviest perfumes, in order to excite his
sexual functions.
ZipjjG ("Wien. Med. Wochenschrift," 1879, No. 24),
in connection with a case of kleptomania in an onanist,
likewise establishes such relations, and cites Hildebrand as
authority, who in his popular physiology says : "It can-
not be doubted that the olfactory sense stands in remote
connection with the sexual apparatus. Odours of flowers
often occasion pleasurable sensual feelings, and when one
remembers the passage in the ' Song of Solomon,' ' And
my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-
smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock,' one finds
that it did not escape Sol(.nnon's observation. In the
32 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS,
Orient the pleasant perfumes are esteemed for their re-
lation to the sexual organs, and the women's apartments
of the Sultan are redolent with the fragrance of flowers.''
Most, professor in Eostock (c/. Zippe), relates: "I
learned from a sensual young peasant that he had excited
many a chaste girl sexually, and easily gained his end,
by carrying his handkerchief in his axilla for a time, while
dancing, and then wiping his partner's perspiring face
with it ".
The case of Henry HI. shows that contact with a
person's perspiration may be the exciting cause of passion-
ate love. At the betrothal feast of the King of Navarre
and Margaret of Valois, he accidently dried his face with
a garment of Maria of Cleves, which was moist with her
perspiration. Although she was the bride of the Prince
of Conde, Henry conceived immediately such a passionate
love for her that he could not resist it, and made her, as
history shows, very unhappy. An analogous instance is
related of Henry IV., whose passion for the beautiful
Gabriel is said to have originated at the instant when, at
a ball, he wiped his brow with her handkerchief.
Professor Jciger, the " discoverer of the soul," refers to
the same thing in his well-known book (2nd. ed., 1880,
chap. XV., p. 173) ; for he regards the sweat as important
in the production of sexual effects, and as being especially
seductive.
One learns from reading the work of Floss (" Das
Weib "), that attempts to attract a person of the opposite
sex by means of the perspiration, may be discerned in
many forms in popular psychology.
In reference to this, a custom which holds among the
natives of the Philippine Islands when they become
engaged, as reported by Jagor, is remarkable. When it
becomes necessary for an engaged pair to separate, they
exchange articles of wearing-apparel, by means of which
each becomes assured of faithfulness. These objects are
carefully preserved, covered with kisses, and smelled.
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 33
The love of certain libertines and sensual women for
perfumes ^ indicates a relation between the olfactory and
the sexual senses.
A case mentioned by Heschl ("Wiener Zeitschrift f.
pract. Heilkunde," 22nd March, 1861) is remarkable,
where the absence of both olfactory lobes was accompanied
by imperfectly developed genitals. It was the case of a
man aged forty-five, in all respects well developed, with
the exception of the testicles, which were not larger than
beans and contained no seminal canals, and the larynx,
which seemed to be of feminine dnnensions. Every trace
of olfactory nerves was wanting, and the trigona olfactoria
and the furrow on the under surface of the anterior lobes
were absent. The perforations of the ethmoid plate were
sparingly present, and occupied by nerveless processes of
the dura instead of by nerves. In the mucous membrane
of the nose there was also an absence of nerves.
Finally, the clearly defined relation of the olfactory
and sexual senses in mental diseases is worthy of notice,
for in the psychoses of both sexes superinduced by mas-
turbation, as well as in insanity due to disease of the
female organs, or during the climacterium, olfactory hal-
lucinations are especially frequent, while in cases where
a sexual cause is wanting they are very infrequent.
1 am incHned to doubt ^ that, under normal conditions,
olfactory impressions in man, as in animals, play an im-
portant role m the excitation of the sexual centre. On
' Cf. Laycock, who (" Nervous Diseases of Women," 1840) found that
in women the love for musk and similar perfumes was related to sexual
excitement.
2 The following case, reported by Binet, seems to be in opposition to
this idea. Unfortunately nothing is said concerning the mental char-
acteristics of the person. In any event, it is certainly confirmatory of
the relations existing between the olfactory and sexual senses: —
D., a medical student, was seated on a bench in a public park, read-
ing a book (on pathology). Suddenly a violent erection disturbed him.
He looked up and noticed that a lady, redolent with perfume, had taken
a seat upon the other end of the bench. D. could attribute the erection
to nothing but the unconscious olfactory impression made upon him
3
34 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS, '
account of the importance of this consenaus for the under-
standing of pathological cases, it is necessary here to
thoroughly consider the relations existing between the
olfactory and sexual senses.
With reference to these physiological relations it may
be mentioned as an interesting fact that there exists a
certain histological conformity between the nose and the
genitals, for both have erectile tissue (likewise the nipple),
Interesting physiological and clinical observations by
/. N. Mackenzie may be found in the " Journal of Medical
Science," April, 1884 [and "Journal of Laryngology,"
etc., March, 1898. — Translator]. He finds : (1) that in
certani women with normal olfactory organs regularly with
menstruation a swelling of the erectile tissue of the nose
occurs which disappears again with the floodmg ; (2)
that menstruation is at times replaced by epistaxis, which
disappears when the uterine flow begins, but in some
cases always recurs with the menstrual functions ; (3)
irritations of the nasal organs such as violent sneezing,
etc., occur at the time of sexual excitement ; (4) Stimula-
tion of the genital tracts is occasioned by affections of
the nasal organs.
He also observes that nasal affections in women grow
worse during the time of menstruation ; that venereal
excesses produce inflammation of the Schneiderian mem-
brane, or intensify it where it already exists.
He also points out that masturbators very frequently
suffer from nasal disease, are troubled with abnormal
sensations of olfaction, and are subject to epistaxis.
According to his experience there are affections of the
nose which stubbornly resist all treatment until the con-
comitant (and causal) genital disease is removed.
Other interesting observations and elucidations about
the consensus nariuyn et (jenitalium may be found in a
book by Fliess recently published : " Die Beziehungen
zwischen Nase und weiblichen Geschlechtsorganen,"
Vienna (Deuticke), 1897.
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 35
The sexual sphere of the cerebral cortex may be
excited, in the sense of an excitation of sexual concepts
and impulses, by processes in the generative organs.
This is possible as a result of all conditions which excite
the erection-centre by means of centripetal influence
(stimulus resulting from distension of the seminal vesicles ;
enlarged Graafian follicles ; any sensory stimulus, how-
ever produced, about the genitals ; hypereemia and tur-
gescence of the genitals, especially of the erectile tissue of
the corpus cavernosum of the penis and clitoris, as a
result of luxurious, sedentary life ; plethora abdominalis,
high external temperature, warm beds, clothing ; taking
of cantharides, pepper and other spices).
Libido sexualis may also be induced by stimulation of
the gluteal region (castigation, whipping).^
This fact is important for the proper understanding of
certain pathological manifestations. It sometimes happens
that in boys the first excitation of the sexual instinct is
caused by a spanking, and they are thus incited to mass
turbation. This should be remembered by those who have
the care of children.
On account of the dangers to which this form of
punishment of children gives rise, it would be better if
parents, teachers and nurses were to avoid it entirely.
Passive flagellation may excite sensuality, as is shown
by the sects of flagellants,^ so widespread in the thirteenth
and fifteenth centuries. They were accustomed to whip
themselves, partly as an atonement and partly to mortify
the flesh (in accordance with the principle of chastity pro-
mulgated by the Church — i.e., the emancipation of the
soul from sensuality).
These sects were at first favoured by the Church ; but,
^ Meibomius, " De flagiorum usu in re medica," Londou, 17G5 ;
Boileau, " The History of the Flagellants," London, 1783 ; Dojypet,
•' Aphrodisiaque externe," Paris, 17-88.
^ Corvin, Hist. Denkmalc des christlichen Fanatismus, II., Leipzig,
1847 ; Foerstcmann, Die christlichen Gcisslcrgcsellschaftcn, Ilalle, 1828.
36 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
since sensuality was only the more excited by flagellation,
and this fact became apparent in unpleasant occurrences,
the Church was finally compelled to oppose it. The fol-
lowing facts from the lives of the two heroines of flagella-
tion, Maria Magdalena of Pazzi and Elizabeth of Genton,
clearly show the significance of flagellation as a sexual
excitant. The former, the daughter of distinguished
parents, was a Carmelite nun in Florence (about 1580),
and, by her flagellations, and still more through the re-
sults obtained by them, she became quite celebrated, and
is mentioned in the " Annals ". It was her greatest delight
to have her hands bound by the prioress behind her back,
and her naked loins whipped in the presence of the
assembled sisters.
But the whippings, continued from her earliest youth,
quite destroyed her nervous system, and, perhaps, no other
heroine of flagellation had so many hallucinations ("Ent-
zLTckungen "). While being whipped her thoughts were
of love. The inner fire threatened to consume her, and
she frequently cried, " Enough ! Fan no longer the flame
that consumes me. This is not the death I long for ; it
comes with all too much pleasure and delight." Thus
it continued. But the spirit of impurity wove the most
sensual, lascivious fancies, and she was several times near
losing her chastity.
It was the same with Elizabeth of Genton. As a
result of whipping she actually passed into a state of
bacchanalian madness. As a rule, she raved when, ex-
cited by unusual flagellation, she believed herself united
with her "ideal". This condition was so exquisitely
pleasant to her that she would frequently cry out, "0
love, 0 eternal love, O love, 0 you creatures ! cry out
with me : * Love, Love ! '"
It is known, on the authority of Taxil {op: cit., p. 175),
that rakes sometimes have themselves flagellated, or
pricked until blood flows, just before the sexual act, in
order to stimulate their diminished sexual power.
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 37
These facts find an interesting confirmation in the
following experiences, taken from PaulUms " i^'lagellum
Salutis " (1st ed., 1698 ; reprint, Stuttgart, 1847) :—
"There are some nations, viz., the Persians and
Kussians, where the women regard blows as a peculiar
sign of love and favour. Strangely enough, the Kussian
women are never more pleased and delighted than when
they receive hard blows from their husbands, as John
Barclarus relates in a remarkable narrative. A German,
named Jordan, went to Eussia, and, pleased with the
country, settled there and took a Eussian wife, whom he
loved dearly, and to whom he was always kind in every-
thing. But she always wore an expression of dissatisfac-
tion, and went about with sighs and downcast eyes. The
husband asked the reason, for he could not understand
what was wrong. 'Aye,' she said, 'though you love me.
you do not show me any sign of it.' He embraced her,
and begged to be told what he had carelessly and uncon-
sciously done to hurt her feelings, and to be forgiven, for
he would never do it again. ' I want nothing,' was the
answer, ' but what is customary in our country — the
whip, the real sign of love.' When Jordan adopted
the custom his wife began to love him dearly.
Similar stories are told by Peter Petreus, of Erlesund,
who adds that husbands, immediately after the wedding,
among other indispensable household articles, provide
themselves with a whip."
On page 73 of this remarkable book, the author says
further: "The celebrated Count of Mirandula, JoJm Plcus,
relates of one of his intimate acquaintances that he was
an insatiable fellow, but so lazy and incapable of love
that he was practically impotent until he had been
roughly handled. The more he tried to satisfy his
desire, the heavier the blows he needed, and he could
not attain his desire, unless he had been whipped till the
-blood came. For this purpose he had a suitable whip
made, which was placed in vinegar the day before using
38 SYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
it. He would give this to his companion, and on bended
knees beg her not to spare him, but to strike blows with
it, the heavier the better. The good count thought this
singular man found the pleasure of love in this punish-
ment. Not being a bad man in other respects he under-
stood and hated his weakness."
Coelnis Bhodigin relates a similar story, as does also the
celebrated jurist, Andreas Tiraqnell. In the time of the
skilful physician, Otte^i Brunfelsen, there lived in Munich,
then the capital of the Bavarian electorate, a debauchee
who could never perform his [sexual] duties without a
severe preparatory beating. Thomas Barthelin knew a
Venetian, who had to be beaten and driven before he
could have intercourse, just as reluctant Cupid was
driven by his followers with sprays of hyacinths. A few
years ago there was in Liibeck a cheesemonger, living on
Mill Street, who, on a complaint to the authorities of un-
faithfulness, was ordered to leave the city. The prostitute
with whom he had been, went to the judges and begged
on his behalf, teUing how difficult all intercourse had
become for him. He could do nothing until he had been
mercilessly beaten. At first the fellow, from shame and
to avoid disgrace, would not confess, but after earnest
questioning he could not deny it. There is said to have
been a man in the Netherlands who was similarly in-
capable, and could do nothing without blows. On the
decree of the authorities, however, he was not only re-
moved from his position, but also severely punished. A
reliable friend, ia physician in an important city of the
kingdom, related to me how a woman of bad character
had told a companion, who had been in the hospital a
short time before, that she, with another woman of like
character, had been sent to the woods by a man who
followed them there, cut rods for them, and then expos-
incf his naked buttocks, commanded them to belabour him
well. They obeyed, and it is easy to conjecture what he
then did with them. Not only men have thus been ex-
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 39
cited and inflamed to lasciviousness, but also women, that
they too might experience greatei- intensity of pleasure.
For this reason the Koman woman had herself whipped
and beaten by the hcpercis. Thus Juvenal writes : —
" Steriles moriuntur, et illis
Turgida non prodest condita psycido Lj'de :
Nee prodest agili palmas prrebere Luperco."
In men, as well as in women, erection and orgasm, or
even ejaculation, may be induced by irritation of various
oLher regions of the skin and mucous membrane. These
" hyperaesthetic " zones in woman are, while she is a
virgin, the clitoris, and, after defloration, the vagina and
cervix uteri.
In woman the nipple particularly seems to possess this
quality. Titillatio hujus regionis plays an important part
in the ars erotica. In his "Typographical Anatomy,"
1865, Bd. i., p. 552, Hyrtl cites Val. Hildenbrandt, who
observed a peculiar anomaly of the sexual instinct in a
girl, which he called suctusstupratio. She had her mamma?
sucked by her lover, and after a while, by constantly pull-
ing her nipples, she was enabled to suck them bcrself, an
act tbat gave her most intense pleasure. Hyrtl also calls
attention to the fact that cows sometimes suck the milk
from their own udders. L. Brunn (" Zeitg. f. Literatur," etc.,
d. Hamburg, Correspondent, 1889, No. 21), in an interest-
ing article on " Sensualit}^ and Love of Kin," points out
how zealously the nursing mother gives herself to the
nursing of the babe, " for love of the weak, undeveloped,
helpless being ".
It is easy to assume that, by the side of the ethical
motives, the fact that the sucking may be attended by
feelings of physical pleasure plays a part. The remark of
Brunn, although correct in itself, but one-sided, that,
according to Ilouzeaufi experience, among the majority of
animals the relations between mother and offspring are
close only during the time of nursing, and thereafter
indifferent, also speaks in favour of this assumption.
40 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Bastian found the same thing (blunting of the feeling
for the offspring after weaning) among savages.
Under pathological conditions, as is shown by Cham-
hard, among others, in his thesis for tbe doctorate, other
portions of the body (in hysterical persons) about the
mammse and genitals may attain the significance of
" hyperaesthetic " zones.
In man, physiologically, the only " hyperaesthetic "
zone is the glans penis and perhaps the skin of the ex-
ternal genitals.
Under pathological conditions the anus may become
a " hyperaesthetic " area. Thus anal automasturbation,
which seems to be only too frequent, and passive pederasty
would be explained. {Of. Gamier, " Anomahes sexuelles,"
Paris, p. 514; A. Moll, " Contrare Sexualempfindung,"
2nd ed., p. 222 ; Frigerio, " Archivio di Psichiatria,"
1893; Cristiani, "Archivio delle Psicopatie sessuali," p.
182, " autopederastia in un ahenato, affetto da follia
periodica ".)
The psycho-physiological process comprehended in the
idea of sexaal instinct is composed of
(1) concepts awakened centrally or peripherally ;
(2) the pleasurable feelings associated with them.
The longing for sexual satisfaction (libido sexualis)
arises from them. This desire grows stronger constantly
in proportion as the excitation of the cerebral sphere ac-
centuates the feeling of pleasure, by appropriate conceptions
and activity of the imagination ; and the pleasurable sen-
sations are increased to lustful feeling by excitation of the
erection centre and the consequent hypersemia of the
genitals (entrance of Hquor prostaticus into the urethra,
etc.).
If circumstances favour the satisfactory performance
of the sexual act, the ever-increasing desire is gratified;
if, however, conditions are unfavourable, inhibition occurs,
checks the central erectile power, and prevents the sexual
act.
THE ACT OF COHABITATION. 41
To civilised man the ready presence of ideas which
inhibit sexual desire is of distinct import. The moral
freedom of the individual, and the decision vv^hether,
under certain circumstances, excess, and even crime, be
committed or not, depend, on the one hand, upon the
strength of the instinctive impulses and the accompany-
ing organic sensations ; on the other, upon the powder of
the inhibitory ideas. Constitution, and especially organic
influences, have a marked effect upon the instinctive
impulses ; education and cultivation of self-control coun-
teract the opposing influences.
The exciting and inhibitory powers are variable
quantities. For instance, over-indulgence in alcohol is
very fatal in this respect, since it awakens and increases
libido sexualis, while at the same time it weakens moral
resistance.
The Act of Cohabitation.^
The essential condition for the man is sufficient erec-
tion. Anjd (" Arch, fiir Psych.," viii., H. 2) calls attention
to the fact that in sexual excitement not alone the erection
centre is influenced but the nervous excitement is distri-
buted over the entire vasomotor system of nerves. The
proof of this is the turgescence of the organs in the sexual
act, injection of the conjunctiva, prominence of the eye-
balls, dilatation of the pupils, cardiac palpitation (resulting
from paralysis of the vasomotor nerves of the heart, which
arise from the cervical sympathetic, and the resulting
dilation of the cardiac arteries, and the increased stimula-
tion of the cardiac gangha induced by the consequent
hyperaemia of the cardiac walls). The sexual act is
accompanied by a pleasurable feeling, which, in the male,
is evoked by the passage of semen through the ductus
ejaculatorii to the urethra, in consequence of the sensory
' Cf. Eoubaud, " Traite de I'impuissance et de la sterilite," Paris
1878.
42 PRYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
stimulation of the genitals. This pleasurable sensation
occurs earlier in the male than in the female, grows
rapidly in intensity up to the moment of commencing
ejaculation, reaches its acme in the instant of free emis-
sion, and disappears quickly post ejaculationem.
In the female the pleasurable feeling occurs later and
comes' on more slowly, and generally outlasts the act of
ejaculation.
The distinctive event in coitus is ejaculation. This
function is dependent on a centre (genito-spinal), which
Budge has shown to be situated at the level of the fourth
lumbar vertebra. It is a reflex centre. The stimulus
that excites it, is the ejection of semen from the vcsicula
seminales into the pars membranacea urethra, a reflex
effect of stimulation of the glans penis. As soon as
the collection of semen, with ever-increasmg pleasurable
sensation, has reached a sufficient amount to be effectual
as a stimulus of the ejaculation-centre, this centre acts.
The reflex motor path lies in the fourth and fifth lumbar
nerves. The action consists of a convulsive excitation of
the l)ulbo-cavernosus muscle (innervated by the third and
fourth sacral nerves), which forces the semen out.
In the female as well, at the height of sexual and
pleasurable excitement, a reflex movement occurs. It
is induced by stimulation of the sensory genital nerves
and consists of a peristaltic movement in the tubes and
uterus as far down as the portio vaginalis, which presses
out the mucous secretions of the tubes and uterus. In-
hibition of the ejaculation centre is possible as a result of
cortical influence (want of desire in coitus, emotions in
general, influence of the will).
Under normal conditions, with the completion of the
sexual act, libido sexualis and erection disappear, and the
psychical and sexual excitement gives place to a comfort-
able feehng of lassitude.
III. GENERAL PATHOLOGY.*
(NEUROLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL.)
Anomalies of the sexual functions are met with especially
in civiHsed races. This fact is explained in part by the
frequent abuse of the sexual organs, and in part by the
circumstance that such functional anomalies are chiefly
the signs of an inherited diseased condition of the central
nervous system ("functional signs of degeneration ").
1 Literature : Parent-Duchatelet, " Prostitution dans la villa de Paris,"
1837. Rosenbaum, " Bntstehung der Syphilis," Halle, 1839— also, " Die
Lustseuche im Alterthum," Halle, 1839. Descuret, " La medocine des
Passions," Paris, 1860. Casper, " Klin. Novellen," 1860. Bastion, " Der
Mensch in der Geschichte ". Friedldnder, " Sittengeschichte Roms "
Wiedcmeister, " Casarenwahnsinn ". Scherr, " Deutsche Kultur um:
Sittengeschichte," Bd. i. , cap. ix. Jeannel, " Die Prostitution," deutsch von
Miiller, Erlangen, 1869. v. Krafft, " Neue Forschungen auf dem Gebietc
der Psychopathia sexualis," 2 Aufl., Stuttgart, 1891. Taxil, " La Prosti
tution contemporaine," Paris, 1884. Frank Lydston, " Philadelph. Med.
and Surg. Reports, 1889. Urquhardt, Journal of Mental Science, Jan.
1891. Antonini, " Achiv. di Psichiatria," xii., 1,2. Cantarano, Zeitschr-
" La Psichiatria," v. , 2, 3. Krauss, " Psychologie des Verbrechcns," 1884.
Kicrnan, "Medic. Standard," Nov., 1889. Delcourt, " Le Vice a Paris,"
1889. Lombroso, " L'uomo Delinquente," 2 Aufl., 1878. Toulmuuche,
" Annal. d'hygiene," 18G8. GirakUs et Horteloup, ibidem, 1876, {i. 419.
Eidenburg, " Klin. Handb. d. Harn- und Sexualorgane," 1894,4 Abthl.,
p. 36. Moll, " Untersuchungen iiber die Libido sexualis," 1897 ; " Archivio
dollo psicopatic sessuali," Naples (1896), volume unico. Tardieu, " Dos
attentats aux mcEurs," 7 edit., 1878. Emminghaus, " Psychopathol,"
pp. 98, 225, 230, 232. Schille, " Handbuch der Geisteskrankhcitcn," p.
114. Marc, "Die Geistcskrankheiten," ii., p. 123. v. Krafft, " Lehrh.
d. Psj'chiatrie," 5 Aufl. i., p. 83; " Lehrb. d. ger. Psychopathol," 3 Aufl.,
p. 279; " Archiv f. Psychiatrie," vii., 2. Morcau, "Des Aberrations du
sens G6n6siquc," Paris, 1880. Kirn, " Allg. Zoitschr. f. Psychiatric,"
39, Heft 2 u. 3. Lombroso, " GeschlGchtstrieb und Verbrochon in
(43)
44 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Since the generative organs stand in important func-
tional relation to the entire nervous system, and especially
to its psychical and somatic functions, the frequency of
general neuroses and psychoses arising in sexual, (func-
tional or organic), disturbances, is easy to understand.
SCHEDULE OF THE SEXUAL NEUKOSES.
I. Peeipheeal.
1. Sensory.
fl) Anaesthesia ; (&) Hypersesthesia ; (c) Neuralgia.
2. Secretory.
(a) Aspermia ; (&) Polyspermia.
3. Motor.
(a) Pollutions (spasm) ; (b) Spermatorrhoea (paralysis).
II. Spinal Neueoses.
1. Affections of the Erection Centre.
(a) Irritation (priapism) arises from reflex action of
peripheral sensory irritants {e.g., gonorrhoea) ; directly,
from organic irritation of the nerve-tracts leading from
the brain to the erection centre (spinal disease in the lower
cervical and upper dorsal regions), or of the centre itself
(certain poisons) ; or from psychical irritation.
In the latter case satyriasis exists, i.e., abnormal dura-
tion of erection, with libido sexualis. In reflex or direct
organic irritation, libido sexualis may be wanting, and the
priapism may even give rise to disgust.
ihren gegenseitigen Beziehungen " (GoUdammer's "Archiv," Bd. 30).
Tarnowsky, " Die krankhaften Erscheinungen des Geschlechtssinnes,''
Berlin, 1886. Ball, "La folie erotique," Paris, 1888. Serieux, " Re-
cherches cliniques sur les anomalies de I'instinct sexuel," Paris, 1888'
Hammond, " Sexual Impotence," 1889.
Among modern novelists who deal with the subject of sexual perver-
sion the French are most pre-eminent, viz. : Catulle Mendes, Pdladan,
Lemonnier, Dubut de la Forest (" L'homme de joie "), Huysmans (" La
bas "), Zola.
SPINAL NEUROSES. 45
(b) Paralysis arises from the destruction of the centre,
or of the nerve-tracts (nervi erigentes), in diseases of the
spinal cord (paralytic impotence).
A milder form is that of lessened excitability of the
centre, resulting from over-stimulation (sexual excess,
especially onanism), or from alcoholic intoxication, abuse
of bromides, etc. It may also originate from cerebral
anaesthesia, or that of the external genitals. Cerebral
hypersesthesia is more frequent in such cases (increased
libido sexualis, lust).
A peculiar form of diminished excitability is shown in
those cases where the centre -responds only to certain
stimuli. Thus there are men to whom sexual contact
with their virtuous wives does not supply the necessary
stimulus for an erection, but in whom it occurs when the
act is attempted with a prostitute, or in the form of some
unnatural sexual act. So far as psychical stimuli are
concerned, they may be inadequate {v. infra, paraesthesia
and perversion of sexual instinct).
(c) Inhibition. The erection centre may become in-
capable of function through cerebral influence. This
inhibitory influence is an emotional process (disgust, fear
of contagion), or fear^ of impotence. There are men who
have an unconquerable antipathy to woman, or fear of
infection, or are suffering with perverse sexual instinct.
In the latter condition are those neuropathic individ-
uals (neurasthenics, hypochondriacs), frequently weakened
sexually (masturbators), who have reason, or think they
have, to mistrust their sexual power. This idea acts as
an inhibitory impulse, and makes the act with the person
of the opposite sex temporarily or absolutely impossible.
{d) Irritable Weakness. In this condition there is ab-
' An interesting instance of how an imperative conception of non-
sexual content can exert an infiuence is related by Magnan (" Ann. Med.
Psych.," 1885) : Student, aged twenty-one, strongly predisposed heredi-
tarily, previously a masturbator, constantly struggles with the number
thirteen as an imperative conception. As soon as he attempts coitus the
imperative idea inhibits erection and renders the act impossible.
iQ PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
normal impressionability of the centre, but accompanied
by rapid diminution of its energy. There may be func-
tional disturbance of the centre itself, or weakness of the
innervation through the nervi erigentes ; or there may
be weakness of the erector penis muscle. Cases in
which erection is abortive on account of abnormally early
ejaculation, form a transition to the following anom-
alies : —
2. Affections of the Ejaculation Centre.
(a) Abnormally easy ejaculation from absence of cerebral
inhibition, resulting from excessive psychical excitement
or irritable weakness of the centre. In this case, under
certain circumstances, the simple conception of a lascivious
situation is sufficient to set the centre in action, (high
degree of spinal neurasthenia, usually resulting from
sexual abuse). A third possibility is hypersesthesia of the
urethra, by virtue of which the escaping semen induces
an immediate and excessive reflex action of the ejaculation
centre. In such cases simple proximity to the female
genitals may be sufficient to induce ejaculation {ante
portam).
In cases of hyperaesthesia of the urethra (as a cause),
ejaculation may be accompanied by painful, instead of
pleasurable sensations. Usually in cases where there is
hypergesthesia of the urethra, there is at the same time
irritable weakness of the centre. Both these functional
disturbances are important in the production of pollutio
nimia and diurna.
The accompanying pleasurable feeling may be patho-
logically absent. This occurs in defective men and women
(anaesthesia, aspermia?), and, further, as a result of
disease (neurasthenia, hysteria) ; or (in prostitutes) it fol-
lows over-stimulation and the blunting thus induced. The
intensity of the pleasurable feeling accompanying the
sexual act depends on the degree of psychical and motor
excitement. Under pathological conditions this may
CEREBRAL NEUROSES. 4?
become so pronounced, that the movements of coitus
assume the character of involuntary convulsive actions,
and even pass into general convulsions.
(6) Abnor^nally difficult ejaculation. It is occasioned by
inexcitability of the centre (absence of libido, paralysis
of the centre : organic, from disease of brain or spinal
cord ; functional, from sexual abuses, marasmus; diabetes
morphinism), and, in this case, for the most part, in connec-
tion with anaesthesia of the genitals and paralysis of the
erection centre. Or, it is the result of a lesion of the reflex
arc or of peripheral anaesthesia (urethra), or of aspermia.
The ejaculation occurs either not at all, or tardily, in the
course of the sexual act, or only afterward, in the form of
a pollution.
III. Cerebbal Neuroses.
(1) Paradoxia, i.e., sexual excitement occurring inde-
pendently of the period of the physiological processes in
the generative organs.
(2) Ancesthesia (absence of sexual instinct). Here all
organic impulses arising from the sexual organs, as well
as all impulses, and visual, auditory and olfactory sense
impressions fail to sexually excite the individual. This is
a physiological condition in childhood and old age.
(3) Hyperesthesia (increased desire, satyriasis). In this
state there is an abnormally increased impressionability
of the vita scxualis to organic, psychical and sensory
stimuli (abnormally intense libido, lustfulness, lascivious-
ness). The stimulus may be central (nymphomania,
satyriasis) or peripheral, functional or organic.
(4) Paroisthesia (perversion of the sexual instinct, i.e.,
excitability of the sexual functions to inadequate stimuli).
These cerebral anomalies fall within the domain of
psychopathology. The spinal and peripheral anomahes
may occur in combination with the former ; but as a rule
they affect persons free from mental disease. They may
occur in various combinations, and become the cause of
48 PSTCHOPATHIA SBXUALIS.
sexual crimes, for which reason they demand considera-
tion in the following description. However, the cerebral
anomalies claim the principal interest, since they very
frequently lead to the commission of perverse and even
criminal acts.
A. Paradoxia. Sexual Instinct Manifesting itself inde-
pendently of Physiological Processes.
1. Sexual Instinct Manifested in Childliood.
Every physician conversant with nervous affections and
diseases incident to childhood is aware of the fact that
manifestations of sexual instinct may occur in very young
children. The observations of Ultzmann concerning
masturbation in childhood^ are worthy of attention in
relation to it. It is necessary here to differentiate between
the numerous cases, in which, as a result of phimosis,
balanitis, or oxyuris in the rectum or the vagina, young
children have itching of the genitals, and experience a
kind of pleasurable sensation from manipulations occa-
sioned thereby, and thus come to practise masturbation ;
and those cases in which sexual ideas and impulses occur
in the child as a result of cerebral processes without
peripheral causes. It is only in this latter class of cases
that we have to do with premature manifestation of sexual
instinct. In such cases it may always be regarded as an
accompanying symptom of a neuropsychopathic consti-
tutional condition.
A case of Marcs ("Die Geisteskrankheiten," etc., von
Ideler, i., p. 66) illustrates very well these conditions. The
subject was a girl eight years of age, of respectable family,
who was devoid of all child-like and moral feehngs, and
^ Louyer-Villcrmay spea,ks oi masturbation in a girl of three or four
years, and Morcaii ("Aberrations du sens gjnesique," 2 edit., p. 209) of
the same in one of two years. See further Maudsley, " Physiology and
Pathology of Mind"; Hirschsprung (Kopenhagen), "Berlin, klin. Wo-
chenschr.," 1886, Nr. 38 ; Lombroso, " The Criminal," cases 10, 19, and 21.
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — PARADOXIA. 49
had masturbated from her fourth year ; at the same time
she consorted with boys of the age of ten or twelve. She
had thought of kilHng her parents, that she might become
her own mistress and give herself up to pleasure with
men.
In these cases of premature manifestation of libido the
children begin early to masturbate ; and, since they are
greatly predisposed constitutionally, they often sink into
dementia, or become subjects of severe degenerative neu-
roses or psychoses,
Lombroso ("Archiv di Psichiatria," iv., p. 22) has
collected a number of cases of children affected with very
decided hereditary taint, which belong to this category.
One was that of a girl who masturbated shamelessly and
almost constantly at the age of three. Another girl began
at the age of eight, and continued to practise masturba-
tion when married, and even during pregnancy. She was
pregnant twelve times. Five of the children died early,
four were hydrocephalic, and two boys began to mastur-
bate— one at the age of seven, the other at the age of
four.
Zamhaco (" L'Encephale," 1882, Nr. 1, 2) tells the
disgusting story of two sisters affected with premature
and perverse sexual desire. The elder, B., masturbated
at the age of seven, practised lewdness with boys, stole
wherever she could, seduced her four-year-old sister into
masturbation, and at the age of ten was given up to the
practice of the most revolting vices. Even ferrum candens
ad clitoridem had no effect in overcoming the practice, and
she masturbated with the cassock of a priest while he was
exhorting her to reformation.
Cf. also Magnan, " Lectures on Psychiatry," in German
by Mohius (vols. ii. and iii., p. 27), giving the case of pre-
mature and preverse vita sexualis in a girl of twelve with
hereditary tamt. Utner cases, ibidem p. 120-121.
50 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
2. Be-awakenmg of Sexual Insthict in Old Age}
Cases in which the sexual instinct prevails until a
great age are rare. " Senectus non quidem annis sed
viribus magis aestiniatur " (Z ittmann) . Oesterlen (" Maschka,
Handb.," iii., p. 18) mentions the case of a man aged eighty-
three, who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment
by a court in Wiirtemberg on account of sexual mis-
demeanours. Unfortunately nothing is said of the nature
of the crime or of the mental condition of the criminal.
The manifestation of sexual instinct in old age is not
in itself pathological.
Presumption of pathological conditions must neces-
sarily be entertained when the individual is decrepit
and his sexual life has already long become extinct ;
and when the impulse, in a man whose sexual needs
were in his early life, perhaps, not very marked, mani-
fests itself with greater strength, and strives for even
perverse satisfaction in a shameless and impulsive
manner.
In such cases a presumption of pathological condi-
tions suggests itself at once. Medical science recognises
the fact that such an impulse depends upon the morbid
alterations of the brain which lead to senile dementia.
This abnormal manifestation of sexual life may be the
precursor of senile dementia, and make its appearance
even long before there are any well-defined manifesta-
tions of intellectual weakness. The attentive and expe-
rienced observer will always be able to detect in this
prodromal stage an alteration of character in pejus, and
a deterioration of the moral sense accompanying the
peculiar sexual manifestation.
The libido of those passing into senile dementia is at
first expressed in lascivious speech and gesture. The first
objects for the attempts of these semle subjects of brain
^ Cf. Kirn, " Zeitschr. f. Psych.," Bd. xxxix. Legrand du Saulle,
"Auuftl. d'hyg.," Oct., 18G8.
CEREBEAL NEUROSES — rARADOXIA. 51
atrophy and psychical degeneration are cbildreii. This
sad and dangerous fact is explained by the better oppor-
tunity they have in succeeding with children, but more
especially by a feeling of imperfect sexual power. De-
fective sexual power, and greatly diminished moral sense,
explain the additional fact of the perversity of the sexual
acts of such aged men. They are the equivalents of the
impossible physiological act.
The annals of legal medicine distinguish as such, ex-
hibition of the genitals,^ lustful handling of the genitals
of children,' inducing them to perform manustupration on
the seducer, and performing masturbation ^ or flagellation
on the victim.
In this stage the intellect may still be sufficiently in-
tact to allow avoidance of publicity and discovery, while
the moral sense is too far gone to allow consideration of
the moral significance of the act, and resistance to the
impulse. With the progress of dementia, these acts are
more and more shamelessly committed. Then care on
account of defective sexual power disappears, and adults
also become the objects of the senile passion ; but the
defective sexual power necessitates equivalents for coitus.
Not infrequently sodomy results, and, as Tarnowsky (op.
cit., p. 77) points out, in the sexual act performed with
geese, chickens, etc., the sight of the dying animal and
its death-struggles at the time of coitus afford complete
satisfaction. The perverse sexual acts with adults are
quite as horrible, and may be explained psychologically
in tbe same way.
Case 49, in the author's " Text-Book of Legal Psycho-
pathology," second edition, p. 161, demonstrates how
enormously increased sexual lust may be during the
' Cases, vide Las4gue ■: "Lea exhibitiouistes," Union medicalo, 1877,
Ist May.
* Legrand du Saulle, " La folio dcvunt los tribunaux," p. 530.
'Kirn, Maschka's " Ilandb. d. ger. Mod.," pp. 373, 371 ; " Allg. Zeifc-
«chrift f. I'sychiatrie," Bd. xxxix., p. 220.
52 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
course of senile dementia. Quum sen&x lihidinosus ger-
manam siiain filiam cemulatione motus necaret et adspeeti*
pectoris scissi puellcB ^noribimdcB delectaretur.
Erotic delirium and states of satyriasis may occur in
the course of the malady, with or without maniacal
episodes, as the following case shows : —
Case 1. J. Eene, always given to indulgence in sen-
suality and sexual pleasures, but always with regard for
decorum, has shown, since his seventy-sixth year, a pro-
gressive loss of intelligence and increasing perversion of
his moral sense. Previously bright and outwardly moral,
he now wasted his property in concourse with prostitutes,
frequented brothels only, asked every woman on the street
to marry him or allow coitus, and thus became publicly so
obnoxious that it was necessary to place him in an asy-
lum. There the sexual excitement increased to a veritable
satyriasis, which lasted until he died. He masturbated
continuously, even before others ; took delight only in
obscene ideas ; thought the men about him were women,
and followed them with indecent proposals {Legrand du
SawZZe, " La Folic," p. 533).
Moreover, women previously moral, when affected with
senile dementia, may manifest similar conditions of great
sexual excitement (nymphomania, furor uterinus).
It may be seen from a reading of Schopenhauer,'^ that,
as a result of senile dementia, the abnormally excited and
perverse instinct may be directed exclusively to persons
of the same sex {v. infra). Gratification is obtained by
passive pederasty, or, as I ascertained in the following
case, by mutual masturbation : —
Case 2. Mr. X., aged eighty, of high social standing,
born of a family with hereditary taint. He was always
very sensual and a cynic, of uncontrollable temper, and,
1" Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung," 1859, Bd. ii., p. 461 et seq.
CEREBRAL NEUROSES— PARADOXIA. 53
according to his own confession, as a young man, pre-
ferred masturbation to coitus. However, he never showed
signs of sexual perversion, and kept mistresses, raising a
child by one. At the age of forty-eight he married, out
of inchnation, and begat six children, and never gave his
wife cause for complaint. I could obtain but an incom-
plete history of his family. It was certain that his brother
was suspected of love for men, and that a nephew became
insane as a result of excessive masturbation.
The patient's temper, always pecuhar and quick, has
for years been growing more violent. He has become
exceedingly suspicious, and shght opposition to his wishes
induces attacks of anger which may turn into actual raving,
in which he may raise his hand even against his wife. For a
year there have been unmistakable signs of incipient senile
dementia. The patient has become forgetful, locahses past
events incorrectly, and has false ideas of time. For four-
teen months it has been noticed that he manifests affection
for certain male servants, especially for a gardener's boy.
Otherwise rude and overbearing to servants, he surfeits
his favourite with favours and presents, and commands
his family and his house officials to treat the boy with the
greatest respect. The aged patient awaits the hour of
rendezvous in true sexual excitement. He sends his
family away, that he may be with his favourite undis-
turbed, and remains shut up with him for hours ; and
when the doors are opened again, he is found lying on the
bed exhausted. Besides this object of his passion, the
patient had intercourse episodically with other servants.
It is certain that he enticed them, asked them for kisses,
exhibited himself, allowed manipulation ad genitalia,
and practised mutual masturbation. By these practices
absolute demoralisation was brought about in the house-
hold. The family was powerless ; for any opposition caused
violent outbreaks of anger and even threats against his
relatives. The patient was completely without apprecia-
tion of his perverse sexual acts ; and therefore the only
54 PSYCIIOrATITIA SEXUALIS.
course left to the afflicted family was to remove all authority
from his hands and place him in an asylum. No erotic
inclination towards the opposite sex was observed, though
the patient occupied a sleeping-apartment with his wife.
With reference to the perverse sexuality and the defective
moral sense of this unfortunate man, it is worthy of note
that he questioned the servants of his daughter-in-law as
to whether she had lovers.
B. Anaesthesia Sexualis (Absence of Sexual Feeling).
1. As a Congenital Anomaly.
Only those cases can be regarded as unquestionable
examples of absence of sexual instinct dependent on cere-
bral causes, in which, in spite of generative organs normally
developed and the performance of their functions (secre-
tion of semen, menstruation), the corresponding emotions
of sexual life are absolutely wanting. These functionally
sexless individuals are rare cases, and, indeed, always
persons having degenerative defects, in whom other func-
tional cerebral disturbances, states of psychical degenera-
tion, and even anatomical signs of degeneration, may be
observed. Lcgrand du Saulle describes a classical case
that falls under this head ("Annales Medico-psychol,"
May, 1876).
Case 3. D., aged thirty-three, had a mother who
suffered from insanity of persecution. The mother's father
also suffered with persecutionary insanity, and committed
suicide ; her mother was insane, and this woman's mother
became insane in the puerperal state ; three of her mother's
children died in babyhood, and those that lived longer had
abnormal characters. As early as his thirteenth year, D.
was troubled with the thought of becoming insane. At
fourteen he attempted suicide. Later, vagabondage, and,
as a soldier, repeated insubordination and crazy pranks.
His intelligence was very limited ; no signs of degcncra-
CEREBRAL NEUROSES— ANAESTHESIA SEXUALIS. 55
tion ; genitals normal. At seventeen or eighteen he had
enjissions of semen ; had never masturbated or had sexual
feehng, and never had sought intercourse with women.
Case 4. P., aged thirty-six, common labourer, was
received at my clinic in the beginning of November on
account of spastic spinal paralysis. He declared he came
of a healthy family. A stutterer from his youth. Cranium
microcephalic (cf. 53 cm.). Patient somewhat imbecile.
He was never sociable, never had a sexual emotion. The
sight of a woman never had anything enticing for him.
He never had a desire to masturbate. Erections frequent,
but only on awakening in the morning with a full bladder,
and without a trace of sexual feeling. Pollutions very
infrequent — about once a year, m sleep — and usually
while dreaming that he is concerned with a female.
These dreams, however, as his dreams in general, are not
markedly erotic. He says the act of pollution is not ac-
companied by any pleasurable sensation. Patient does
not feel this absence of sexual sensation. He gives the
assurance that his brother, aged thirty-four, is in exactly
the same sexual condition as himself, and he makes it
seem probable that a sister, aged twenty-one, is in a
similar state. A younger brother, he says, is sexually
normal. The examination of his genitals reveals nothing
abnormal beyond phimosis.
Hammond (" Sexual Impotence "), even with his wide
experience, reports only the following three cases of
anassthesia .sexualis : —
Case 5. Mr. W., aged thirty-three; strong, healthy,
with normal genitals. He had never experienced libido, and
had vainly sought to awaken his defective sexual instinct
by means of obscene stories and intercourse with pros-
titutes. On the occasion of such attempts he experienced
only disgust, with even a feehng of nausea, and became
56 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
nervously and mentally exhausted. Only once, when he
forced the situation, did he have a transitory erection.
W. had never masturbated, and had had pollutions about
once every two months from his seventeenth year. Im-
portant interests demanded that he should marry. He
had no horror femina, and longed for a home and a wife,
but felt that he was incapable of the sexual act. He
died unmarried in the American Civil War.
Case 6. X., aged twenty-seven ; genitals normal; never
felt libido. Mechanical or thermic stimuli easily induced
erection, but instead of libido sexualis there was regularly
a desire for alcohoHc indulgence. Such excesses also
induced erections, and he then sometimes masturbated.
He had a disincHnation for women and a loathing of
coitus. If, with an erection, he made an attempt at
coitus, it disappeared at once. Death in coma during an
attack of cerebral hyperemia.
Case 7. Mrs. 0., normally developed, healthy, men-
struated regularly ; aged thirty-five ; fifteen years married.
She never experienced libido, and never had any erotic
excitement in sexual intercourse with her husband. She
was not averse to coitus, and sometimes seemed to experi-
ence pleasure in it, but she never had a vsdsh for repetition
of cohabitation.
In connection with such genuine cases of anaesthesia,^
^No doubt Swift, the great satirist, was a case of anaesthesia sexualis.
Adolf Stern says in his biography of Swift (" Aus dem 18. Jahrhundert;
Biographische Bilder und Skizzen," Leipzig, 1874) : "It seems that he was
totally devoid of the sensual elements of love ; his candid cynicism, found
in many of his letters, is almost definite proof of it. Whoever properly
grasps certain passages in ' Gulliver's Travels,' and especially the account
which Swift gives of the marriage and progeny of the Houyhnhnms,
the noble steeds of the last chapters, can scarcely doubt that this great
satirist abhorred marriage, and never felt the impulse which draws the
sexes together." Practically speaking, the enigmatical side of Swift's
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — ANESTHESIA SEXUALIS. 57
there should be considered other cases in which the mental
side of the vita sexualis is a blank leaf in the life of
the individual, but where elementary sexual sensations
manifest themselves at least in masturbation (c/. the
transitional case 6). According to Magnan's ingenious
classification — which, however, is not strictly correct and
somewhat too dogmatic — in such cases the sexual life is
so limited as to be designated spinal. Possibly in some
such cases there exists virtually a mental side of the vita
sexualis, but it is very weak, and undermined by mastur-
bation before it attains development. These represent
the transitional cases from the congenital to the acquired
(psychical) anesthesia sexualis. This danger threatens
many masturbators of vitiated constitution. It is psycho-
logically interesting that when the sexual element is early
vitiated, then an ethical defect is manifested.
The two following cases, previously published by me
in the " Archiv flir Psychiatric," vii., are given here as
illustrations worthy of consideration : —
Case 8. F. X, aged nineteen, student ; mother was
nervous, sister epileptic. At the age of four, acute brain
affection, lasting two weeks. As a child he was not
affectionate, and was cold towards his parents ; as a
student he was peculiar, retiring, preoccupied with self,
and given to much reading. Well endowed mentally.
Masturbation from fifteenth year. Eccentric after puberty,
with continual vacillation between religious enthusiasm
and materialism — now studying theology, now natural
sciences. At the university his fellow-students took him
for a fool. He read Jean Paul almost exclusively, and
wasted his time. Absolute absence of sexual feehng
toward the opposite sex. Once he indulged in intercourse,
experienced no sexual feeling in the act, found coitus
character, and several of his works, m^., " Diary to Stella" and "Gulli-
ver's Travels," can only be understood if Swift i3 considered sexualW
anaesthetic.
58 PSTCnorATHIA sexualis.
absurd, and did not repeat it. Without any emotional
cause whatever, he often had a thought of suicide. He
made it the subject of a philosophical dissertation, in
which he contended that it was, like masturbation, a
justifiable act. After repeated experiments which he made
on himself with various poisons, he attempted suicide with
fifty-seven grains of opium, but he was saved and sent to
an asylum.
Patient is destitute of moral and social feelings. His
writings disclose incredible frivolity and vulgarity. His
knowledge is of a wide range, but his logic is pecuharly
distorted. There is no trace of emotionality. He treats
everything (even the sublime) with incomparable cynicism
and irony. He pleads for the justification of suicide with
false philosophical premises and conclusions, and, as one
would speak of the most indifferent affair, he declares that
he intends to accomplish it. He regrets that his pen-
knife has been taken from him. If he had it, he would
open his veins as Seneca did — in the bath. At one time
a friend had given him, instead of a poison as he sup-
posed, a cathartic. Instead of having been a means of
sending him to the other world it had sent him to the
water-closet. Only the Great Operator could eradicate his
foolish and fatal idea with the scythe of death, etc.
The patient has a large, rhombic, distorted skull, the
left half of the forehead being flatter than the right. The
occiput is very straight. Ears far back, widely projecting,
and the external meatus forms a narrow slit. Genitals
very lax ; testicles unusually soft and small.
Now and then the patient suffers with onomatomania.
He is compelled to think of the most useless problems
and give himself up to an interminable, distressing and
worrying thought ; and is so fatigued after it that he is
no longer capable of any rational thought. After some
months the patient was sent home unimproved. There
he spent his tunc in reading and frivolities, and busied
himself with the thought of founding a new Christianity,
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — AN/ESTIIERIA SEXUALIS. 59
because Christ had been subject to grand dehisions and
had deceived the world with miracles (!). After remaining
at home some years the sudden occurrence of a maniacal
outbreak brought him back to the asylum. He presented
a mixture of primordial delirium of persecution (devil,
antichrist, persecution, poisoning, persecuting voices)
and delusions of grandeur (Christ, redemption of the
world), with impulsive, incoherent actions. After five
months there was a remission of this intercurrent acute
mental disease, and the patient returned to the level of
his original intellectual peculiarity and moral defect.
Case 9. E., aged thirty, journeyman painter, was
arrested while trying to cut off the scrotum of a boy he
had caught in the woods. He gave as a motive for this
act that he wished to cut into it in order that the world
should not multiply. Often in his youth, with like
purpose, he had cut into his own genitals.
It is impossible to learn anything of his ancestry.
From his childhood he was mentally abnormal, violent,
never lively, very irritable, irascible, selfish and weak-
minded. He hated women, loved solitude, and read much.
He sometimes laughed to himself and did silly things.
Of late years his hatred of women had increased, especially
of those that were pregnant, they being responsible for
the misery of the world. He also hated children, and
cursed liis father. He entertained communistic ideas,
and berated the rich and the ministry, and God, who
had allowed him to come into the world so poor. He
declared that it would be better to castrate all children
than to allow others to come into the world that could
only be fated to endure poverty and misery. He had
always had the intention, from his fifteenth year, of cas-
trating himself, in order to have no part in increasing un-
happiness and adding to the number of men. He hated
the female sex because it was a means of procreation.
Only twice in his life had he allowed women to practise
GO PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
manustupration on him, and, with the exception of this
he had never had anything to do with them. Occasionally
he had sexual desire, but never for a natural gratification
of it. When nature did not help him, he occasionally
helped himself by means of masturbation.
He is a powerful, muscular man. The formation of
the genitals presents no abnormality. On the scrotum
and penis are numerous scars, which resulted from his
attempts at self-emasculation, but which, he asserts, were
not carried out on account of pain. Genu valgum of
right leg. No evidence of onanism could be discovered.
He is moody, defiant, irritable. Social feehngs are abso-
lutely foreign to him. With the exception of imperfect
sleep and frequent headaches, there are no functional dis-
turbances.
From cases of this kind, depending on cerebral causes,
there must be distinguished others in which the absence
of function arises from an absence or malformation of the
generative organs, as in certain hermaphrodites, idiots and
cretins.
UUzmanns ^ observations show that ancesthesia sexualis
is not caused simply by aspermia. He shows that even in
congenital aspermia the vita sexualis and sexual power
may be entirely satisfying ; an additional proof that de-
fective libido ah origine is to be sought for in cerebral con-
ditions.
The naturcB frigidce of Zacchias are examples of a milder
form of anaesthesia. They are met more frequently among
women than among men. The characteristic signs of this
anomaly are : shght inclination to sexual intercourse, or
pronounced disinchnation to coitus without sexual equiva-
lent, and failure of corresponding psychical, pleasurable
excitation during coitus, which is indulged in simply from
K'Ueber mannliche Sterilitat," Wiener med. Presse, 1878, Nr. 1.
"Ueber Potentia generandi et coeundi," Wiener Klinik, 1885, Heft 1,
S. 5.
CEREBRAL NEUROSES— ANESTHESIA SEXUALIS. 61
sense of duty. I have often had occasion to hear com-
plaints from husbands about this. In such cases the
wives have always proved to be neuropathic ab origine.
Some were at the same time hysterical.
2. Acquired Ancesthesia.
Acquired dimmution of sexual instinct, extending
through all degrees to extinction, may depend on various
causes. These may be organic and functional, psychical
and somatic, central and peripheral. The diminution of
libido, as age advances, and its temporary disappearance
after the sexual act, are physiological. The variations
with reference to the duration of the sexual instinct
are dependent upon individual factors. Education and
manner of hfe have a great influence upon the intensity
of the vita sexualis. Intense mental activity (hard study),
physical exertion, emotional depression, and sexual con-
tinence decidedly diminish sexual inclination. Continence
at first induces increase, but sooner or later, according to
constitutional conditions, the activity of the generative
organs decreases, and with it libido. At all events, in a
person sexually mature, a close connection exists between
the activity of the generative glands and the degree of
libido. That this relation is not determinate is shown by
the cases of sensual women, who, after the chmacterium,
continue to have sexual intercourse, and may manifest
states of sexual excitement (cerebral). Also in eunuchs it
is seen that libido may long outlast the production of semen.
On the other hand, however, experience teaches that
libido is essentially conditioned by the functions of the
generative glands, and that the facts mentioned are ex-
ceptional manifestations. As peripheral causes of diminu-
tion or extinction of libido, may be mentioned castration,
degeneration of the sexual glands, marasmus, sexual
excesses in the form of coitus and masturbation, and
alcoholism and abuse of cocaine. In the same way,
the disappearance of libido in general disturbances of
62 rSYCIIOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
nutrition (diabetes, morphinism, etc.) may be explaiiied.
Finally, the atrophy of the testicles should be remem-
bered, which has sometimes been observed to follow focal
lesions of the brain (cerebellum).
A diminution of the vita sexualis from degeneration
of the tracts of the cord and genito - spinal centre,
occurs in diseases of the spinal cord and brain. A
central interference with the sexual instinct may be or-
ganically induced by cortical disease (dementia paralytica
in its advanced stages) ; functionally, by hysteria (cen-
tral ana3sthesia ?) and emotional insanity (melanchoHa,
hypochondria).
C. Hypersesthesia (Abnormally Increased Sexual Desire).
Pathology has no easy task, even in the single case,
when it has to decide whether the impulse to sexual satis-
faction has reached a pathological degree. Emmimjhaus
(" Pychopathologie," p. 225) declares that the immediate
re-awakening of desire after satisfaction, absorbing the
entire attention of the mind, and no less the excitation of
libido by the sight of persons and things which in them-
selves should have but an indifferent sexual effect, are
decidedly abnormal. In general, sexual instinct and its
corresponding needs are in proportion to physical strength
and age. Sexual desire rapidly increases after puberty,
until it reaches a marked degree ; it is strongest from
the twentieth to the fortieth year, and then slowly de-
creases. Married hfe seems to preserve and control the
instinct. Sexual intercourse with many persons increases
the desire.
Since woman has less sexual need than man, a pre-
dominating sexual desire in her arouses a suspicion of its
pathological significance ; and the more, when this finds
expression in desire for adornment, coquetry, or male
society, which, passing beyond the limits set by good
breeding and manners, becumes quite noticeable.
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — HYPERiESTHE£IA. 68
The constitution, in both sexes, is of the greatest
significance. An abnormally strong sexual instinct is
frequently accompanied by a neuropathic constitution;
and such individuals pass a great part of their lives
heavily burdened with the weight of this constitutional
anomaly of their sexual life. The power of the sexual
impulse in such cases may at times rise to the importance
of an organic necessity, and really endanger tbe freedom of
the will. The want of satisfaction of this impulsive desire
may, under such conditions, induce a condition alhed to
actual rutting, or a psychical condition, accompanied by
emotions of anxiety, in which the individual yields to the
impulse, and responsibility becomes doubtful.
If the individual does not give himself up to his power-
ful impulse, he is in danger, by reason of his enforced
abstineuce, of ruining his nervous system by inducing
a neurasthenia, or seriously increasing the evil effects
of such a condition if it be already present.
In normally constituted individuals, too, the sexual
instinct is an inconstant quantity. Aside from the tem-
porary indifference following satisfaction, and the diminu-
tion of sexual desire in long-continued continence after a
certain reactionary stage of sexual desire is overcome, tlie
manner of life exerts great influence. Those living in
large cities, who are constantly reminded of sexual things
and incited to sexual enjoyment, certainly have more
sexual desire than those living in the country. A dissi-
pated, luxurious, sedentary manner of life, preponderance
of animal food, and the consumption of spirits, spices, etc.,
have a stimulating influence on the sexual life. In woman
the sexual inclination is post-menstrually increased. At
this period, in neuropathic women, the excitement may
reach a pathological degree.
The great libido of consumptives is remarkable. Hof-
mann tells of a consumptive peasant who satisfied his
wife sexually on the evening before his death.
The sexual acts are coitus (eventually rape), faute de
64 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
mieux, masturbation, and with defective moral sense,
pederasty or bestiality. If sexual power is diminished or
extinct, with excessive sexual desire all manner of per-
versity of sexual acts become possible.
Excessive libido may be peripherally or centrally in-
duced. The former manner of origin is the more infre-
quent. Pruritus and eczema of the genitals may cause it,
and likewise certain substances, like cantharides, which
powerfully stimulate sexual desire.
Not infrequently in women at the climacteric period
sexual excitement occurs, occasioned by pruritus, and
also in cases where there is neuropathic taint. Magnan
("Annales medico-psychol.,"1885, p. 157) reports the case of
a lady who was afflicted in the mornings with attacks of
frightful erethismus genitalis, and the case of a man aged
fifty-five who was tormented at night by unbearable
priapism. In each case there was a neurosis.
The central origin of sexual excitement can often be
traced^ in persons having neurotic taint or hysteria and
in conditions of psychical exaltation. When the cortex
and the psycho-sexual centre are in a condition of hyper-
assthesia (abnormal excitability of the imagination, in-
creased ease of association), not only visual and tactile
impressions, but also auditory and olfactory sensations,
may be sufficient to call up lascivious conceptions.
Magnan {ojj. cit.) reports the case of a young woman
^ In individuals in whom intense sexual hyperjesthesia is associated
with acquired irritable weakness of the sexual apparatus, it happens that
simply at the sight of a pleasing female figure, without peripheral
irritation of the genitals, the psycho-sexual centre may excite into action
not only the mechanism of erection, but also that of ejaculation. For
such individuals, all that is necessary to induce orgasm or even ejacula-
tion is to imagine themselves in a sexual situation with a female that
sits opposite them in a railway carriage or a drawing-room. Hanwiond
[op. cit., p. 40) describes several cases of this kind that came to him for
treatment of subsequent impotence, and he mentions that these indi-
viduals used the term " ideal coitus " for the act. Dr. Moll, of Berlin, told
me of a similar case, and in this instance the same designation was
chosen for the act.
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA. 65
who had an increasing sexual desire from puberty, and
satisfied it by masturbation. Gradually she grew to be-
come sexually excited at the sight of any man pleasing to
her ; and, since she was unable to control herself, she would
sometimes shut herself up in a room until the storm had
passed. At last she gave herself up to men of her choice,
that she might get rest from her tormenting desire, but
neither coitus nor masturbation brought relief, and she
went to an asylum.
The case of a mother of five children is added, who, in
despair about her inordinate sexual impulse, attempted
suicide, and then sought an asylum. There her condition
improved, but she never trusted herself to leave it.
There are several illustrative cases in men and women
in the author's article, " On Certain Anomahes of Sexual
Instinct," cases 6 and 7 (" Archiv fiir Psychiatric," vii.,
2) ; cases 3 and 5 are given here.
Case 1 0. On the afternoon of 7th July, 1874, Clemens,
engineer, being on his way, on business, from Trieste to
Vienna, left the train at the town of Brack, and, passing
through the town to the neighbouring village of St. Eu-
precht, attempted a rape on an old woman, aged seventy,
whom he found alone in a house. He was seized by the
neighbours and arrested by the local police. At his hearing
he declared that he had tried to find the pound, in order
to satisfy his sexual desire with a bitch. He said that he
often suffered with such sexual excitement. He did not
deny his act, but excused it as the result of disease. The
heat, the motion of the cars, and anxiety about his family,
to whom he wished to go, had confused him and made
him ill. Shame and remorse were not shown. His
conduct was open, his mien gay ; eyes red and bright,
head hot, tongue coated; pulse full, soft, beating over
100 ; fingers somewhat tremulous. The statements of
the accused were precise but hurried ; his glance uncer-
tain, and with an unmistakable expression of lascivious-
5
66 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ness. To the medical expert summoned to examine him
he gave the impression of one suffering with disease — as
if he were in the beginning of alcohoHc insanity.
C. is forty-five years old, married, father of one child.
He does not know what diseases his parents or other
members of his family have had. In childhood he was
weak and neuropathic. At the age of five his head was
injured by a blow with a hoe. A scar one-half cm. broad
by one cm. long, situated on the right parietal and frontal
bones, dates from that injury. The bone is here some-
what depressed. The overlying skin is united to the
bone. Pressure at this point causes pain, which radiates
along the lower branch of the trigeminus. This spot is
also at times spontaneously painful. In his youth he
suffered "fainting spells"; before puberty, pneumonia
rheumatism and intestinal catarrh. At the age of seven
he experienced a peculiar inclination for men — i.e., for a
certain superior. Whenever he saw this man he had a
peculiar feeling in his heart; kissed the ground he walked
on. At ten he fell in love with a certain deputy. Later
he had an enthusiasm for men, though it was entirely
platonic. He began to masturbate at the age of fourteen;
first intercourse at seventeen. Then the earlier mani-
festations of contrary sexual feeling disappeared entirely.
At that time he passed through a peculiar acute psycho-
pathic condition, which he described as a kind of clair-
voyance. From fifteen, haemorrhoids, with symptoms of
abdominal plethora. When he had profuse heemorrhoidal
haemorrhage, which occurred usually every three or four
weeks, he was better. At other times he was constantly
in a condition of painful sexual excitement, which he
satisfied partly by means of onanism and partly by
coitus. Every woman he met excited him ; even when
he was among female relatives he was impelled to make
indecent proposals. Sometimes it was possible for him to
master his desire ; sometimes he was driven to indecent
acts. If, after these, he was kicked out of doors, it
CEEEBBAL NEUEOSES — HYPEK^STHESIA. (37
seemed perfectly right to him ; for he thought that he
needed such correction and support against his powerful
impulse, which was a burden to him. No periodicity in
this sexual excitement was recognisable.
Until 1861 he committed excesses in venery and was
several times infected with gonorrhoea and chancres. In
1861, marriage. He was sexually satisfied, but became a
burden to his wife on account of his great sensuality. In
1864 he passed through an attack of mania in the hospital
at Fiume, and in the same year he again fell ill, and was
taken to the insane asylum at Ybbs, where he remained
until 1867. There he suffered with recurrent mania,
accompanied by great sexual excitement. He says that
intestinal catarrh and anxiety were the cause of his illness
at that time.
Thereafter he was well, but he suffered much on
account of his excessive sexual desire. If he were ab-
sent from his wife but a short time the impulse became
so powerful that man or animal was indifferent to him for
the satisfaction of his lust. In summer these impulses
were much stronger, and were always accompanied by
abdominal plethora. Something that he remembered in
medical reading made him think that in his case the
ganglionic system was more powerful than the cerebral.
In October, 1873, on account of business, he had to leave
his wife. From that time until Easter, with the excep-
tion of occasional masturbation, there was no sexual
indulgence. After that he made use of women and
bitches. From the middle of June until 7th July, he had
no opportunity for sexual indulgence. He felt nervously
excited, related, and as if he were going crazy. Of late
he had slept badly. A longing for his wife, who lived in
Vienna, drove him to leave his business. He obtained
leave of absence. The heat and the noise of the train
confused him, and he could no longer hold out against
his sexual excitement and the pressure of blood in his
abdomen. Everything danced before his eyes. He left
68 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
the car at Brnck, and was absolutely confused, not
knowing where he went ; and for a moment the thought
came to him to throw himself in the water ; all was like
a mist before his eyes. Then he saw a woman, exposed
his genitals, and tried to embrace her. She cried for
help, and thus he was arrested.
After the attempt it suddenly became clear to him
what he had done. He openly confessed his crime,
which he remembered in all its details, but which seemed
to him to be something abnormal. He could not help it.
For some days after this C. suffered with headache and
congestions, and was now and then excited and restless,
and slept badly. His mental functions are undisturbed,
but he is, nevertheless, a congenitally peculiar man,
with a character weak and devoid of energy. The facial
expression has something lascivious and'pecuHar about
it. He suffers with haemorrhoids. The genitals present
nothing abnormal. The cranium is narrow and retreat-
ing at the forehead. Body large and well nourished.
With the exception of diarrhoea, there is no disturbance
of the vegetative functions.
Case 1 1 . Mrs. E., aged forty-seven. Uncle on father's
side was insane ; father was sanguine, and given to excess
in venery. Patient's brother died of an acute cerebral
affection. Patient from childhood has been nervous,
eccentric, and romantic, and while little more than a
child manifested excessive sexual desire, and at ten began
sexual indulgence. At nineteen, marriage. Unhappy
married life ; her husband, who was normal, did not
satisfy her, and until recent years she constantly had other
friends besides her husband. She was well aware of the
immorality of her life, but felt her powerlessness against
her insatiable desire, which she sought to keep, at least
outwardlj^, a secret. Later she thought that she had
suffered with a " mania for men ". Patient has borne six
children. Six years ago she was thrown from a waggon
CEEEBEAL NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA.. 69
and received a severe cerebral concussion. Following this
there was melanchoha, with delusions of persecution,
which sent her to the asylum. She is approaching the
climacterium, and of late the menses have been profuse
and too frequent. Since this period she is pleased to note
that the previously powerful sexual impulse has declined.
Proper behaviour. Slight degree of descensus uteri and
prolapsus ani.
Hyperesthesia sexualis may be continuously present
with exacerbations, or it may be intermittent or periodic.
In the latter case it is a cerebral neurosis per se {vide
" Special Pathology "), or an accompanying symptom of a
condition of general psychical excitement (mania ; episod-
ically in dementia paralytica, dementia senihs, etc.).
Lentz has pubhshed a remarkable case of intermittent
satyriasis (" Bulletin de la societe de med. legale de Belgique,"
Nr. 21) :—
Case 12. For three years Farmer D., universally re-
spected, married, aged thirty-five, has manifested states
of sexual excitement with increasing frequency and
severity, which during the past year have become true
paroxysms of satyriasis. It was impossible to discover
hereditary or other organic causes. D. was compelled at
times, when his sexual excitement was excessive, to per-
form the sexual act from ten to fifteen times in twenty-
four hours, without deriving any feeling of satisfaction.
Gradually he developed a condition of general nervous
hyper-irritability {erethisme general) with increased emo-
tional irritability to the extent of pathological outbreaks
of anger, and impulse to over indulgence in alcohol, which
induced symptoms of alcoholism. His attacks of satyri-
asis became so violent that consciousness was interfered
with, and the patient raged about in blind impulse to
sexual acts. He demanded that his wife give herself to
other men or to animils in his presence; that she allow
70 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS
copulation with him, ^jresen^i/ms filiabus, because this would
afford him greater enjoyment. Memory for the events of
these attacks, in which the extreme irritabihty even led
to outbreaks of maniacal rage, was entirely wanting. D.
himself thought that he must have had moments in which
he no longer had control of his senses, and without satis-
faction from his wife would have been compelled to seize
the next best female. After an attack of violent emotion
these attacks of sexual excitement suddenly disappeared.
The two following cases show how powerful, dangerous
and painful sexual hyperaesthesia may become in those
afflicted with this anomaly : —
Case 13. Hypercesthesia Sexualis — Delirium acutum ex
abstinentia.—On '29th May, 1882, F., aged twenty-nniCf
single, shoemaker, was received at the clinic. Father
was of passionate temper ; mother neuropathic, and had
an insane brother. Patient had never been seriously ill
previously, and was not a drinker ; had always been
sexually very passionate. Five days before, he was taken
acutely ill mentally. He made two attempts at rape in
broad daylight before witnesses, and when arrested talked
in delirium only of obscene things, masturbated inces-
santly and from the third day on flew into furious rages.
On admission he showed all the symptoms of severe acute
delirium, with violent motor symptoms of irritation and
fever. Under treatment with ergotin a cure was effected.
On 5th January, 1888, second admission, in a state of
violent mania. On 4th January he had become morose,
irritable, lachrymose and sleepless ; and then, after vain
assaults on women, had manifested symptoms of increas-
ing furious excitement.
On 6th January, progress of the condition to severe
acute delirium (great disturbance of consciousness, jacta-
tion, grinding of the teeth, grimacing, and other motor
symptoms of irritation ; temperature as high as 40.7° C.) ,
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — llYrER^ESTHESIA. j'l
impulsive masturbation. Recovery was complete by ilth
January, under energetic treatment with ergotin.
After bis recovety the patient gives an interesting
account of the cause of his illness. Always very passionate
sexually ; first coitus at the age of sixteen. Continence
caused headache, great psychical irritability, lassitude,
great loss of pleasure in work, and sleeplessness. Since
he had few opportunities in the country to satisfy his
desire, he had recourse to masturbation. It was necessary
for him to masturbate once or twice daily. No coitus in
two months. Increasing sexual excitement ; could think
of nothing save means for the gratification of his impulse.
Masturbation was not sufficient to banish the constantly
increasing torment ex ahstinentia. During the last few
days violent impulse to coitus ; mcreasing sleeplessness
and irritability. There was only a summary recollection
of the height of the illness. Patient recovered in Decem-
ber. A very respectable man ; he considers his inordinate
desire decidedly pathologicaf, and is anxious about his
future.
Case 14. On 11th July, 1884, R., aged thirty-three,
servant, was admitted suffering with paranoia perseczitoria
and neurasthenia sexualis. Mother was neuropathic ;
father died of spmal disease. From childhood he had an
intense sexual desire, of which he became conscious as
early as his sixth year. From this age, masturbation ;
from fifteenth year, /aw^e de mieux, pederasty; occasionally,
sodomitic indulgences. Later, ahiisiis coitus in matrimonio
cum uxore. Now and then even perverse impulse to
commit cunmlingus and to administer cantharides to his
wife, because her libido did not equal his own. His wife
died after a short period of married life. Patient's cir-
cumstances became straitened, and he had no moans to
indulge himself sexually. Then masturbation again ; em-
ployment of lingua canis to induce ejaculation. At times,
priapism and conditions approaching satyriasis. He was
72 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
then driven to masturbate, in order to avoid rape. With
gradually predominating sexual neurasthenia and hypo-
chondria came beneficial diminution of libido nimia.
The following case, valuable for an understanding of
many Messalinas, some of vi^hom are historically celebrated*
is a classical example of pure hypercBsthesia sexualis, vi^hich
I take from Trelat's " FoHe lucide " : —
Case 1 5. Mrs. V. has suffered v^ith a passion for men
since her earliest youth. Of good family, well bred, of
pleasant disposition, exceedingly modest, she was, as a
little girl, a terror to her family, because she could scarcely
be alone with a person of the opposite sex, no matter
whether it was with child or man of any age, without
exposing herself immediately and demanding satisfaction
for her sexual passion, even going so far as to lay hold of
him. An attempt was made to cure her by marriage.
She loved her husband passionately, but even with him
she could not keep from demanding coitus of every one
with whom she could be alone, no matter whether it was
servant, labourer, or school-boy.
Nothing could cure her of this impulse. Even when
she became a grandmother, she was still a Messalina.
One day she locked a twelve-year-old boy in her room
and tried to seduce him. The boy defended himself and
escaped. She was severely punished by his brother. All
was in vain. She was put in a cloister. There she was
an example of morality, and gave not the slightest cause
for blame. Immediately after her return the scandal
began again. The family banished her, and set aside
money to support her. She earned by her own handi-
work enough to buy herself lovers. Any one seeing this
neatly dressed matron, of good manners and amiable dis-
position, would never suspect how recklessly passionate
she still was at the age of sixty-five. On 7th January,
1854, her family, in despair at new scandals, placed her
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — HYPERESTHESIA. 73
in an asylnm. She lived there until Ma}^ 1858, when she
died of cerebral apoplexy, in her seventy-third year. Her
conduct in the asylum was exemplary. Left to herself,
and under favourable conditions, her sexual impulses
manifested themselves shortly before her death. With
the exception of this, during an observation of four years
by physicians of the asylum, she never showed a sign of
mental abnormality.
A particular species of hypercesthesia sexualis may be
found in females in whom a most impulsive desire for
sexual intercourse with certain men imperatively demands
gratification. No doubt " unrequited love " for another
man may often affect the married woman who does not
either psychically or physically {impotentia mariti) ex-
perience connubial satisfaction ; but the normal, untainted
wife guided by ethical reasons knows how to conquer
herself.
Of course, pathological conditions change the situation.
Fetichism must here be considered. Sexual impulse is
overpowering, at times periodically recurrent. The very
attempt to overcome it produces most painful attacks of
worry and anxiety. This pathological want becomes
so powerful that all considerations of shame, convention-
ality and womanly honour simply disappear, and it reveals
itself in the most shameless manner even to the husband,
whilst the normal woman, endowed with full moral con-
sciousness, knows how to conceal the terrible secret.
Magnan (''FsychiaLtr. VorlesuQgen") quotes two striking
instances from his own experience. One is specially
instructive. A young woman, mother of three children,
with a blameless past, but daughter of a lunatic, tells her
husband one day openly that she is in love with a certain
young man and that she would kill herself if her intimate
relations with him were interfered with. She begs per-
mission to live with him for six months in order to quench
the fire of her passion, wnen she would return to her
74 PSYCHOrATHIA SEXUALIS.
family again. Husband and children have no place in her
heart with her present love. The husband took her to a
foreign country and placed her there under medical treat-
ment.
This pathological love of married women for other men
is a phenomenon in the domain of psychopathia sexualis
which sadly stands in need of scientific explanation. The
author has had the opportunity of observing five cases
belonging to this category. The pathological conditions
were paroxysmal, in one case repeatedly recurrent ;
but always sharply distinct from the unaffected, healthy
period, duriiig which deep sorrow and contrition over the
occurrence were manifested. But it was the sorrow over
an unavoidable fatality caused by psychically abnormal
conditions.
Whilst the pathological conditions lasted, absolute in-
difference, even hatred, prevailed towards husband and
children, and an utter want of understandmg the bearings
and consequences of the scandalous behaviour, jeopardising
the honour and dignity of wife and family, were noticeable.
It is remarkable that in all these cases the husband and
relatives had come to the conclusion that the condition
was caused by psychopathia, even before they had obtained
3xpert opinion.
As against the " non-psychopathical " but otherwise
abnormally hbidinous Messalmas, it is well worthy of note
that this sexual aberration is only an episode in the life of
the otherwise honourable woman, and that the illicit inter-
course was of a strictly monogamic character. This, and
particularly the circumstance that the unfortunate woman
was not omnium virorum mulier, but only the mistress of
one man, establishes a distinct difference from nympho-
mania. In three of the cases mentioned above, the grossly
sensual momentum was missing, the real motive for marital
infidelity was to be found in a letich-like charm, in mental
superior qualities, — in one case the voice of the charmer,
in two cases unmistakable proofs of hyperesthesia
CEREBRAL NEUROSES — PARiESTHESIA OF FEELING. 75
sexualis and of absolute impotence towards the husband
were found, whilst the merest touch of the other man
produced orgasm, and the sexual act the acme of pleasure.
Of course, in these latter cases absolute sexual abandon-
ment followed.
D. Paraesthesia of Sexual Feeling (Perversion of the
Sexual Instinct).
In this condition there is perverse emotional colouring,
of the sexual ideas. Ideas physiologically and psycho-
logically accompanied by feehngs of disgust, give rise to
pleasurable sexual feelings ; and the abnormal association
finds expression in passionate, uncontrollable emotion.
The practical results are perverse acts (perversion of the
sexual instinct). This is more easily the case if the
pleasurable feelings, increased to passionate intensity,
inhibit any opposing ideas with corresponding feelings
of disgust ; or the influence of such opposing conceptions
may be rendered impossible on account of the absence or
loss of all ideas of morality, sesthetics and law. This loss,
however, is only too frequently found where the spring
well of ethical ideas and feelings (a normal sexual in-
stinct) has been poisoned from the beginning.
With opportunity Jor the natural satisfaction of the
sexual instinct, every expression of it that does not cor-
respond with the purpose of nature — i.e., propagation —
must be regarded as perverse. The perverse sexual acts
re.^^uUing from paropsthesia are of the greatest importance
clinically, socially, and forensically ; and, therefore, they
must here receive careful consideration ; all aesthetic and
moral disgust must be overcome.
Perversion of the sexual instinct, as will be seen farther
on, is not to be confounded with perversity in the sexual
act ; since the latter may be induced by conditions other
than psycho-patholf)gical . The concrete perverse act, mon-
strous as it niny be, is clinically not decisive. In order
76 PSYCnOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
to differentiate between disease (perversion) and vice (per-
versity), one must investigate the w^hole personality of
the individual and the original motive leading to the per-
verse act. Therein will be found the key to the diagnosis
{v. infra).
Parsesthesia may occur in combination with hyperaes-
thesia. This association seems to be frequent clinically.
Sexual acts are then confidently to be expected. The
perverse direction of sexual activity may be toward sexual
■satisfaction with the opposite or the same sex. Thus two
great groups of perversions of sexual life may be dis-
tinguished.
I. Sexual Inclination Toward Persons of the Opposite Sex,
with Perverse Activity of the Instinct.
1. Association of Active Cruelty and Violence with Lust —
Sadism}
That lust and cruelty often occur together is a fact
that has long been recognised and is frequently observed.
Writers of all kinds have called attention to this phe-
nomenon.'-^ The not infrequent cases where individuals
of very exc table sexual natures bite or scratch the com-
panion in intercourse fall withm physiological limits.^
The older authors have called attention to the relation
between lust and cruelty.
Blumrdder (" Ueber Irresein," Leipzig, 1836, p. 51) saw
1 So named from the notorious Marquis de Sade, whose obscene novels
treat of, lust and cruelty. In French literature the expression " Sadism"
has been applied to this perversion. Eiilcnburg (" Klin. Handb. der Harn-
und Sexual-organe " ) uses the term "active algolagnia" in connection
with these phenomena.
^U.A.Novalis, in his " Fragments " ; Gorres, "Christliche Mystik,*'
Bd. ill., p. 460.
*C/. also Alfred de Musset's famous verses to the Andalusian girl: —
" Qu'elle est superbe en son desordre — quand elle tombe les seins nus —
Qu'on la volt, beante, se tordre — dans un baiser de rage et mordre —
En hurlant des mots inconnus ! "
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWAED THE OPPOSITE SEX. 77
a man who had several wounds in the pectoral muscle,
which a woman, in great sexual excitement, had bitten
at the acme of lustful feeling during coitus. The same
author (" Ueber Lust und Schmerz," Friedreich's " Magazin
fiir Seelenkunde, 1830, ii., 5) calls especial attention to the
psychological connection between lust and murder. In
relation to this, he especially refers to the Indian myths
of Siva and Durga (Death and Lust) ; to human sacrifice
with voluptuous mysteries ; and to sexual instinct at
puberty with a lustful impulse to suicide, with whipping,
pinching, and pricking of the genitals, in the bhnd im-
pulse to satisfy sexual desire. Lombroso (" Verzeni e Agno-
letti," Eome, 1874) also cites numerous examples of the
occurrence of a desire to murder with greatly increased
lust.
On the other hand, when homicidal mania has been
excited, lust often follows. Lombroso (op. cit.) alludes to
the fact mentioned by Mantegazza, that to the terrors of
spohation and plunder by bandits generally are added
those of brutal lust and rape.^ These examples form
transitions to the pronounced pathological cases.
The examples of the degenerate Caesars (Nero, Tiberius)
are also instructive. They took delight in having youths
and maidens slaughtered before their eyes. Not less so
is the history of that monster, Marschalls Gilles de Eays
{Jacob, " Curiosites de I'histoire de France," Paris, 1858),
who was executed in 1440, on account of mutilation and
murder, which he had practised for eight years on more
than 800 children. As the monster confessed it, it was
from reading Suetonius and the descriptions of the orgies
of Tiberius, Caracalla, etc., that the idea was gained of
1 During the excitement of battle the idea of lust forces its way into
consciousness. Cf. the description of a battle, by a soldier, by Grill-
•parzer : —
" And as the signal rang out, the armies met, breast to breast — lust
of the gods! — here, there, the murderous steel slays enemy, friend.
Given and taken — death and life — with wavering change — wildly raging
in frenzy" (" Dream a Life," Act i.).
7b PSYCIIOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
locking children in his castles, torturing thero, and then
killing them. This inhuman wretch confessed that in the
commission of these acts he enjoyed inexpressible pleasure.
He had two assistants. The bodies of the unfortunate
children were burned, and only a number of heads of
particularly beautiful children were preserved — as me-
morials.
Gf. Exdenhurg, op. cit. p. 58, where he gives satisfactory
proof of Rays' insanity.
In an attempt to explain the association of lust and
cruelty, it is necessary to return to a consideration of the
quasi-physiological cases, in which, at the moment of most
intense lust, very excitable individuals, who are otherwise
normal, commit such acts as biting and scratching, which
are usually due to anger. It must further be remembered
that love and anger are not only the most intense emotions,
but also the only two forms of robust (sthenic) emotion.
Both seek their object, try to possess themselves of it, and
naturally exhaust themselves in a physical effect on it ;
both throw the psycho-motor sphere into the most intense
excitement, and thus, by means of this excitation, reach
their normal expression.
From this standpoint it is clear how lust impels to
acts that otherwise are expressive of anger.^ The one,
like the other, is a state of exaltation, an intense excita-
tion of the entire psycho-motor sphere. Thus there
irises an impulse to react on the object that induces the
stimulus, in every possible way, and with the greatest
intensity. Just as maniacal exaltation easily passes to
raging destructiveness, so exaltation of the sexual emo-
tion often induces an impulse to spend itself in senseless
and apparently harmful acts. To a certain extent these
are psychical accompaniments ; but it is not simply an
unconscious excitation of innervation of muscles (which
1 Schulz (" Wiener Med. Wocheuschrift," No. 49, 1869) reports a re-
markable case of a man, aged twenty-eight, who could perform coitus
with his wife only after working himself into an artificial fit of anger.
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 79
also sometimes occurs as blind violence) ; it is a true
hyperbole, a desire to exert the utmost possible effect
upon the individual giving rise to the stimulus. The
most intense means, however, is the infliction of pain.
Through such cases of infliction of pain during the
most intense emotion of lust, we approach the cases in
which a real injury, wound, or death is inflicted on the
victim.^ In these cases the impulse to cruelty which may
accompany the emotion of lust, becomes unbounded in a
psychopathic individual ; and, at the same time, owing to
defect of moral feeling, all normal inhibitory ideas are
absent or weakened.
Such monstrous, sadistic acts have, however, in men,
in whom they are much more frequent than in women,
another source in physiological conditions. In the inter-
course of the sexes, the active or aggressive role belongs
to man ; woman remains passive, defensive.^ It affords
man great pleasure to win a woman, to conquer her ; and
m the ars amandi, the modesty of woman, who keeps her-
self on the defensive until the moment of surrender, is an
element of great psychological significance and importance.
Under normal conditions man meets obstacles which it
is his \)Qxi to overcome, and for which nature has given
him an aggressive character. This aggressive character,
however, under pathological conditions may hkewise be
excessively developed, and express itself in an impulse to
subdue absolutely the object of desire, even to destroy or
kill it.^
'Concerning analogous acts in rutting animals, vide Lombroso, "The
Criminal ".
-Among animals it is always the male who pursues the female with
proffers of love. Playful or actual flight of the female is not infrequently
observed ; and then the relation is like that between the beast of prey
and the victim.
=*The conquest of woman takes place to-day in the social form of
courting, in seduction and deception, etc. From the history of civilisation
and antliropology we know that there have been times, as there are
aavages to-day that practise it, whore brutal force, robbery, or oven
80 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
If both these constituent elements occur together —
the abnormally intensified impulse to a violent reaction
toward the object of the stimulus, and the abnormally
intensified desire to conquer the woman, — then the most
violent outbreaks of sadism occur.
Sadism is thus nothing else than an excessive and
monstrous pathological intensification of phenomena, —
possible, too, in normal conditions in rudimental forms, —
which accompany 'the psychical vita sexualis, particularly
in males. It is of course not at all necessary, and not
even the rule, that the sadistic individual should be con-
scious of his instinct. "What he feels is, as a rule, only
the impulse to cruel and violent treatment of the opposite
sex, and the colouring of the idea of such acts with lustful
feelings. Thus arises a powerful impulse to commit the
imagined deeds. In as far as the actual motives of this
instinct are not comprehended by the individual, the
sadistic acts have the character of impulsive deeds.
When the association of lust and cruelty is present,
not only does the lustful emotion awaken the impulse to
cruelty, but vice versa; cruel ideas and acts of cruelty
blows that rendered a woman powerless, were made use of to obtain love's
desire. It is possible that tendencies to such outbreaks of sadism are
atavistic.
In the " Jahrbiicher fiir Psychologie," ii., p. 128, Schcifer (Jena)
refers to the reports of two cases by A. Payer. In the first case states of
great sexual exoifceaient were induced by the sight of battles or of paint-
ing's of them ; in the second, by cruel torturing of small animals. It
is added : " The pleasure of battle and murder is so predominantly an
attribute of the male sex throughout the animal kingdom that there
can be no question about the close relation existing between this side of
the masculine character and male sexuality. I believe, too, that by un-
prejudiced observation I can show that, in men who are mentally and
physically absolutely normal, the first indefinite and incomprehensible
precursors of sexual excitement may be induced by the reading of exciting
scenes of the chase and war — i.e., they give rise to unconscious longings
for a kind of satisfaction in warlike games (wrestling), in which the
fundamental sexual impulse to the most perfect and intense contact with
a companion is expressed, with the secondary thought of conquest more
or less clearly defined."
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 81
cause sexual excitement, and in this way are used by
perverse individuals.^
A differentiation of original and acquired cases of
sadism is scarcely possible. Many individuals, tainted
ah origine, for a long time do everything to conquer the
perverse instinct. If they are potent,' they are able for
some time to lead a normal vita sexualis, often with the
assistance of fanciful ideas of a perverse nature. Later,
when the opposing motives of an ethical and aesthetic
kind have been gradually overcome, and when oft-re-
peated experience has proved the natural act to give but
incomplete satisfaction, the abnormal instinct suddenly
bursts forth. Owing to this late expression, in acts, of
an originally perverse disposition, the appearances are
those of an acquired perversion. As a rule, it may be
safely assumed that this psychopathic state exists ab
origine.
Sadistic acts vary in monstrousness according to the
power exercised by the perverse instinct over the indi-
vidual thus afflicted, and in accordance with the strength
of opposing ideas that may be present, which nearly
always are more or less weakened by original ethical
defects, hereditary degeneracy, or moral insanity. Thus
there arises a long series of forms which begins with
capital crime and ends with paltry acts affording merely
symbolic satisfaction to the perverse desires of the sadistic
individual.
Sadistic acts may be further differentiated according
to their nature : either taking place after consummated
coitus which leaves the libido nimia unsatisfied ; or, with
diminished virihty, being undertaken to merely stimulate
the diminished power ; or, finally, where virility is abso-
lutely wanting, as becoming simply an equivalent for
impossible coitus, and for the induction of ejaculation.
^It sometimes happens that an accidental sight of blood, etc., puts
into motion the preformed psychical mechanism of the sadistic individual
and awakens the instinct.
6
82 PSYCIIOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
In the last two cases, notwithstanding impotence, there
is still nitense libido ; or there was, at least, intense
libido in the individual at the time when the sadistic
acts became a habit. Sexual hyperaesthesia must always
be regarded as the basis of sadistic inclinations. The
impotence which occurs so frequently in psychopathic
and neuropathic individuals here considered, resulting
from excesses practised in early youth, is usually de-
pendent upon spinal weakness. Often, too, there is a
kind of psychical impotence, superinduced by concentra-
tion of thought on the perverse act with simultaneous
fading of the idea of normal satisfaction. No matter
what the external form of the act may be, the mentally
perverse predisposition and instinct of the individual are
essential to an understanding of it.
(a) Lust-Murder^ {Lust Potentiated as Cruelty, M^irdcrous
Lust Extending to Anthropophagy).
The most horrible example, and one which most
pijintedly shows the connection between lust and a de-
sire to kill, is the case of Andreas Bichel, which Fcuerbach
published in his " Aktenmassige Darstellung merkwiir-
diger Verbrechen ".
B. puellas stupratas necavit et dissecuit With refer-
ence to one of his victims, at his examination he
expressed himself as follows: "I opened her breast and
with a knife cut through the fleshy parts of the body.
Then I arranged the body as a butcher does beef, and
hacked it with an axe into pieces of a size to fit the hole
which I had dug up in the mountain for burying it. I
may say that while opening the body I was so greedy that
I trembled, and could have cut out a piece and eaten it."
Lombroso, too (" Geschlechtstrieb und Verbrechen in
ihren gegenseitigen Beziehungen ". " Goltdammer's Archiv,"
^ Gf. " Melzger's ger. Arzueiw., herausgegeben von Rcmcr," p. 539;
" Klein's Annalen,"x., p. 17G ; xviii., p. 311 ; Hcinroth, " System der psych.
Med.," p. 270 ; Neucr Pitaval, 1855, 23 Th. (" Fall Blaize Ferrage ")
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 83
Bd. XXX.), mentions cases falling in the same category.
A certain Phillipe indulged in strangling prostitutes, post
actum, and said: "I am fond of women, but it is sport
for me to strangle them after having enjoyed them".
A certain Grassi {Lombroso, op. cit., p. 12) was one
night seized with sexual desire for a relative. Irritated
by her remonstrance, he stabbed her several times in the
abdomen with a knife, and also murdered her father and
uncle who attempted to hold him back. Immediately
thereafter he hastened to visit a prostitute in order to
cool in her embrace his sexual passion. But this was
not sufficient, for he then murdered his own father and
slaughtered several oxen in the stable.
It cannot be doubted, after the foregoing, that a great
number of so-called lust murders depend upon combined
hyperaesthesia and paroesthesia sexuahs. As a result of
this perverse colouring of the feelings, further acts of
bestiahty with the corpse may result — e.g., cutting it up
and wallowing in the intestines. The case of Bichel
points to this possibility.
A modern example is that of Menesclou (" Annales
d'hygiene publique"), who was examined by Lasegue,
Brouardel and Motet, declared to be mentally sound, and
executed.
Case 16. A four-year-old girl was missing from her
parents' home, 15th April, 1880. On 16th April, Menes-
clou,, one of the occupants of the house, was arrested.
The forearm of the child was found in his pocket, and the
head and entrails, in a half-charred condition, were taken
from the stove. Other parts of the body were found in
the water-closet. The genitals could not be found. M.,
when asked their whereabouts, became embarrassed. The
circumstances, as well as an obscene poem found on his
person, left no doubt that he had violated the child
and then murdered her. M. expressed no remorse, as-
serting that his deed was an unhappy accident. His
84 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
intelligence is limited. He presents no anatomical signs
of degeneration ; is somewhat deaf and scrofulous.
M., aged twenty ; convulsions at the age of nine
months. Later he suffered from disturbed sleep (enuresis
nocturna) ; was nervous, and developed tardily and im-
perfectly. With puberty he became irritable, showed evil
inclinations, was lazy, intractable, and in all trades proved
to be of no use. He grew no better even in the House of
Correction. He was made a marine, but there, too, he
proved useless. When he returned home he stole from
his parents, and spent his time in bad company. He did
not run after women, but gave himself up passionately to
masturbation, and occasionally indulged in sodomy with
bitches. His mother suffered with mania menstrualis
periodica. An uncle was insane, and another a drunkard.
The examination of M.'s brain showed morbid changes of
the frontal lobes, of the first and second temporal con-
volutions, and of a part of the occipital convolutions.
Case 1 7. Alton, a clerk in England, goes out of town
for a walk. He lures a child into a thicket, and returns
after a time to his office, where he makes this entry in his
note-book : " Killed to-day a young girl ; it was fine and
hot ". The child was missed, searched for, and found cut
into pieces. Many parts, and among them the genitals,
could not be found. A. did not show the slightest trace
of emotion, and gave no explanation of the motive or
circumstances of his horrible deed. He was a psycho-
pathic individual, and occasionally subject to fits of de-
pression with tcedinm vitce. His father had had an attack
of acute mania. A near relative suffered from mania with
homicidal impulses. A. was executed.
In such cases it may even happen that appetite for the
flesh of the murdered victhn arises, and in consequence of
this perverse colouring of the idea, parts of the body may
be eaten.
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 85
Case 18. Leger, vine-dresser, aged twenty-four. From
youth moody, silent, shy of people. He starts out in search
of a situation. He wanders about eight days in the forest,
there catches a girl twelve years old, violates her, mutilates
her genitals, tears out her heart, eats of it, drinks the
blood, and buries the remains. Arrested, at first he lied,
but finally confessed his crime with cynical cold-blooded-
ness. He listened to his sentence of death with indiffer-
ence^ and was executed. At the post-mortem examination
Esquirol found morbid adhesions between the cerebral
membranes and the brain {Georget, " Darstellung der Pro-
zesse Leger, Feldtmarm," etc., Darmstadt, 1827).
Case 19. Tirsch, hospital beneficiary of Prag, aged
fifty-five, always silent, peculiar, coarse, very irritable,
grumbling, revengeful, was sentenced to twenty years'
imprisonment for violating a girl ten years old. He had
attracted attention on account of outbursts of anger from
insiefiiificant causes, and also on account of tsedium vitse.
In 1864, on account of the refusal of an offer of marriage
which he made to a widow, he developed a hatred toward
women, and on 8th July he went about with the intention
of killing one of this hated sex. Vetulam occurrentcm in
silvam allexit, coitum poposcit, renitentem prostravit, jugulum
femincB conipressit "furore capitis ". Cadaver virga hetula
desecta verberare voluit neqiietamen id perfecit, quia conscientia
sua haec fieri vetuit, cuUello mammas et genitalia desecta domi
cocta proximis diehus cum globis comedit. On 12th Sep-
tember, when he was arrested, the remains of this meal
were found. He gave as the motive of this act "inner
impulse". He himself wished to be executed, because
he had always been an outcast. In confinement there
were great emotional irritability and occasional outbursts
of fury, preceded by refusal of food, which made isolation,
lasting several days, necessary. It was authoritatively
estabhshed that the most of his earlier excesses were co-
incident with outbreaks of excitement and fury (Maschka,
86 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
"Prager Vierteljahrsschrift," 1866, i., p. 79. " Gauster bei
Maschka, Handb. der gerichtl. Medicin," iv., p, 489).
The Whitechapel murderer, who has successfully
eluded the vigilance of the police, probably belongs in
this category of psycho-sexual monsters.^ The constant
absence of uterus, ovaries, and labia in the victims (ten)
of this modern Bluebeard allows the presumption that he
sought and found still further satisfaction in anthro-
pophagy.
In other cases of lust-murder, for physical and mental
reas )ns (vide supra), violation is omitted, and the sadistic
crime alone becomes the equivalent of coitus. The pro-
totype of such cases is the following one of Verzeni. The
life of his victim hung on the rapid or retarded occurrence
of ejaculation. Since this remarkable case presents all
the peculiarities which modern science knows concerning
the relation of lust to lust-murder with anthropophagy,
and especially since it was carefully studied, it receives
detailed description here : —
Case 20. Vincenz Verzeni, born in 1849 ; since 11th
January, 1872, in prison ; is accused (1) of an attempt to
strangle his nurse Marianne, foar years ago, while she lay
sick in bed ; (2/ of a similar attempt on a married woman,
Arsufti, aged twenty- seven ; (3) of an attempt to strangle
a married woman, Gala, by gra ping her throat while
kneeling on her abdomen ; (4) on suspicion of the following
murders : —
In December a fourteen-year-old girl, Johanna Motta,
set out for a neighbouring village between seven and eight
o'clock in the morning. As she did not return, her master
set out to find her, and discovered her body near the village,
lying by a path in the fields. The corpse was frightfully
^ Cf. Spitzka, " The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease," Decem-
ber, 1888; Kicrnan, "The Medical Standard," November, December,
1888.
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 87
mutilate'.] with nuinerons wounds. The intestines and
genitals had been torn from the open body, and were found
near by. The nakedness of the body and erosions on the
thighs made it seem probable that there had been an
attempt at rape; the mouth, filled with earth, pointed to
suffocation. In the neighbourhood of the body, under a
pile of straw, were found a portion of flesh torn from the
right calf, and pieces of clothing. The perpetrator of
the deed remained undiscovered.
On 28th August, 1871, a married woman, Frigeni, aged
twenty-eight, set out into the fields early in the morning.
As she did not return by eight o'clock, her husband started
out to fetch her. He found her a corpse, lying naked in
the field, with the mark of a thong around her neck, with
which she had been sti'angled, and with numerous wounds.
The abdomen had been slit open, and the intestines were
hanging out.
On 29th August, at noon, as Maria Previtali, aged nine-
teen, went through a field, she was followed by her cousin,
Verzeni. He dragged her into a field of grain, threw her
to the ground, and began to choke her. As he let go of
her for a moment to ascertain whether any one was near,
the girl got up and, by her supplicating entreaty, induced
Verzeni to let her go, after he had pressed her hands
together for some time.
Verzeni was brought before a court. He is twenty-
two years old. His cranium is of more than average size,
but asymmetrical. The right frontal bone is narrower and
lower than the left, the right frontal prominence being less
developed, and the right ear smaller than the left (by 1
centimetre in length and 3 centimetres in breadth) ; both
ears are defective in the inferior half of the helix ; the
right temporal artery is somewhat atheromatous. Bull-
necked ; enormous development of the zygoma and inferior
maxilla; penis greatly developed, /r«7mm wanting; slight
divergent alternating strabismus (insufficiency of the in-
ternal rectus muscle, and m^-opia). Lombroso concludes,
88 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
from these signs of degeneration, that there is a congenital
arrest of development of the right frontal lobe. As seemed
probable, Verzeni has a bad ancestry — two micles are
cretins ; a third, microcephalic, beardless, one testicle
wanting, the other atrophic. The father shows traces
of pellagrous degeneration, and had an attack of hypo-
chondria pellagrosa. A cousin suffered from cerebral
hyperaemia ; another is a confirmed thief.
Verzeni's family is bigoted and low-minded. He him-
self has ordinary intelligence; knows how to defend himself
well ; seeks to prove an alibi and cast suspicion on others.
There is nothing in his past that points to mental disease,
but his character is peculiar. He is silent and inclined to
be solitary. In prison he is cynical. He masturbates, and
makes every effort to gain sight of women.
Verzeni finally confessed his deeds and their motive.
The commission of them gave him an indescribably
pleasant (lustful) feeling, which was accompanied by erec-
tion and ejaculation. As soon as he has grasped his victim
by the neck, sexual sensations were experienced. It was
entirely the same to him, with reference to these sensa-
tions, whether the women were old, young, ugly, or
beautiful. Usually, simply choking them had satisfied
him, and he then had allowed his victims to live ; in the
two cases mentioned, the sexual satisfaction was delayed,
and he had continued to choke them until they died. The
gratification experienced in this garrotting was greater than
in masturbation. The abrasions of the skin on Motta's
thighs were produced by his teeth, whilst sucking her
blood in most intense lustful pleasure. He had torn out
a piece of flesh from her calf and taken it with him to
roast at home ; but on the way he hid it under the straw-
stack, for fear his mother would suspect him. He also
carried pieces of the clothing and intestines some distance,
because it gave him great pleasure to smell and touch
them. The strength which he possessed in these moments
of intense lustful pleasure was enormous. He had never
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 89
been a fool ; while committing his deeds he saw nothing
around him (apparently as a result of intense sexual ex-
citement, annihilation of perception — instinctive action).
After such acts he was always very happy, enjoying a
feeling of great satisfaction. He had never had pangs of
conscience. It had never occurred to him to touch the
genitals of the martyred women, or to violate his victims.
It had satisfied him to throttle them and suck their blood.
These statements of this modern vampire seem to rest on
truth. Normal sexual impulses seem to have remained
foreign to him. Two sweethearts that he had, he was
satisfied to look at ; it was very strange to him that he
had no inclination to strangle them or press their hands
but he had not had the same pleasure with them as with
his victims. There was no trace of moral sense, remorse
and the like.
Verzeni said himself that it would be a good thing if
he were to be kept in prison, because with freedom he
could not resist his impulses. Verzeni was sentenced to
imprisonment for life {Lombroso, "Verzeni e Agnoletti,"
Eome, 1873). The confessions which Verzeni made after
his sentence are interesting : —
" I had an unspeakable delight in strangling women, ex-
periencing during the act erections and real sexual pleasure.
It was even a pleasure only to smell female clothing. The
feeling of pleasure while strangling them was much greater
than that which I experienced while masturbating. I took
great delight in drinking Motta's blood. It also gave me
the greatest pleasure to pull the hair-pins out of the hair
of my victims.
" I took the clothing and intestines, because of the
pleasure it gave me to smell and touch them. At last my
mother came to suspect me, because she noticed spots of
semen on my shirt after each murder or attempt at one.
I am not crazy, but in the inoment of strangling my victims
I saw nothing else. After the commission of the deeds I
was satisfied and felt well. It never occurred to me to
90 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
touch or look at the genitals or such things. It satisfied
me to seize the women by the neck and suck their blood.
To this very day I am ignorant of how a woman is formed.
During the strangling and after it, I pressed myself on
the entire body without thinking of one part more than
another."
Verzeni arrived at his perverse acts quite indepen-
dently, after having noticed, when he was twelve years
old, that he experienced a peculiar feeling of pleasure
while wringing the necks of chickens. After this he had
often killed great numbers of them and then said that a
weasel had been in the hen-coop {Lombroso, " Goltdammer's
Archiv," Bd. xxx., p. 13).
Lombroso mentions an analogous case (" Goltdammer's
Archiv") which occurred in Vittoria (Spain): —
Case 21. A certain Gruyo, aged forty-one, with a
blameless past life, having been three times married,
strangled six women in the course of ten years. They
were almost all public prostitutes and quite old. After
the strangling he tore out their intestines and kidneys j^er
vaginam. Some of his victims he violated before killing,
others, on account of the occurrence of impotence, he did
not. He set about his horrible deeds with such care that
he remamed undetected for ten years.
(b) Mutilation of Corpses.
Following on the preceding horrible group of perver-
sions, come naturally the necrophiles ; in these cases, just
as with lustful murderers and analogous cases, an idea
which in itself awakens a feeling of horror, and before
which a sane person would shudder, is accompanied by
lustful feelings, and thus leads to the impulse to indulge
in acts of necrophilia.
The cases of mutilation of bbdies mentioned in litera-
ture seem to be of a pathological character ; but, with the
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWAED THE OPPOSITE SEX. 91
exception of the celebrated one of Sergeant Bertrand {v.
infra), they are far from being described and observed with
exactness. In certain cases there may be nothing more
than the possibihty that mibridled desire sees in the idea
of death no obstacle to its satisfaction. The seventh case
mentioned by Moreau is perhaps such a one : —
A man, aged twenty-three, attempted to rape a woman,
aged fifty-three. Strugglmg, he killed her, and then vio-
lated her, threw her in the water, and fished her out again
for renewed violation. The murderer was executed. The
meninges of the anterior lobes were thickened and ad-
herent to the cortex.
French writers have recorded numerous examples of
^lecrophilia. Two cases concerned monks performing
the watch for the dead. In a tbird case the subject was
an idiot, who also suffered from periodical mania, and
after commission of rape was sent to an insane asylum,
and there mutilated female bodies in the mortuary.
In other cases, however, there is undoubtedly direct
preference for a corpse to the living woman. When no
other act of cruelty — cutting into pieces, etc. — is practised
on the cadaver, it is probable that the lifeless condition
itself forms the stimulus for the perverse individual. It
is possible that the corpse — a human form absolutely
without will — satisfies an abnormal desire, in that the
object of desire is seen to be capable of absolute subjuga-
tion, without possibility of resistance.
Bricrrc dc Boismont ("Gazette medicale," 21st July,
1850) relates tbe history of a corpse-violator who, after
bribing the watchman, had gained entrance to the corpse
of a girl of sixteen belonging to a family of high social
position. At nigbt a noise was heard in the death-
chamber, as if a piece of furniture had fallen over. The
mother of the dead girl effected an entrance and saw a
man dressed in his night-shirt springinjj; from the bed
where tbe body lay. It was nt first thought that the man
was a thief, but the real explanation was soon discovered.
92 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
It was afterwards ascertained that the culprit, a man
of good family, had often violated the corpses of young
women. He was sentenced to imprisonment for life.
The story of a prelate, reported by Taxil^ (" La prosti-
tution contemporaine," p. 171), is of great interest as an
example of necrophilia. From time to time he would
visit a certain brothel in Paris and order a prostitute,
dressed in white like a corpse, to be laid out on a bier.
At the appointed hour he would appear in the room,
which, in the meantime had been elaborately prepared as
a room of mourning ; then he would act as if reading a
mass for the soul, and finally throw himself upon the
girl, who, during the whole time, was compelled to play
the role of a corpse.^
The cases in which the perpetrator injures and cuts
up the corpse are clearer. Such cases come next to those
of lust-murder, in so far as cruelty, or at least an impulse
to attack the female body, is coimected with lust. It is
possible that a remnant of moral sense deters from the
cruel act on a hving woman, and possibly the fancy passes
beyond lust-murder and rests on its result, the corpse.
Here also it is possible that the idea of defencelessness of
the body plays a role.
Case 22. Sergeant Bertrand, a man of delicate phy-
sical constitution and of peculiar character ; from child-
hood silent and inclined to solitude.
The details of the health of his family are not satis-
^A similar case is related by Ncri (" Arcliivio dalle psicopatie ses-
suali," 1896, p. 109). A man, fifty years of age, uses in a Lupanar only
girls who clad in white, lie motionless, feigning death. He violated tlie
body of his own sister, immissione mentulcB in os mortuce usque ad
ejacnlationem! This monster had also fits of fetichism for crines pubis
pudlariim, and the trimmings of their fingernails ; eating them caused
strong sexual emotions.
2 Simon (" Crimes et delits," p. 209) mentions an experience of La-
cassagne's, to whom a respectable man said that he was never intensely
excited sexually except when a spectator at a funeral.
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWAED THE OPPOSITE SEX. 93
factorily known ; but the occurrence of mental diseases in
his ancestry is ascertained. It is said that while he was
a child he was affected with destructive impulses, which
he himself could not explain. He would break whatever
was at hand. In early childhood, without teaching, he
learned to masturbate. At nine he began to feel inclina-
tions towards persons of the opposite sex. At thirteen
the impulse to sexual intercourse became powerfully
aw^akened in him. He now masturbated excessively.
When he did this, his fancy always created a room filled
with women. He would imagine that he carried out the
sexual act with them and then killed them. Immediately
thereafter he would think of them as corpses, and of how
he defiled them. Occasionally in such situations the
thought of carrying out a similar act with male corpses
would come up, but it was always attended with a feeling
of disgust.
In time* he felt the impulse to carry out such acts with
actual corpses. For want of human bodies, he obtained
those of animals. He would cut open the abdomen, tear
out the entrails, and masturbate during the act. He de-
clares that in this way he experienced inexpressible
pleasure. In 1846 these bodies no longer satisfied him.
He now killed dogs, and proceeded with them as before.
Toward the end of 1846 he first felt the desire to make
use of human bodies.
At first he had a horror of it. In 1847, being by
accident in a graveyard, he ran across the grave of a
newly buried corpse. Then this impulse, with headache
and palpitation of the heart, became so powerful that,
although there were people near by, and he was in
danger of detection, he dug up the body. In the absence
of a convenient instrument for cutting it up, he satisfied
himself by hacking it with a shovel.
In 1847 and 1848, during two weeks, as reported, the
impulse, accompanied by violent headache, to conmiit
brutalities on corpses actuated him. Amidst the greatest
94 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
dangers and difficulties he satisfied this impulse some
fifteen times. He dug up the bodies with his hands, in
nowise sensible in his excitement to the mjuries he thus
inflicted on himself. When he had obtained the body,
he cut it up with a sword or pocket-knife, tore out the
entrails, and then masturbated. The sex of the bodies is
said to have been a matter of indifference to him, though
it was ascertained that this modern vampire had dug up
more female than male corpses.
During these acts he declares himself to have been
in an indescribable state of sexual excitement. After
having cut them up, he reinterred the bodies.
In July, 1848, he accidentally came across the body of
a girl of sixteen. Then, for the first time, he experienced
a desire to carry out coitus on a. cadaver.
"I covered it with kisses and pressed it wildly to my
heart. All that one could enjoy with a living woman is
nothing in comparison with the pleasure I experienced.
After I had enjoyed it for about a quarter of an hour,
I cut the body up, as usual, and tore out the entrails.
Then I buried the cadaver again." Only after this, as B.
declares, had he felt the impulse to use the bodies sexually
before cutting them up, and thereafter he had done it in
three instances. The actual motive for exlnnning the
bodies, however, was then, as before, to cut them up ; and
the enjoyment in so doing was greater than in using the
bodies sexually. The latter act had always been nothing
more than an episode of the principal one, and had never
quieted his desires ; for which reason he had later on
always mutilated the body.
The medico-legal examiners gave an opinion of " mono-
mania ". Court-martial sentence to one year's imprison-
ment. {Michea, "Union med.," 1849; Limicr, "Annal.
med.-psycho.," 1849, p. 153 ; Tardieu, " Attentats aux
moeurs," 1878, p. 114; Legraiid, "La folic devant les
tribun.," p. 524.)
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 95
(c) Injury to Women (Stabbing, Flagellation, etc.).
Following lust-murder and violation of corpses, come
cases closely allied to the former, in which injury of the
victim of lust and sight of the victim's hiood are a dehght
and pleasure for degenerate men. The notorious Marquis
de Sade/ after whom this combination of lust and crueltv
has been named, was such a monster. Coitus only excited
him when he could prick the object of his desire until the
blood came. His greatest pleasure was to injure naked
prostitutes and then dress their wounds.
The case of a captain belongs here, mentioned by
Brierre de Boismont, who always compelled the object of
his affection to place leeches ad pitd'enda before coitus,
which was very frequent. Finally this woman became
very anaemic and, as a result of this, insane.
The following case, from my own practice, very clearly
shows the connection between lust and cruelty, with desire
to shed and see blood : —
Case 23. Mr. X., aged twenty-five; father syphilitic,
died of paretic dementia ; mother hysterical and neur-
asthenic. He is a weak individual, constitutionally
1 Taxil (op. cit.) gives more detailed accounts of this sexual monster,
which must have been a case of habitual satyriasis, accompanied by
perverse sexual instinct. Sade was so cynical that he actually sought to
idealise his cruel lasciviousness and to be the apostle of a theory based
upon it. He got so bad (among other things he made an invited company
of ladies and gentlemen erotic by causing to be served to them chocolate
bonbons which contained cantharides) that he was committed to the
insane asylum at Charenton. During the revolution of 1790 he escaped.
Then he wrote obscene novels filled with lust, cruelty and the most
lascivious scenes. When Bonaparte became Consul, Sade made him
a present of his novels, magnificently bound. The Consul had the works
destroyed and the author committed to Charenton again, where he died
at the age of sixty-four. Sade was inexhaustible in his lascivious publi-
cations, which were markedly intended for advertisement. Fortunately
it is difficult to-day to obtain copies. Extant are : " Histoire de Justine,"
4 vols. ; " Histoire de Juliette," 6 vols. ; " Philosophic dans le boudoir,"
London, 1805. Interesting is Sade's biography by /. Janin, 1835.
dC) PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
neuropathic, and presents several anatomical signs of
degeneration.
When a child, hypochondria and imperative conceptions ;
later, constant alternation of exaltation and depression
While yet a child of ten the patient felt a peculiar lustful
desire to see blood flow from his fingers. Thereafter he
dften cut or pricked himself in the fingers, and took great
delight in it. Very early, erections were added to this,
and also if he saw the blood of others; for example,
when he once saw the servant-girl cut her finger it gave
him an intense lustful feeling. From this time his vita
sexualis became more and more powerful. Without any
teaching he began to masturbate, and always during the
act there were memory-pictures of bleeding women. It
now no longer sufficed him to see his own blood flow ; he
longed to see the blood of young females, especially those
that were attractive to him. He could scarcely overcome
the impulse to violate two cousins and a certain servant.
Any young woman, although not attractive, induced
this impulse when she excited him by some peculiarity
of dress or adornment, especially coral jewellery. At first
he succeeded in overcoming these desires ; but in his
imagination thoughts of blood were ever present, induc-
ing lustful excitement. An inner relation existed between
thoughts and feelings. Often there were other cruel
fancies. He imagined himself in the role of a tyrant
who had the people shot in crowds with grape-shot. He
would imagine a scene as it would be, if enemies were to
take a city and mutilate, torture, kill, and rape the young
women.
In times of quiet this patient, who had a mild dis-
position and was not morally defective, was ashamed
of and horrified by such cruel, lustful fancies, which be-
came at once latent, when his sexual excitement was
satisfied by masturbation.
After a few years the patient became neurasthenic.
Then simple imaginary representations of blood and scenes
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 97
of blood sufficed to induce ejaculation. In order to free
himself from his vice and his cruel imagination, he began
to indulge in sexual intercourse with females. Coitus was
possible, but only when the patient called up the idea
that the girl's fingers were bleeding. Without the assist-
ance of this idea no erection was possible. The cruel
thought of cutting was limited to the woman's hand. At
times of greatest sexual excitement, simply the sight of
the hand of an attractive woman was sufficient to induce
most violent erections. Frightened by the popular stories
about the injurious results of onanism, he abstained and
fell into a condition of severe general neurasthenia, with
hypochondriacal dysthymia and tcedium vitce. Careful
and watchful medical treatment cured the patient after
a few months. He has remained mentally well for three
years; but now, as before, he is very sensual, though very,
seldom he is troubled by his earlier ideas of flowing blood.
He has given up masturbation altogether, and finds satis-
faction in natural sexual indulgence, is virile, and it is no
longer necessary for him to call up ideas of blood.
The following case, reported by Tarnowsky {op. cit.,
p. 61), shows that such lustful, cruel impulses may be
simply episodical, and occur in certain exceptional states
of mind in neurotic individuals : —
Case 24. Z., physician ; neuropathic constitution, re-
acting badly to alcohol. Under ordinary circumstances
capable of normal coitus, but as soon as he has indulged
in wine he finds that his increased libido is no longer
satisfied by simple coitus. In this condition he is com-
pelled to prick the nates puella, or to make stabs with
the lancet, to see blood, and feel the entrance of the blade
into the living body, in order to have ejaculation and
experience complete satiety of his lust.
The majoritv of those afflicted with this form of per-
7
98 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
version seem insensible to the normal stimulus of woman.
In the first case (23), the assistance of the idea of blood
was necessary to obtain erection. The following is that
of a man who, by masturbation, etc., in early youth, had
diminished his power of erection so that the sadistic act
look the place of coitus : —
Case 25. The girl-stabber of Bozen (reported by Demme,
" Buch der Verbrechen," Bd. ii., p. 341). In 18'29, H., aged
thirty, soldier, became the subject of legal investigation.
At different times, and in different places, he had wounded
girls with pocket-knives or penknives, by stabbing them
in the abdomen, preferably in the genitals. He gave as a
motive for these acts heightened sexual impulse, increasiiig
to the intensity of fury, which found satisfaction only in
the thought and act of stabbing persons of the female
sex. This impulse would pursue him for days at a time.
He would then pass into a confused mental state, which
would clear away only when the impulse had been satis-
fied by the deed. In the act of stabbing he experienced
the same satisfaction as that produced by completed
coitus. This was increased by the sight of blood dripping
from the knife. In his tenth year the sexual instinct
became powerfully manifest. At first he yielded to mas-
turbation, and felt physically and mentally weakened by
it. Before he became a girl-stabber, he had satisfied his
sexual lust in violation of immature girls, by causing them
to practise masturbation on him, and by sodomy. Gradu-
ally the thought came to him how pleasurable it would be
to stab a young and pretty girl in the genitals, and take
dehght in the sight of the blood running from the knife.
Among his effects were found copies of the objects of
phallic cult and obscene pictures painted by himself of
Mary's conception, and of the '' thought of God in-
jected" into the lap of the Virgin. He was considered a
peculiar, very irritable man, shy of people, fond of women,
moody and glum. Of shanje and regret for his deeds no
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 99
traces were ever found. He was apparently a person^ wlu)
had become impotent through early sexual e.xcesses, and
was thus predisposed, by the continuance of intense libido
sex^ialis and heredity, to perversion of sexual life.
Case 26. In the " sixties " the inhabitants of Leipzig
were frightened by a man who was accustomed to attack
young girls on the street, stabbing them in the upper-arm
with a dagger. Finally arrested, he was recognised as a
sadist, who at the instant of stabbing had an ejaculation,
and with whom the wounding of the girls was an equi-
valent for coitus. (Wharton, "A Treatise on Mental Un-
soundness," § 623. Philadelphia, ISTd.f
Impotence exists likewise in the next three cases. It
may be psychical, however, since the principal tone of the
vita sexualis lies in sadistic inclination and the normal
elements are distorted : —
Case 27. The girl-czotter of A^tgshurg (reported by
Demme " Buch der Verbrechen," vii., p. 281). Bartle,
wine-merchant. He was subject to lively sexual excite-
ment at the age of fourteen, though decidedly opposed to
its satisfaction by coitus, his aversion going so far as
disgust for the female sex. At that time he already had
the idea to cut girls, and thus satisfy his sexual desire.
He refrained from it, however, because of lack of oppor-
tunity and courage. He disdained masturbation, but now
and then had pollutions with erotic dreams of girls who
had been cut. At the age of nineteen he first cut a girl.
1 Cf. KraubS, " Psychologie des Verbrechens," 1884, p. 188 ; Dr. Hofer,
" Annalen der Staatsarzneikunde," 6 Jahrgang, Heft 2 ; " Schmidt's Jahr-
biicher," Bd. 59, p. 94.
^According to newspaper reports, in December, 1890, several similar
attacks were made iu Mainz. A young fellow between fourteen and six-
teen years of age pressed against women and girls and stabbed them in
the legs with a sharp-pointed instrument. He was arrested, and seemed
to be insane. Further details of the case arc not kuowu.
100 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
During the act he had a seminal emission and experienced
intense pleasure. From that time the impulse grew con-
stantly more powerful. He chose only young and pretty
girls, and, as a rule, asked them before the deed whether
they were still single. The ejaculation or sexual satis-
faction occurred only when he was sure that he had
actually wounded the girls. After such an act he always
felt tired and bad, and was also troubled with qualms of
conscience. Up to his thirty-second year he pursued this
process of cutting, but was always careful not to wound
the girls dangerously. From that time until his thirty-
sixth year he was able to control his impulse. Then he
sought to satisfy himself by simply pressing the girls on
the arm or neck, but this gave rise to erections only and
not to ejaculation. Then he sought to attain his object
by pricking the girls with the knife left in its sheath, but
this did not suffice. Finally, he stabbed with the open
knife, and had complete success, for he thought that a girl
when stabbed bled more and suffered more pain than when
merely cut. In his thirty-seventh year he was detected
and arrested. In his lodgings were found a collection of
daggers, sword-canes, and knives. He said that the mere
sight of these weapons, and still more the grasping of
them, gave him an intense feeling of sexual pleasure, with
violent excitement. According to his own confession, he
had injured in all fifty girls. His external appearance
was rather pleasing. He lived in very good circumstances,
but was peculiar and shy.
Case 28. J. H., aged twenty-six, in 1883 came for
consultation concerning severe neurasthenia and hypo-
chondria. Patient confesses that he has practised onanism
since his fourteenth year, infrequently up to his eighteenth
year, but since that time he has been unable to resist the
impulse. Up to that time he had no opportunity to
approach females, for he had been anxiously cared, for
and never left alone on account of his invalidism. He
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 101
had had no real desire for this unknown pleasure, but he
accidentally learned what it was when one of his mother's
maids cut her hand severely on a pane of glass, which she
had broken while washing windows. While helping to
stop the bleeding he could not keep from sucking up the
blood that flowed from the wound, and in this act he
experienced extreme erotic excitement, with complete
orgasm and ejaculation.
From that time on, he sought, in every possible way
to see and, where practicable, to taste the fresh blood of
females. That of young girls was preferred by him. He
spared no pains or expense to obtain this pleasure. At
first he availed himself of a young servant, who allowed
her finger to be pricked with a needle or lancet at his
request. When his mother discovered this, she dis-
charged the girl. Then he was driven to prostitutes as a
substitute, with success frequently enough, though with
some difficulty. In the intervals he practised onanism
and manustupration per feminam, which, however, never
afforded him complete satisfaction, but, on the contrary,
caused listlessness and self-reproach. On account of
his nervous difficulties he visited many sanatoria, and
was twice a voluntary patient in institutions. He used
hydrotherapy, electricity, and strengthening cures, without
particular success. For a time it was possible, by means
of cold sitz-baths, monobromate of camphor, and bromides,
to diminish his sexual excitability and onanistic impulse.
However, when the patient felt himself free again, he
would immediately fall into his old passions, and spare no
pains or money in order to satisfy his sexual desire in
the abnormal manner described.
Of special interest for the scientific proof of sadism is
a case related by Moll {vide case 29, ninth edition of this
work (German)) and recently published by Moll himself
in his book on " Lil^ido Sexualis," p. 500.
It discloses clearly one of the hidden roots of sadism
102 PSTCHOrATHIA SEXUALTS.
— the impulse to complete subjugation of the woman,
which here became consciously entertained. This is the
more remarkable since it occurred in an individual de-
cidedly timid, and in other respects modest and even
apprehensive. The case also shows clearly that powerful
libido which even impels the individual to overcome all
obstacles, may be present, while at the same time coitus
is not desired, because the principal intensity of feehn.i;- is,
ab origine, connected with the cruel part of the sadistic
(lustful and cruel) circle of ideas. This case also contains
weak elements of masochism {v. infra).
Cases are by no means infrequent in which men with
perverse inclinations induce prostitutes, by paying them
high prices, to allow themselves to be whipped and even
wounded by them. Works on prostitution contain re-
ports of them {vide Cofjignon, "La Corruption a Paris,"
etc.).
(d) Defilement of Women.
The perverse sadistic impulse, to injure women and put
contempt and humiliation upon them, is also expressed in
the desire to defile them with disgusting or, at least foul
things.
The following case, published by Arndt (" Viertol-
jahrsschr. f. ger. Medicin," N. F. xvii., H. 1), belongs
here : —
Case 29. A., medical student at Greifswald, accusatus
qnod itcTum iteruviqtie j^'^i^'^^^'i-s honcstis parentibus natis in
publico genitalia sua e brads depcndentia j^ld'ne nudata qvrs
antea summo amidulo {overcoat) tecta erant, ostendcrat. Non-
nunquam 2yucllas fugientes secutus casque ad se attractas urina
oblivit. Hac luce clara facta sunt ; nunquam aliquid Jicec
faciens locutus est.
A. is twenty-three years old, well built, neat in dress,
and polite in manners. Indication of cranium progenciim ;
chronic pneumonia of the apex of the light lung; empliy-
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 103
sema. Pulse, 60 ; in excitement not more than 70 to 80.
Genitals normal. Complaints of occasional disturbances
of digestion, and hardness of the abdomen, vertigo, ex-
cessive excitement of sexual desires, which early led to
onanism. The sexual desire has never been directed
toward a natural method of satisfaction. Complaints of
occasional attacks of depression, or thoughts of depreca-
tion of self, aiid of perverse impulses, for which he could
find no motive, such as lau^^hingat serious things, throwing
his money in the water, and running about in the pouring
rain. The father of the culprit is of a nervous tempera-
ment, the mother subject to nervous headaches. A
brother was subject to epileptic convulsions.
From his youth the culprit presented a nervous tem-
perament, was inchned to convulsions and attacks of
syncope, and when severely scolded would fall into a state
of momentary stiffness. In 1869 he studied medicine in
Berlin. In 1870 he went to the war as a hospital as-
sistant. His letters at this time betray peculiar torpidity
and softness. On his return home, in 1871, his emo-
tional irritability was noticed at once by those about him.
Thereafter frequent complaints of bodily ailments ; un-
pleasantness resulting from a love affair. In November,
1871, he pursued his studies dihgently in Greifswald. He
was considered very gentlemanly. In confinement he is
quiet, calm, and sometimes self-absorbed. His acts he
attributes to painful sexual excitement, which of late had
become excessive. He declared that he had been fully
conscious of his perverse acts, and after committing them
had always been ashamed of them. He had not ex-
perienced actual sexual satisfaction in their commission.
He obtained no correct insight into his position. He
considered himself a kind of martyr — fallen a victim to an
evil power. Presumption of irresponsibility, as a result of
absence of free will.
The impulse to defile occurs also, paradoxically, in the
104 . PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
aged, when there is a reappearance of sexual instinct,
which, under such circumstances, is so often expressed in
perverse acts. Thus Tarnowsky reports (p. 76) the following
case : —
Case 30. I knew such a patient, who had a woman
dressed in a decollete hall-dress he down on a low sofa in a
brightly lighted room. Ij^ise aptcd januam alius cubiculi
obscurati constitit adsjyiciendo aliquantulum feminam, excitatus
in earn insiluit et excrementa in sinus ejus deposuit. Hac
faciens ejaculationem quandam se sentire confessus est.
An officer of Vienna informs me that men, by means
of larc^e sums of money, induce prostitutes to suffer ut
illi viri in ora earum spuerent et fceces et urinas in ora
explerent}
The following case by Dr. Pascal (" Igiene dell' amore ")
seems also to belong here : —
Case 31. A man had an inamorata. His relation
with her was that he had her allow him to blacken her
hands with coal or soot, and then she had to sit before
a mirror in such a way that he could see her hands in
it. -While conversing with her, which was often for a
long time, he looked constantly at her mirrored hands,
and finally, after a time, he would take his leave, fully
satisfied.
The following case, communicated by a physician, may
be of interest in relation to this subject :—
An officer was known in a brothel in K. only by the
name of " Oil ". " Oil " induced erection and ejaculation
only by having puell. puhl. nudam step into a tub filled
with oil, while he rubbed the oil all over her body.
1 Leo Taxil (" La Corruption," Paris, Noiret, p. 223) makes the same
statements. There are also men who demand mtroductio lingua mere-
tricis in anum.
SEXUAL INCLINATIOK" TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 105
These acts lead to the presumption that certain cases
of injury of females {e.g., sprinkhng with sulphuric acid,
ink, etc.) depend upon a perverse sexual impulse ; at least,
here it is a kind of injury, and those injured are always
females, and the perpetrators males. At any rate in the
future, in crimes of this kind, pains should be taken to
examine into the vita sexualis of the culprits.
The case of Bachmann, given below, Case 99, throws
a clear light on the sexual nature of such crimes ; for, in
this case, the sexual motive in the deed is proven.
(e) Other Kinds of Assault on Females — Symbolic Sadism.
The foregoing groups do not exhaust the forms in
which the sadistic impulse toward women is expressed.
If the impulse is not overmastering, or if there is yet
sufficient moral resistance, it may happen that the per-
verse inclination is satisfied by an act that is apparently
quite senseless and silly, but which has nevertheless a
symbolic meaning for the perpetrator. This seems to be
the meaning of the two following cases : —
Case 32. (Dr. Pascal, " Igiene dell' amore ".) A man
was accustomed to go, on a certain day once a month, to
an inamorata and cut her "fringe". This gave him the
greatest pleasure. He made no other demands on the
girl.
Case 33. A man in Vienna regularly visits several
prostitutes only to lather their faces and then to remove
the lather with a razor, as if he were shaving them. He
never hurts the girls, but becomes sexually excited and
ejaculates during the procedure.^
^ Leo Taxil (op. cit., p. 224) relates that in Parisian brothels instru-
ments are kept ready which look like knouts, but which are merely tubes
filled with air, such as clowns use in circuses. Sadistic men use them to
create for themselves the illusion that they are whipping women.
106 PSYCHOrATHIA SEXUALIS.
(f) Sadism with Other Objects — Whi2)ping of Boys.
The sadistic acts with females just now described
are also practised on other living, sensitive objects, —
children and animals. There may be a full consciousness
that the impulse is really directed towards women, and
that only faute de mieux the nearest attainable objects
(pupils) are abused. But the condition of the perpetrator
may be such that the impulse to cruel acts enters con-
sciousness accompanied only by lustful excitement, while
its real object (which alone can explain the lustful colour-
ine: of such acts) remains latent.
The first alternative suffices as an explanation of the
cases which Dr. Albert describes (Friedreich's " Blatter f.
ger. Med.," p. 77, 1859), — cases in which lustful teachers
whipped their pupils on the naked buttocks without cause.
We must think of the second alternative, the sadistic im-
pulse with unconsciousness of its object, when boys are
immediately excited sexually at the sight of pimishment
of their companions, and are thus determined in their
later vita sextiolis, as in the following cases : —
Case 34. K., aged twenty-five, merchant, appHed to
me in the fall of 1889 for advice concerning an anomaly
of his vita sexualis, which made him fear invalidism and
impossibility of future happiness in marriage.
Patient came of a nervous family. As a child he was
delicate, weak, and nervous. Healthy except for measles ;
later on he became more robust.
At the age of eight, while at school, he saw the
teacher punish the boys by taking their heads between
his thighs and spanking them with a ferule. This sight
caused the patient lustful excitement. "Without any
idea of the danger and enormity of onanism," he satisfied
himself with it, and from that time often masturbated,
always calling up the memory -picture of a boy being
punished.
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 107
Thus it continued until his twentieth year. Then he
learned the significance of onanism, was terribly fright-
ened, and tried to overcome his impulse to masturbate ;
but he fell into the practice of psychical onanism, which
he regarded as innocuous and morally defensible, and for
which he made use of the memory-pictures of boys being
whipped, previously mentioned.
Patient now became neurasthenic, suffered with pol-
lutions, and tried to cure himself by visiting brothels;
but he could not induce erection. Then he sought to
obtain normal sexual feelings by means of social mter-
course with ladies; but he recognised that he was entirely
insensible to the charms of the fair sex.
The patient is an intelligent man, normally developed,
and of aesthetic taste. There is no mclination to persons
of his own sex. My advice consisted of means to combat
the neurasthenia and pollutions ; interdiction of psychical
and manual onanism; avoidance of all sexual excitants;
and, possibly, hypnotic treatment to ultimately induce a
return of the vita sexualis to its normal condition.
Case 35. Abortive sadism. N., student, came under
observation in December, 1890. He had practised mas-
turbation from early youth. According to his statements,
he became sexually excited when he saw his father whip
the children, and, later, when he saw his companions
whipped by the teacher. When a spectator of such
scenes, he always experienced lustful feelings. He could
not say exactly when this first occurred, but it iriay
have been at about the age of six. He could not tell
exactly when he began to masturbate, but he stated with
certainty that his sexual instinct was first awakened by
the punishment of others, and thus he unconsciously
came to practise onanism. The patient remembered
clearly that from the age of four to the age of eight he
was frequciitly spanked, and that this caused him pain,
never lustful pleasure.
108 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Since he did not always have opportunity to see others
whipped, he began to imagine how others were punished.
This excited his lust, and he would then masturbate.
Whenever he could, he managed to see others punished
at school. Now and then he also felt desire to whip
others. At the age of twelve he induced a comrade to
allow him to whip him. He found great sexual pleasure
in it. "When, however, his companion beat him in return
he experienced nothing but pain.
The impulse to beat others was never very strong.
The patient experienced more satisfaction in filling his
imagination with scenes of whipping. He never indulged
in any other sadistic acts, and never had any desire to see
blood, etc. Up to his fifteenth year his sexual indulgence
consisted of onanism, coupled with such fancies. After
that (dancing lessons, association with girls) the early
fancies disappeared almost entirely and were accompanied
by but weak lustful feelings ; so that the patient gave
them up entirely. In their place came thoughts of coitus
in a natural way, without anything sadistic.
The patient indulged in coitus for the first time " on
account of his health". He was potent, and the act
gratified him. He then tried to abstain from onanism,
but was not successful, though he often indulged in
coitus, and with more pleasure than he had in onanism.
He wished to be freed from onanism as something
vicious. He had coitus once a month, but masturbated
once or twice everj^ night. He was sexually normal,
excepting the onanism. There was no neurasthenia;
genitals normal.
Case 36. P., aged 15, of high social position, came of
a hysterical mother whose brother and father died in an
asylum. Two children of the family died in early child-
hood of convulsions. The patient is talented, virtuous,
and quiet ; but at times he is very disobedient, stubborn,
and of violent temper. He has epilepsy, and practises
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWAED THE OPPOSITE SEX. 109
onanism. One day it was learned that P., with money,
induced a conn-ade of fourteen, B., to allow hiinself to
be pinched in the arms, genitals, and thighs. When B.
cried, P. became excited and struck at B. with his right
hand, while with his left he made manipulations in the
left pocket of his trousers. P. confessed that to maltreat
his friend, of whom he was very fond, gave him peculiar
dehght ; and that ejaculation while hurting his friend
gave him much more pleasure than when he masturbated
alone (v. Gyurkovechky, "Pathol, und Therapie der mannl.
Impotenz.," p. 80, 1889).
That in all these cases of sadistic abuse of boys there
can be no thought of a combination of sadism and con-
trary sexual mstinct, as often occurs {v. infra) in indi-
viduals of contrary sexuality, is shown — aside from the
absence of all positive signs of it — by a study of the next
group, where, in association with the object of injury, —
animals, — the instinct for women is seen to appear
repeatedly.
(g) Sadistic Acts tvith Animals.
In numerous cases, sadistically perverse men, afraid
of criminal acts with human beings, or who care only
for the sight of the suffering of a sensitive being, make
use of the sight of dying animals, or torture animals, to
stimulate or excite their lust.
The case of a man in Vienna, which is reported by
Hofmann in his "Text-Book of Legal Medicine," is note-
worthy in relation to this. According to the evidence of
several prostitutes, before the sexual act he was accus-
tomed to excite himself by torturing and killing chickens
and pigeons and other birds, and, therefore, was called
" Hendlherr " (chickenmister).
For the elucidation of such cases the observation of
Lombroso is of value, according to whom two men had
110 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ejaculation when they killed chickens or pigeons, or wrung
their necks.
The same author, in his " Uomo dehnquente," p. 201,
speaks of a poet of some reputation, who became power-
fully excited sexually whenever he saw calves slaughtered,
and also at the sight of bloody meat
Mantegazza {op. cit. p. 114) relates that among degene-
rate Chinese the practice prevails to sodomise geese and
at the moment of ejaculation to cut off their heads.
Mantegazza (" Fisiologia del piacere," fifth ed., pp. 394,
395) mentions the case of a man who once saw chickens
killed, and from that time had a desire to wallow in their
warm, steaming entrails, because he experienced a feeling
of lust while doing it.
Thus, in these and similar cases, the vita sexualis is
so constituted ab origine that the sight of blood, death,
etc., excites lustful feeling. It is so in the following
case : —
Case 37. C. L., aged forty-two, engineer, married,
father of two children ; from a neuropathic family ; father
irascible, a drinker ; mother hysterical, subject to eclamptic
attacks. The patient remembers that in childhood he
took particular pleasure in witnessing the slaughtering of
domestic animals, especially swine. He thus experienced
lustful pleasure and ejaculation. Later he visited slaughter-
houses, in order to delight in the sight of flowing blood
and the death throes of the animals. When he could find
opportunity, he killed the animals himself, which always
afforded him a vicarious feeling of sexual pleasure.
At the time of full maturity he first attained to a
knowledge of his abnormality. The patient was not
exactly opposed in inclination to women, but close contact
with them seemed to him repugnant. On the advice of
a physician, at twenty-five he married a woman who
pleased him, in the hope of freeing himself of his abnor-
mal condition. Although he was very partial to his wife,
SEXUAL INCLINATION TOWAED THE OPPOSITE SEX. Ill
it was only seldom, and after great trouble and exertion of
his imagination, that he could perform coitus with her;
nevertheless, he begat two children. In 1866 he was in
the war in Bohemia. His letters written at that time to
his wife, were composed in an exalted, enthusiastic tone.
He was missed after the battle of Koniggratz,
If, in this case, the capability of normal coitus was
much impaired by the predominance of perverse ideas, in
the following it seems to have been entirely repressed : —
Case 38. (Dr. Pascal, " Igiene dell' amore.") A gentle-
man visited prostitutes, had them purchase a living fowl
or rabbit, and made them torture the animal. He par-
ticularly revelled in the sight of cutting off the heads and
tearing out the eyes and entrails. If he found a girl who
would consent, and go about it right cruelly, he was de-
lighted, and paid her and went his way without asking
anything more or touching her.
The last two sections show that the suffering of any
living being may become a source of perverse sexual en-
joyment to sadistically constituted persons, and that there
may be sadism with almost any [living] object. How-
ever, it would be erroneous and an exaggeration to try to
explain by sadistic perversion all the remarkable and sur-
prising acts of cruelty that occur, and to assume sadism
as the motive underlying all the horrors recorded in history
or found in certain psychological manifestations among
the peoples of the present time.
Cruelty arises from various sources and is natural to
primitive man. Compassion, in contrast with it, is a
secondary manifestation and acquired late. The instinct
to fight and destroy, so important an endowment in pre-
historic conditions, is long afterwards operative ; and, in
the ideas engendered by civilisation, like that of " the
criniinal," it finds new objects, so long as its original
112 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
object — " the enemy " — still exists. That not simply the
death, but also torture of the conquered is demanded, is
in part explained by the sense of power, which satisfies
itself in this way, and in part by the insatiableness of the
impulse of vengeance. Thus all horrors and historical
enormities may be explained without recourse to sadism
(which may often enough have been the motive, but
should not be assumed as such, since it is relatively a
rare perversion).
At the same time, there is still another powerful
psychical element to be taken into consideration, which
explains the attraction which is still exerted by execu-
tions, etc. ; viz., the pleasure which is produced by intense
and unusual impressions and rare sights, in contrast to
which, in coarse and blunted beings, pity is silent.
But undoubtedly there are individuals for whom, in
spite or even by reason of their lively compassion, all that
is connected with death and suffering has a mysterious
attraction who, with inward opposition, and yet follow-
ing a dark impulse, occupy themselves with such things,
or at least with pictures and notices of them. Still, this
is not sadism, as long as no sexual element enters into
consciousness ; and yet it is possible that, in unconscious
life, slender threads connect such manifestations with the
hidden depths of sadism.
(h) Sadism in Woman.
That sadism — a perversion, though often met with in
men — is less frequent in women, may be easily explained.
In the first place, sadism, in which the need of subju-
gation of the opposite sex forms a constituent element,
in accordance with its nature represents a pathological
intensification of the mascuhne sexual character ; in the
second place, the obstacles which oppose the expression
of this monstrous impulse are, of course, much greater for
woman than for man. Yet sadism occurs in women, and
BEXUAL INCLINATION TOWARD THE OPPOSITE SEX. 113
it can only be explained by the primary constituent ele-
ment— the general hyper-excitation of the motor sphere.
Only two cases have thus far been scientifically studied.
Case 39. A married man presented himself with
numerous scars of cuts on his arms. He told their origin
as follows : When he wished to approach his wife, who
was young and somewhat "nervous," he first had to
make a cut in his arm. Then she would suck the wound
and during the act become violently excited sexually.
This case recalls the widespread legend of the vam-
pires, the origin of which may perhaps be referred to such
sadistic facts.^
In a second case of feminine sadism, for which I am
indebted to Dr. Moll, of Berlin, by the side of the perverse
impulse, as so frequently happens, there is anaesthesia in
the normal activities of sexual life ; and there are also
traces of masochism (v. infra).
Case 40. Mrs. H., of H., aged twenty-six, comes of a
family in which nervous or mental diseases are said not to
have been observed ; but the patient herself presents signs of
hysteria and neurasthenia. Although married eight years
and the mother of a child, Mrs. H. never had desire to
perform coitus. Very strictly educated as a young girl,
until her marriage she remained almost innocent of any
knowledge of sexual matters. She has menstruated
regularly since her fifteenth year. Essential abnormality
of the genitals is not apparent. To the patient coitus is
not only not a pleasure, but even an unpleasant act, and
repugnance to it has constantly increased. The patient
^ The legend is especially spread throughout the Balkan peninsula^
Among the modern Greeks it has its origin in the myth of the lainia and
marniolykes — blood-sucking women. Goethe made use of this in his " Bride
of Corinth ". The verses referring to vampirism, " suck thy heart's blood,"
etc., can be thoroughly understood only when conapared with their ancient
sources.
8
114 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
cannot understand how any one can call such an act the
greatest delight of love, which to her is something far
sublimer and unconnected with sensual impulse. At the
same time it should be mentioned that the patient really
loves her husband. In kissing him, too, she experiences
a decided pleasure, which she cannot exactly describe.
But she cannot conceive how the genitals can have
anything to do with love. In other respects Mrs. H. is
a decidedly intelligent woman of feminine character.
Si oscula dat conjugi, magnam voluptatem percipit in
mordendo eum. Gratissimam ei esset conjugem mordere
eo modo ut sanguis fluat. Contenta esset, si loco coitus
morderetur a conjuge ipssoque eum mordere licerut.
Tamen earn poeniteret, si morsu magnum dolorem faccret
(Dr. Moll).
In history there are examples of famous women who,
to some extent, had sadistic instincts. These Messalinas
are particularly characterised by their thirst for power,
lust, and cruelty. Among them are Valeria Messalina
herself, and Catherine de' Medici, the instigator of the
Massacre of St. Bartholomew, whose greatest pleasure
was to have the ladies of her court whipped before her
eyes, etc.^ (Confer above, pp. 111-11'2.)
1 The gifted Henry von Kleist, who was beyond doubt mentally abnor-
mal, gives a masterly portrayal of complete feminine sadism in his
" Peuthesilea ". In scene xxii., Kleist describes his heroine pursuing
Achilles in the fire of love, and when he is betrayed into her hands, she
tears him with lustful, murderous fury into pieces, and sets her dogs on
him: " She strikes, tearing the armour from his body, her teeth in his
white breast — she and her dogs, the rivals, Oxus and Sphynx — they on
the right side, she on the left ; and as I approached blood dripped from
her hands and mouth." And later, when Penthesilea becomes satiated :
" Did I kiss him to death ? No. Did I not kiss him ? Torn in pieces ?
Then it was a mistake ; kissing rhymes with biting [in German, Kiisse,
Bisse], and one who loves with the whole heart might easily mistake the
one for the other." In recent litei-at.ure we find the matter frequently
treated, but particularly in Sitcli,cr-Masoch's novels, which are hereafter to
be alluded to, and in Ernest von WiLlenbriich's " Brunhilde," Rachilde's
"La Marquise de Sade," etc.
MASOCHISM. 115
2. The Association of Passively Endured Cruelty and
Violence witii Lust — IVlasochism,^
Masochism is the opposite of sadism. While the
latter is the desire to cause pain and use force, the former
is the wish to suffer pain and be subjected to force.
By masochism I understand a pecuhar perversion of
the psychical vita sexualis in which the mdividual affected,
in sexual feehng and thought, is controlled by the idea of
being completely and unconditionally subject to the will
of a person of the opposite sex ; of being treated by this
person as by a master, humiliated and abused- This idea
is coloured by lustful feeling; the masocbist lives in
fancies, in which he creates situations of this kind and
often attempts to realise them. By this perversion his
sexual instinct is often made more or less insensible to the
normal charms of the opposite sex — incapable of a normal
vita sextialis — psychically impotent. But this psychical
impotence does not in any way depend upon a horror sexus
alterius, but upon the fact that this perverse instinct finds
an adequate satisfaction differing from the normal — in
woman, to be sure, but not in coitus.
But cases also occur in which with the perverse im-
pulse there is still some sensibility to normal stimuli, and
intercourse under normal conditions takes place. In other
cases the impotence is not purely psychical, but physical,
i.e., spinal ; for this perversion, like almost all other per-
versions of the sexual instinct, is developed only on the
basis of a psychopathic and, for the most part, hereditarily
tainted individuality ; and as a rule such individuals are
given to excesses, particularly masturbation, to which the
difficulty of attaining what their fancy creates drives them
again and again.
1 So named from the writer, Sachar-Masoch, whose romances and
novels have as their particular ohject the description of this perversion.
Those novels caused the author of this book to make observations iu this
field and introduce the term Masochism, analogous to the expression
Daltonism, from Dalton, the discoverer of colour-blindness.
116 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The number of cases of undoubted masochism thus
far observed is very large. Whether masochism occurs
associated v^ith normal sexual instincts, or exclusively
controls the individual ; whether, and to what extent, the
individual subject to this perversion strives to realise his
pecuhar fancies or not; whether he has thus more or less
diminished his virilitv or not, — depends upon the degree
of intensity of the perversion in the single case, upon the
strength of the opposing ethical and aesthetic motives and
the relative power of the physical and mental organisation
of the affected individual. From the psychopathic point
of view, the essential and common element in all these
cases is the fact that the sexual instiiict is directed to ideas oj
subjugation and abtise by the opposite sex.
Whatever has been said with reference to the im-
pulsive character (indistinctness of motive) the resulting
acts and with reference to the original (congenital) nature
of the perversion in sadism, is also true in masochism.
In masochism there is a gradation of the acts from
the most repulsive and monstrous to the silliest, regulated
by the degree of intensity of the perverse instinct and the
power of the remnants of moral and aesthetic counter-
motives. The extreme consequences of masochism, how-
ever, are checked by the instnict of self-preservation, and
therefore murder and serious injury, which may be com-
mitted in sadistic excitement, have here in reality, so far
as known, no passive equivalent. Bat the perverse de-
sires of masochistic individuals may in imagination attain
these extreme consequences {v. infra, case 50).
Moreover, the acts to which masochists resort are in
some cases performed in connection with coitus, i.e., as
preparatory measures ; in others, as substitutes for coitus
"when this is impossible. This, too, depends only upon the
condition of sexual power, which has been diminished for
the most part physically and mentally by the activity of
the sexual ideas in the perverse direction, and not upon
the nature of the act itself.
MASOCHISM. 117
(a) The Desire for Abuse and Humiliation as a Means of
Sexual Satisfaction.
The following detailed autobiography of a masochist
gives an exhaustive description of a typical case of this
remarkable perversion : —
Case 41 . "I come of a neuropathic family, in which,
with all kinds of peculiarities of character and manner of
life, there are several abnormalities of a sexual nature.
My imagination has always been very lively, and was
very early directed to sexual matters. As far as I can
remember, I was much given to onanism long before
puberty. Even at that time my thoughts were, for
hours at a time, directed to intercourse with females.
But the relations in which I placed myself with the op-
posite sex were very peculiar. I fancied that I was a
prisoner and absolutely in a woman's power, and that
this woman used her power to hurt and abuse me in
every way possible. In this, whipping and blows played
an important part in my fancy, and there were many
other acts and situations which all expressed the condi-
tion of vassalage and subjection. I saw myself constantly
kneeling before my ideal, trod upon, laden with chains,
and imprisoned. Severe punishments of all kinds were
inflicted on me to test my obedience and please my mis-
tress. The more severely I was humiliated and abused
the more I indulged in these thoughts. (At the same
time I developed a great preference for velvet and fur,
which I liked to touch and smooth, and which likewise
excited me sexually.)
" I remember well that when a child I received many
actual whippings at the hands of females. They never
caused me any other feeling than pain and shame ; never
have I thought to connect such realities with my fancies.
A threat to punish me severely and correct me agitated
me painfully ; but in my fancy I assumed a desire on the
part of my " mistress " to enjoy my suffering and humili-
118 PSYCHOrATHIA SEXUALIS.
ation, which entranced me. I have never brought into
relation with my fancies the directions and commands of
the females who took care of me. I was early able to
discover the truth about the relation of the sexes ; but
this knowledge made no impression on me. The idea of
sensual pleasure remained connected with the fancies
with which it was originally associated. I also had the
desire to touch females, to embrace and kiss them, but
I looked for the greatest delight only in being maltreated
by them, and in situations in which they would cause me
to feel their power. I soon came to realise that I differed
from other men, and preferred to be alone and absorbed
in my dreams. In my boyhood, real girls and women
had but little interest for me ; for I saw no possibility of
having them act in the way I desired. On lonely paths
in the forest I whipped myself with branches that had
fallen from the trees, and allowed my imagination to play
in the wonted way. revelled in the sight of pictures of
commandiag women, particularly if, like queens, they
wore furs. I read everything relating to my cherished
ideas. ' Rosseau's Confessions,' which then fell into my
hands, were a great discovery. ' found a condition de-
scribed that resembled mine in every essential. I was
still more astonished at the similarity of my ideas to
those I found in the writings of Sacher-Masoch. I de-
voured them all with avidity, though the blood-curdling
scenes often outstripped my imagination, and then excited
my aversion. Later, in order to supply new food for my
fancy, I began to write descriptions of erotic scenes to
my taste, and to make drawings of situations which, up
to this time, I had drawn only in imagination. In this,
reality was wholly an indifferent matter to me. In the
presence of a woman I was devoid of every sensual feel-
ing ; at most, at the sight of a feminine foot a fleeting wish
would arise to be trodden upon by it.
"This indifference, however, was only in relation to
pure sensuality. In late boyhood and early youth 1 was
MASOCHISM. 119
suljjoct to an enthusiastic partiality for young girls of my
acquaintance, with all the extravagances common to this
youthful enthusiasm. But it never occurred to me to
connect the vi^orld of my sensual thoughts with these pure
ideals. I never had to overcome such a thought ; it never
occurred to me. This is the more remarkable, since my
lustful fancies seemed very strange to me, and unattainable
in reality, but in now^ise vile or obnoxious. This, too, was
a kind of poetry with me ; but it was divided into two
worlds — on the one hand was my heart, or, rather, my
aesthetically excited fancy ; on the other, my sensually
inflamed imagination. While my "elevated " feeling al-
ways had a certain young girl for its object, at other times
I saw myself at the feet of a mature woman, who treated
me as previously described. I never placed any lady of
my acquaintance in this role. In dreams the two spheres
of my erotic ideas recurred alternately, but never combined.
Only the images of the sensual sphere induced pollutions.
" In my nineteenth year I allowed myself, with outward
reluctance but with inward desire, to be taken by friends
to visit prostitutes. But there I experienced nothing but
repugnance and aversion, and left as soon as possible,
without having felt the faintest trace of sensual excite-
ment. Later, on my own initiative, I repeated the
attempt, in order to convince myself as to whether I was
impotent or not ; for I was much troubled by my un-
expected failure in the first instance. The result was
always the same — I felt no excitement at all, and had not
the slightest erection. In the first place, it was not pos-
sible for me to regard a real woman as an object of sensual
gratification ; and, furthermore, I could not i enounce the
conditions and situations which were the principal things
in sexualihus for me, and about which nothing could induce
me to say a word. Imissio penis — the act to be under-
taken by me — seemed to me absolutely senseless and
unclean. Again, in the second place, there was also my
repugnance for common women and fear of infection.
120 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
" In the meantime, in secret, my sexual life went on in
the old fashion. Whenever my old fancies came to mind,
violent erection occurred, and I provoked ejaculations
almost daily. I began to suffer with all kinds of nervous
troubles, and now regarded myself as impotent, in spite
of powerful erections and intense desire when I was alone.
Nevertheless, from time to time I continued my experi-
ments with prostitutes. In time I overcame my timidity,
and in part my aversion to contact with common women.
" After I had, with advancing years, overcome to some
extent my shyness and my inchnation to indulge in
dreams, in my sexual thought there was an approach to
the normal, as I began to direct my interest to real persons.
I was even successful in directing sensual thoughts to
women of my acquaintance, without carrying over any of
my peculiar ideas from the other sphere. Thus I had
some affairs with respectable girls. Embracing and kiss-
ing occurred ; desire was excited, but not the power — at
least, it was too weak to allow me to think that under
normal circumstances I should be virile. Of course, the
attention I gave to the excitation of my sexual power was
not calculated to favour this. Thus, always greatly ashamed,
I broke off the relations.
" My fancy no longer satisfied me. I went more fre-
quently with prostitutes, and after failures in coitus made
them to perform manustupration on me. I always anti-
cipated to realise by this act a more intense pleasure
than my fancies could convey, but met with disappoint-
ment. Whilst the woman undressed my eyes followed her
garments ; but although even these never had a strong
attraction for me, nevertheless, they excited me more than
the naked woman ever did. The real object of my interest
was the woman well attired. Velvet and furs were the
chief attractions, but also every other article of female
attire and especially the figure well outlined by lacing and
prominent hips. The nude woman only offered an object
of sesthetic interest. I was much enchanted by women's
MASOCHISM, 121
boots, especially those with high heels, because they
associated the idea of being trodden upon by them or
suggested my doing homage by kissing the foot.
" At last I overcame the last vestige of my shyness, and
one day, to realise my dreams, had myself w^hipped, trod
upon, etc., by a prostitute. The result was a great dis-
appointment. What was done to me I felt to be rough,
repugnant, and silly. The blows caused me nothing but
pain ; the situation, repugnance and shame. Nevertheless,
I induced an ejaculation mechanically, with which, by
the help of my imagination, T transformed the real situa-
tion into that for which I longed. This — the really de-
sired situation — differed from the actual, essentially, in that
I created in imagination a woman who abused me with
the same pleasure that I experienced in her maltreatment
of me.
" All my sexual fancies were built upon the assumption
of a woman of tyrannical and cruel disposition, to whom
I wished to be subject. The act expressing the relation
was a secondary matter to me. After the first attempt at
an impossible realisation, it was perfectly clear to me
whither my longings really drifted. To be sure, in my
lustful dreams, I had often passed beyond all ideas of abuse,
and conceived a commanding woman, with an imperious
mien, a word of command, a kiss on the foot, etc. ; but
now I fully reahsed what it was that attracted me, and
that flagellation was only the strongest means of express-
ing the principle, and in itself secondary, without value,
even painful and repulsive.
"In spite of this disappointment, after the first step, I
did not abandon my efforts to realise my erotic ideas. I
was confident that, when once accustomed to the new
reality, my fancy would find food in it for more intense
activity. For' my purpose I sought the most suitable
women, and instructed them carefully in a complicated
comedy. In this I occasionally found that the way had
been paved for me by predecessors of like disposition. The
122 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
value of these comedies, lor the effect of my fancy on my
sensuality, remained problematical. What these acts and
scenes did for me, in the way of intensifying the subsidiary
circumstances of the desired situation, caused a diminu-
tion of the intensity of the principal element, which my
unaided fancy without the consciousness of planned,
coarse deception, could more easily bring up before me.
My physical sensations, under the various punishments,
were changeable. The more perfect the self-deception,
the nlore perfectly the pain was felt as pleasure.
" Or, more correctly, the punishment was then con-
ceived as a symbolic act. From this arose the illusion of
the desired situation, which was then accompanied by an
intense psychical feeling of pleasure. Thus the perception
of the painful quality of the punishment was overcome.
The. j)rocess in the moral punishments — the humiliations
to which I subjected myself — w-as similar, but simpler ;
because it was confined to the mental sphere. These
were also attended with pleasurable feeling when the
self-deception succeeded. It was seldom, however, that
it succeeded well, and never perfectly ; there always re-
mained a disturbing element in consciousness. Therefore,
in the intervals, I returned to solitary onanism. Moreover,
in the other case, the conclusion of the act was usually an
ejaculation provoked by onanism ; often an ejaculation
without the aid of mechanical means.
" Thus I went on for many years, with diminishing
power, but with slightly diminished desire, and with the
power of my peculiar sexual idea over me unchanged.
And at present the condition of my vita sexualis is the
same. Coitus, which I have never performed, still seems
to me a strange and unclean act. I learned about it from
descriptions of sexual dissipations. My own sexual ideas
seem natural, and do not in the least offend my sensitive
taste. Their realisation, as previously mentioned, for
various reasons leaves me unsatisfied. I am pleased with
pretty girls and women of respectability, but for a long
MASOCHISM. 123
time T have ceased to approach them. I have never
attained, not even partially, a direct actual realisation of
my sexual fancy. As often as I have come into close
relation with females, I have felt the woman's will to
be beneath mine, never vice versd. I have never met a
woman manifestin;:,^ a desire of mastery in sexual thinf^s.
Women who wish to rule in the houseliold, and exercise
petticoat sovereignty, are entirely different from my
erotic ideals,
"My whole personality presents many abnormalities
besides the perversion of my vita sexualis ; my neuropathic
condition is expressed in many mental and physical
symptoms. Moreover, I think I recognise in myself an
original abnormality of character in the nature of a re-
semblance to the feminine type ; at least, I regard as of
this nature my great weakness of will, and my great lack
of courage in the presence of men and animals, which is
in contrast with my coolness in the face of peril. My
external appearance is entirely masculine."
The author of this autobiography sends a further
communication : —
" I always sought to find out whether the pecuHar ideas
that ruled me sexually were entertained by other men.
Ever since the first stories about it accidcntly reached
my ears, I have sought everywhere to learn of it. As it
is really a process of inner consciousness, it is, of course,
not easy to identify it, and it cannot always be done with
certainty ; but I assume the existence of masochism where
I find perverse sexual acts that cannot be explained except
by this dominating idea. I look upon this anomaly as
wide-spread.
" I have heard many stories about it from prostitutes
here in Berfin, and in Vienna; and I thus learned how
numerous my fellow-sufferers are. I am always careful
not to describe my own experiences, or ask whether tliey
124 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
know of such ; but I allow these persons to relate thei,
experiences just as they choose.
" Simple flagellation is so common that almost every
prostitute is familiar with it ; but cases of real masochism
are very frequent. The men, subject to this perversion,
submit themselves to the most refined cruelties. In this
they always act the same farce with the instructed prosti-
titutes — humiliating subjection of the man, treading upon
him, commands, threats, and scoldings that have been
committed to memory ; then flagellation, blows on various
portions of the body, and all kinds of punishment, pricking
with needles, etc. The scenes often end with coitus, but
more frequently with ejaculation without it. Twice pros-
titutes have shown me heavy iron chains with handcuffs,
which their patrons had made for their own use, and the
dried peas on which they kneeled, the seat studded with
needles on which they sat at command, and many other
similar things. Often the perverted man wishes the
woman to tie his penis so tightly as to cause pain ; to
prick it with needles, make cuts in it with a knife, or beat
it with a stick. Even the act of hanging is indulged in,
it being cut short at just the right moment. Others have
themselves scratched with a knife or dagger, but in the act
the woman must threaten him with death. In all these
things the symbolism of subjection is the most important
factor. The woman is usually called ' mistress ' ; the
man, * slave '.
"All these comedies with prostitutes, which to the
normal man appear as simple madness, are to the ma-
sochist only meagre substitutes. Whether there is such a
thing as a realisation of these masochistic dreams in love
relations or not, I do not know. If it occur, it is certainly
very rare, for this taste in women (sadism in women, as
described by Sacher-Masoch) is very difficult to find ; be-
sides, the expression of sexual abnormalities finds greater
obstacles in the modesty of women, etc., than in men. I
mj'self have never noticed the shghtest indications of any-
MASOCHISM. 125
thing of this kind, and have never been able to attempt
an actual realisation of my fancies. Once a man con-
fidingly told me of his masochistic perversion, and said
he had found his ideal."
The two following cases are similar to the foregoing : —
Case 42. Mr. Z., aged tv/enty-nine, technologist, came
for consultation because of fear of tabes. Father was
nervous and died tabetic. Father's sister was insane.
Several relatives are very nervous and peculiar. On closer
examination the patient was found to have sexual, spinal
and cerebral asthenia. He presented no symptoms of tabes
dorsalis. Questions concerning abuse of the sexual organs
brought out a confession of masturbation practised since
youth. In the course of the examination the following
interesting psycho-sexual anomalies were discovered : At
the age of five the vita sexualis began with the impulse
to whip himself, as well as with the desire to see others
whipped. In this he never thought of individuals as of
the one sex or the other. Faute de mieiix he practised
flagellation on himself, and, in time, this induced ejacula-
tion. Long before this he had begun to satisfy himself
with masturbation, and always during the act revelled in
imaginary scenes of whipping. After growing up he twice
visited brothels to have himself flogged by prostitutes.
For this purpose he chose the prettiest girl he could find ;
but he was disappointed, and did not even have an erec-
tion, to say nothing of ejaculation. He recognised that
the flagellation was subsidiary, and that the idea of
subjection to the woman's will was the important thing.
He realised this on the second trial. When he had the
" thought of subjection " he was perfectly successful. In
time, by strannng his imagination with masochistic idea,s,
he performed coitus without flagellation ; but he found
little satisfaction in it, so that he performed sexual in-
tercourse in a masochistic way. He found pleasure in
126 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
masochistic scenes, in the sense of his original desire for
flagellation, only when he was flagellated ad podicem,
or, at least, only when he called up such a situation in
imagination. At times of great excitability it was even
sufficient if he told stories of such scenes to a pretty girl.
He would thus have an orgasm, and usually ejaculation.
A very efl'ectual fetichistic idea was early associated
with this. He noticed that he was attracted and satisfied
only by women wearing high heels and short jackets
("Hungarian fashion"). He did not know how he
arrived at this fetichistic idea. Boys' legs with high heels
also pleased him ; but this charm was purely aesthetic,
without any sensual colouring ; and he said he had never
noticed anything homosexual in himself. The patient
referred his fetichism to his partiality for calves (legs).
He was charmed by ladies' calves only when elegant shoes
were on the feet. Nude legs — feminine nudity in general
— did not in the least affect him sexually. A subordin^ite
fetichistic idea for the patient was the human ear. It was a
lustful pleasure for him to caress the handsome ears of
people. With men this pleasure was slight, but with
women it gave him great enjoyment.
He also had a weakness for cats. He thought them
simply beautiful, and their movements were very attractive
to him. The sight of a cat could raise him from a feeling
of the deepest depression. Cats seemed to him sacred ; he
saw something divine in them ! He did not know the
reason for this idiosyncrasy.
Of late he also frequently had sadistic ideas about
punishing boys. In these imaginary flagellations both
men and women played a part, but particularly the latter,
and then his enjoyment was much more intense.
The patient found that, besides what he recognised and
felt as masochism, there was something else which he
preferred to designate " pageism ".
While his masochistic fancies and acts were entirely of
a coarse, sensual nature, his " pageism " consisted of the
MASOCHISM. 127
idea of being a page to a beautiful girl. His conception
was perfectly chaste, but piquant ; his relation to her that
of a slave, but absolutely pure — a mere platonic sub-
mission. This reveUing in the idea of serving such a
" beautiful creature " as a page was coloured by a pleasur-
able feeling, but this was in no way sexual. He experienced
in it an exquisite feeling of moral satisfaction, in contrast
with sensually coloured masochism, and therefore he could
l)ut regard it as something of a different nature.
At first sight there was nothing remarkable in the
patient's appearance ; but his pelvis is abnormally broad,
the ilia are flat, and the pelvis, as a whole, tilted and
decidedly feminine. Eyes, neuropathic. He also men-
tioned that he often had itching and lustful irritation at
the anus, and that there (" erogenous " area) ope digiti, he
could satisfy himself.
The patient was troubled about his future. Help would
be possible for him if he could but excite in himself an
interest in women, but his will and imagination were too
weak for that.
What the patient designated as "pageism" does not
differ in any way from masochism, as may be seen when
it IS compared with the following cases of symbolic
masochism and others ; and, further, upon the considera-
tion that in this perversion coitus is avoided as an
inadequate act, and from the fact that in such cases there
is often a fantastic exaltation of the perverse ideal : —
Case 43. Ideal Masochism. Mr. X., technologist, twenty-
six years old. Mother of nervous disposition ; suffers from
neuralgia. In the father's family a case of spinal disease
and one of psychosis. A brother suffers from nervous-
ness. Mr. X. had only slight infantile affections , he
learned easily at school, and developed normally He is
of manly appearance, but rather weakly and under
medium size. The descent of the right testicle ia im-
128 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
perfect, but may be noticed in the inguinal canal ; penis
is normally formed, but rather small.
At the age of five he felt sexual excitement whilst
swinging on the cross-bar with legs crossed, and stretched
out at full length. He repeated the exercise several
times, but forgot about the sensation until he grew up to
maturer age. He then tried to induce this pleasurable
feeling by repeating the exercise, but without success.
At the age of seven he took part in a general fight
between the pupils of the school which he attended, after
which the victors rode on the backs of the vanquished.
This impressed X. considerably.
He thought the position of the prostrate boys a pleas-
ant one, wanted to put himself in their place, imagining
how by repeated efforts he could move the boy on his
back near his face so that he might inhale the odour of
his genitals. These thoughts, coupled with pleasurable
feehngs, often recurred to him afterwards, although they
never occasioned real sensations of lust ; in fact, he con-
sidered these thoughts sinful and bad, and sought to
repulse them. He claims to have had no knowledge at
that time of sexual matters. It is remarkable that the
patient up to his twentieth year was periodically troubled
with eneuresis nocturna.
Up to the time of puberty these masochistic fancies
to lie under the thighs of others, boys as well as girls,
recurred periodically. Now the objects were chiefly
girls, but these exclusively when puberty was completed.
Little by little these situations gained a different mean-
ing, for soon the culminating point was the consciousness
to be absolutely subject to the will and whims of a fully
developed girl, coupled with corresponding humiliating
acts and attitudes.
For instance, X. says : —
"I am lying on my back on the floor. The mistress
stands over my head with one foot on my breast, or she
holds my head between her teet so that her genitals are
MASOCHISM. 129
directly in a line with my vision. Or she sits a-straddle
on my chest or on my face, using my body as a table. If
I do not obey her commands promptly she locks me up
in a dark W.C. and leaves the house to find pleasure
elsewhere. She introduces me to her friends as her slave
and turns me over as such to them as a loan.
" She makes me perform the lowest menial work, wait
upon her when she arises, in the bath et inter mictionem.
At times she uses my face for the latter purpose and
makes me drink of the voidance."
X. claims that he never practically put these ideas
into effect for fear of not realising tbe anticipated pleasure.
Once only he sneaked into the room of a pretty house-
maid ut tcrinam puellcB bib at j but he was too much dis-
gusted to carry out the purpose.
He states that he fought in vain against these
masochistic impulses, considering them of a painful and
disgusting nature. They are still prevalent. He points
out particularly that the humiliation conn'ected with these
imaginary acts is the principal attraction, and that the
pleasure derived from causing pain to others is never
associated with them.
He prefers as "mistress" a slender maiden of about
twenty years of age, with a pretty face, and wearing short
light dresses.
The ordinary intercourse with young women, dancing,
or mixed society, never impressed him.
With the period of puberty these masochistic ideas
were at times accompanied by pollutions, but only weak
emotions of lust.
At one time the patient resorted to friction of the
glafis penis, but he could not induce erection, much less
ejaculation, and instead of pleasure he produced disagree-
able paralytic feelings. This saved him from masturbation.
But after the age of twenty he often experienced lustful
emotions with ejaculation when performing gymnastic
exercises on the horizontal bar, or when climbing poles
9
130 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
or ropes. He never had a desire for sexual intercourse
with women or for inverted sexual actions. At the age of
twenty-six a friend urged him to coitus, but already on
the way to the house " anxiety, restlessness, and decided
disgust" crept over him. He became so excited, trembled
all over, and broke out into a profuse perspiration, that
he could not command an erection. Kepeated attempts
proved complete failures, but he was able to control his
mental and physical excitement a little better than the
first time.
Libido was never present. Masochistic imaginations
gave no assistance, because his mental faculties at such
times were "as if paralysed," and he " could not call
up those intense imaginary representations which he
found necessary for an erection". Thus he gave up all
attempts at coitus, partly because libido was absent,
and partly on account of his utter want of confidence
in success. Only now and then he satisfied his weak
sexual desires by the aid of gymnastic exercises.
Occasionally, however, spontaneous or superinduced
masochistic fancies (when awake) would cause erection,
but never ejaculation.
Pollutions occurred at periods of six weeks.
The patient is highly intellectual, of refined manners,
and a little neurasthenic. He complains that when in
society the feeling obtrudes itself constantly that he is
being observed. This causes him worry and embarrass-
ment, although he is fully aware that all this is naught
but imagination. He loves solitude, for fear that others
might find out his sexual abnormality.
This impotence does not cause him pain, for he has
scarcely any desire. Nevertheless he would consider the
cure of his vita sextialis a great boon, since so much
depends upon it in social hfe, and he would be more self-
possessed and manher when among others.
His present existence he considers a misery, and his
life a burden.
MASOCHISM. 131
Case 44. X.,man of letters, aged twenty-eight, tainted.
Sexually hyperajsthetic from childhood. At the age of six
he had dreams of being whipped ad nates by a wonmn.
Upon awaking, intense lustful excitement ; tlius he came
to practise onanism. When eight years old he once asked
the cook to whip him. From his tenth year, neuras-
thenia. Until his twenty-fifth year he had dreams of
flagellation or similar fancies when awake, and indulged
in onanism. Three years ago he had an impulse to have
himself whipped by a p^iella. The patient was dis-
appointed, for neither erection nor ejaculation occurred.
At twenty-seven, another effort, with the thought to
enforce erection and ejaculation. This was finally made
possible by the following artifice: While coitus was
attempted the puella had to tell him how she flogged
mercilessly other impotent men, and threaten him with
the same. Besides this, it was necessary for him to fancy
that he was bound, entirely in the woman's power, help-
less, and most painfully beaten by her. Occasionally, in
order to become potent, it was necessary to have himself
actually bound. Thus coitu& was possible. Pollutions
were accompanied by lustful feeling only when he (infre-
quently) dreamed that he was abused, or that he looked
on while one puella whipped the other. He never had a
real lustful pleasure in coitus. The only things in women
that interest him are the hands. Powerful women with
big fists are his preference. At the same time, his desire
for flagellation is only ideal ; for with his great cutaneous
sensitiveness at the most a few strokes are sufficient.
Blows from men were repugnant to him. He wishes to
marry. From the impossibility of asking a decent woman
to perform flagellation and the doubt about being potent
without flagellation spring his embarrassment and desire
to recover.
In three of the foregoing cases for the most part passive
flagellation serves him that is subject to this perversion of
132 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
masochism as an expression of the desired situation of
subjection to the woman. The same means is needed by
a large number of masochists. But passive flagellation is
a process which, as is known, has a tendency to induce
erection reflexly by irritation of the nerves of the buttocks.^
This effect of flagellation is used by weakened debauchees
to help their diminished power; and this perversity — not
perversion — is very common. It is, therefore, necessary to
ascertain in what relation the passive flagellation of the
masochists stands to those dissipated individuals who are
not psychically perverse, but physically weakened.
It is not difficult to show that masochism is some-
thing essentially different from flagellation, and more
comprehensive. For the masochist the principal thing
is subjection to the woman ; the punishment is only the
expression of this relation — the most intense effect of it
he can bring upon himself. For him the act has only a
symbohc value, and is a means to the end of mental satis-
faction of his peculiar desires. On the other hand, the
individual that is weakened and not subject to masochism
and who has himself flagellated, desires only a mechanical
irritation of his spinal centre.
Whether in a given case it is simple (reflex) flagella-
tion or masochism is made clear by the individual's state-
ments, and often by the secondary circumstances. The
determination depends upon the following facts : —
In the first place, the impulse to passive flagellation
exists in the masochist ah origine. The desire is felt before
there has been any experience of the reflex effect, often
first in dreams, as, for example, in case 46, v. infra.
Secondly, with the masochist, as a rule, flagellation is only
one of many and various punishments which come into
his mind as fancies and are often realised. In these other
punishments and the frequent acts expressing purely sym-
bolic humiliations which occur by the side of flagellation,
there can, of coarse, be no thought of a reflex physical
1 Cf. supra, Introduction, p. 35.
MASOCHISM. 183
irritative effect. Thirdly, it is significant that, in the
masochist when the desired flagellation is carried out, it
need have no aphrodisiac effect at all. Very often, indeed,
there is a more or less defined disappointment ; in fact,
always, if the masochist is not successful in his desire to
create by means of the prearranged programme the illu-
sion of the desired situation (to be in the woman's power),
so that the woman ordered to carry out the act seems to
be nothing more than the executive agent of his own will.
In reference to this important point, compare the three
foregoing cases and case 48.
Between masochism and simple (reflex) flagellation,
there is a relation somewhat analagous to that existing
between contrary sexual instinct and acquired pederasty.
It does not lessen the value of this opinion that, in the
masochist, the flagellation may also have the known reflex
effect ; or that a whipping received in childhood may have
aroused lust for the first time, and thus simultaneously
excited the latent masochistically constituted vita sexualis.
In this event, the case must be characterised by the con-
ditions mentioned above under the heads of ''secondly"
and " thirdly," in order to be masochistic. If the details
of the origin of the case are not known, other circum-
stances, such as those mentioned above under " secondly "
would make it clearly masochistic. This is illustrated in
the following two cases : —
Case 45. A patient of Tamoivsky' s had a person in
his confidence rent a house during his attacks, and instruct
its perso7mel (three prostitutes) in what was to be done
with him. Whenever he came there he was undressed,
manustuprated, and flagellated as ordered. He pretended
to offer resistance, and begged for mercy; then, as
ordered, he was allowed to eat and sleep. But in spite
of protest he was kept there, and beaten if he did not sub-
mit. Thus the affair would go on for some days. When
the attack was over he was dismissed, and he returned to
134 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
his wife and children, who had no suspicion of his disease.
The attacks occurred once or twice a year (Taniowshy ,
op. cit.).
Case 46. X., aged thirty-four, greatly predisposed,
suffers with antipathic sexual instinct. For various rea-
sons he had no opportunity to satisfy himself with men,
in spite of great sexual desire. Occasionally he dreamed
that a woman whipped him, and then had a pollution.
Through this dream he came to have prostitutes beat
him as a substitute for love with men. Occasionally he
would obtain a prostitute, undress himself completely
(while she was not to take off her chemise), and have her
tread upon him, whip and beat him. Qua re summa
libidine affectus j^cdem femincz lambit quod solum eum lihidino-
siim facer e potest : turn ejaculationem assequitur. Then dis-
gust at the morally debasing situation occurred, and he
retired as quickly as possible.
Cases occur, however, in which passive flagellation
alone constitutes the entire content of the masochistic
fancies, without other ideas of humiliation, etc., and
without well-defined consciousness of the real nature of
this expression of submission. Such cases are difficult to
differentiate from those of simple reflex flagellation. A
knowledge of the primary origin of the desire, before any
experience of reflex stimuli {v. supra, under ''first"), is the
only thing that renders the differential diagnosis certain,
if weighed with the circumstance that genuine masochists
are perverse from early youth, and that the realisation of
their desires is scarcely ever accomplished or proves a
disappointment {v. sitjjra, under '" thirdly ") ; for the whole
thing chiefly belongs to the realm of imagination.
The following is a case of typical masochism in which
the whole circle of ideas peculiar to this perversion
appears completely developed. This case, in which there
is a detailed personal description of the whole psychical
MASOCHISM. 135
state, is different from case 41 only in that there is here
no thought of a reahsation of the perverse fancies, and
that, notwithstanding the perversion of the vita sexualis,
normal stimuli are so far effectual that sexual intercourse
is really possible under normal conditions.
Case 47. "I am thirty-five years old, mentally and
physically normal. Among all my relatives, in the direct
as well as in the lateral line, I know of no case of mental
disorder. My father, who at my birth was thirty years
old, as far as I know had a preference for voluptuous, large
women.
" Eveji in my early childhood I loved to revel in ideas
about the absolute mastery of one man over others. The
thought of slavery had something exciting in it for me,
ahke whether from the standpoint of master or servant.
That one man could possess, sell or whip another, caused me
intense excitement ; and in reading ' Uncle Tom's Cabin '
(which I read at about the beginning of puberty) I had
erections. Particularly exciting for me was the thought
of a man being hitched up to a waggon in which another
man sat with a whip, driving and whipping him. Until
my twentieth year these ideas were purely objective and
sexless — i.e., the one in subjugation in my fancy was
another (not myself), and the master was not necessarily a
woman. These ideas were, therefore, without effect on my
sexual desires — i.e., on the way in which they took practi-
cal shape. Although these ideas caused erections, yet I
have never masturbated in my life, and from my nine-
teenth year I had coitus without the help of these ideas
and without any relation to them. I always had a great
preference for elderly, voluptuous, large women, though I
did not scorn younger ones.
" After my twenty-first year myideas became objective,
and it became an essential thing that the ' mistress '
should be a woman over forty years old, tall and power-
ful. From this tirne I was always in my fancies the subject :
136 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
the 'mistress' was a rough woman, who made use of
me in every way, also sexually ; who harnessed me before
a carriage and made me take her for a drive, whom I
must follow like a dog, at whose feet I must lie naked
and be punished — i.e., whipped — by her. This was the
constant element in my ideas, around which all others
were grouped. In these fancies I always found endless
pleasurable comfort which caused erection, but never
ejaculation. As a result of the induced sexual excitement,
I would immediately seek a woman, preferably one corre-
sponding exteriorly with my ideal, and have coitus with
her without any actual aid of my fancies, and some-
times also without any thought of them during the act.
I had, however, also inclination toward women of a
different kind, and had coitus with them without being
impelled to it by my fancy,
" Notwithstanding all this, my life was not exceedingly
abnormal sexually ; yet these ideas were certain to occur
periodically, and they have remained essentially un-
changed. With growing sexual desire, the intervals
constantly grew shorter. At the present time the attacks
come every two or three weeks. If I previously were to
have coitus, the occurrence of the fancies would, perhaps,
be postponed. I have never attempted to realise my very
definite and characteristic ideas — i.e., to connect them
with the world without me — but I have contented myself
with reveUing in the thoughts, because I was convinced
that my ideal would not allow even an approach to
realisation. The thought of a comedy with paid pros-
titutes always seemed so silly and purposeless, for a person
hired by me could never take the place in my imagi))ation
of a 'cruel mistress'. I doubt whether there are sadis-
tically constituted . women like Sacher-Masoch's heroines.
But, if there were such women, and I had the fortune (!)
to find" one, still, in a world of reality, intercourse with her
would ever seem only a farce to me. Indeed, I can say
that, were I to become the slave of a Messalina, I believe
MASOCHISM. 137
that owing to the other necessary renunciations my desired
manner of hfe would soon pall on me, and in my lucid
intervals I should make every effort to obtain my freedom
at all hazards.
"Yet I have found a way in which to induce, in a
certain sense, a realisation. After my sexual desire has
been intensely excited by revelling in my fancy, I go to a
prostitute and there call up before my mind's eye with
great intensity some scene of the kind mentioned, in
which I play the principal role After thinking of such
a situation for about half an hour, with a constantly re-
sulting erection, I perform coitus with increased lustful
pleasure and strong ejaculation. After the latter, the
vision fades away. Ashamed, I depart as quickly as
possible, and try not to think of the affair. Then for
about two weeks I have no more such ideas ; indeed, after
a particularly satisfactory coitus, it may happen that until
the next attack I have not even any sympathy whatever
with masochistic ideas. But the next attack is sure to
come sooner or later. I must, however, state that I also
have coitus without being prepared by such ideas, especi-
ally, too, with women that are acquainted with me and my
position, and in whose presence I abhor such fancies.
Under the latter circumstances, hoiuever, I am not ahoays potent,
while, with masochistic ideas, my virility is perfect. It does not
seem superfluous to add that otherwise in my thought
and feeling I am very aesthetic, and despise anything like
maltreatment of a human being. Finally, I will not
leave unmentioned the fact that the form of address is of
importance. In my fancies it is essential that the ' nu's-
tress ' address me in the second person {Du), while I
must address her in the third {Sie). This circumstance
of being thus familiarly addressed {Du) by a person so m-
cHned, as the expression of absolute mastery, has from
my youth given me lustful pleasure, and does to-day.
" I had the fortune to find a wife who is in everything,
but especially sexually, attractive to mc; though, as I
138 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
scarcely need say, she in no way resembles my masochistic
ideals. She is gentle, but voluptuous, for without the
latter characteristic I cannot conceive such a thing as
sexual charm. The first few months of married life were
normal sexually ; the masochistic attacks did not occur,
and I had almost lost all thought of masochism Then
came the first confinement and the necessary abstinence.
Punctually, then, with the occurrence of libido came the
masochistic fancies again, which, in spite of my great love
for my wife, necessitated coitus with another, with the
accompaniment of masochistic ideas. It is here worthy
of note that coitus maritalis, which was later resumed, did
not prove sufficient to banish the masochistic ideas, as
masochistic coitus always does. As for the essential
element in masochism, I am of the opinion that the ideas
— i.e., the mental element — are the end and aim.
" If the realisation of the masochistic ideas {i.e., passive
flagellation, etc,") be the desired end, then it is in opposi-
tion to the fact that the majority of masochists never
attempt realisation ; or when this is attempted great
disappointment occurs, or at any rate the desired satis-
tion is not obtained.
" Finally, I should mention that, according to my
experience, the number of masochists, especially in large
cities, seems to be quite large. The only sources of such
information are — since men do not reveal these things —
statements by prostitutes, and since they agree on the
essential points, certain facts may be assumed as proved.
" Thus there is the fact that every experienced prosti-
tute keeps some suitable instrument (usually a whip) for
flagellation, but it must be remembered that there are
men who have themselves whipped simply to increase
their sexual pleasure. These, in contrast with masochists,
regard flagellation as a means to an end.
" On the other hand, almost all prostitutes agree that
there are many men who hke to play 'slave' — i.e., like
to be so called, and have themselves scolded and trod upon
MASOCHISM. 139
and beaten. As has been said, the number of masochists
is larger than has yet been dreamed.
" A.S you can imagine, your chapter on this subject
has made a deep impression on me. I should like to
have faith in a cure, in a logical cure, so to speak, in
accordance with the motto : ' Tout comprendre c'est tout
guerir '.
" Of course the word cure is to be taken with some
limitation, and there must be a distinction made between
general feelings and concrete ideas. The former can never
be removed ; they come like a streak of lightning, are
there, and one does not know whence or how.
" But the practice of masochism in imagination by
means of concrete associated ideas can be avoided, or at
least restricted.
" Now the thing is changed. I say to myself : What !
you busy your mind with things which not only the assthetic
sense of others, but also your own, disapproves? You
regard that as beautiful and desirable which, in your own
judgment, is at once ugly, coarse, silly, and impossible ?
You long for a situation which in reality you can never
obtain ? This opposing idea has an immediate inhibitory
and undeceiving effect, and breaks the point of the fancy.
In fact, since reading your book (early this year) I have
actually not revelled in my fancy once, though the
masochistic tendencies have recurred at regular intervals.
" I must also confess that, in spite of its marked patho-
logical character, masochism is not only incapable of
destroying my pleasure in life, but it does not in the least
affect my outward life. When not in a masochistic state,
as far as feeling and action are concerned, I am a perfectly
normal man. During the activity of the masochistic
tendencies there is, of course, a great revolution in my
feeling, but my outward manner of life suCfers no change ;
I have a calling that makes it necessary for me to move
much in public, and I pursue it in the masochistic con-
dition as well as ever."
140 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The author of the foregoing lines also sends me the
following notes : —
I. "Masochism, according to my experience, is under
all circumstances congenital, and never acquired by the
individual. I know positively that I teas never sjMnked ; that
my masochistic ideas were manifested from my earliest
youth, and that, as long as I have been capable of think^
ing, I have had such thoughts. If the origin of them had
been the result of a particular event, especially of a
beating, I should certainly not have forgotten it. It is
characteristic that the ideas were present before there was any
libido. At that time the ideas were absolutely sexless. I
remember that when a boy it affected (not to say excited)
me intensely when an older boy addressed me in the
second person {Du) while I spoke to him in the third
{Sie). I would keep up a conversation with him and have
this exchange of address {Du and Sie) take place as often
as possible. Later, when I had become more mature
sexually, such things affected me only when they occurred
with a woman, and one relatively older than myself.
II. " Physically and mentally I am in all respects mas-
culine. I have a superabundant growth of beard, and my
whole body is very hairy. In my relations to the female
sex that are not masochistic the dominating position of
the man is an indispensable condition, and any attempt to
change it would meet with my energetic opposition. I
am energetic, if not over-courageous ; but the want of
courage is not manifest when my pride is injured. I am
not sensitive to events in nature (thunder storms, storms
at sea, etc.).-^
" Again, my masochistic tendencies have nothing femi-
nine or effeminate about them (?). To be sure, in these,
1 This difference of courage in the face of events in nature, on the one
hand, and in the face of conflict with will-power, on the other, is certainly
remarkable (c/. case 41, p. 117), oven though it is the only indication of
eSeminacy apparent in this case.
MASOCHISM. 141
the inclination to be sought and desired by the woman is
dominant ; but the general relation desired with her is
not that in which a woman stands to a man, but that of
the slave to the master, the domestic animal to its owner.
If one regards the ultimate aim of masochism without
prejudice, it must be acknowledged that its ideal is the
position of a dog or horse. Both are owned by masters
and punished by them, and the masters are responsible to
no one. Just this unlimited power of life and death, as
exercised over slaves and domestic animals, is the aim and
end of all masochistic ideas.
III. " The foundation of all masochistic ideas is libido,
and as this ebbs and flows, so do the masochistic fancies.
On the other hand, as soon as the ideas are present, they
greatly intensify the libido. I am not by nature exces-
sively sensual. However, when the masochistic ideas
occur I am impelled to coitus at any cost (for the most
part I am driven to the lowest women) ; and if these
impulses are not soon obeyed, libido soon becomes almost
satyriasis. One is almost justified in looking upon this as
a circulus vitiostcs.
" Libido occurs either in the course of time or as the
result of especial excitement (also of a kind that is not
masochistic — e.g., kissing). In spite of its manner of origin,
this libido, by virtue of the masochistic ideas it engenders,
is soon transformed into a masochistic and impure libido.
" Moreover, there is no doubt that external accidental
impressions, particularly loitering in the streets of a
large city, greatly intensify the desire. The sight of
beautiful and imposing female forms, in nature as well as
in art, is exciting. For those subject to masochism — at
least during the attacks — the whole external world be-
comes masochistic. The box on the ear administered by
the teacher to the pupil and the crack of the driver's whip
make deep impressions on the masochist, while they leave
him indifferent or annoy him when he is not in the maso-
chistic state.
142 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
IV. " In reading Sacher-Masoch it struck me that in
masochists now and then there was also an undercurrent
of sadistic feeling. I have now and then discovered in
myself sporadic feelings of sadism. I must remark, how-
ever, that the sadistic feelings are not so marked as the
masochistic. Apart from the fact that they appear but
seldom, and then only in a manner as accessories, these
sadistic fancies never leave the sphere of abstract feeling,
and, above all, never take the form of concrete, connected
ideas. The effect on libido, however, is the same with
both."
If this case is remarkable on account of the complete
development of the psychical state which constitutes
masochism, the following is noteworthy because of the
great extravagance of the acts resulting from perversion.
The case is also particularly suited to make clear the
reason for the subjection and humiliation at the hands of
the woman, and the peculiar sexual colouring of the
resulting situations : —
Case 48. Mr. Z., official, aged fifty ; tall, muscular,
healthy. He is said to come of healthy parentage, but
his father was thirty years older than his mother. A
sister, two years older than Z., suffers with delusions of
persecution. There is nothing remarkable in Z.'s external
appearance. Skeleton entirely masculine ; abundant beard,
but no hair on trunk. He characterises himself as a man
of sanguine temperament, who cannot refuse others any-
thing ; though irascible and quick-tempered, he is quick
to regret outbursts.
Z. says that he has never masturbated. From his
youth there have been nightly pollutions, in which girls
play a part, but the sexual act never. For example, he
dreams that a pleasing woman lies heavily on him, or that
as he lies sleeping on the grass she playfully walks up his
back. Z. had always been averse to coitus with women.
MASOCHISM. 143
This act seemed bestial to him. Nevertheless, he was
drawn to women. It was only in the society of beautiful
women and girls that he felt well and in his place. He
was very gallant, without being forward.
A voluptuous woman of beautiful form, and particu-
larly with a pretty foot, when seated, had the power to
throw him into intense excitement. He was impelled to
offer himself as a chair, in order " to support such grand
beauty ". A kick, a box on the ear from her, would be
heaven to him. He had a horror at the thought of coitus
with her. He felt the need to serve woman. He thought
how much ladies liked to ride. He revelled in the thought
how fine it would be to be wearied by the burden of a
beautiful woman in order to give her pleasure. He painted
the situation in all colours ; thought of the beautiful foot
armed with spurs, the beautiful calves, the soft, full
thighs. Every beautiful mature woman, every pretty
female foot, always excited his imagination ; but he never
betrayed the peculiar feelings that seemed to him abnor-
mal, and was able to control himself. But he felt no need
to fight against them ; on the contrary, it would have
grieved him to be compelled to give up the feelings that
had become so dear to him.
At the age of thirty-two Z. happened to make the
acquaintance of an attractive woman, aged twenty-seven,
who had been separated from her husband, and whom
he found in need. He took her and worked for her with-
out any selfish motive, for months. One evening she
impatiently demanded sexual satisfaction from him, and
almost used violence. Coitus was successful. Z. took
the woman, hved with her, and indulged in coitus moder-
ately, but coitus was more a burden than a pleasure ;
erections became weak, and he could no longer satisfy the
woman. She finally declared that she would not have
intercourse with him, because he only excited without
satisfying her. Though he loved the woman very much,
he could not give up his peculiar fancies. After this he
144 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
lived with her only in friendly relations, and deeply re-
gretted that he could not serve her in the way she desired.
Fear of how she would receive his propositions and a
feeling of shame kept him from confessing. He found a
substitute in his dreams. Thus, for example, he dreamed
that he was a proud, fiery steed, ridden by a beautiful
lady. He felt her weight, the bit he had to obey, the
pressure of the thighs on his flanks ; he heard her
beautiful, joyous voice. The exertion threw him into a
perspiration, the touch of the spurs did the rest, and
always induced pollution with great lustful pleasure.
Under the influence of such dreams, seven years ago Z.
overcame his reluctance, in order to experience such
things in reality. He was successful in creating suitable
opportunity. He speaks of it as follows: "I knew how
to arrange it so that on an occasion she would of her own
will seat herself on my back. Then I endeavoured to
make this situation as pleasant as possible, and easily
arranged it so that on the next occasion she said spon-
taneously, ' Come, give me a little ride ! ' Being of tall
stature, both hands braced on a chair, I made my back
horizontal, and she mounted astride, after the manner of
a man. I then did the best I could to imitate the move-
ments of a horse, and loved to have her treat me like
a horse, without consideration. She could beat, prick,
scold, or caress me, just as she felt inclined. I could
carry on my back persons weighing from sixty to eighty
kilos, for half or three-quarters of an hour, without inter-
ruption. At the end of this time I usually asked for a
rest. During this the intercourse between the mistress
and me was perfectly harmless, and without any relation
to what had preceded. After about a quarter of an hour
I was rested and placed myself again at the disposal of
the mistress. When time and circumstances allowed it,
I did this three or four times in succession. It sometimes
happened that I practised it both in the morning and
afternoon After it I never felt weary or had uncomfort-
MASOCHISM. 145
able feelings, but on such days I had very Httle appetite.
When possible, I liked best to bare my trunk, that I might
feel the riding- whip more sharply. The mistress had to
be decent. I liked her best in pretty shoes and stockings,
with short closed drawers reaching to the knee ; with the
upper portion of her person completely dressed, and with
hat and gloves."
Mr. Z. further says that he has not performed coitus
in seven years, but he thinks he is potent. The riding
was a perfect substitute for that "bestial act," even when
ejaculation was not induced.
For eight months Z. had determined to give up his
masochistic play, and had kept his determination. But
he thought that if a woman only moderately pretty were to
address him directly and say, " Come, I want to ride you,"
he would not be strong enough to withstand the tempta-
tion. Z. wishes to know whether his abnormahty is
curable, whether he is unworthy as a vicious man, or an
invalid deserving pity.^
Even in the foregoing series of cases, with other things,
the act of being walked upon has played a role as a means
of expressing the masochistic situations of humiliation and
pain. The exclusive and most extensive use of this means
for perverse excitation and satisfaction, which has caused
me to arrange a special group, because it forms the tran-
sition to another kind of perversion (vide infra (&), p. 159)
is shown in the following classical case of masochism,
reported by Hamvwnd (op. cit., p. 28) from an observation
by Dr. Cox ^ of Colorado : —
Case 49. X., a model husl)and, very moral, the father
of several children, has times — i.e., attacks— in which he
A similar case is related in the eighth edition (German) of this book.
Cf. there case 51.
2 " Transactions of the Colorado State Medical Society," quoted in the
" Alienist and Neurologist," April, 1883, p. 345.
10
146 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
visits brothels, chooses two or three of the largest girls,
and shuts himself up with them. He bares the upper
portion of his body, hes down on the floor, crosses his
hands on his abdomen,' closes his eyes, and then has the
girls walk over his naked breast, neck and face, urging
them at every step to press hard on his flesh with the
heels of their shoes. Sometimes he wants a heavier girl,
or some other act still more cruel than this procedure.
After two or three hours he has enough. He pays
the girls with wine and money, rubs his blue bruises,
dresses himself, pays his bill, and goes back to his busi-
ness, only to give himself the same strange pleasure again
after a few weeks.
Occasionally it happens that he has one of the girls
stand on his breast, and the others then turn her around
until his skin is torn and bleeding from the turning of the
heels of her shoes. Frequently one of the girls has to
stand on him in such a way that one shoe is over the eyes,
with its heel pressing on one eye, while the other shoe
rests across his neck. In this position he endures the
pressure of a person weighing about 150 pounds for four or
five minutes. The author speaks of dozens of similar cases that
are knoivn to him. Hammond presumes, with reason, that this
man had become impotent for intercourse with women ;
that in this strange procedure he found an equivalent for
coitus ; and that, when the heels drew blood, he had
pleasant sexual feehngs, accompanied by ejaculations.
The cases of masochism thus far described, and the
numerous analogous cases mentioned by those who report
them, form a counterpart to the previously described
Group "c" of sadism. Just as in sadism men excite
and satisfy themselves by maltreating women, so in maso-
chism the same effect is sought in the passive reception
of similar abuse.^ But Group "a" of the sadists — that
1 Instructive instances are given by Seydel, " Vierteljahrsschr. f. Ger.
Med.," 1893, Heft 2, pp. 275, 276.
MASOCHISM. 147
of lust-murder — strange as it may seem, is not without its
counterpart in masochism. In its extreme consequences,
masochism must lead to the desire to be killed by a person
of the opposite sex, in the same way that sadism has its
acme in active lust-murder. But the instinct of self-
preservation opposes such a result, so that the extreme is
not actually carried out. When, however, the whole
structure of masochistic ideas is purely psychical, in the
imagination of such individuals even the extreme may be
reached, as the following case shows : —
Case 50. A middle-aged man, married, and the father
of a family, who has always led a normal vita sexualis,
but who says he comes of a very nervous family, makes
the following communication : In his early youth he was
powerfully excited sexually at the sight of a woman
slaughtering an animal with a knife. From that time,
for many years, he had revelled in the lustfully coloured
idea of being stabbed and cut, and even killed, by women
with knives. Later on, after the beginning of normal
sexual intercourse, these ideas lost completely their per-
verse stimulus for him.
This case should be compared with the statements
made on page 123, according to which men find sexual
pleasure in being lightly pricked with knives in the
hands of women, who at the same time threaten them
with death.
Such fancies, perhaps, give the key to an understand-
ing of the following strange case, for which I am indebted
to a communication from Dr. Korber, of Rankau, in
Silesia : —
Case 51 . "A lady makes me the following communica-
tion : While still a young and innocent girl, she was
married to a man of about thirty years On their wed-
ding night he forced a bowl with soap into her hands,
148 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
and without any expression of endearment wanted her to
lather his chin and neck (as if for shaving). The inex-
perienced young wife did it, and was not a httle astonished
during the first weeks of married life to learn its secrets in
absolutely no other form. Her husband always told her
that it gave him the greatest delight to have his face
lathered by her. Later, after she had sought the advice
of friends, she induced her husband to perform coitus, and
had three children in the course of time (by him, she
states with every assurance). The husband is industrious
and reliable, but a moody man, with short temper; by
occupation a merchant."
It may be inferred that this man conceived the act of
being shaved {i.e., the lathering as a preparatory measure)
as a rudimentary, symbolic realisation of ideas of injury or
death, or of fancies about knives, like those the man pre-
viously mentioned had had in his youth, and by means of
which he had been sexually excited and satisfied. The
perfect sadistic counterpart to this case, looked upon in
the same light, is offered by observation 32, which is a
case of symbolic sadism.
At any rate, there is a whole group of masochists who
satisfy themselves with the symbolic representations of
situations corresponding with their perversion ; a group
which corresponds with Group " e " of " symbolic " sadists
just as the previously mentioned cases of masochism corre-
spond with the groups "c" and "a" of sadism. Thus,
just as the perverse longings of the masochist may on
the one hand advance to "passive lust-murder" (to be
sure, only in imagination), so, on the other hand, they
may be satisfied with simple symbolic representations of
the desired situations, which otherwise are expressed
in acts of cruelty, (this, of course, taken objectively,
goes much farther than the idea of being murdered, but
in fact not so far, owing to the determining subjective
conditions).
MASOCHISM. 149
With case 51 other similar cases may be here de-
scribed, in which the acts desired and planned by the
masochist have a purely symbolic character, and to a certain
extent serve to define the desired situation.
Case 52. {Pascal, " Igiene dell' amore ".) Every three
months a man of about forty-five years would visit a cer-
tain prostitute and pay her ten francs for the followinf^
act. The puella had to undress him, tie his hands and
feet, bandage his eyes, and draw the curtains of the
windows. Then she would make her guest sit down on
a sofa, and leave him there alone in a helpless position.
After half an hour she had to come back and unbind him.
Then the man would pay her and leave perfectly satisfied,
to repeat his visit in about three months.
In the dark this man seems to have extended this
situation of being helpless in the hands of a woman by
the aid of imagination. The following case, in which
again a complicated comedy in the sense of masochistic
desires is played, is still more peculiar : —
Case 53. {Dr. Pascal, ibid.) A gentleman in Paris was
accustomed to call on certain evenings at a house where a
woman, the owner, acceded to his peculiar desire. He
entered the salon in full dress, and she, likewise in evening
toilette, had to receive him with a very haughty manner.
He addressed her as " Marquise," and she had to call him
" dear Count ". Then he spoke of his good fortune in
finding her alone, of his love for her, and of a lover's
interview. At this the lady had to feel insulted. The
pseudo-count grew bolder and bolder, and asked the
pseudo-marquise for a kiss on her shoulder. There is an
angry scene ; the bell is rung ; a servant, prepared for the
occasion, appears, and throws the count out of the house.
He departs well satisfied, and pays the actors in the farce
handsomely.
150 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
A distinction must be made here between " symbolic "
and " ideal " masochism. In the latter the psychical
perversion remains entirely within the spheres of imagina-
tion and fancy, and no attempt at reahsation is made.
(Cf. cases 47 and 50.) Two other cases of ideal masochism
are quoted here. The first is that of an individual men-
tally and physically tainted, bearing degenerative signs, in
whom mental and physical impotence occurred early : —
Case 54. Mr. Z., aged twenty-two, single, was brought
to me by his father for medical advice, because he was
very nervous and plainly sexually abnormal. Mother and
maternal grandmother were insane. His father begat
him at a time when he was suffering severely from
nervousness.
Patient is said to have been a very lively and talented
child. At the age of seven he was noticed to practise
masturbation. After his ninth year he became inattentive,
forgetful, and did not progress in his studies, constantly
requiring help and protection. AVith difficulty he got
through the Gymnasium, and during his time of freedom
had attracted attention by his indolence, absent-minded-
ness, and various foolish acts.
Consultation was occasioned by an occurrence in the
street, in which Z. had forced himself on a young girl in a
very impetuous manner, and in great excitement had tried
to have a conversation with her.
The patient gave as a reason that by conversing with
a respectable girl he wished to excite himself so that he
could be potent in coitus with a prostitute !
His father characterises him as a man of perfectly
good disposition, moral but lazy, dissatisfied with himself,
often in despair about his want of success in Hfe, indolent,
and interested in nothing but music, for which he possesses
great talent.
The patient's exterior — his plagiocephalic head, his
large, prominent ears, the deficient innervation of the
MASOCHISM. 151
right facialis about the mouth, the neuropathic expression
of the eyes — indicate a degenerate, neuropathic individual.
Z. is tall, of powerful frame, and in all respects of
masculine appearance. Pelvis mascuhne, testicles weW
developed, penis remarkably large, mons veneris w^ith
abundant hair. The right testicle hangs much lower
than the left, the cremasteric reflex is weak on both sides.
The patient is intellectually below the average. He feels
his deficiency, complains of his indolence, and asks to
have his will strengthened. His awkward, embarrassed
manner, timid glances, and relaxed attitude point to mas-
turbation. The patient confesses that from his seventh
year until a year and a half ago he practised it, years at a
time, from eight to ten times daily. Until a few years
ago, when he became neurasthenic (cephalic pressure, loss
of mental power, spinal irritation, etc.), he says he always
found great sensuous pleasure in it. Since then this had
been lost, and the desire to masturbate had disappeared.
He had constantly grown more bashful and indolent, less
energetic, and more cowardly and apprehensive. He had
lost interest in everything, and did his business only from
a sense of duty, feeling very low-spirited. He had never
thought of coitus, and from his standpoint as an onanist,
he could not understand how others could find pleasure in
it.
Investigations in the direction of inverted sexual in-
stinct gave a negative result. He says he never was
drawn toward persons of his own sex ; he rather thinks
he has now and then had a weak inclination for females.
He asserts that he came to masturbate independently.
In his thirteenth year he first noticed ejaculations as a
result of masturbatic manipulations.
It was only after long persuasion that Z. consented to
entirely unveil his vita sexualis. As his statements which
follow show, he may be classified as a case of ideal maso-
chism, with rudimentary sadism. The patient distinctlv
remembers that at the age of six, without any cause, he
152 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
had "ideas of violence ". He was compelled to imagine
that a servant girl spread his legs apart and showed his
genitals to another ; that she tried to throw him into cold
or hot water in order to cause him pain. These " ideas of
violence " were attended with lustful feeling, and became
the cause of masturbatic manipulations. Later the patient
called them up voluntarily, in order to incite himself to
masturbation. They also played a part in his dreams ;
but they never induced pollution, apparently because the
patient masturbated excessively during the day.
In time, to these masochistic " ideas of violence "
others of a sadistic nature were added. At first they were
scenes in which boys forcibly practised onanism on one
another, or cut off the genitals. He often imagined him-
self such a boy, now in an active, now in a passive role.
Later he busied himself with mental pictures of girls and
women exhibiting themselves to one another. He revelled
in the thought, for example, of a servant girl spreading
another girl's legs apart and pulling the genital hair ; or
in the thought of boys treating girls cruelly, and pricking
and pinching their genitals.
Such ideas also always induced sexual excitement,but he
never experienced any impulse to carry them out actively
or to have them performed on himself passively. It
satisfied him to use them for masturbation. Since a year
and a half ago, with diminishing sexual imagination and
libido these ideas and impulses had become infrequent,
but their content remained unchanged. The masochis-
tic "ideas of violence" predominated over the sadistic.
Now, when he sees a lady, he has the thought that she
has sexual ideas Hke his own. In this way, in part, he
explains his embarrassment in social intercourse. Owing
to the fact that he had heard that he would get rid of his
burdensome sexual ideas if he were to accustom himself
to natural sexual indulgence, during the last year and a
half he has twice attempted coitus, though he only ex-
perienced repugnance, and was not confident of success.
MASOCHISM. 153
On both occasions the attempt was a fiasco. The second
time he made the attempt he felt such aversion that he
pushed the girl away and fled.
The second case is the following observation placed
at my disposal by a colleague. Even though it be aphor-
istic, it seems particularly suited to throw a clear light on
the distinctive element of masochism — the consciousness
of subjection, in its peculiar psycho-sexual effect : —
Case 55. Z., aged twenty-seven, artist, powerfully built,
of pleasing appearance, is said to be free from hereditary
taint. Healthy in youth, since his twenty-third year he
has been nervous and inclined to be hypochondriacal.
Although he brags of sexual indulgence he is not very
virile. In spite of associations with females, his relations
with them are limited to innocent attentions. At the
same time, his covetousness for women who are cold
toward him is remarkable. Since his twenty -fifth
year he has noticed that females, no matter how ugly,
always excite him sexually whenever he discovers any-
thing domineering in their character. An angry word
from the lips of such a woman is sufficient to give him the
most violent erections. Thus, one day he sat in a cafe
and heard the (ugly) female cashier scold the waiters in a
loud voice. This threw him into the most intense sexual
excitement, which soon induced ejaculation. Z. requires
the women with whom he is to have sexual intercourse to
repulse and annoy him in various ways. He thinks that
only a woman like the heroines of Sacher-Masoch's
romances could charm him.
Cases like this, in which the whole perversion of the
vita sexiialis is confined to the sphere of imagination — to
the inner world of thought and instinct — and only acci-
dentally comes to the knowledge of others, do not seem to
be infrequent. Their practical significance, like that of
154 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
masochism in general (which has not the great forensic
importance of sadism), is confined to the psychical im-
potence to which such individuals, as a rule, become
subject ; and to the intense impulse to solitary indulgence,
with adequate imaginary ideas, and all its consequences.
That masochism is a perversion of uncommonly fre-
quent occurrence is sufficiently shown by the relatively
large number of cases that have thus far been studied
scientifically, as well as by the agreement of the various
statements reported.
The works concerning prostitution in large cities
also contain numerous statements concerning this
matter.^
It is interesting and worthy of mention that one of the
most celebrated of men was subject to this perversion
and describes it in his autobiography (though some-
what erroneously). From " Jean Jacques Eousseau's
Confessions " it is evident that he was affected with
masochism.
Rousseau, with reference to whose life and malady
Mobius {" J. J. Eousseau's Krankheitsgeschichte," Leipzig,
1890) and Chatclain (" La folie de J. J. Eousseau," Neu-
cliatel, 1891) may be consulted, tells in his " Confessions"
(part i., book i.) how Miss Lambercier, aged thirty, greatly
impressed him when he was eight years old, and lived with
1 Leo Taxil {op. cit., p. 228) describes masochistic scenes in Parisian
brothels. The man affected witli this perversion is there also called
" slave ".
Coffignon (" La corruption a Paris ") has a chapter in his book entitled
" Les Passionels " which contains contributions to this subject.
The strongest proof of the frequency of masochism lies in the fact
that it openly appears in newspaper advertisements. For instance, the
following advertisement appeared in the " Hannoversches' Tageblatt."' 4th
December, 1895 : —
" Sacher-Masoch. 109,404. Ladies interested in the works, and who
embody the female characters, of this author are requested to send their
address, under No. E. 537, to the offices of this paper. Strictest discretion."
A similar advertisement appeared in the same number.
MASOCHISM. 155
lier brother as his pupil. Her solicitude when he could
not immediately answer a question, and her threats to
punish him if he did not learn well, made the deepest
impression on him. When one day he had blows at her
hands, with the feeling of pain and shame he also experi-
enced sensuous pleasure, that incited a great desire to be
whipped by her again. It was only for fear of disturbing
the lady that Rousseau failed to make other opportunities
to experience this lustful, sensual feeling. One day, how-
ever, he unintentionally gave cause for a whipping a,t Miss
Lambercier's hands. This was the last ; for Miss Lam-
bercier must have noticed something of the peculiar effect
of the punishment, she did not allow the eight -year-old
boy to sleep in her room any more. From this time
Rousseau felt a desire to have himself punished by ladies
pleasing to him, a la Lambercier, but he asserts that until
his youth he knew nothing of the relation of the sexes to
each other. As is known, Rousseau was first introduced
to the real mysteries of love in his thirtieth year, and lost
his innocence through Madame de Warrens. Till then
he had had only feelings and impulses attracting him to
woman in the nature of passive flagellation, and other
masochistic ideas.
Rousseau describes in extenso how he suffered, with his
great sexual desires, by reason of his peculiar sensuousness,
which had undoubtedly been awakened by his whippings,
for he revelled in desire, and could not disclose his long-
ings. It would be erroneous, however, to suppose that
Rousseau was concerned merely with flagellation. Fla-
gellation only awakened ideas of a masochistic nature.
At least in these ideas lies the psychological nucleus of his
interesting study of self. The essential element with
Rousseau was the feeling of subjection to the woman.
This is clearly shown by the " Confessions," in which
he expressly emphasises that " Etre aux genoux d'une
maitresse imperieuse, obeir a ses ordres, avoir des pardons
156 PSYCHOPATPIIA SEXUALIS.
a lui demander, etaient pour moi de tres douces jouis-
sances ".^
This passage proves that the consciousness of subjec-
tion to and humihation by the woman was the most
important element.
To be sure, Bousseau was himself in error in supposing
that this impulse to be humiliated by a woman had arisen
by association of ideas from the idea of flagellation : —
" N'osant jamais declarer mon gout, je I'amusais du
moins par des rapports qui m'en conservaient I'idee".
It is only in connection with the numerous cases of
masochism, the existence of which has now been estab-
lished, and among which there are so many that are in no
wise connected with flagellation, showing the primary and
purely psj^chical character of this instinct of subjection —
it is only in connection with these cases that a complete
insight into Bousseau's case is obtained and the error de-
tected into which he necessarily fell in the analysis of his
own condition.
Binet (" Eevue Anthropologique," xxiv., p. 256), who an-
alyses Rousseau's case in detail, justly calls attention to
its masochistic significance when he says : " Ce qu'aime
Rousseau dans les femmes, ce n'est pas seulement le
sourcil fronce, la main levee, le regard severe, I'attitude
imperieuse, c'est aussi I'etat emotionnel, dont ces faits
sont la traduction exterieure ; il aime la femme fiere,
dedaigneuse, I'ecrasant a ses pieds du poids de sa royale
colere ".
The solution of this enigmatical psychological fact
Binet finds in his assumption that it is an instance of
fetichism, only with the difference that the object of the
fetichism — i.e., the object of individual attraction (fetich)
^ " To be at the feet of an imperious mistress, to obey her orders, to bo
compelled to sue her for pardon, — these things are my most intense de-
light."
MASOCHISM, 157
■ — is not a portion of the body like a hand or foot, but a
mental peculiarity. This enthusiasm he calls " amour
spirihcaliste," in contrast with '' amour plastique," as mani-
fested in ordinary fetichism.
This deduction is acute, but it is only a term by
which to designate a fact, not a solution of it. Whether
an explanation is possible, will later occupy our attention.
There were also elements of masochism (and sadism)
in the French writer C. P. Baudelaire, who died insane.
Baudelaire came of an insane and eccentric family.
From his youth he was psychically abnormal. His vita
sexualis was decidedly abnormal. He had love-affairs
with ugly, repulsive women — negresses, dwarfs, giantesses.
About a very beautiful woman he expressed the wish to
see her hung up by her hands and to kiss her feet. This
enthusiasm for the naked foot also appears in one of his
fiercely feverish poems as the equivalent of sexual indulg-
ence. He said women were animals who had to be shut
up, beaten and fed well. The man displaying these
masochistic and sadistic inclinations died of paretic de-
mentia. {Lomhroso, "The Man of Genius".)
In scientific literature, the conditions constituting
masochism have not received attention until recently.
Tarnoivsky, however ("Die kraiikhaften Erscheinungen
des Geschlechtssinns," BerHn, 1886), relates that he has
known happily married, intellectual men, who from time
to time felt an irresistible impulse to subject themselves
to the coarsest, cynical treatment — to scoldings or blows
from passive or active pederasts or prostitutes. It is
worthy of remark that, as Tarnowsky observes, in certain
cases blows, even when they draw blood, do not bring the
desired result (virility, or at least ejaculation during
flagellation) by those given to passive flagellation. " The
individual must then be undressed by force, his hands tied,
fastened to a bench, etc., during which he shams opposi-
158 PSYCriOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
tion, scolds, and pretends to resist. Only under such
circumstances do the blows induce excitement leading to
ejaculation."
0. Zimmirmans work, " Die Wonne des Leids," Leip-
zig, 1885, also contributes much to this subject,^ taken
from history and literature.
More recently this matter has attracted fuller attention.
A. Moll, in his work, " Die Contrare Sexualempfin-
dung," pp. 133 and 151 et seq., Berlin, 1891, quotes a
number of cases of complete masochism in individuals of
inverted sexuality, and among them that of a man suffer-
ing with sexual perversion, who sent written instructions,
containing twenty paragraphs, to a man engaged for this
purpose, who was to treat and abuse him like a slave.
In June, 1891, Mr. Dimitri von Stefanowshy , Deputy
Government Attorney in Jaroslaw, Eussia, informed me
that, about three years before, he had given his attention
to the perversion of the vita sexualis designated "maso-
chism" by me, and called "passivism" by him; that a
year and a half previously he had prepared a paper on the
subject for Professor von Kowaleivsky for the Russian
"Archives of Psychiatry" ; and that in November, 1888,
he had read a paper on this subject, considered in its legal
and psychological aspects, before the Legal Society of
Moscow (printed in the " Juridischer Boten," the organ
of the society, in Nos. 6 to 8).^
V. Schrenck-Notzing devotes in his work " Therapeutic
Suggestions in Psychopathia Sexualis,'" (Stuttgart, 1892),
1 However, the domain of masochism must be sharply differentiated
from the principal subject of that work, which is, that love contains an
element of sufEerhig. Unrequited love has always been described as
" sweet, but sorrowful," and yyocis speak of " blissful pain " or " painful
bliss ". This must not be confounded, as Z. does, with the manifestations
of masochism, any more than should be the characterisation of an un-
yielding lover as "cruel". It is remarkable, however, that Hamcrling
(" Amor und Psyche," iv. Gesang) uses perfect masochistic pictures,
flagellation, etc., to express this feeling.
^C/. his recent paper on " Passivisimus " in the " Archives d'Anthro-
pologie Criminulle," 1892, vii., p. 294.
MASOCHISM. 159
several paragraphs to masochism and sadism and quotes
several observations of his own.^
(b) Latent Masochism — Foot- and Shoe-Fetichists.
Following the group of masochists is the very numer-
ous class of foot- and shoe-fetichists. This group forms
the transition to the manifestations of another independent
perversion, i.e., fetichism itself; but it stands in closer
relationship to masochism than to the latter, for which
reason it is placed here.
By fetichists {v. infra, 3) I understand individuals
whose sexual interest is concentrated exclusively on cer-
tain parts of the female body, or on certain portions of
female attire. One of the most frequent forms of this
fetichism is that in which the female foot or shoe is the
fetich, and becomes the exclusive object of sexual feeling
and desire. It is highly probable, and shown by a correct
classification of the observed cases, that the majority —
and perhaps all — of the cases of shoe fetichism, rest upon
a basis of more or less conscious masochistic desire for
self-humihation.
In Hammond' s case (case 49) the satisfaction of a maso-
chist was found in being trod upon. In cases 41 and 47
1 In later fiction, the psycho sexual perversion which forms the subject
of this study has been treated by Sacher-Masoch, whose writings, already
frequently alluded to, afford typical pictures of the perverse mental life of
men of this kind. Many affected with this perversion refer directly to the
writings of Sacher-Masoch, as is seen from the foregoing cases, as typical
descriptions of their own psychical condition.
In " Nana," Zola has a masochistic scene, and likewise in " Eugene
Rougon ". The latest "decadent" literature of France and Germany is
also largely concerned with the themes of sadism and masochism. Ac-
cording to voii Stefanowsky's statement, the modern Russian novel fre-
quently treats the subject ; but the statements of the writer of travels,
Johann Georg Foister (1754-1794) show that this subject also played
a role in Russian folk-lore.
Stefanowsky finds the type of passivism in an English tragedy by
Otway, " Venice Preserved," and refers also to Dr. Luiz, " Les FcUatores,
Moeurs de la decadence," Paris, 1888 (Union des bibliophiles).
160 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
they also had themselves trod upon ; in case 48, equus
eroticus, the person loved a woman's foot, etc. In the
majority of cases of masochism the act of being trod upon
with feet plays a part ^ as an easily accessible means of
expressing the relation of subjection.
Of the numerous established cases of shoe-fetichism,
the following one, reported by Dr. A. Moll, of Berlin,
which corresponds in many respects with Hammond's
case, but which is described in greater detail and is more
carefully observed, seems especially suited to show the
connection between masochism and shoe-fetichism : —
Case 56. 0. L., aged thirty-one, book-keeper in a city
of Wiirtemberg ; comes of a tainted family.
The patient is a large, powerful man, of ruddy appear-
ance. In general he is of a quiet temperament, but may
become very violent on occasion ; he says himself that he
is quarrelsome and dogmatic. L. is of a kindly disposition
and generous ; easily made to weep. At school he passed
for a talented pupil, with good powers of comprehen-
sion. The patient at times has congestion of the
head, but is otherwise healthy, except that he is much
depressed and melancholic as a result of his sexual per-
version, here to be described.
But little can be learned of any hereditary taint.
The following facts concerning the development of his
sexual life are gathered from the patient's own state-
ments : —
In very early youth — in fact, when he was eight or nine
years old — L. had the desire to lick his teacher's boots
like a dog. L. thinks it possible that this thought was
excited by once seeing a dog actually do this, but he can-
not state it with certainty ; and it seems much more likely
to the patient that the first ideas of this kind came in a
waking state, not in dreams.
1 The desire to be trod upon also occurs in religious enthusiasts (c/.
Turgenjew, " Sonderbare Geschichteu ").
MASOCHISM. 161
From his tenth to his fourteenth year he constantly
sought to touch the shoes of his fellow-pupils, and also
those of little girls ; but for this purpose he always chose
boys who had toealihy and prominent parents. One of these,
the son of a rich landed proprietor, had riding-boots ; in
the boy's absence L. took these in his hands, struck him-
self with them and pressed them against his face. L. did
the same thing with the elegant boots of an officer of
dragoons.
With arriving puberty the desire was transferred ex-
clusively to the boots of females. Thus, while skating,
the patient's attention was entirely occupied with putting
on and taking off skates for ladies ; but he always chose
only such women as were rich and prominent socially,
wearing elegant boots. In the street and everywhere L.
constantly looked for elegant boots. His love for them
went so far that he often put in his purse, and even in his
mouth, the sand and mud that bore their imprints. As a
boy of fourteen L. visited brothels, and he often visited a
cafe chantant solely to excite himself with the sight of ele-
gant boots (low shoes were less attractive). In his school
books and on the walls of closets L. drew boots. In the
theatre he saw nothing but the shoes of the ladies. For
hours at a time, in the street and on board steamboats,
L. would run after ladies wearing elegant boots; and he
thought with delight of how he might get a chance to
touch the boots. This peculiar love for boots remains un-
changed. The thought to have himself trod zcpon by ladies in
their boots or to kiss the boots gives L. the most intense sensual
delight. Before the windows of shoe shops he will stand
and stand, merely to look at the boots. He is particularly
excited by their elegance.
The patient prefers high-buttoned or laced boots with
high heels ; but less elegant boots, even with low heels,
also excite him if their wearer is a wealthy, distinguished,
and proud lady.
At the age of twenty L. attempted coitus; but "in
11
162 PSYCHOPATHIA SFXUALIS.
spite of the greatest efforts," as he beheves, he was not
successful. During the attempt the patient had no
thought of shoes ; on the contrary, he had first sought to
excite himself sexually with shoes, and he asserts that
too great excitement was to blame for his want of success
in coitus. Up to this time, being thirty-one years old, he
has attempted coitus only four or five times, and always in
vain.
On one occasion the patient, already much to be pitied
on account of his disease, had the misfortune to contract
syphilis. In reply to the question as to what he regarded
as the most lustful act, the patient said : "It is my greatest
delight to lie naked on the floor and have myself trod upon by
girls wearing elegant boots ; but, of course, this is possible
only in brothels ". Moreover, according to the patient's
statements, these sexual perversions of men are well known
m many houses of prostitution — a proof that they are nut
so very infrequent. The prostitutes call these men " boot
lovers ". But the patient has only very infrequently had
the lustful act actually performed, notwithstanding the
fact that it is most beautiful and pleasant to him. The
patient has no thoughts that impel to intercourse ; at
least not in the sense of immissio penis in vaginam — an
act that affords him no pleasure whatever. Indeed, he
has gradually developed a fear of coitus, which may be
sufficiently explained by his numerous unsuccessful at-
tempts ; for the patient says himself that his inability to
ccjmplete coitus embarrassed him exceedingly. The
patient has never practised real onanism. With the
exception of a few occasions on which the patient satisfied
his sexual desire by onanism with boots or in a similar
way, he is innocent of such satisfaction ; for, in the excite-
ment with boots, there is scarcely ever anything more than
erection ; at most, only a slight discharge of fluid takes
place slowly which the patient takes to be semen.
Simply a shoe, worn by no one, excites him when he
sees it, but not nearly as intensely as when it is worn by
MASOCHISM. 163
a woman. New shoes that have not been worn excite
him much less than those that have been used ; but they
must be free from wear and look as new as possible.
Shoes of this kind excite him the most. As has been
said, ladies' boots excite him when they are not on the
feet. Under such circumstances, in fancy L. creates a
lady for them ; he presses them to his hps and on his
penis. He would "die with delight" if a proud, respect-
able lady were to tread upon him with her shoes.
Aside from the previously mentioned characteristics of
the women (pride, wealth, social prominence), which, in
connection with the elegance of the boots, constitute an
especial stimulus, the patient is by no means indifferent
to the physical charms of the female sex. He is enthusi-
astic about beautiful women without thinking of boots,
but this love is not directed to sexual satisfaction. The
bodily charms play a part even in connection with the
boots ; a homely old woman, even wearing the most ele-
gant boots, cannot affect the patient. The rest of the
attire and other circumstances also play an essential ruh,
as is shown by the fact that elegant boots worn by proud,
distinguished women especially excite the patient. A
common servant girl in her working dress, even in the
most elegant shoes, would not excite him. Men's shoes
and boots no longer affect the patient, and he never in the
slightest degree feels himself attracted to men sexually.
Yet the patient has erections very easily. When he
takes a child in his lap, when he pats a dog or horse for
some time, when he travels on the cars, or when he rides, — ■
erections occur. In the latter case he thinks it is due to
the shaking. He has erections every morning, and he
can induce erection in a very short time by thinking of the
act with boots that is so pleasing to him. Pollutions for-
merly occurred frequently at night — about every three or
four weeks ; now they are more infrequent, occurring
once about every three months.
In his erotic dreams the patient is almost always
164 PSYCMOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
sexually excited by the same thoughts that excite him in
the waking state. For some time he thinks he has felt
ejaculation during erection; but he draws this conclusion
only from feeling a little moisture at the end of the penis.
Literature touching upon the sphere of the patient s
sexual ideas especially excite him. Thus, in reading
" Venus in Furs," by Sacher-Masoch, he is so excited ut
S2)cr7na stillaret. ' Moreover, with L., this kind of ejacu-
lation while reading is a decided satisfaction of his sexual
desire. My question, whether blows received from a
woman's hand would also excite him, the patient thinks
he would have to answer in the affirmative. The patient
has never made any such trial, but jplayful taps had, at
any rate, always been very pleasing to him.
It would afford the patient a particularly intense
pleasure if he were to be kicked by a woman, even
without shoes, and with bare feet. He does not think
that the blows, as such, would cause the excitement. But
rather the thought of being maltreated by a woman ; the
sanie effect might be obtained by scolding or actual blows.
Besides, blows and cross words had an exciting effect only
when they came from a proud and distinguished lady.
In general it is the feeling of humiliation and slavish subjection
that gives the patient lustful pleasure. " Were a lady,"
the patient tells me, " to command me to wait for her,
even in severe cold weather, I should, nevertheless, feel
sensual pleasure."
To the question whether boots in general produced
this feeling of humiliation, the patient answers : " I think
that this passion for self-humiliation has been concentrated
especially on ladies' boots, for it is symbolic of one's being
' unworthy to loosen the latchet of another's shoe ' ; and,
besides, a subject kneels ".
Women's stockings also have an exciting effect on
the patient, but only to a slight extent, and perhaps only
through awakening an idea of boots. The patient's pas-
sion for ladies' boots had coi:stantly increased, but of late
MASOCHISM. 165
years he thought he had noticed a diminution of it. He
seldom visits pubhc women, and is also more capable of
self-restraint. Yet this passion still rules him absolutely,
and every other pleasure is spoiled by it, A pretty female
boot could draw his eye away from the most beautiful
landscape. At the present time he often goes about at
night in the corridors of hotels, seeking elegant ladies'
shoes, which he kisses and presses against his face and
neck, but principally against his penis.
The patient, who is very well-to-do, a short time ago
went voluntarily to Italy, only with the thought of be-
coming the servant of a rich and distinguished lady
unacquainted with him ; but the plan failed. The patient,
who came only for consultation, has not yet been treated
medically.
The foregoing history reaches almost to the present
time, and m the interval he has sent me communications
by letter concerning his condition. It does not require an
extensive commentary. It seems to me to be one of the
best cases to illustrate the relationship between shoe-
fetichism and masochism as set forth by von Krafft-Ehing}
The principal charm for the patient, as he, without
leading questions, always emphasises, is his subjection to
a woman, who in pride and position must be as far above
him as possible {Moll, " Untersuchungen iiber Libido
Sexualis, Bd. i., 2 Theil, Beob. 36, p. 320).
Such cases are numerous in which, within a fully
1 However, against the theory that foot- and shoe-fetichism is a
manifestation of (latent) masochism, Dr. Moll {op. cit., p. 136) raises the
objection that it is still unexplained why the fetichist so often prefers
boots with high heels, to boots and shoes of a particular kind — buttoned
or laced. To this objection it may be remarked that in the first place the
high heels characterise the shoes as feminine, and in the second place,
that in spite of the sexual character of his inclination, the fetichist de-
mands all kinds of aeithetic qualities in his fetich (c/. case 88) ; also the
interesting theories advanced by Restif de la Bretonnc [himself foot-
fetichist], and quoted in Moll's work, np. ciL, pp. 493 and 499, footnote.
166 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
developed circle of masochistic ideas, the foot and the
shoe or boot of a woman, conceived as a means of humili-
ation, have become the objects of especial sexual interest.
Through numerous deforces that are easily discriminated
they form the demonstrable transition to other cases in
which the masochistic inclinations retreat more and more
to the background, and little by little pass beyond the
threshold of consciousness, while the interest in women's
shoes, apparently absolutely inexplicable, alone remains in
consciousness. Frequent cases of shoe-lovers, which, like
all cases of fetichism, posses^ forensic interest (theft of
shoes), occupy a position midway between masochism and
fetichism. The majority or all may be looked upon as
instances of latent masochism (the motive remaining
unconscious) in which the female foot or shoe, as the maso-
chist's fetich, has acquired an independent significance.
Next come two cases in which the female shoe pos-
sesses a subordinate interest, but in which unmistakable
masochistic desires play an important part (c/. case 41) : —
Case 57. Mr. X., aged twenty-five, parents healthy,
never sick before, places the following autobiography at
my disposal : " I began to practise onanism at the age of
ten, without ever having any lustful thoughts during the
act. Yet at that time — I am sure of this — the sight and
touch of girls' elegant boots had a pecuhar charm for me ;
my greatest desire was also to wear such shoes, a wish
that was occasionally fulfilled at masquerades. But I was
also troubled l)y a very different thought : my ideal was to
sec myself in a position of humiliation; I would gladly have been
a slave, and whipped ; in short, I wished to receive the
treatment that one finds described in many stories of
slavery. I do not know whether the reading of such
stories gave rise to my wish, or whether it arose spon-
taneously.
" Puberty began at the age of thirteen ; with the
occurrence of ejaculation lustful pleasure increased, and I
MASOCHISM. 167
masturbated more frequently, often two or three times a
day. From my twelfth to my sixteenth year, during the
act of onanism, I always had the idea that I was forced to
wear girls' boots. The sight of an elegant boot, on the
foot of a girl at all pretty, intoxicated me ; I inhaled the
odour of the leather with avidity. In order to smell
leather during the act of onanism, I bought a pair of
leathern cuffs, which I smelled while I masturbated. My
enthusiasm for ladies' leathern shoes remains the same
to-day ; only, since my seventeenth year, it has been
coupled with the wish to become a servant, to blacken shoes for
distingidshed ladies, to put on and take off their shoes for them, etc.
" My dreams at night are made up of shoe-scenes :
either I stand before the show-window of a shoe-shop
regarding the elegant ladies' shoes, — particularly buttoned
shoes, — or I He at a lady's feet and smell and hck her
shoes. For about a year I have given up onanism and go
ad jmellas ; coitus takes place by means of intense thought
of ladies' buttoned shoes ; or, if necessary, I take the shoe
of ihepuella to bed with me. I have never suffered from
my former onanism. I learn easily, have a good memory,
and h.ave never had headache in my life. This much
concerning myself.
"A few words about my brother: I am thoroughly
convinced that he is also a shoe-fetichist. Of the many
facts that demonstrate this to me, it is only necessary to
mention that it is a great pleasure for him to have a cer-
tain cousin (a very beautiful girl) tread upon him. As for
the rest, I might undertake to tell whether a man who
stands before a shoe-shop and regards the shoes on exhibi-
tion is a " foot-lover " or not. This anomaly is uncom-
monly frequent. When in the circle of my acquaintance
I turn the conversation to tlie question of what woman's
charm is, I very frequently hear it said that it is much
more in attire than in nuditv ; but every one is careful not
to reveal his especial fetich I think an uncle of mine is
also a shoe-fetichist."
168 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 58. Z., twenty-eight years, official, comes from
neuropathic mother. Father died early ; as to his family
and health no information is obtainable. Z. was from
early childhood nervous and impressionable ; began early
to masturbate on his own accord ; with puberty he became
neurasthenic, avoided onanism for a while, but was troubled
with pollutions very frequently; recovered somewhat at a
hydropathic institute ; experienced strong libido towards
woman, but never succeeded in coitus partly on account of
diffidence in his power, partly from fear of infection. This
upset him very much, especially as he relapsed faute de
mieux into his secret habit.
Z., during a searching consultation about his vita
sexualis, proves to be fetichist as well as masochist, and
reveals interesting relations between these two anomalies.
He asserts that since his ninth year he has had a weakness
for women's shoes. This, he claims, was caused by seeing
at that time a lady mounting a horse whilst an attendant
held the stirrup for her. This sight excited him very
much, it constantly recurred to his imagination, ever
increasing his lustful feelings. Later on his sensations
during pollution were connected with women in high
boots. Laced boots with high heels charm him most
especially when this idea is associated with the lustful
thought that a woman trod upon him with her heel, and
that he, whilst kneeling, kissed a woman's shoes. The
only interesting thing about a woman is her shoe. Im-
pressions of odour do not play any part in this. The
shoe as such is insufficient ; it must be worn by woman.
Whenever he sees a woman with laced boots he becomes
excited and masturbates. He believes that he could not
command virile power with any woman unless her feet
were clad with laced boots.
Faute do miciix he made a drawing of such a boot, and
whilst masturbating revels in gazing at it.
The following case is not only instructive because of
MASOCHISM. 1G9
the relations shown therein to exist between shoe-fetich-
ism and masochism, but is also of interest on account
of the cure of the vita sexualis brought about by the patient
himself.
Case 59. Mr. M., thirty- three years of age, of good
family, which on the maternal side for generations has
shown manifestations of psychical degeneration, extend-
ing even to cases of moral insanity. The mother was
neuropathic and characterologically abnormal. Himself
strong, well built, but neuropathic ; began as a small boy
to practise onanism spontaneously. When twelve years
of age peculiar dreams of being tortured, whipped and
kicked by men and women, especially by the latter. When
about fourteen a weakness for women's boots came over
him. They caused sexual excitement ; he was forced to
kiss and press them to him ; this produced erection and
orgasm, followed by masturbation. But these acts were
also accompanied by masochistic ideas of being kicked
and tortured.
He recognised that his vita sexiialis was abnormal,
and at the age of seventeen he sought a cure in coitus.
He found himself quite impotent. At eighteen another
attempt proved a failure ; he continued masturbation
assisted by shoe-fetichism and masochistic fancies.
At the age of nineteen he heard by accident a man
speak of flagellation by a girl as a means to bring about
virility. He now felt that he had found his remedy, and
hastened to carry out the advice just received, but was
completely disappointed. The whole situation disgusted
him so thoroughly that no erection resulted.
He made no more similar attempts, and satisfied him-
self in the accustomed manner. When he was twenty-
seven he met by accident a sympathetic and tjalante girl,
became intimate, and complained to her about his impo-
tence. She laughed at him, and said that at his age and
with his constitution this was impossible.
170 PSYCHOFATHIA SEXUALIS.
He gained self-confidence, but only after fourteen days
of the greatest intimacy and with the aid of shoe-fetichism
and masochistic fancies he obtained power. This lasted
several months. His condition improved, he could do
without the secret aids, and his abnormal fancies became
latent. Then for three years, on account of psychical
impotence with other women, he yielded again to mastur-
bation and his former fetichism. With his thirtieth year
he entered again upon sympathetic relations with another
girl ; but as he felt himself incapable of coitus without the
aid of masochistic situations, he instructed her to treat
him as her slave. She played her part well, made him
kiss her feet, whipped him with a switch, and trod upon
him. But it was all in vain. He only felt pain and
utter confusion, and soon had these assaults discontinued.
Ideal masochistic situations, however, aided him at times
to accomplish coitus.
But he found little satisfaction under these circum-
stances. Then he came across my book on " Psychopathia
Sexualis," and found out the real condition of his anomaly.
He wrote to his former acquaintance and entered again
upon intimate relations with her, but told her definitely
that the former absurd scenes of " slavery " must not be
enacted again, and that under no circumstances, even
though he request it himself, must she enter upon his
masochistic ideas.
In order to free himself of shoe-fetichism he adopted
the following plan. He bought a lady's elegant boot
and made daily these suggestions to himself whilst kissing
the boot repeatedly: "Why should I have erections
when kissing this boot, which is after all only a piece
of ordinary leather?" This practice Httle by Httle
stripped the object of its fetichistic charm. The erections
disappeared, and finally the boot impressed him only as
a boot. Intimate intercourse with the sympathetic per-
son ran parallel with this suggestive self-treatment, and
although at first he could not produce virility without the
MASOCHISM. 171
assistance of masochistic ideas, these latter gradually
disappeared.
He was so pleased with his cure that he came to thank
me for the valuable help he had found in the perusal of
my book, which had shown him the right way to remedy
his defect.
Since then he has written that he is completely cured,
that he meets with no difficulties in his sexual intercourse,
although from time to time masochistic representations
faintly reappear, without, however, leaving any impression
on his mind.
Case 60. Keported by Mantcgazza in his "Anthropo-
logical Studies," 1886, p. 110. X., American, of good
family, mentally and morally well constituted ; from the
beginning of puberty capable of being excited sexually
only by a woman's shoe. Her body and naked or
stockinged foot made no impression on him; but the
foot, when covered with the shoe, or a shoe alone, in-
duced erection and even ejaculation. Sight alone was
sufficient for him in the case of elegant shoes — i.e., shoes
of black leather, buttoning up the side and having very
high heels. His sexual desire was powerfully excited by
touching, kissing, or putting such shoes on his own feet.
His enjoyment was increased by driving nails through the
soles so that their points would penetrate his feet while
walking. 'This caused him terrible pain, but he had real
lustful feeling at the same time. His greatest enjoyment
was to kneel down before the elegantly clad feet of ladies
and have them step on him. If the wearer be an ugly
woman, the shoes would not affect him, and his fancy
would cool. If the patient had empty shoes only at his
disposal, his fancy would create a beautiful woman wear-
ing them, and ejaculation would result. His nightly
dreams were of the shoes of beautiful women. He con-
sidered the exposure of ladies' shoes in show-windows
immoral; while talk about the nature of woman seemed
172 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
to him harmless, but in bad taste. X. attempted coitus
several times without success, ejaculation never occurred.
In the following case the masochistic as well as the
sadistic element is in evidence (c/. " Torture of x\nimals,"
p. 109, under " Sadism") : —
Case 61. A young, powerful man, aged twenty-six.
Nothing in the opposite sex excites his sensual feehng
except elegant shoes on the feet of a buxom woman,
especially when they are made of black leather and have
high heels. The shoes without the wearer are sufficient.
It gives him the greatest pleasure to see, touch and kiss
them. The feminine foot, when bare or covered with a
stocking, has no effect on him. Since childhood he has
had a weakness for ladies' fine shoes.
X. is potent ; during the sexual act the female must
be elegantly dressed and, above all, have on pretty shoes.
At the height of sexual excitement cruel thoughts about
the shoes arise. He is forced to think with delight of the
death agonies of the animal from which the leather was
taken. Sometimes he is imp3lled to take chickens and
other animals with him to Phryiie, in order to have her
tread on them with her pretty shoes for his pleasure. He
calls this "sacrificing to the feet of Venus". At other
times he has the woman walk on him with her shoes on,
the harder the better.
Until the previous year it was sufficient — since he
did not take the slightest sensual pleasure in women —
to caress ladies' shoes that pleased him, thus attaining
ejaculation and complete satisfaction {Lombroso, "Arch, di
psichiatria," ix., fascic. iii.).
The next case reminds one of case 60, on account
of the interest in the nails of the shoes (as capable of
inflicting pain) ; and of 61, on account of the shght
acconipanying sadistic element : —
MASOCHISM. 173
Case 62. X., aged thirty-four, married; of neuro-
pathic parentage ; suffered severely from convulsions as
a child; remarkably precocious, but one-sided in develop-
ment (could read at age of three) ; nervous from childhood.
At the age of seven he manifested an inclination to finger
shoes, especially the nails of women's shoes. The mere
sight, but still more the touching, of the shoe-nails and
counting them, gave him indescribable pleasure.
At night he gave himself up to imagining how his
cousins had their measures taken for shoes ; how he
nailed horse-shoes on to one of them or cut her feet off.
In time the shoe-scenes came upon him during the day,
and involuntarily induced erection and ejaculation. Fre-
quently he took the shoes of female occupants of the
house ; and if he touched them with his penis he had an
ejaculation. For a long time, when a student, it was
possible for him to control his ideas and incHnations ; but
there came a time when he was compelled to listen to
female footsteps on the pavement, which, like the sight
of the nails being driven into ladies' shoes, or the sight
of shoes in the windows of the boot-shops, always swayed
him with feelings of lustful pleasure. He married, and
during the first months of his married life was free from
these desires. Gradually he became hysteropathic and
neurasthenic.
At this stage he began to have hysterical attacks when
the shoemaker spoke to him of nails in ladies' shoes or of
driving nails in the same. The reaction was still greater
if he chanced to see a pretty lady with shoes well beset
with nails. In order to induce ejaculation it was only
necessary for him to cut soles out of pasteboard and beset
them with nails ; or he would buy ladies' shoes, have
them beset with nails in the shop, and at home scrape
them on the ground, and finally touch them with the
end of his penis. Moreover, lustful shoe-visions occurred
spontaneously, in which he satisfied himself by masturba-
tion.
174 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
X. is otherwise intelligent, skilful in his calling, but
powerless in combating his perverse inclinations. He
presents phimosis ; penis short, expanded at the root, and
incapable of complete erection. One day the patient
allowed himself to masturbate when excited by the sight
of ladies' shoes beset with nails in front of the window,
of a shoe- shop, and this lecame a criminal {Blanche
" Archiv. de Neurologie," 1882, No. 22).
Keference may be made here to a case of inverted
sexuality, to be described later, in which the prmcipal
sexual interest was in the boots of male servants. The
desire was to be trod upon by them, etc.
Case 63. (Dr. Pascal, " Igiene dell' amore ".) X.,
merchant ; from time to time (but particularly in bad
weather) had the following desire : He would accost
some prostitute and ask her to go to a shoe-shop with
him, where he would buy her the handsomest pair of
shoes made of patent leather, under the condition that
she would put them on immediately. When this had
taken place, she had to go about in the street, walking
in manure and mud as much as possible, in order to soil
the shoes. Then X. would lead the person to a hotel,
and, almost before they had reached a room, he would
cast himself upon her feet, feehng an extraordinary plea-
sure in licking them with his lips. When he had cleansed
the shoes in this manner, he paid her and went his way
From these cases it may be plainly seen that the shoe
is the fetich of the masochist,^ and apparently because of
the relation of the dressed female foot to the idea of being
trod upon and other acts of humilation. When, therefore,
in other cases of shoe-fetichism, the female shoe appears
1 Cf. the observation of the author in the " Centralblatt f. d. Krank-
heiten der Harn-und Sexualorgane," vi., 7, referring to a masochist
troubled with shoe-fetichism which excludes all doubts in this respect.
MASOCHISM. ^ 175
alone as the excitant of sexual desire, one is justified in
presuming that masochistic motives have remained latent.
The idea of being trod upon, etc., remains in the depths
of unconscious life, and the idea of the shoe alone, the
means for such acts, rises into consciousness. Cases
which would otherwise remain wholly inexplicable are
thus sufficiently explained. Here one has to do with
latent masochism which may always be assumed as the
unconscious motive, when not infrequently the origin of
the fetichism can be proved to arise from an association
of ideas with some particular event, as in cases 93 and
94.
Such cases of desire for ladies' shoes, without conscious
motive and without demonstrable origin, are really in-
numerable.^ Three cases are here given as examples : —
Case 64. Minister, aged fifty. From time to time he
goes to houses of prostitution under the pretext of renting
a room. He enters it with a girl. Then he lustfully
regards her shoes, takes one off, osculatur et mordet caligam
lihidine captus. Ad genitalia denique caligam premit, cjacula
semen semineque ejaculato axillas pectusque terit ; then he
comes out of his sexual ecstasy. He begs the woman to
allow him to keep the shoe for a few days, and always,
at the appointed time, returns it with thanks (Cantaranot,
" La Psichiatria, v., p. 205).
Case 65. Z., Student, aged twenty-three ; comes of a
tainted family. Sister was insane; brother suffered with
hysteria virilis. The patient, peculiar from childhood, has
frequent attacks of hypochondriacal depression, tadiumvitcB,
and feels that he is being shghted. In a consultation on
account of mental trouble, I find him a very perverse
1 There is apparently a connection between foot-fetichism and the
fact that certain persons of this liind, whom coitus does not satisfy, or
who are unable to perform it, find a substitute for it in tritus membri inter
l^edes mulieria.
176 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
hereditarily predisposed man, with neurasthenic and hypo-
chondriacal symptoms. A suspicion of masturbation is
confirmed. Patient makes interesting disclosures concern-
ing his vita sexualis. . At the age of ten he was powerfully
attracted by the foot of one of his comrades. At twelve
he became an enthusiast for ladies' feet. It gave him a
delightful sensation to revel in the sight of them. At
fourteen he began to masturbate, thinking, at the same
time, of the beautiful foot of a lady. At this time he revelled
in the sight of the feet of his three-year-old sister. The
feet of other females that attracted him induced sexual
excitement. Only women's feet — no other part of them —
interested him. The thought of sexual intercourse with
women excited his disgust. He had never attempted
coitus. After his twelfth year he had no interest in the
feet of male individuals. The style of covering of the
female foot is indifferent to him ; it is only necessary that
the person seem to be sympathetic. The thought of
enjoying the feet of prostitutes was disgusting to him.
For years he had been in love with his sister's feet. If
he could but obtain her shoes, the sight of them power-
fully excited his sensuality. Kissing or embracing his
sister did not have this effect. His greatest delight was
to embrace and kiss the foot of a sympathetic woman,
when ejaculation would result with a lively pleasurable
sensation. Often he was impelled to touch his genitals
with one of his sister's shoes ; but he had been able, thus
far, to master this impulse, especially for the reason that
for two years (owing to progressive irritable weakness of
the genitals) the simple sight of the foot had induced
ejaculation. From his relatives it is ascertained that the
patient has a silly admiration for the feet of his sister ;
so that she avoids him and seeks to hide her feet from
him. The patient looked upon his perverse sexual impulse
as pathological, and was painfully affected by the fact that
his vile fancy had for its object his sister's foot. He
avoided opportunity as much as he could, and sought to
MASOCHISM. 177
help the matter by masturbation when, as in dreams
accompanied by pollution, ladies' feet filled his imaj^ina-
tion. However, when the impulse became too powerful
he could not avoid gaining a partial sight of his sister's
foot. Immediately after ejaculation he would become
angry with himself at having been weak again. His
partiality for his sister's foot had cost him many a sleep-
less night. He often wondered that he could still love
his sister. Although it seemed right to him that she
should conceal her feet from him, yet he was often
irritated because the concealment caused him to have
pollutions. The patient gives assurances, confirmed by
his relatives, of being moral in other respects.
Case 66. S., New York, is accused of being a street-
thief. Numerous cases of insanity in his ancestry ; father,
brother and sister mentally abnormal. At seven years,
violent cerebral concussion twice. At thirteen, struck
by a beam. At fourteen S. had violent attacks of head-
ache. Accompanying these attacks, or immediately after
them, peculiar impulse to take the shoes of female
members of the family — as a rule, only one at a time —
and hide them in some out-of-the way corner. Taken to
task, he would lie, or declare that he had no recollection
of the affair. The passion for shoes was unconquerable,
and made its appearance every three or four months.
On one occasion he attempted to take a shoe from the
foot of one of the servants, and on another he stole his
sister's shoe from her bedroom. In the spring two ladies
had their shoes torn from their feet in the open street.
In August, S. left his home early in the morning to go
to his work as a printer. A moment afterwards he tore
the shoe from a girl's foot in the open street, fled to his
place of work, and there was arrested as a street-thief.
He declared that he did not know much of his act ; that
it had come upon him like a stroke of lightning, at the
sight of the shoe, that he must possess himself of it, but
12
178 PSYCHOPATHIA SBXUALIS.
for what purpose he did not know. He had acted while
in a state of unconsciousness. The shoe, as he correctly
indicated, was found in his coat. In confinement he was
so much excited mentally that an outbreak of insanity
was feared. Discharged, he stole his wife's shoes while
she was asleep. His moral character and habits of life
were blameless. He was an intelligent workman ; but
irregularity of employment, that soon followed, made him
confused and incapable of work. Pardoned {Nichols, " Am.
Journal of Insanity," 1859; Beck, " Med. Jurisprudence,"
vol. i., p. 732, 1860).
Dr. Pascal (oj). cit.) has some similar cases, and many
others have been mentioned to me by colleagues and
patients.
(c) Disgusting Acts for the Purpose of Self- Humiliation and
Sexual Gratification — Latent Masochism — Koprolaipiia.
Whilst in the manifestations thus far described the
a3sthetic sentiment is at least, so far as appearances go,
saved, and the lustful situation is kept within the confines
of a symbolic or ideal character, there are many cases in
which the desire for sexual gratification by self-humifia-
tion before woman finds expression in acts which defile
the moral and assthetic feelings of the normal man.
Impressions obtained through the senses of smell and
taste, which in the normal man produce only feelings
of nausea and disgust, are made the basis of the most
vivitl emotions of lust, producing in the perverse subject
mighty impulses to orgasm and even ejaculation.
An analogy with the excesses of rehgious enthusiasm
can be even traced. The religious enthusiast, Antoinette
Bouvignon de la Porte, used to mix with her food excreta
in order to mortify herself {Zimmermann, op. cit, p. 124).
The beatified Marie Alacoque ficked up with her tongue
t]-ie excrements of sick people to " mortify" herself, and
MASOCHISM. 179
sucked their festering toes. The analogy with sadism is
also of interest in this connection because here also mani-
festations in the sense of vampyrism and anthropophagy
arising from disgusting appetites of the organs of taste
and olfaction produce lustful feelings (c/. case 59, Bichel,
Menesclou, L Beob. 18, 19, 20, 22). This impulse to dis-
gusting acts might well be named koprolagnia. Its
relations to Masochism (as a subordinate form) have been
indicated in case 43. The subsequent observation will
render them clearer.
In some cases it would appear as if the masochistic
element were unknown to the perverse subject and the
instinct for nauseating acts alone were present (latent
masochism). A striking instance of masochistic kopro-
lagnia (combined with perverse sexuality) may be found in
case 114 of the eighth edition of this work. The subject
of this case revels not only in the thought of being the
slave of the beloved, referring for this purposp to Sacher-
Masoch's " Venus in Furs," sed etiam sibi fingit amatum
poscere ut crepidas sudore diffluentes olfaciat ejimque ^tercore
vescatur. Deinde narrat, quia non habeat, qua confimjat et
exoplet, eoricm loco suas crepidas sudore infectas olfacere suoque
stercurc vesci, inter qua facta pene erecto se voluptate pertur-
bari scmenque ejaculari.
Case 67. Masochism — Koprolagnia. — Z., fifty-two years
of age ; high position ; father phthisical ; family claimed to
be untainted ; always nervous, only child, deposes to have
had peculiar emotions since he was seven, when by chance
"he saw the servants take off their boots and stockings
preparatory to scrubbing the floors of the house. Once
he begged one of the maids to show him her toes and
feet before she washed them. When he began going to
school and reading books, he felt forcibly drawn to litera-
ture which contained descriptions of refined cruelty and
tortures, especially when they were executed at the de-
mands of women. He simply devoured novels dealing
180 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
with slavery and bondage, and whilst reading them, he
became so excited that he began masturbation. What
excited him most was to imagine that he was the slave
of a pretty young lady of his acquaintance who allowed
him after a long walk, pedes lamherc,^ pracipue platitas et
spatia inter digitos. He thought of the young lady as
particularly cruel and enjoying tortures and whippings
meted out to him. These fancies were accompanied by
masturbation. At the age of fifteen whilst revelling in
such fictions, he let a poodle dog hck his feet. One day
he noticed how a pretty servant girl in his own house
let a poodle dog hck her toes whilst she was reading.
This caused in him erection and ejaculation. He per-
suaded the girl to let this happen frequently whilst he
looked on. After a while he took the place of the poodle
and ejaculated every time.
From his fifteenth to his eighteenth year he was at
a boarding-school and had no opportunity to practise such
evil habits. He was satisfied to excite himself every few
weeks with the perusal of literature treating on cruelties
committed by women, imagining all the time that he
was licking the feet of such women. This produced
ejaculation accompanied by the highest lustful excitement.
The female organs had never any attraction for him, and
he never felt sexually drawn towards men. When he had
attained puberty he solicited girls and had coitus with
them, but always sucked their feet before the act. He
would do this also, inter actum, and aske 1 the girls to tell
him with what cruelties they would afflict him in case
he did not lick their toes quite clean. Z. affirms that he
very often succeeded in this, and that the whole action
was .always pleasing to the girls.
He was especially attracted by the feet of well-bred
women that were deformed by narrow boots and had not
^This disgusting impulse is also referred to in case 68 of ttio eighth
edition of this work. It seems to occur especially with koprolaguists and
fetichists.
MASOCHISM. 181
been washed for several days, but he could stomach only
" slight, natural deposits, such as one may find upon the
feet of clean well-bred ladies, also discolorations from the
stockings, whilst sweating feet excited him only in imagin-
ation, but in reahty disgusted him". "Cruel tortures"
also existed for him only in imagination as a means to
excitement ; he abhorred them and never craved for them
in reality. Nevertheless they played a pre-eminent part
in his fancy, and he never neglected to mstruct the women
with whom he kept in masochistic touch how they were
to write him threatening letters. From the collection of
such letters placed at my disposal by Z. one is given here
because ii; clearly illustrates the line of thought and
sentiment : —
" Lambitor sudoris pedum mulierum ! I take the utmost
dehght m conjuring up the moment when you will Uck
my toes, especially after a long walk. A facsimile of my
foot I shall send you soon. It will intoxicate me like
nectar when you will lick up my s2idor pedum. And if you
will not do it voluntarily, I shall force you to it ; I shall
treat you as my meanest slave. You shall witness how
another favoritus s^idorem pedum mihi lamhit, whilst you
shall whine like a dog under the lashes of my servants.
I shall declare you outlawed. I shall find the most
exquisite pleasure in seeing you in pain, breathing your
last under the most cruel tortures, licking my toes in
extreme agony. . . . You challenge my cruelty— very well,
I shall crush you under my foot like a worm. . . . You
ask me for a stocking ? I shall wear it longer than usual.
But I demand that you kiss it and lick it; that you
soak the foot of it in water and then drink the latter.
If you do not carry out my pleasure absolutely, I shall
cliastise you with my riding-whip. I demand uncon-
ditional obedience. If you do not obey, I shall have you
whipped with the knout, I shall make you walk over
a floor well-spiked with sharp nails, I shall have you
bastinaded and cast to the lions in the cage. It will
182 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
give me the utmost delight to see how the wild beasts
enjoy your flesh."
In spite of such ridiculous tirades, ordered by himself,
Z. looks upon them as a means to satisfy his perverse
sexuality. These sexual monstrosities, which to him are
only a congenital anomaly, he does not consider unnatural,
although he admits them to be disgusting to the normally
constituted man. Otherwise he appears to be a decent
sort of a man with rather refined manners, but his other-
wise meagre aesthetic sentiments are overbalanced by
sensuality which gratifies his perverse desires.
Z. gave me an insight into his correspondence with
the Hterary champion of masochism, Sacher-Masoch.
One of these letters, dated 1888, shows as a heading
the picture of a luxuriant woman, with imperial bearing,
only half covered with furs and holding a riding-whip as
if ready to strike. Sacher-Masoch contends that " the
passion to play the slave " is widespread, especially among
the Germans and Eussians. In this letter, the history of
a noble Eussian is related who loved to be tied and
whipped by several beautiful women. One day he found
his ideal in a pretty young French woman and took her
to his home.
According to Sacher-Masoch, a Danish woman yielded
her favour to no man until he acted the part of slave to
her for a considerable time. Amantcs coagere solebat, ut
vedcs suos ct j)ocliccm lambeant. She had her adorers put
in chains and whipped until they obeyed her lamhmdo
-pedes. Once she had the "slave" fastened to her bed-
posts and thus made him witness her granting the highest
favour to another. After the latter left her she had the
fettered " slave " whipped by her servants until he yielded
lamherc podicem domina.
If these assertions were true which, of course, cannot
be accepted from the poet without definite proof, they
would constitute remarkable proofs of sadismus fcminarum.
At any rate they are psychologically interesting instances
MASOCHISM. 183
of thonc^hts and sentiments specific to masochism (my
own observations, " Centralblatt fiir Krankheiten der
Harn- mid Sexualorgane," vi., 7).
Case 68. Z., aged twenty-four ; Eussian civil servant ;
mother nem'opathic, father psychopathic. Z. is intelhgent,
of refined manners, physically normal, of pleasing appear-
ance and aesthetic tastes ; never had a severe illness.
Claims to have been of a nervous disposition from infancy ;
has like his mother neuropathic eyes and latterly suffers
from cerebral asthenic troubles. Perversio vita sexualis
causes him much worry, bordering on despair, deprives
him of self-esteem and tempts him to suicide.
What oppresses him is the unnatural desire recurring
every four weeks for mictio mulieris in os suum. As cause
he gives the following facts, interesting on account of
their genetic importance. When six years of age he put
his hand by accident sub podiccm jyucllcB who sat next to
him in school. This caused him pleasure and he repeatedly
did so. The memory of these pleasant situations strongly
aroused his fancy.
Puerum decern annorum serva educatrix libidine mota ad
corpus stium appressit et digiUtm ejus in vaginam introduxit.
Qimm postoa fortnitu digito ?iasum tetigit, odorc ejus valde
dclectatus fuit.
This immoral act developed into a lustful fancy
which made him believe vincUis inter femora imdieris
cumhere, coactus, ut dormiat sub ejus podice et ut bibat ejus
urinam.
With the thirteenth year these fictions disappeared.
At fifteen first coitus, at sixteen second, quite normal and
without fanciful representations.
Deficiente pccunia et magna libidine perturbatus mas-
tubartionc earn satiabat.
At seventeen perverse ideas recurred. They became
more powerful and he struggled against them in vain.
At eighteen he yielded to the impulse. Quum mulier
184 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
qttcedam in os ei minxit, maxivia voluptate affectus est. He
then had coitus with the vile woman. Since then, he
felt the necessity to repeat the disgusting act every four
weeks.
After indulging in this perverse action he was ashamed
of himself and disgust overcame him. Ejaculations ac-
companied the act but seldom, but it produced erections
and orgasm and whenever ejaculation missed, he gratified
himself with coitus.
During the intervals between these excessive impulses
he was quite free from perverse tlioughts and desires as
well as from ideal masochism and fetichistic relations.
Libido during these intervals is but slight and easily gratified
in the normal fashion without the assistance of perverse
fiction. He often travelled miles from his country seat to
the city to satisfy his cravings when these spells came
over him.
Again and again the patient — refined as he was and
disgusted with his own perversity — sought to resist the
morbid impulse, but in vain ; restlessness, anxiety, trem-
bling and somnolence made life unbearable, until he
found final release from the psychical tension in the gratifi-
cation of his morbid cravings at any price. He attained
this easily, but was at once overcome with self-reproach
and contempt for himself bordering even on tadium vitcs.
These mental struggles have enervated the patient and
he complains of debility of memory, absent-mindedness,
mental impotence, and cerebral pressure. His last hope
is that medical science may succeed in freeing him from
this monstrous affliction and in re-estabhshing his moral
self.
Other cases of Gantarano's (loc cit.) belong here {niictio
even defacatio puellcB ad linguam viri ante actum) consump-
tion of confects smelling like faeces, in order to become
potent ; and also the following case, likewise communi-
cated to me by a physician : —
MASOCHISM. 185
" A Eussian prince, who was very decrepit, was ac-
customed to have his mistress tm-n her back to him and
defecate on his breast ; this being the only way in which
he could excite the remnant of libido."
Another supported a mistress in unusually brilhant
style, with the condition that she ate marchpane exclu-
sively. Ut libidinosus fiat et ejaculare. possit excrementa
femincs ore excijjit. A Brazilian physician tells me of
several cases of defcecatio fcmincB in os viri that have come
to his knowledge. Such cases occur everywhere, and are
not at all infrequent. All kinds of secretions — saliva,
nasal mucus, and even aural cerumen — are used in this
way and swallowed with pleasure .; and oscula ad nates and
even ad anum are indulged in. Dr. Moll {op. cit., p. 135)
reports the same thing of a man affected with contrary
sexuality. The perverse desire to practise cunnilingus,
which is very wide-spread, probably has its root frequently
in masochistic impulses.
In the " Centralblatt fiir die Krankheiten der Harn- und
Sexualorgane," vi., 7, p. 355, I have given such a case of
masochism combined with . shoe- and foot-fetichism and
koprolagnia (desire for sudorem pedem and axillarum fcmmcB
for the fcetor ctmni et awi_ going as far even as to cunnilingus
et anilingtcs !) caused by indifference to coitus.
Evidently the case quoted by Cantarano (" La Psichia-
tria," v., p. 207) belongs here also, in which coitus is
preceded by morsus et succio of the woman's toes which
have not been washed for some time. Also a case
quoted by me in the eighth edition of this book, cf. ibid.,
case 68.
Stefanoiosky (" Archives de I'Anthropologie criminelle,"
1892, vol. vii.) knows of a Russian merchant qui valde
delectatus fuit bibcndo ea qua puella lupanarii jusso sua in vas
spuerunt.
Neri, " Archiv. delle psicopatie sessuali," p. 108:
Workman, aged twenty-seven, heavily tainted, tic in the
186 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
face, troubled with phobia (especially agoraphobia) and
alcoholism. Sumvia ei fit voluptas, si meretrices in os ejus
faces et urinas deponunt. Vinum supra corpus scortorum
effusum defi,uens ore ad meretricis cunnum adposito excipit.
Valde delectatur, si sang^dncm menstrualem ex vagina effluentem
sugere potest. He is fetichist of ladies' gloves and shppers,
osculatur calceos sororis, cujzis pedes sudore madent. Libido
ejus turn demum maxime satiatur, si a puellis insultatur, immo
vero verberatur, ut sanguis exeat. Dum verberatur, genibiis
nixus veniam et clementiam puellce expetit, dcinde masturbare
incipit.
Pelanda (" Archivio di Psichiatria," x., fascicolo 3, 4)
relates the following case : —
Case 69. W., aged forty-five, predisposed, was given
to masturbation at the age of eight. A dccimo sexto anno
libidincs suas bibendo recentcm feminarum urinam satiavit.
Tanta erat voluptas urinam bibentis ut nee aliquid olfaceret
nee saperet, hac faciens. After drinking he always experi-
enced disgust and ill-feeling, and made firm resolutions
to do it no more in the future. Once he had the same
pleasure in drinking the urine of a nine-year-old boy,
with whom he once practised /cZZa^w. The patient suffers
with epileptic insanity.
Still other older cases belong here, which Tardieu
(" ]j^tude medico-legale sur les attentats aux mcBurs," p.
206) observed in senile individuals. He describes as
" Renifleurs " persons " qui in secretos locos nimirum theatro-
rum piorticos convenientes q^co compilures feminoi ad micturiendum
festinant, per nares urinali odore cxcitati, illico se inviccm
jjolluunt'\ The " Stercoraires " that Taxll (" La prosti-
tution contemporaine ") mentions are, in relation to this
subject, unique,
Eulenburg relates farther monstrous facts belonging to
this section. Gf. Ziilzers "Klin. Handbuch der Harn-
und Scxualorgane,"' iv., p. 47.
MASOCHISM. 187
(d) Masochism in Women.
In woman voluntary subjection to the opposite sex is
a physiological phenomenon. Owing to her passive role
in procreation and long-existent social conditions, ideas of
subjection are, in woman, normally connected with the
idea of sexual relations. They form, so to speak, the
harmonics which determine the tone-quality of feminine
feeling.
Any one conversant with the history of civilisation
knows in what a state of absolute subjection woman was
always kept until a relatively high degree of civihsation
was reached ; ^ and an attentive observer of life may still
easily recognise how the custom of unnumbered genera-
tions, in connection with the passive role with which
woman has been endowed by Nature, has given her an
instinctive inclination to voluntary subordination to man ;
he will notice that exaggeration of customary gallantry
is very distasteful to women, and that a deviation from
it in the direction of masterful behaviour, though loudly
reprehended, is often accepted with secret satisfaction.^
Under the veneer of polite society the instinct of feminine
servitude is everywhere discernible.
Thus it is easy to regard masochism in general as
a pathological growth of specific feminine mental ele-
ments,— as an abnormal intensification of certain features
of the psycho-sexual character of woman, — and to seek its
primary origin in that sex {v. infra, p. 199). It may, how-
ever, be held to be established that, in woman, an inclina-
' The laws of the early middle ages gave the husband the riglit tc
kill the wife ; those of the later middle ages, the right to heat her. The
latter right was used freely, even by those of high standing (c/. Sdmltze,
"Das hofische Leben zur Zeit dcs Minnesangs," Bd. i., p. 1G3 ct seq.).
Yet, by the side of this, the paradoxical chivalry of the middle ages stand;
unexplained (v. infra, p. 198).
^ C/. Lady Milford's words in Sc/wW^r's " Kabale und Licl)o": "We
women can only choose between ruling and serving; but tlie highest
pleasure power affords is but a miserable substitute, if the greater joy ol
being tlic slaves of a man we love is denied us I " (Act II., Scene I.).
188 PSTCHOrATTIIA SFXUALIS.
tion to subordination to man (which may be regarded as
an acquired, purposeful arrangement, a phenomenon of
adaptation to social requirements) is to a certain extent a
normal manifestation.
The reason that, under such circumstances, the
" poetry" of the symbolic act of subjection is not reached,
lies partly in the fact that man has not the vanity of that
weakling who would improve the opportunity by the dis-
play of his power (as the ladies of the middle ages did
towards the love-serving knights), but prefers to reahse
solid advantages. The barbarian has his wife plough for
him, and the civilised lover speculates about her dowry ;
she willingly endures both.
Cases of pathological increase of this instinct of sub-
jection, in the sense of feminine masochism, are probably
frequent enough, but custom represses their manifesta-
tion. Many young women like nothing better than to
kneel before their husbands or lovers. Among all Slavs
of the lower classes it is said that the wives feel hurt if
they are not beaten by their husbands. A Hungarian
official informs me that the peasant women of the Somo-
gyer Comitate do not think they are loved by their
husbands until they have received the first box on the ear
as a sign of love.
It would probably be difficult for the physician to find
cases of feminine masochism.^ Intrinsic and extraneous
restraints — modesty and custom — naturally constitute in
woman insurmountable obstacles to the expression of
perverse sexual instinct. Thus it happens that, up to the
present time, but two cases of masochism in woman have
been scientifically established.
Case 70. Miss X., twenty-one years of age ; her mother
^ Seydel, " Vierteljahresschr. f. ger. Med.," 1893, vol. ii., quotes as an
instance of masochism the patient of Dieffenbach, who repeatedly and pur-
posely dislocated her arm in order to experience lustful sensations when it
was being reduced, anesthetics not being known then.
MASOCHISM. 189
was a morphia maniac and died some years ago from nerv-
ous disorders. Her uncle (mother's side) is also a mor-
phia-eater. A brother of the girl is neurasthenic, another
is a masochist (wishes to be beaten with a cane by proud,
noble ladies). Miss X. has never had a severe illness, but
at times suffers from headaches. She considers herself to
be physically sound, but periodically insane, viz., when she
is haunted by the fancies which she thus describes : —
Since her earhest youth she fancied herself being
whipped. She simply revels in these ideas, and has the
most intense desire to be severely punished with a rattan
cane.
This desire, she claims, originated from the fact that
at the age of five a friend of her father's took her for fun
across his knees, pretending to whip her. Since then she
has longed for the opportunity of being caned, but to her
great regret her wish has never been realised. At these
periods she imagines herself as absolutely helpless and
fettered. The mere mention of the words "rattan cane"
and " to whip " cause her intense excitement. Only for
the last two years she associates these ideas with the male
sex. Previously she only thought of a severe school-
mistress or simply a hand.
Now she wishes to be the slave of a man whom
she loves ; she would kiss his feet if he would only whip
her.
She does not understand that these manifestations are
of a sexual nature.
A few quotations from her letters are characteristic as
bearing upon the masochistic character of this case : —
"In former years I seriously contemplated going into
a lunatic asylum whenever these ideas worried me. I fell
upon this idea whilst reading how the director of an
insane asylum pulled a lady by the hair from her bed and
beat her with a cane and a riding-whip. I longed to be
treated in a similar manner at such an institute, and have
therefore unconsciously associated my ideas with the male
190 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
sex. I liked, however, best to think of brutal, uneducated
female warders beating me mercilessly.
" Lying (in fancy) before him, he puts one foot on my
neck whilst I kiss the other. I revel in the idea of being
whipped by him ; but this changes often, and I fancy
quite different scenes in which he beats me. At times I
take the blows as so many tokens of love — he is at first
extremely kind and tender, and then, in the excess of his
love, he beats me. I fancy that to beat me for love's sake
gives him the highest pleasure. Often I have dreamed
that I was his slave — but, mind you, not his female slave !
For instance, I have imagined that he was Kobinson and
I the savage that served him. I often look at the pictures
in which Kobinson puts his foot on the neck of the savage.
I now find an explanation of these strange fancies : I look
upon woman in general as low, far below man ; but I am
otherwise extremely proud and quite indomitable, whence
it arises that I think as a man (who is by nature proud
and superior). This renders my humiliation before the
man I love the more intense. I have also fancied myself
to be his female slave ; but this does not suffice, for after all
every woman can be the slave of her husband.
Case 71 ■ Miss v. X., aged thirty-five ; of greatly pre-
disposed family. For some years she has been in the initial
stage of ixiraiioia joersccutoria. This sprang from cerebro-
spinal neurasthenia, the origin of which is found to be
sexual hyperexcitation. Since her twenty-fourth year
she has been given to masturbation. As a result of dis-
appointment in an engagement and intense sexual excite-
ment, she began to practise masturbation and psychical
onanism. Inclination toward persons of her oion sex never
occurred. The patient says : "At the age of six or eight I
conceived a desire to be whipped. Since I had never been
whipped, and had never been present when others were
thus punished, I cannot understand how I came to have
this strange desire. I can only think that it is congenital.
MASOCHISM. 191
With these ideas of being whipped I had a feehng of
actual dehght, and pictured in my fancy how fine it would
1)0 to be whipped by one of my female friends. I never
had any thought of being whipped by a man. I revelled
in the idea, and never attempted any actual realisation
of my fancies, which disappeared after my tenth year.
Only when I read " Bousseau's Confessions," at the age
of thirty-four, did I understand what my longing for
whippings meant, and that my abnormal ideas were like
those of Bousseau.
On account of its original character and the reference
to Bousseau, this case may with certainty be called a case
of masochism. The fact that it is a female friend who is
conceived in imagination »s whipping her, is explained by
the circumstance that the masochistic desire was here
present in the mind of a child before the psychical vita
sexualis had developed and the instinct for the male had
been awakened. Antipathic sexual instinct is here ex-
pressly excluded.
An Attempt to Explain Masochism.
The facts of masochism are certainly among the most
interesting in the domain of psychopathology. An attempt
at explanation must first seek to distinguish in them the
essential from the unessential. The distinguishing charac-
teristic in masochism is certainly the unlimited subjection
to the will of a person of the opposite sex (in sadism, on
the contrary, the unlimited mastery of this person), with
the awakening and accompaniment of lustful sexual feel-
ings to the degree of orgasm. From the foregoing it is
clear that the particular manner in which this relation of
subjection or domination is expressed {v. supra), whether
merely in symbolic acts, or whether tliere is also a desire
to suffer pain at the hands of a person of the opposite sex,
is a subordinate matter.
192 PSYCHOPATHIA Sl'IXUALIS.
While sadism may be looked upon as a pathological
intensification of the masculine sexual character in its
psychical peculiarities, masochism rather represents a
pathological degeneration of the distinctive psychical
peculiarities of woman. But masculine masochism is un-
doubtedly frequent ; and it is this that comes most fre-
quently under observation and almost exclusively makes
up the series of observed cases. The reason for this has
been previously stated (p. 188).
Two sources of masochism can be distinguished in the
sphere of normal phenomena. The first is, that in the
state of lustful excitement every impression made by the
person giving rise to the sexual stimulus, independently of
the nature of its action, is pleasing to the individual excited.
It is entirely physiological that playful taps and light
blows should be taken for caresses,^
Like the lover's pinch, which hurts and is desired.
— Anthony and Cleopatra, v., 2.
From here the step is not long to a state where the wish
to experience a very intense impression at the hands of
the consort leads to a desire for blows, etc., in cases 'of
pathological intensification of lust ; for pain is ever a
ready means for producing intense bodily impressions.
Just as in sadism the sexual emotion leads to a state of
exaltation in which the excessive motor excitement im-
plicates neighbouring nervous tracts, so in masochism an
ecstatic state arises, in which the rising flood of a single
emotion ravenously devours and covers with lust every
impression coming from the beloved person.
The second and, indeed, the most important source of
masochism is to be sought in a wide-spread phenomenon,
wliicb, though it is extraordinary and abnormal, yet, by
no means lies within the domain of sexual perversion.
1 Analogous facts are found in the animal kingdom. Puhnonata Cicv.,
for instance, possess a small calcareous staff which lies hidden in a special
pouch of the body, but is at the time of nesting projected and used as a
means of sexual excitement, producing, beyond doubt, pain.
MASOCHISM. 193
I here refer to the very prevalent fact that in in-
numerable instances, which occur in all varieties, one
individual becomes dependent on another of the opposite
sex, in a very extraordinary and remarkable manner, —
even to the loss of all independent will-power ; a depend-
ence which forces the party in subjection to acts and
suffering which greatly prejudice personal interest, and
often enough lead to offences against both morality and
law.
This dependence, however, differs from the manifest-
ations of normal life only in the intensity of the sexual
feelmg that here conies in play, and in the slight degree
of will-power necessary for the maintenance of its equili-
brium. The difference is one of intensity, not of quality,
as in masochistic manifestations.
This dependence of one person apon another of the
opposite sex — abnormal but not perverse, a phenomenon
possessing great interest when regarded from a forensic
standpoint — I designate "sexual bondage'' ;^ for the rela-
tions and circumstances attending it have in all respects
the character of bondage. The will of the ruling indi-
vidual dominates that of the person in subjection, just
as a master's does his bondsman's.^
This " sexual bondage," as has been said, is certainly
an abnormal phenomenon. It begins with the first devia-
tion from the normal. The degree of dependence of one
' Cf. the author's article, " Uber geschlechtliche Horigkeit und
^lasochismus," in the " Psychiatrischen Jahrbiicher," Bd. x., p. 169 d
t/eq., where this subject is treated in detail, and particularly from the
forensic standpoint.
-The expressions " slave " and "slavery," though often used meta-
phorically under such circumstances, are avoided here because they are
the favourite expressions of masochism, from which this " bondage " must
be strictly differentiated.
The expression " bondage " is not to be construed to mean J. S, MilVs
" Bondage of Woman ". What 3Iill designates with this expression are
laws and customs, social and historical facts. Here, however, we always
speak of facts having peculiar individual motives that even conflict with
prevalent customs and laws. Besides it has reference to cither sex.
13
194 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
person upon another, or of two upon each other, resulting
from individual pecuharity in the intensity of motives that
in themselves are normal, constitutes the normal standard
established by law and custom. Sexual bondage is not a
perverse manifestation, however ; the instinctive activities
at work here are the same as those that set in motion —
even though it be with less violence— the psychical vita
scxualis which moves entirely within normal limits.
Fear of losing the companion and the desire to keep
him always content, amiable, and inclined to sexual inter-
course, are here the motives of the individual in subjection.
An extraordinary degree of love— which, particularly in
woman, does not always indicate an unusual degree of
sensuality — and a weak character are the simple elements
of this extraordinary process.^
The motive of the dominant individual is egotism
which finds unlimited room for action.
The manifestations of sexual bondage are various in
form, and the cases are very numerous.^ At every step in
life we find men that have fallen into sexual bondage.
Among married men, hen-pecked husbands belong to this
category, particularly elderly men who marry young wives
and try to overcome the disparity of years and physical
defects by unconditional submission to the wife's every
whim ; and unmarried men of ripe maturity, who seek to
1 Perhaps the most important clement is, that by the habit of sub-
mission a kind of mechanical obedience, without consciousness of its
motives, which operates with automatic certainty, may be established,
having no opposing motives to contend with, because it lies beyond the
threshold of consciousness ; and it may be used by the dominant individual
like an inanimate instrument.
' Sexual bondage, of course, plays a role in all literatures. Indeed,
for the poet, the extraordinary manifestations of the sexual life that are
not perverse form a rich and open field. The most celebrated description
of masculine " bondage " is that by Abbd Privost, " Manon Lescault ". An
excellent description of feminine " bondage " is that of " Leone Leoni,"
by George Sand. But first of all comes Xleist.'s " Kiithchen von Heilbronn,"
who himself called it the counterpart of (sadistic) " Penthesilea ". Halm's
" Griseldis " and many other similar poems also belong here.
MASOCHISM. 195
better their last chance of love by unlimited sacrifice, are
also to be enumerated here. Here belong, also, men of
any age, who, seized by hot passion for a woman, meet
coldness and calculation, and have to capitulate on hard
conditions ; men of loving natures who allow themselves
to be persuaded to marriage by notorious prostitutes ;
men who, to run after adventuresses, leave everything
and jeopardise their future ; husbands and fathers who
leave wife and child, to lay the income of a family at
the feet of a harlot.
But, numerous as the examples of masculine "bond-
age" are, every observer of life who is at all unprejudiced
must allow that they are far from equalling in number
and importance the cases of feminine " bondage". This
is easily explained. For a man, love is almost always
only an episode, and he has many other and important
interests ; for a woman, on the other hand, love is the
principal thmg in life, and, until the birth of children,
always her first mterest. After this it is still often her
first thought, but always takes at least the second place.
But, what is still more important, man ruled by this
impulse easily satisfies it in embraces for which he finds
unhmited opportunities. Woman in the upper classes of
society, if she have a husband, is bound to him alone ;
and even m the lower classes there are still great obstacles
to polyandry. Therefore, a woman s husband means for her
the whole sex, and his importance to her becomes very
great. It must also be considered that the normal relation
established by law and custom between husband and wife
is far from being one of equality. In itself it expresses
a sufficient predominance of woman's dependence. The
concessions she makes to her lover, to retain the love
which it would be almost impossible for her to replace,
only plunge her deeper in bondage ; and this increases the
insatiable demands of husbands resolved to use tlieir
advantage and traffic in woman's readiness to sacrifice
herself.
196 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
Here may be placed the fortune-hunter, who for money
allows himself to be enveloped in the easily created illu-
sions of a maiden ; the seducer, and the man who com-
promises wives, calculating on blackmail ; the gilded army
officer and the musician with the lion's mane, who know
so well how to stammer " T^hee or death ! " as a means to
pay debts and provide a hfe of ease. Here, too, belong
the kitchen-soldier, whose love the cook returns with love
plus means to satisfy a different appetite; the drinker, who
consumes the savings of the mistress he marries ; and the
man who with blows compels the prostitute on whom he
Hves to earn a certain sum for him daily. These are only
a few of the innumerable forms of bondage into which
woman is forced by her greater need of love and the diffi-
culties of her position.
It was necessary to give the subject of " sexual bond-
age " here brief consideration, for in it may be clearly
discerned the soil from which the main root of masochism
springs. The relationship of these two phenomena of
psychical sexual life is immediately apparent. Bondage
and masochism both consist of the unconditional subjec-
tion of the individual affected with this abnormality to a
person of the opposite sex, and of domination of the former
by the latter.^ The two phenomena, however, must be
strictly differentiated ; they are not different in degree, but
in quality.
Sexual bondage is not a perversion and not patho-
logical ; the elements from which it arises — love and
weakness of will — are not perverse; it is only tbeir snnul-
taneous activity that produces the abnormal result which
is so opposed to self-interest, and often to custom and
law. The motive, in obedience to which the subordinated
1 Cases may occur in which the sexual bondage is expressed in the
same acts that are common in masochism. When rough men whip
their wives, and the latter suffer for love, without, however, having a
desire for blows, we have a pseudo form of bondage that may simulate
masochism.
MASOCHISM. 197
individual acts and endures tyranny, is the normal instinct
toward woman (or man), the satisfaction of which is the
price of bondage. The acts of the person in subjection,
by means of which the bondage is expressed, are per-
formed at the command of the ruHng individual, to
satisfy selfishness, etc. For 'the subordinated individual
they have no independent purpose ; they are only the
means to an end — to obtain or retain possession of the
ruhng individual. Finally, bondage is a result of love
for a particular person ; it first appears when this love is
awakened.
In masochism, which is decidedly abnormal and a
perversion, this is all very different. The motive under-
lying the acts and suffering of the person in subjection is
here the charm afforded by the tyranny in itself. There
may, at the same time, be a desire for coitus with the
dominant person, but the impulse is directed to the acts
which serve to express the tyranny, as the immediate
objects of gratification. These acts in which masochism
is expressed are, for the individual in subjection, not
means to an end, as in bondage, but the end in them-
selves. Finally, in masochism the longing for subjection
occurs a priori before the occurrence of an inclination to
any particular object of love.
The connection between bondage and masochism may
be- assumed by reason of the correspondence of the two
phenomena in the objective condition of dependence,
notwithstanding the difference in their motives ; and the
transformation of the abnormality into the perversion
probably takes place in the following manner : Any one
living for a long time in sexual bondage becomes disposed
to acquire a slight degree of masochism. Love that
willingly bears the tyranny of the loved one then becomes
an immediate love of tyranny. When the idea of being
tyrannised is for a long time closely associated with the lustful
thought of the beloved person, the lustful emotion is finally trans-
ferred to the tyranny itself, and the transformation to preversion
198 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
is completed. This is the manner in which masochism may
be acquired by cultivation.^
Thus a mild degree of masochism may arise from
"bondage" — become acquired; but genuine, complete,
deep-rooted masochism, with its feverish longing for sub-
jection from the time of earliest youth, is congenital.
The explanation of the origin of the perversion —
infrequent though it be — of fully developed masochism is
most probably to be found in the assumption that it arises
1 It is highly interesting, and dependent upon the nature of bondage
and masochism, wliiph essentially correspond in external effects, that to
illustrate the former certain playful, metaphorical expressions are in gen-
eral use ; such as " slavery," " to bear chains," " bound," " to hold the
whip over," " to harness to the triumphal car," " to lie at the feet," " hen-
pecked," etc., — all things which, liteially carried out, form the objects of
the masochist's desire. Such similes are frequently used in daily life
and have become trite. They are derived from the language of poetry.
Poetry has always recognised, within the general idea of the passion of
love, the element of dependence in the lover, who practises self-sacrifice
spontaneously or of necessity. The facts of " bondage " have also always
presented themselves to the poetical imagination. When the poet chooses
such expressions as those mentioned, to picture the dependence of the
lover in striking similes, he proceeds exactly on the same lines as does the
maxochist, viz., to intensify the idea of his dependence (his ultimate aim),
he creates such situations in reality. In ancient poetry, the expression
" domina " is used to signify the loved one, with a preference for the
simile of " casting in chains " (e.g., Horace, Od. iv., 11). From antiquity
through all the centuries to our own times [cf. Grillparzer, " Ottokar,"
act V. : " To rule is sweet, almost as sweet as to obey ") the poetry of
love is filled with similar phrases and similes. The history of the word
" mistress " is also interesting. But poetry reacts on life. It is probable
that the courtly chivalry of the middle ages arose in this way. In its
reverence for women as " mistresses " in society and in individual love-
relations ; its transference of the relations of feudalism and vassalage
to the relation between the knight and his lady ; its submission to all
feminine whims ; its love-tests and vows ; its duty of obedience to every
command of the lady — in all this, chivalry appears as a systematic, poeti-
cal development of the " bondage " of love. Certain extreme manifesta-
tions, like the deeds and sufferings of Ulrich von Lichtendein or Pierre Vidnl
in the service of their ladies ; or the practice of the fraternity of the
" Galois " in France, whose members sought martyrdom in love and
subjected themselves to all kinds of suffering — these clearly have a maso-
chistic character, and demonstrate the natural transformation of one
phenomenon into the other.
MASOCHISM. 199
from the more frequent abnormality of "sexual bondage,"
through which, now and then, this abnormality is heredi-
tarily transferred to a psychopathic individual in such a manner
that it becofnes transformed into a perversion. It has been
previously shown how a shght displacement of the psy-
chical elements under consideration may effect this transi-
tion. Whatever effects associating habits may have on
possible cases of acquired masochism, the same ejffects are
produced by the varying tricks of heredity upon original
masochism. No new element is thereby added to " bond-
age," but on the contrary the very element is deleted
which cements love and dependence, and thereby dis-
tinguishes " bondage " from masochism and abnormality
from perversion. It is quite natural that only the in-
stinctive element is transmitted.
This transition from abnormality into perversion,
through hereditary transference, takes place very easily
where the psychopathic constitution of the descendant
presented the other factor of masochism, — i.e., what has
been previously called its main root, — the tendency of
sexually hypersesthetic natures to assimilate all impres-
sions coming from the beloved person with the sexual
impression.
From these two elements, — from " sexual bondage "
on the one hand and from the above-mentioned disposi-
tion to sexual ecstasy, which apperceives even maltreat-
ment with lustful emotion, on the other, — the roots of
which may be traced back to the field of physiological
facts, masochism arises from the basis of psychopathic
predisposition, in so far as its sexual hypersesthesia inten-
sifies first all the physiological accessories of the vita
sexualis and, finally, only its abnormal accompaniments,
to the pathological degree of perversion.^
1 If it be conRidcred thab, as shown above, " sexual bondage" is a phe-
nomenon observed much more frequently and in a more pronounced
degree in the female sex than in the male, the thought arises that
masochism (if not always, at least as a rule) is an inheritance of the
200 PSYCHO PATH I A SliXUALIS.
At any rate, masochism, as a congenital sexual per-
version, constitutes a functional sign of degeneration in
(almost exclusively) hereditary taint ; and this clinical
deduction is confirmed in m}^ cases of masochism and
sadism. It is easy to demonstrate that the peculiar,
psychically anomalous direction of the vita sexicalis re-
presented in masochism is an original abnormality, and
not, so to speak, cultivated in a predisposed individual
by passive flagellation, through association of ideas, as
Bousseau and Binet contend. This is shown by the
numerous cases of masochism — in fact, the majority — in
which flagellation never appears, in which the perverse
impulse is directed exclusively to purely symbolic acts
expressing subjection without any actual infliction of
pain. This is demonstrated by the whole series of obser-
vations, from case 49, given here.
The same result — namely, that passive flagellation is
not the nucleus around which all the rest is gathered — is
reached when closer study is given to the cases in which
passive flagellation plays a role, as in cases 41 and 47.
Case 48 is particularly instructive in relation to this ; for
in this instance there can be no thought of a sexually
stimulating effect by punishment received in youth. More-
over, in this case, connection with an early experience is
" bondage " of feminine ancestry. Thus it conies into a relation — though
distant — with antipathic sexual instinct, as a transference to the male of
a perversion really belonging to the female. This conception of maso-
chism as a rudimentary inverted sexual instinct, as a partial effemination,
here affecting only the secondary sexual character of the vita sexiialis (a
theory still more unconditionally expressed in the sixth edition of this
work) finds its support in the statements of the subjects of case 42 and
case 48 (vide supra), who present other features of effemination, and give
as their ideal a relatively old woman who seeks and wins them.
It must, however, be emphasised that " bondage " also plays no unim-
portant rdle in the masculine vita sexiialis, and that masochism in man
may also be explained without any such transference of feminine elements.
It must also be remembered here that masochism, as well as its counter-
part, sadism, occurs in irregular combination with antipathic sexual
instinct.
MASOCHISM. 201
not possible ; for the situation constituting the object of
principal sexual interest is absolutely incapable of being
carried out by a child.
Finally, the origin of masochism from purely psychical
elements, on confronting it with sadism {v. infra), is con-
vincingly demonstrated. That passive flagellation occurs
so frequently in masochism is explained simply by the
fact that it is the most extreme means of expressing the
relation of subjection.
I repeat that the decisive points in the differentiation
of simple passive flagellation from flagellation dependent
upon masochistic desire are, that in the former the act is
a means to render coitus, or at least ejaculation, possible ;
and that in the latter it is a means of gratification of
masochistic desires.
As we have already seen, masochists subject themselves
to all other kinds of maltreatment and suffering in which
there can be no question of reflex excitation of lust. Since
such cases are numerous, we must in these acts (as well
as in flagellation in masochists, having like significance)
seek to ascertain the relation in which pain and lust stand
to each other. From the statement of a masochist it is
as follows : — .
The relation is not of such a nature that what causes
physical pain is here simply perceived as physical pleasure ;
for the person in a state of masochistic ecstasy feels no
pain, either because, by reason of his emotional state (like
that of the soldier in battle), the physical effect on his
cutaneous nerves is not apperceived, or because (as with
religious martyrs and enthusiasts), in the preoccupation
of consciousness with lustful emotion, the idea of mal-
treatment remains merely a symbol, without its quality of
pain.
To a certain extent there is overcompensation of
physical pain in psychical pleasure, and only the excess
remains in consciousness as psychical lust. This also
undergoes an increase, since, either through reflex spinal
202 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
influence or through a pecuhar colouring in the sensorium
of sensory impressions, a kind of hallucination of bodily
pleasure takes place, with a vague localisation of the
objectively projected sensation.
In the self-torture of rehgious enthusiasts (fakirs, howl-
ing dervishes, religious flagellants) there is an analogous
state, only with a difference in the quality of pleasurable
feeling. Here the conception of martyrdom is also apper-
ceived without its pain ; for consciousness is filled with
the pleasurably coloured idea of serving God, atoning for
sins, deserving heaven, etc., through martyrdom.
Masochism and Sadism.
The perfect counterpart of masochism is sadism.
While in the former there is a desire to sufi'er and be
subjected to violence, in the latter the wish is to inflict
pain and use violence.
The parallelism is perfect. All the acts and situations
used by the sadist in the active role become the object of
the desire of the masochist in the passive role. In both
perversions these acts advance from purely symbolic acts
to severe maltreatment. Even murder, in which sadism
reaches its acme, finds, as is shown by case 50, — of
course, only in fancy, — its passive counterpart. Under
favouring conditions, both perversions may occur with
a normal vita sexualis ; in both, the acts in which they
express themselves are preparatory to coitus or substi-
tutes for it.^
But the analogy does not exist simply in external
1 Of course, both have to contend with opposing ethical and aesthetic
motives in foro interna. After these have been overcome, active sadism
immediately comes in conflict with the law. This is not the case with
masochism, which accounts for the greater frequency of masochistic acts.
But the instinct of self-preservation and fear of pain prevent the realisa-
tion of the latter. The practical significance of masochism lies only in its
relations to psychical impotence ; while that of sadism lies beyond this,
and is principally forensic.
MASOCHISM AND SADISM. 203
manifestations ; it also extends to the intrinsic character
of both perversions. Both are to be regarded as original
psychopathies in mentally abnormal individuals, v^^ho, in
particular, are affected with psychical hyperesthesia sexu-
alis, and, as a rule, also with other abnormalities ; and for
each of these perversions two constituent elements may be
demonstrated, which have their roots in psychical facts
lying within physiological limits. In masochism, as shown
above, these elements lie in the fact (1) that in the state
of sexual emotion every impression produced by the con-
sort, independently of the manner of its production, is,
per se, attended with lustful pleasure, which, when accom-
panied by hyperesthesia sexualis, may go so far as to
overcompensate all painful sensation ; and in the fact (2)
thflt " sexual bondage," dependent on mental factors — in
themselves not perverse — may, under pathological condi-
tions, become a perverse, pleasurable desire for subjection
to the opposite sex, which — even if its inheritance from
the female side need not be presupposed — represents a
pathological degeneration of the character (really belong-
ing to woman) of the instinct of subordination, physiolo-
gical in woman.
In harmony with this, there are, likewise, two consti-
tuent elements explanatory of sadism, the origin of which
may also be traced back within physiological limits. These
are : the fact (1) that in sexual emotion, to a certain ex-
tent as an accompanying psychical excitation, an impulse
may arise to influence the object of desire in every
possible way and with the greatest possible intensity,
which, in individuals sexually hyperaesthetic, may de-
generate into a craving to inflict pain ; and the fact (2)
that, under pathological conditions, man's active role
of winning woman may become an unlimited desire for
subjugation.
Thus masochism and sadism represent perfect counter-
parts. It is also in harmony with this that the individuals
affected with these perversions regard the opposite perver-
204 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
sion in the other sex as their ideal, as shown by cases 41
and 47, and also by " Bousseaus Confessions ".
But the contrast of masochism and sadism may also be
used to invalidate the assumption that the former has its
origin in the reflex effect of passive flagellation, and that
all the rest is the product of association of related ideas,
as Binet, in explanation of Eousseaiis case, thinks, and as
Rousseau himself believed {vide siipra, p. 154). In the active
maltreatment forming the object of the sadist's sexual
desire there is, in fact, no irritation of his own sensory
nerves by the act of maltreatment, so that there can be no
doubt of the purely psychical character of the origin of this
perversion. Sadism and masochism, however, are so re-
lated to each other, and so correspond in aJl points with
each other, that the one allows, by analogy, a conclusion
for the other ; and this is alone sufficient to establish the
purely psychical character of masochism.
According to the above-detailed contrast of all the ele-
ments and phenomena of masochism and sadism, and as a
rdsume of all observed cases, lust in the infliction of pain
and lust in inflicted pain appear but as two different sides
of the same psychical process, of which the primary and
essential thing is the consciousness of active or passive
subjection, in which the combination of cruelty and lustful
pleasure has only a secondary psychological significance.
Acts of cruelty serve to express this subjection ; first, be-
cause they are the most extreme means for the expression
of this relation ; and, again, because they represent the
most intense effect that one person, either with or without
coitus, can exert on another.
Sadism and masochism are the results of associations,
just the same as all compHcated manifestations of psychi-
cal life are associations. For psychic life consists, after
the production of the simplest elements of consciousness,
simply of associations and disassociations of these ele-
ments.
The chief point gained by this analysis is that sadism
MASOCHISM AND SADISM. 205
and masochism are not merely the results of accidental
associations, occasioned by chance or an opportune coinci-
dence, but results of associations springing from causes
existing under normal circumstances, easily produced
under certain conditions — e.g., sexual hypersesthesia. An
abnormally intensified sexual instinct spreads in every
direction. It reaches into adjacent spheres, and amalga-
mates with their contents, thus producing the pathological
associations which are the real essence of both these per-
versions.^
Of course, this need not always be so, for there are
cases of hypersesthesia without perversion. But these
cases of pure hyjmrcBsthesia sexualis — at least, those of
striking intensity — seem to be of rarer occurrence than
those of perversion.
^ Schrcnck-Notzing, who in his explanation of all perversions lays par-
ticular stress upon the " occasional momentum," gives preference to the
theory of acquired perversiolis over the congenital, and allows the mani-
festations of sadism and masocliism (according to his terminology " active
and passive algolagnia ") only a subordinate position. Although he ad-
mits that many cases can only be explained on the assumption of con-
genital predisposition, yet he contends that circumstances or a timely
coincidence controlled their acquirement (op. cit. p. 170).
His arguments are based upon observations. Quoting two cases of
psychopathia sexualis (29 and 37 of the seventh edition) he contends that the
accidental sight of a girl bleeding or a boy being whipped coinciding with
a strong sexual emotion might be sufficient cause for continued patholo-
gical associations.
Against this it may, however, be decisively held that in every hyper-
sesthetic individual early and strong sexual emotions have often coincided
with numerous heterogeneous things, whilst the patJiological associaticnis
are always coupled ivilh but few definite (sadistic and masochistic) things.
Numerous pupils indulge in sexual emotions or gratifications during lessons
in grammar and mathematics in the class-room, as well as elsewhere,
without thereby contracting perverse associations.
From this clearly follows that the sight of a whipping or similar
scenes may provoke pathological associations already present but latent,
but that it cannot produce them. Moreover, the aroused sexual instinct
is not associated with the numerous indifferent things that are ever pre-
sent* but only with such as normally excite disgust.
The same argument refers to the opinion of Binet. who also seeks to
explain these manifestations by accidental associations {vide infra, p. 211).
206 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The cases in which sadism and masochism occur
simultaneously in one individual are interesting, but they
present some difficulties of explanation. Such cases are,
for instance, No. 49 of the seventh edition, also Nos. 47
and 54 of the present, but especially No. 29 of the ninth
edition. From the latter it is evident that it is especially
the idea of subjection that, both actively and passively,
forms the nucleus of the perverse desires. Traces of the
same thing are also to be observed, with more or less
clearness, in many other cases. At any rate, one of the
two perversions is always markedly predominant.
Owing to this marked predominance of one perversion
and the later appearance of the other in such cases, it
may well be assumed that the predominating perversion
is original, and that the other has been acquired in the
course of time. The ideas of subjection and maltreat-
ment, coloured with lustful pleasure, either in an active
or passive sense, have become deeply imbedded in such
an individual. Occasionally the imagination is tempted
to try the same ideas in an inverted role. There may
even be realisation of this inversion. Such attempts in
imagination and in acts, are, however, usually soon aban-
doned as inadequate for the original inclination.
Masochism and sadism also occur in combination with
contrary sexual instinct, and, in fact, in association with
all forms and degrees of this perversion. The individual
of contrary sexuality may be a sadist as well as ma.socbist
(c/. cases 46 and 49 of the seventh edition and numer-
ous cases m the subsequent series of cases of sexual
inversion).
Wherever a sexual perversion has developed on the
basis of a neuropathic individuality, sexual hyperaesthesia,
which may always be assumed to be present, may induce
the phenomena of masochism and sadism — now of the
one, now of both combined, one arising from the other.
Thus masochism and sadism appear as the fundamental
forms of psycho-sexual perversion, which may make their
FETICHISM. 207
appearance at any point in the domain of sexual aber-
ration.'
Fetichism. — 3. The Association of Lust with the Idea of
Certain Portions of the Female Person, or with Certain
Articles of Female Attire. — Fetichism.
In the considerations concerning the psychology of the
normal sexual life in the introduction to this work (vide
pp. 19, 20), it was shown that, within physiological limits,
the pronounced preference for a certain portion of the body
of persons of the opposite sex, particularly for a certain
form of this part, may attain great psycho-sexual import-
1 Every attempt to explain the facts of either sadism or masochism
owing to the close connection of the two phenomena demonstrated here,
must also be suited to explain the other perversion. An attempt to offer
an explanation of sadism, by J. G. Kiernan (Chicago) {vide " Psychological
Aspects of the Sexual Appetite," Alienist and Neurologist, St. Louis,
April, 1891) meets this requirement, and for this reason may be briefly
mentioned here. Kiernan, who has several authorities in Anglo-American
literature for his theory, starts from the assumption of several naturalists
(Dallinger, Drysdale, Rolph, Cienkoivsky) which conceives the so-called
conjugation, a sexual act in certain low forms of animal life, to be canni-
balism, a devouring of the partner in the act. He brings into immediate
connection with this the well-known facts that at the time of sexual union
crabs tear limbs from their bodies and spiders bite off the heads of the
males, and other sadistic acts performed by rutting animals with their
consorts. From this he passes to lust-murder and other lustful acts of
cruelty in man, and assumes that hunger and the sexual appetite arc, in
their origin, identical ; that the sexual cannibalism of lower forms of
animal life has an influence in higher forms and in man, and that sadism
is an atavistic rebound.
This explanation of sadism would, of course, also explain masochism ;
for if the origin of sexual intercourse is to be sought in cannibalistic
processes, then both the survival of one sex and the destruction of the
other would fulfil the purpose of nature, and thus the instinctive desire
to be the victim would be explained. But it must be stated in objection
that the basis of this reasoning is insufficient. The extremely complicated
process of conjugation in lower organisms, into which science has really
penetrated only during the last few years, is by no means to be regarded
as simply a devouring of one individual by another (c/. Weismann, " Die
Bedeutung der Sexuellen Fortpflanzung fiir die Seloctionstheorio," p. 51,
Jena, 188G).
208 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALTS.
ance. Indeed, the especial power of attraction possessed
by certain forms and peculiarities for many men — in fact,
the majority — may be regarded as the real principle of
individualisation in love.
This preference for certain particular physical char-
acteristics in persons of the opposite sex — by the side of
which, likewise, a marked preference for certain psychical
characteristics may be demonstrated — following Binet
(" Du Fetischisme dans I'amour," " Bevue Philosophique,"
1887) and Lombroso (Introduction to the Italian edition of
the second edition of this work), I have called " fetichism " ;
because this enthusiasm for certain portions of the body
(or even articles of attire) and the worship of them, in
obedience to sexual impulses, frequently call to mind
the reverence for relics, holy objects, etc., in religious cults.
This physiological fetichism has already been described
in detail on page 19, et seq.
By the side of this physiological fetichism, however,
there is, in the psycho-sexual sphere, an undoubted jjcUho-
loijical, erotic fetichism, of which there is already a numerous
series of cases presenting phenomena having great clinical
and psychiatric interest, and, under certain circumstances
also, forensic importance. This pathological fetichism does
not confine itself to certain parts of the body alone, but
it is even extended to inanimate objects, which, however,
are almost always articles of female wearing-apparel, and
thus stand in close relation with the female person.
This pathological fetichism is connected, through gra-
dual transitions, with physiological fetichism, so that (at
least in body-fetichism) it is almost impossible to sharply
define the beginning of the perversion. Moreover, the
whole field of body-fetichism does not really extend beyond
the limits of things which normally stimulate the sexual
instinct. Here the abnormality consists only in the fact
that the whole sexual interest is concentrated on the impres-
sion made by a part of the person of the opposite sex, so that
all other impressions fade and become more or less indif-
FETICHISM. 209
ferent. Therefore, the body-fetichist is not to be regarded
as a monstrum j)er excessum, Hke the sadist or masochist, but
rather as a monstnim per defectum. What stimulates him is
not abnormal, but rather what does not affect him, — the
limitation of sexual interest that has taken place in him.
Of course, this limited sexual interest, within its narrower
limits, is usually expressed with a correspondingly greater
and abnormal intensity.
It would seem reasonable to assume, as the distinguish-
ing mark of pathological fetichism, the necessity for the
presence of the fetish as a conditio sine qua non for the
possibility of performance of coitus. But when the facts
are more carefully studied, it is seen that this limitation
is really only indefinite. There are numerous cases in
which, even in the absence of the fetich, coitus is possible,
but incomplete and forced (often with the help of fancies
relating to the fetich), and particularly unsatisfying and
exhausting; and, too, closer study of the distinctive sub-
jective psychical conditions in these cases shows that there
are transitional states, passing, on the one hand, to mere
physiological preferences, and, on the other, to psychical
impotence, in the absence of the fetich.
It is therefore better, perhaps, to seek the pathological
criterion of body-fetichism in purely subjective psychical
states. The concentration of the sexual interest on a cer-
tain portion of the body that has no direct relation to sex
(as have the mammae and external genitals) — a peculiarity
to be emphasised — often leads body-fetichists to such a
condition that they do not regard coitus as the real means
of sexual gratification, but rather some form of manipula-
tion of that portion of the body that is effectual as a fetich.
This perverse instinct of body-fetichists may be taken as
the pathological criterion, no matter whether actual coitus
is still possible or not.
Fetichism of inanimate objects or articles of dress, however,
in all cases, may well be regarded as a pathological phe-
nomenon, since its object falls without the circle of normal
14
210 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALTS.
sexual stimuli. But even here, in the. phenomena, there
is a certain outward correspondence with processes of the
normal psychical vita sexualis ; the inner connection and
meaning of pathological fetichism, however, are entirely
different. In the ecstatic love of a man mentally normal,
a handkerchief or shoe, a glove or letter, the flower " she
gave," or a lock of hair, etc., may become the object of
worship, but only because they represent a mnemonic
symbol of the beloved person — absent or dead — whose
whole personality is reproduced by them. The pathologi-
cal fetichist has no such relations. The fetich constitutes
the entire content of his idea. When he becomes aware
of its presence, sexual excitement occurs, and the fetich
makes itself felt.^
According to all observations thus far made, patho-
logical fetichism seems to arise only on the basis of a
psychopathic constitution that is for the most part
hereditary, or on the basis of existent mental disease.
Thus it happens that it not infrequently appears com-
bined with the other (original) sexual perversions that
arise on the same basis. Not infrequently fetichism occurs
in the most various forms in combination with contrary
sexuality, sadism, and masochism. Indeed, certain forms
of body-fetichism (hand- and foot-fetichism) probably have
a more or less distinct connection with the latter two
perversions (v. iyifra).
But if fetichism also rests upon a congenital general
psychopathic disposition, yet this perversion is not, like
those previously considered, essentially of an original
nature ; it is not congenitally perfect, as we may well
assume sadism and masochism to be.
While in the sexual perversions described in the pre-
ceding chapters we have met only cases of congenital type,
1 In Zola's " Therese Raquiu, wliere the lover repeatedly kisses his
mistress-'s boot, the case is quite different from that of shoo- and boot-
fetichists, who, at the sight of every boot worn by a lady, or even alone,
are thrown into sexual excitement, even to the extent of ejaculation.
FETTCHTSM, 211
here we meet only acquired cases. Aside from the fact
that often in fetichism the causative circumstance of its
acquirement is traced, yet the physiological conditions are
wanting, which in sadism and masochism, by means of
sexual hyperaesthesia, are intensified to perversions, and
justify the assumption of congenital origin. In fetichism,
every case requires an event which affords the ground for
the perversion.
As has been said, it is, of course, physiological in sexual
life to be partial to one or another of woman's charms,
and to be enthusiastic about it ; but concentration of the
entire sexual interest on such partial impression is here
the essential thing ; and for this concentration there must
be a particular reason in every individual affected. There-
fore, we may accept BineVs conclusion that in the life
of every fetichist there may he assumed to have been some evetit
which determined the association of kistful feeling with the single
impression. This event must be sought for in the time of
early youth, and, as a rule, occurs in connection with the
first awakening of the vita sexualis. This first awakeninc^
is associated with some partial sexual impression (since it
is always a thing standing m some relation to woman),
and stamps it for life as the principal object of sexual
interest. The circumstances under which the association
arises are usually forgotten ; the result of the association
alone is retained. The general predisposition to psycho-
pathic states and the sexual hyperaesthesia of such indi-
viduals are all that is original here.^
^ Though Binet {op. cit.) declares that every sexual perversion, with-
out exception, depends upon such an " accident acting on a predisposed
subject " (where, under predisposition, only hyperaesthesia in general is
understood), yet such an assumption for other perversions than fetichism
is neither necessary nor satisfactory. For example, it is not clear how
the sight of another's chastisement could excite sexually even a very excit-
able individual, if the physiological relationship of lust and cruelty had
not been developed into original sadism in an abnormally excitable indi-
vidual. As the sadistic and masochistic associations are preformed in the
mind of the subject from homogeneous elements in adjacent spheres, in
212 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Like the other perversions thus far considered, erotic
(pathological) fetichism may also express itself in strange,
unnatural, and even criminal acts : gratification vi^ith the
female person loco indeblto, theft and robbery of objects of
fetichism, pollution of such objects, etc. Here, too, it only
depends upon the intensity of the perverse impulse and
the relative power of opposing ethical motives, whether
and to what extent such acts are performed.
These perverse acts of fetichists, like those of other
sexually perverse individuals, may either alone constitute
the entire external vita sexualis, or occur parallel with
the normal sexual act. This depends upon the condition
of physical and psychical sexual power, and the degree of
excitability to normal stimuli that has been retained.
Where excitabihty is diminished, not infrequently the
sight or touch of the fetich serves as a necessary pre-
paratory act.
The great practical importance which attaches to the
facts of fetichism, in accordance with what has been
said, Hes in two factors. In the first place, pathological
fetichism is not infrequently a cause of j^sychical ijnpotence}
Since the object upon which the sexual interest of the
fetichist is concentrated stands, in itself, in no immediate
relation to the normal sexual act, it often happens that
the same measure is the possibility of fetichistic associations prepared by
the idiosyncrasies of the object and thus easier understood. In nearly
every instance it is impressions of parts of the female form (including
garments) that are in question. Fetichistic association which originated
only by mere accident can only be traced in a few special cases.
1 When young husbands who have associated much with prostitutes
feel impotent in the face of the chastity of their young wives —a thing of
frequent occurence— the condition may be regarded as a kind of (psy-
chical) fetichism in a wider sense. One of my patients was never potent
with his beautiful and chaste young wife, because he was accustomed
to the lascivious methods of prostitutes. When he now and then at-
tempted coitus with puellis he was perfectly potent. Hammond (op. cit.
pp. 48, 49) reports a very similar interesting case. Of course, in such
cases, a bad conscience and hypochondriacal fear of impotence play an
important part.
FETICHISM. 213
the fetichist diminishes his excitability to normal stimuli
by his perversion, or, at least, is ca.pable of coitus only
by means of concentration of his fancy upon his fetich.
In this perversion, and in the difficulty of its adequate
gratification, just as in the other perversions of the sexual
instinct, lie conditions favouring psj^cbical and physical
onanism, which again reacts deleteriously on the constitu-
tion and sexual power. This is especially true in the case
of youthful individuals, and particularly in the case of
those who, on account of opposing ethical and sesthetic
motives, shrink from the realisation of their perverse
desires.
Secondly, fetichism is of great forensic vnportance. Just
as sadism may extend to murder and the infliction of
bodily injury, fetichism may lead to theft and even to
robbery for the possession of the desired 'articles.
Erotic fetichism has for its object either a certain
portion of the body of a person of the opposite sex, or
a certain article or material of wearing apparel of the
opposite sex. (Only cases of pathological fetichism in
men have thus far been observed, and therefore only
portions of the female person and attire are spoken of
here.) In accordance with this, fetichists fall into three
groups.
(a) The Fetich is a Part of the Female Body.
Just as, in physiological fetichism, the eye, the hand,
the foot and the hair of woman frequently become fetiches,
so, in the pathological domain, the same portions of the
body become the sole objects of sexual interest. This
exclusive concentration of interest on these parts, by the
side of which everything else feminine fades, and all other
sexual value of woman may sink to nil, so that, instead of
coitus, strange manipulations of the fetich become the
object of desire, — this it is that makes these cases patho-
logical.
214 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 72. (Binet, op. cit.) X., aged thirty-four, teacher
in a gymnasium. In childhood he suffered from convul-
sions. At the age of ten he began to masturbate, with
lustful feelings, which were connected with very strange
ideas. He was particularly partial to women's eyes ; but
since he wished to imagine some form of coitus, and was
absolutely innocent in sexual matters, to avoid too great
a separation from the eyes, he evolved the idea of making
the nostrils the seat of the female sexual organs. Then
his vivid sexual desires were revolved around this idea.
He sketched drawings representing correct Greek profiles
of female heads, but the nostrils were so large that
immissio penis would have been possible.
One day, in an omnibus, he saw a girl in whom he
thought he recognised his ideal. He followed her to her
home and immediately proposed to her. Shown the door,
he returned again and again, until arrested. X. never had
sexual intercourse.
Hand-fetichists are very numerous. The following
case is not really pathological. It is given here as a
transitional case : —
Case 73. B., of neuropathic family, very sensual
mentally intact. At the sight of the hand of a beautiful
young lady he is always charmed and feels sexual excite-
ment to the extent of erection. It is his delight to kiss
and press such hands. As long as they are covered with
gloves he feels unhappy. By pretexts he tries to get hold
of such hands. He is indifferent to the foot. If the
beautiful hands are ornamented with rings, his lust is
increased. Only the living hand, not its image, causes
him this lustful excitement. It is only when he is
exhausted sexually by frequent coitus that the hand
loses its sexual charm. At first the memory-picture
of female hands disturbed him even while at work {Binet,
op. cit.).
FETICHISM. 215
Binet states that such cases of enthusiasm for the
female hand are numerous. Here it may be recalled that,
according to case 23, a man may be partial to the female
hand as a result of sadistic impulses ; and that, according
to case 44, the same thing may be due to masochistic
desires. Thus such cases have more than one meanino-.
But it does by no means follow that all, or even a
majority, of the cases of hand-fetichism allow or require
a sadistic or masochistic explanation
The following interesting case, that has been studied
in detail, shows that, in spite of the fact that at first a
sadistic or masochistic element seems to have exercised
an influence, at the time of the individual's maturity
and the complete development of the perversion, the
latter contained nothing of these elements. Of course,
it is possible that, in the course of time, they disappeared ;
but here the assumption of the origin of the fetichism in
an accidental association meets every requirement : —
Case 74. A case of hand-fetichism, communicated by
Albert Moll. P. L., aged twenty-eight, a merchant in West-
phaha. Aside from the fact that the patient's father was
remarkably moody and somewhat quick-tempered, nothing
of a hereditary nature could be proved in the family. At
school the patient was not very dihgent ; he was never
able to concentrate his attention on any one subject for
any length of time ; on the other hand, from childhood he
had a great mclination for music. His temperainent was
always nervous.
In August, 1890, he came to me complaining of head-
ache and abdominal pain, which in every way gave the
impression of being neurasthenic. The patient also said
he was destitute of energy. Only after accurately directed
questions did the patient make the following statements
concerning his sexual life. As far as he could remember,
the beginnings of sexual excitement occurred in his seventh
year. Whenever he saw a boy of his own age urinate and
216 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
caught sight of his genitals, he became lustfully excited.
L. states with certainty that this excitement was associated
with strongly accentuated erections. Led astray by another
boy, L. learned to masturbate at the age of seven or eight.
*' Being of a very excitable nature," said L., " I practised
masturbation very frequently until my eighteenth year,
without gaining any clear idea of the evil results or the
meaning of the practice." He was particularly fond of
practising mutual onanism with some of his school-friends,
but it was by no means an indifferent matter who the other
boy was ; on the contrary, only a few of his companions
could satisfy him in this respect. To the question as to
what particularly caused him to prefer this or that boy, L.
replied that a white, beautifully formed hand in his school-
fellows impelled him to practise mutual onanism with
them. L. further remembered that frequently, at the
beginning of the gymnastic lesson, he would exercise by
himself on a bar standing apart. He did this for the
purpose of exciting himself as much as possible ; and he
was so successful that, without using his hand and without
ejaculation — L. was still too young — he had lustful pleasure.
Another early event which L. remembers is interesting.
One day his favourite companion, N., who practised mutual
onanism with him, proposed that L. should try to get hold
of his (N.'s) penis, and he would do all he could to prevent
it, L. acquiesced. In this way onanism was directly com-
bined with a struggle between both parties, in which N.
was always conquered. The struggle always finally ended
in N.'s being compelled to allow L. to practise onanism on
him. L. assured me that this kind of masturbation had
given him, as well as N., especial pleasure. In this way
L. continued to practise masturbation very frequently
until his eighteenth year. AVarned by a friend, he then
began to struggle with all his might against this evil habit.
He became more and more successful, and finally, after
the first performance of coitus, he stopped the practice of
onanism entirely. But this was only accomplished in hia
FETICHISM. 217
twenty-second year. It now seems incomprehensible to
the patient — and he says he is filled with disgust at the
thought — how he could ever have found pleasure in per-
forming masturbation with other boys. Now, nothing
could induce him to touch another man's genitals, the
sight of which is even unpleasant to him. He has lost
all inclination for men, and feels attracted by women
exclusively.
It must be mentioned, however, that, although L. has
a decided inclination for the female sex, he presents an
abnormal phenomenon.
The essential thing in woman that excites him is the
sight of her beautiful hands ; L. is by far more impressed
when he touches a beautiful female hand than he would be
were he to see its possessor in a state of complete nudity.
The extent to which L.'s preference for beautiful female
hands goes is shown by the following incident : —
L. knew a beautiful young lady possessed of every
charm, but her hands were quite large and not beautifully
formed, and often they were not as clean as L. could wish.
For this reason it was not only impossible for L. to con-
ceive a deeper interest in the lady, but he was not able
even to touch her. L. believes that there is nothing more
disgusting to him than dirty finger-nails; this alone would
make it impossible for him to touch a woman who in all
other respects was most beautiful. L. formerly, as a
substitute for coitus, induced the puella to perform genital
manipulation with her hand until ejaculation took place.
To the question as to what there was about a woman's
hand that attracted him in particular, whether he saw in
it a symbol of power, and whether it gave him pleasure to
be directly humiliated by a woman, the patient answered
that only the beautiful form of the hand charmed him ;
that it afforded him no gratification to be humiliated by a
woman ; and that he had never had any thought to regard
the hand as the symbol or instrument of a woman's power.
The preference for the hand is still so great that the
218 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
patient has greater pleasure when his genitals are touched
by it than when he performs coitus in vagiyiam. Yet, the
patient prefers to perform the latter, because it seems to
him to be natural, while the former seems abnormal. The
touch of a beautiful female hand on his body immediately
causes him to have erection ; he thinks that kissing and
other contacts do not exert nearly so strong an influence.
It is only of late years that the patient has performed
coitus frequently, but it has always been very diliicult for
him to determine to do it. Moreover, in coitus, he did not
find the complete satisfaction he sought. However, when
he finds himself near a woman whom he would like to
possess, sometimes, at mere sight of her, his sexual excite-
ment becomes so intense that ejaculation results. L.
says expressly that during this process he does not in-
tentionally touch or press his genitals ; ejaculation under
such circumstances affords him much more pleasure than
he experiences in actual coitus.^
To go back, the patient's dreams were never about
coitus. When he had pollutions at night, they were almost
always associated with other thoughts than those that
occur in the normal man. The patient's dreams are of
events of his school-days, when, besides the mutual onan-
ism described, he had ejaculations whenever he became
anxiously excited. "When, for example, the teacher dic-
tated an extemporaneous exercise, and L. was unable
to follow in translation, ejaculation often occurred.''^ The
pollutions that now occur occasionally, at night, are only
accompanied by dreams that have the same or a similar
1 Great sexual hypersesthesia. Cf. note on p. 64.
2 This is also sexual hypcraesthesia. Any intense excitement afiects
the sexual sphere [Bijiet's " Dynamogcnie gcncrale "). Concerning tliis Dr.
Moll communicates the following case : " A similar thing is described by
Mr E., aged twenty-seven ; merchant. While at school, and afterward, he
often had ejaculation with pleasurable feeling when he was seized with
a spell of intense anxiety. Besides, almost every other physical or mental
pain exerted a similar influence. E., as he states, has a normal sexual
instinct, but suffers with nervous impotence."
FETICHISM. 219
subject — i.e., the events at school just mentioned. On
account of his unnatural feeling and sensibility the patient
thinks he is incapable of loving a woman permanently.
Treatment of the patient's perversion has not yet been
possible.
This case of hand-fetichism certainly does not depend
on masochism or sadism, but is to be explained simply
on the ground of early indulgence in mutual onanism.
Neither is there contrary sexual instinct. Before the
sexual appetite was clearly conscious of its object, the
hands of school-fellows were used. As soon as the instinct
for the opposite sex became evident, the interest for the
hand was transferred to that of woman.
In hand-fetichists, who, according to Binet, are
numerous, it is possible that other associations lead to
the same result.
Next to the hand-fetichists, naturally come the foot-
fetichists. While glove-fetichism, which belongs to the
next group of object-fetichism, seldom takes the place of
hand-fetichism, we find shoe- and boot-fetichism, of which
there are innumerable cases occurring everywhere, taking
the place of enthusiasm for the naked female foot. It is
easy to see the reason for this. The female hand is
usually seen uncovered ; the foot, covered. Thus the
early associations which determine the direction of the
vita sexualis are naturally connected with the naked hand,
but with the foot when covered.
This assumption is certainly correct with regard to
those who have grown up in large cities, and easily
explains the scarcity of foot-fetichism,^ which will be
elucidated by the following cases.
Case 75. Foot-fetichism. Acquired inverted sexuality
^ Exceptions are the cases of latent masochism in the form of Kopro-
lagnia in wliich case the fetichistic stimulus is not to be found in the
clean naked foot but c contra, cf. case 67.
220 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Mr. X., civil servant, twenty-nine years of age ; mother
neuropathic, father diabetic.
Has good mental qualities, is of nervous disposition,
but never suffered from nervous disease, shows no signs
of degeneration. Patient distinctly recalls that even at
the age of six he became sexually excited when he saw
the naked feet of women, and was impelled to follow them,
01: watch them when at work.
At the age of fourteen he shpped one night into the
room where his sister slept and kissed her foot. At the
age of eight he began spontaneously to masturbate, think-
ing all the while of the naked feet of women.
When sixteen he often took shoes and stockings of
servant girls to bed with him ; and whilst fingering them
excited himself into masturbation.
At the age of eighteen he began sexual intercourse
with persons of the opposite sex. He had full power, and
coitus satisfied him without the aid of a fetich. For
males he had not the slightest sexual inclination, neither
bad the feet of men any attraction for him.
At the age of twenty-four a great change came over
bis sexual feelings and his physical condition.
Patient became neurasthenic and began to experience
sexual inclination to males. No doubt excessive mastur-
bation brought about neurosis and inverted sexuality to
which he was led by libido nimia remaining unsated by
coitus, and by the sight (accidental or otherwise) of female
feet.
As neurasthenia (at first sexualis) increased, a rapid
cessation of libido, power and gratification, with regard
to women set in. Parallel with this, inclination towards
his own sex developed and his fetichism was transferred
to males.
With the age of twenty-five he had coitus cum muliere
but rarely, and without satisfaction. He had lost nearly
all interest in the foot of woman. The craving to have
sexual intercourse with men grew daily stronger. When
FETICniSM, 221
he was transferred to a large city he found the long-
wished-for opportunity and actually revelled with intense
passion in this unnatural love.
He ejaculated during these acts with the utmost
voluptuousness. By-and-by the sight of a sympathetic
man, especially if he were barefooted, sufficed him.
His nocturnal pollutions had now for their object
intercourse with men, and, to be sure, in the fetichistic
sense (feet). Shoes did not interest him. The naked foot
was his charm. He often felt nnpelled to follow men in
the street, hoping to find occasion for taking off their
shoes. As a substitute he went barefooted himself. At
times he was driven to walk along the street in his bare
feet, thereby experiencing the most intense lustful feelings.
If he resisted, agony, trembling, and palpitation of the
heart set m. Often at nights he yielded to this impulse
for hours, even m stormy, rainy weather, not minding the
many risks and personal dangers to which he exposed
himself oy so doing.
He would carry the shoes in his hand, became sexually
excited, and only found satisfaction in spontaneous, or
induced ejaculation. He felt envious of navvies and the
poor who could go barefoot without attracting attention.
His happiest moments were the time which he spent
m a hydropathic establishment, d la Kneipp, where he
was allowed to go barefoot with the other men under
treatment.
An awkward affair, the result of his perverse sexual
practices sobered him. He sought safety from his un-
natural sexual existence by consulting a physician who
sent him to me.
The patient did his utmost to abstain from masturba-
tion and perverse connection with men. He underwent
treatment for neurasthenia in a hydropathic institute,
regained some interest in the gentler sex — his foot-fetich-
ism serving as a bridge — had once, with a degree of plea-
sure, coitus with a barefooted peasant girl who acceded
222 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXIMLIS.
to his wishes, and later on visited puellas a few times but
without gratification. Then he turned again to pers( ns
of his own sex, backsHded totally, felt irresistibly drawn
to tramps and farm labourers, whom he paid for the
favour to kiss their feet. An attempt to rescue the
unfortunate man by suggestive treatment was wrecked
on the impossibility to remove an enervation which was
beyond therapeutic aid.
Case 76. Foot-fetichism with continued hetero- sexuality .
Mr. Y., fifty years of age, bachelor, belongs to high
society. Consulted a physician on account of " nervous "
troubles. Is tainted, from childhood nervous, very sensi-
tive to cold and heat, troubled with delusions w^hich
assume the character of transient dementia persecutoria.
For instance, when he sits in a restaurant he imagines
that everybody stares at him, talks about, and makes
fun of him. As soon as he rises this feeling leaves him
and he no longer believes his fancies.
He never feels settled for any length of time, and
moves about from one place to another. At times it
happened that he engaged rooms at a hotel, but never
went there on account of his peculiar delusions.
He never had much libido. All his sentiments were
heterosexual. Now and then he found gratification in
coitus which he claims to have been normal.
Y. admitted that his sexual life was peculiar from early
youth. Neither women nor men excited him sexually,
but the sight of female feet, be they of children or grown-
up women would do so. All other parts of the female
body have no attraction for him.
If by chance he can see the naked feet of female gipsies
or tramps he can gaze at them b}^ the hour and is driven
by a " terrible " impulse terere genitalia propria ad pedes
illarum. Thus far he has successfully resisted this impulse.
What annoys him most is to see these feet covered
with dirt. He would like to see them well washed and
PETICHISM. 223
clean. He caunot say how this fetichism originated in
him (from a communication of Professor Ford).
Moll in his recent researches in libido sexualis, p. 288,
relates a most interesting case of foot-fetichism which
resembles case 75 above, in so far as the patient by force
of the fetich became homosexual.
Shoe-fetichism also finds its place in the following
group of dress-fetichism ; however, on account of its
demonstrable masochistic character in the majority of
cases, it has been, for the most part, described already (p.
159 et seq.).
Besides the eije, hand and foot, the moiUh and ear often
play the role of a fetich. Among others, Moll (op. cit.)
mentions such cases, {Cf. Belofs roma,nce, " La liouche
de Madame X.," which, B. states, rests upon actual
observation.)
The following remarkable case came under my personal
observation : —
Case 77. A gentleman of very bad heredity consulted
me concerning impotence that was driving him almost to
despair. While he was young, his fetich was women of
plump form. He married such a lady, and was happy
and potent with her. After a few months the lady fell
very ill, and lost much flesh. When, one day, he tried to
resume his marital duty, he was absolutely impotent, and
remained so. If, however, he attempted coitus with plump
women, he was perfectly potent.
Even bodily defects may become fetiches.
Case 78. X,, twenty-eight years of age ; comes from
heavily tainted family ; i.s neurasthenic; complains of want
of self-confidence and frequent depression of mind, with fits
of suicidal intentions, wljicli he has great trouble to ward
224 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUA.LIS.
off. The smallest worries throw him out of temper, and fill
him with despair. He is an engineer in a factory in Rupsian-
Poland, a man of robust frame, without signs of degenera-
tion. He complains of a peculiar mania, which causes
him to doubt his sanity. Since his seventeenth year he
becomes sexually excited only at the sight of physical
defects in women, especially lameness and disfigured feet.
He is not conscious of the original associative connection
between his libido and these defects in women.
Ever since puberty he has been under the bane of this
fetichism, which is painful to himself. Normal woman
has no attraction for him. If a woman, however, is afflicted
with lameness or with contorted or disfigured feet, she
exercises a powerful sensual influence over him, no matter
whether she is otherwise pretty or ugly.
In his dreams, accompanied by pollutions, the forms of
halting women are ever before him. At times he cannot
resist the temptation to imitate their gait, which causes
vehement orgasm, with lustful ejaculation. He claims to
have strong libido, and suffers intensely when his sexual
desire remains unsatisfied. Despite these facts, he had
coitus for the first time when he was twenty-two years of
age, and then but five times. He felt, however, not the
slightest satisfaction in spite of complete ability. He
thinks it would cause him intense pleasure if he had the
chance to mate with a halting woman. At any rate, he
could never marry any other than a lame woman.
Since his twentieth year the patient manifests fetich-
ism for garments. It often suffices him to put on female
stockings, shoes and drawers. He buys such wearing
apparel at times and, putting it on secretly, becomes lust-
fully excited and ejaculates. Garments which have been
worn by women have no attraction for him. He would
fain prefer to wear female garb, so as to keep up sensual
emotions, but has not yet dared to do so for fear of being
detected.
His vita sexualis is reduced to these practices. He is
FETTCHTSM. 225
definite in asserting that he never was addicted to mastur-
bation. Quite recently he has been, in consequence of his
neurasthenic afflictions, much troubled with pollutions.
Case 79. Mr V., thirty years, civil servant ; comes
from very neuropathic parents. Since his seventh year he
had for a playmate a lame girl of the same age.
At the age of twelve, being of a nervous disposition and
hypersexually inclined, the boy began spontaneously to
masturbate. At that period puberty began to set in, and
it lies beyond doubt that the first sexual emotions towards
the other sex were coincident with the sight of the lame
girl.
For ever after only halting women excited him sexu-
ally. His fetich is a pretty lady who, like the companion
of his childhood, limps with the left foot.
Always heterosexual but abnormally sensual he sought
early relations with the opposite sex, but was absolutely
impotent with women who were not lame. Virility and
gratification were most strongly elicited if the puella
limped with the left foot, but he was successful also if
the lameness were in the right foot. As, in consequence
of his fetichism the opportunities for coitus occurred but
seldom, he resorted to masturbation, but found it a dis-
gusting and miserable substitute. His sexual anomaly
rendered him very unhappy, and he was often near com-
mitting suicide, but regard for his parents prevented him.
This moral affliction culminated in the desire for
marriage with a sympathetic lame lady, but since he could
not love the soul of such a wife, but only her defect of
lameness, he considered such a union a profanation of
matrimony and an unbearable, ignoble existence. On
this account he had often thought of resignation and
castration.
When V. came to me for advice I obtained, in my
examination of him, only negative results as regards signs
of degeneration, nervous disease, etc.
15
226 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
I enlightened the patient on the subject, and told him
that it was difficult, if not absolutely impossible, for
medical science to obliterate a fetichism so deeply rooted
by old associations, but expressed the hope that if he
made a limping maid happy in wedlock he himself would
find happiness also.
Descartes, who himself (" Traite des Passions," cxxxvi.)
expresses some opinions concerning the origin of peculiar
affections in associations of ideas, was always partial to
cross-eyed women, because the object of his first love had
such a defect {Binet, op. cit.).
Lydston ("A Lecture on Sexual Perversion," Chicago,
1890) reports the case of a man who had a love affair
with a woman whose right lower extremity had been
amputated. After separation from her he searched for
other women with a like defect. A negative fetich !
A peculiar variety of body fetichism may be found in
the following case (strongly complicated with sadistic ele-
ments), in which fine white virgin skin is the fetich, and
sadism leads to lustful acts of cruelty (as an equivalent to
coitus), even to anthropophagy (cf. p. 82 et seq.), for which
the deeply degenerated and probably epileptic patient seeks
to find a substitute in antomutilation and autophagy.
C^se 80. L., labourer, was arrested because he had
cut a large piece of skin from his left forearm with a pair
of scissors in a public park.
He confesses that for a long time he had been craving
to eat a piece of the fine white skin of a maiden, and that for
this purpose he had been lying in wait for such a victim
with a pair of scissors ; but, as he had been unsuccessful,
he desisted from his purpose and instead had cut his own
skin.
His father was an epileptic, and his sister an imbecile.
Up to his seventeenth year he suffered from enuresis noc-
turna, was dreaded by everybody on account of his rough
PETICHISM. 227
and irascible nature, and dismissed from school because of
his insubordination and viciousness.
He began onanism at an early age, and read with
preference pious books. His character showed traits of
superstition, proneness to the mystic, and showy acts of
devotion.
When thirteen his lustful anomaly awoke at the sight
of a beautiful young girl who had a fine white skin. The
impulse to bite off a piece of that skin and eat it became
paramount with him. No other parts of the female body
excited him. He never had any desire for sexual inter-
course, and never attempted such.
He hoped to achieve his end easier with the aid of
scissors than with his teeth, for which reason he always
carried a pair with him for years. On several occasions
his efforts were nearly successful. Since the previous year
he found it most difficult to bear his failures any longer,
when he decided upon a substitute — viz., each time when
he had unsuccessfully pursued a girl he would cut a piece
of skin from his own arm, thigh or abdomen and eat it.
Imagining that it was a piece of the skin of the girl whom he had
pursued, he would whilst masticating his own skin obtain
orgasm and ejaculation.
Many extensive and deep wounds and numerous scars
were found on his body.
During the act of self-mutilation, and for a long time
afterwards, he suffered severe pains, but tbey were over-
compensated by the lustful feelings which he experienced
whilst eating the raw flesh, especially if the latter dripped
with blood, and when he succeeded in his illusion that it
was ctUis virginis. The mere sight of a knife or scissors
sufficed to provoke this perverse impulse, which throws
him into a state of anxiety, accompanied by profuse per-
spiration, vertigo, palpitation of the heart, craving for
cutis femincB. He must, with scissors in hand, follow the
woman that attracts him, but he does not lose conscious-
ness or self-control, for at the acme of the crisis he takes
228 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
from his own what is denied him from the body of the girh
During the whole crisis he has erection and orgasm, and
at the very moment when he begins to chew the piece of
his skin ejaculation sets in. After that he feels greatly
relieved and comforted.
L. is quite conscious of the pathological aspect of his
condition. Of course, this dangerous character was sent
to an insane asylum, where he attempted suicide (Magnan
" Psychiatrische Vorlesungen ").
An interesting category is formed by the hair-fetichists.
The transition from " admirer of woman's hair " within
physiological limits to pathological feticbism is easy. The
beginning of the pathological series is formed by those
cases in which the hair of a woman simply makes a sensual
impression and incites to cohabitation. Then follow those
in which virility is only possible with a woman who pos-
sesses this individual fetich. Possibly various senses
(sight, smell, hearing, through crepitant sounds, also touch
as with velvet- and silk-fetichists, vide infra) are drawn
into activity in this hair-fetichism as they receive lustful
impulses.
The end of the series is formed by those whom the hair
of woman suffices even when severed from the body — so
to speak, no longer a part of the living body, but only
matter, even a mercantile article — to excite libido and
sensual gratification by way of physical or psychical onan-
ism, eventually under contact of the genitals with the
fetich. An interesting instance of a hair-fetichist belong-
ing to the second catagory is related by Dr. Gemij, under
the title of " Histoire des peruques aphrodisiaques," in
"La Medecine Internationale," September, 1894.
A lady told Dr. Gemy that in the bridal night and in the
night following her husband contented himself with kiss-
ing her, andrunning his fingers through the wealth of her
tresses. He then fell asleep. In the third night Mr X,
produced an immense wig, with enormously long hair, and
FETICHISM. 229
begged his wife to put it on. As soon as she had done so,
he richly compensated her for his neglected marital duties.
In the morning he showed again extreme tenderness, whilst
he caressed the wig. When Mrs X. removed the wig she
lost at once all charm for her husband. Mrs. X. recog-
nised this as a hobby, and readily yielded to the wishes of
her husband, whom she loved dearly, and whose libido
depended on the wearing of the wig. It was remarkable,
however, that a wig had the desired effect only for a fort-
night or three weeks at a time. It had to be made of
thick, long hair, no matter of what colour
The result of this marriage was, after five years, two
children, and a collection of seventy-two wigs.
In those cases in which the female hair as mere
matter possesses the properties of a fetich, it not uncom-
monly happens that the fetichist seeks to possess himself
of woman's hair by unlawful acts. These form the group
of hair-despoilers, of no slight importance from the forensic
aspect.^
Case 81 . A hair-despoiler. P., aged forty, artistic
locksmith, single. His father was temporarily insane,
and his mother was very nervous. He was well de-
veloped and intelligent, but was early affected with tics
and delusions. He had never masturbated. He loved
platonically, and often busied himself with matrimonial
plans. He had coitus infrequently with prostitutes, but
never felt satisfied with such intercourse — rather, dis-
gusted. Three years ago he was overtaken by misfortune
(financial ruin), and besides, he had a febrile disease,
with dehrium. These things had a very bad effect on
his hereditarily predisposed nervous system. On 28th
^ Moll (op. cit., p. 131) reports : " A man, X., becomes intensely excited
sexually whenever he sees a woman with the hair in a braid ; loose hair,
no matter how beautiful, cannot produce this effect ".
Of course, it is not justifiable to consider all hair-despoilers fetichists,
for in a few cases such acts are done for the purpose of gain — i.e., the stolen
hair is not a fetich.
230 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Au;];ust, 1889, P. was arrested at the Trocadero, in Paris,
in flagranti, as he forcibly cut off a young girl's hair. He
was arrested with the hair in his hand and a pair of
scissors in his pocket He excused himself on the ground
of momentary mental confusion and an unfortunate, irre-
sistible passion ; he confessed that he had ten times cut
off hair, which he took great delight in keeping at home.
On searching his home, sixty-five switches and tresses of
hair were found, assorted in packets. P. had already been
once arrested, on 15th December, 1886, under similar
circumstances, but was released for lack of evidence.
P. states that, for the last three 3'ears, when he is
alone in his room at night, he feels ill, anxious, excited
and dizzy, and then is troubled by the impulse to touch
female hair. When it happened that he could actually
Lake a young girl's hair in his hand, he felt intensely
excited sexually, and had erection and ejaculation without
touching the girl in any other way. On reaching home,
he would feel ashamed of what had taken place ; but the
wish to possess hair, always accompanied by great sexual
pleasure, became more and more powerful in him. He
wondered that previously, even in the most intimate inter-
course with women he had experienced no such feeling.
One evening he could not resist the impulse to cut off a
girl's hair. With the hair in his hand, at home, the
sensuous process was repeated. He was forced to rub his
body with the hair and envelop his genitals in it. Finally,
quite exhausted, he grew ashamed, and could not trust
himself to go out for several days. After months of rest
he was again impelled to possess himself of female hair,
indifferent as to whose it might be. If he attained his
end, he felt himself possessed by a supernatural power
and unable to give up his booty. If he could not attain
the object of his desire, he became greatly depressed,
hurried home, and there revelled in his collection of hair.
He combed and fondled it, and thus had intense orgasm,
satisfying himself by masturbation. Hair exposed in the
FETICHISM. 231
show-cases of hair-dressers- made no impression on him ;
it required hair hanginj^ down from a female head.
At the height of his act, he states, he is in such a
state of excitement that he has only imperfect appercep-
tion and subsequent recollection of what he does. When
he touches the hair with the scissors he has erection, and,
at the instant of cutting it off, ejaculation. Since his
misfortune, about three years ago, he states that he has
had weakness of memory, is easily exhausted mentally,
and has been troubled by sleeplessness and night-terrors.
P. deeply regrets his crime.
Not only hair, but a number of hair-pins, ribbons and
other articles of the feminine toilet, were found in his
possession, which he had had presented to him. He had
always had an actual mania for collecting such things, as
well as newspapers, pieces of wood and other worthless
trash, which he would never give up. He also had a
strange and, to him, inexplicable fear of passing a certain
street ; if he ever tried it, it made him ill.
The opinion (medico-legal) showed him to be heredi-
tarily predisposed, and proved the imperative, impulsive
and decidedly involuntary character of the criminal acts,
which had the significance of an imperative act, induced
by an imperative idea, with an accompaniment of over-
powering abnormal sexual feeling. Pardon ; asylum for
insane {Voisin, Socquet, Motet, "Annales d'hygiene," April,
1890).
Following this case is a similar one, which also deserves
attention, for it has been well studied, and may be called
almost classical ; and it places also the fetich, as well as
the original associative awakening of the idea, in a clear
light :—
Case 82. A hnir-de spoiler. E-., aged twenty-five.
Maternal aunt, epileptic ; brother had convulsions. E.
says he was fairly healthy as a child, and learned quite
232 rSYCHOPATHlA SEXUALIS.
easily. At the age of fifteen he had an erotic feeling of
pleasure, with erection, at the sight of one of the village
beauties combing- her hair. Until that time persons of
the opposite sex had made no impression on him. Two
months later, in Paris, the sight of young girls with their
hair flowing down over their shoulders always excited him
intensely. One day he could not resist an opportunity to
twist a young girl's hair in his fingers. For this he was
arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for three months.
After that he served five years in the army. During this
time hair was not dangerous for him, because not very
accessible ; but he dreamed sometim.es of female heads
with the hair braided or flowing. Occasional coitus with
women, but without their hair being effective as a fetich.
Once more in Paris, he again dreamed as before, and
became greatly excited by female hair. He never dreamed
about the whole form of a woman, only of heads with
braidSv of hair. His sexual excitement due to this fetich
had become so intense of late that he had resorted to mas-
turbation. The idea of touching female hair, or, better,
of possessing it to masturbate w^hile handling it, grew
more and more powerful. Of late, when he had female
hair in his fingers, ejaculation was induced. One day he
succeeded in cutting hair, about twenty-five centimetres
long, from three little girls in the street, and keeping it in
his possession, when he was arrested in a fourth attempt.
Deep regret and shame. He was not sentenced. Since
spending some time in the asylum, he has so far improved
that female hair no longer excites him. Set at hberty, he
thought of going to his native place, where the women
wear their hair done up {Magnan, " Archiv. de I'anthro-
pol. criminelle," v.. No. 28).
A third case is the following, which is hkewise suited
to illustrate the psychopathic nature of such pheno-
mena ; and the remarkable means which induced a cure
are worthy of note : —
FETICHISM 233
Case 83. Hair-fctichism. Mr. X., between thirty and
forty years old ; from the higher class of society ; single.
He says that he comes of a healthy family, but from
childhood has been nervous, vacillating and peculiar ;
that since his eighth year he has been powerfully attracted
by female hair. This was particularly true in the case
of young girls. When he was nine years old, a girl of
thirteen seduced him. He did not understand it, and was
not at all excited. A twelve-year-old sister of this girl
also courted, kissed, and hugged him. He allowed this
quietly, because this girl's hair pleased him so well.
When about ten years old, he began to have erotic
feelings at the sight of female hair that pleased him.
Gradually these feelings occurred spontaneously, and
memory-pictures of girl's hair were always immediately
associated with them. At the age of eleven he was
taught to masturbate by school-mates. The associative
connection of sexual feelings and a fetichistic idea were
already established, and always appeared when the patient
indulged in evil practices with his companions. With
advancing years, the fetich grew more and more power-
ful. Even false hair began to excite him, but he always
preferred natural hair. When he could touch or kiss it,
he was perfectly happy. He wrote essays and poems on
the beauty of female hair ; he sketched heads of hair
and masturbated. After his fourteenth year he became
so powerfully excited by his fetich that he had violent
erections. In contrast with his early taste while a boy,
he was now charmed only by luxuriant, thick black hair.
He experienced intense desire to kiss such hair, particu-
larly to suck it. To touch such hair afforded him but
httle satisfaction ; he obtained much more pleasure in
looking at it, but particularly in kissing and sucking it.
If this were impossible, he would become unhappy, even
to the extent of tadium vitce. Then he would attempt to
relieve himself, imagining fantastic " hair-adventures "
and masturbating. Not infrequently, in the street and
234 PSYCHOPATHIA SBXUALIS.
in crowds, he could not keep from imprinting a kiss on
ladies' heads. He would then hurry home to masturbate.
Sometimes he could resist this impulse ; but it was then
necessary for him, filled with feehngs of fear, to run away
as quickly as possible, in order to escape the domination
of his fetich. He was only once impelled to cut off a girl's
hair in a crowd. In the act he was seized with fear, and
was not successful with his pocket-knife ; and, by flight,
he narrowly escaped detection.
When he became mature, he attempted to satisfy him-
self in coitus with pucllis. He induced powerful erection
by kissing the tresses, but could not induce ejaculation.
Therefore, he was unsatisfied by coitus. At the same time,
his favourite idea was coitus with kissing of hair ; but
even this did not satisfy him, because it did not induce
ejaculation. Faide de mieux, he once stole the combings
of a lady's hair, put it in his mouth, and masturbated
while calling its owner up in imagination. In the dark a
woman could not interest him, because he could not then
see her hair. Flowing hair also had no cbarm for him ;
nor did the hair about the genitals. His erotic dreams
were all about hair. Of late the patient had become
so excited that he had a kind of satyriasis. He was
incapable of business, and felt so unhappy that he sought
to drown his soirow in alcohol. He drank large quantities,
had alcohohc delirium, an attack of alcoholic epilepsy,
and required hospital treatment. After the intoxication
had passed away, under appropriate treatment, the sexual
excitement soon disappeared ; and when the patient was
discharged, he was freed from his fetichistic idea, save
for its occasional occurrence in dreams. The physical
examination showed normal genitals and no degenerative
signs whatever.
Such cases of hair-fetichism, which lead to attacks on
female hair, seem to occur everywhere, from time to
time. In November, 1890, according to reports in Amen-
FETICIIISM. 235
can newspapers, several cities in the United States were
troubled by such hair-despoilers.
(b) The Fetich is an Article of Female Attire.
The great importance of adornment, ornament and
dress in the normal vita sexualis of man is very generally
recognised. Culture and fashion have, to a certain extent,
endowed woman with artificial sexual characteristics,
the removal of which, when woman is seen unattired, in
spite of the normal sexual effect of this sight, may exert
an opposite influence.^ It should not be overlooked that
female dress often shows a tendency to emphasise and
exaggerate certain sexual peculiarities, — secondary sexual
characteristics (bosom, waist, hips). In most individuals
the sexual instinct awakes long before there is any possi-
bility or opportunity of intimate intercourse, and the early
desires of youth are concerned with the ordinary appear-
ance of the attired female form. Thus it happens that not
infrequently, at tlie beginning of the vita sexualis, ideas of
the persons exerting sexual charms and ideas of their
attire become associated. This association may be lasting
— the attired woman may be always preferred — if the
individuals dominated by this perversion do not in other
respects attain to a normal vita sexualis, and find gratifi-
cation in natural charms.
In psychopathic individuals, sexually hypernesthetic, as
a result of this, it actually happens that the dressed woman
is always preferred to the nude female form. It may be
recalled that in case 46 the woman was not to take off her
chemise, and that in case 48, equus eroticus, the woman
was preferred dressed. Further on a similar case will be
referred to.
Dr. Moll {op. cit. second edition) mentions a patient who
could not perform coitus with jiit'dla nuda ; the woman had
' Cf. Goethe's remarks about his adventure in Geneva {" Briefc aus
der Schweiz," 1 Abthcil., Schluss).
236 PSTCHOPATHIA SESUALIS.
to have on a chemise, at least. The same author {op. cit.,
p. 166) mentions a man affected with contrary sexuahty,
who is subject to the same dress-fetichism.
The reason for this phenomenon is apparently to be
found in the mental onanism of such individuals. In
seeing innumerable clothed forms, they have cultivated
desires before seeing nudity.^
A more marked form of dress-fetichism is that in which,
instead of the dressed woman in general, a certain kind of
,attire in particular becomes a fetich. One can understand
how, with an intense and early sexual impression, com-
bined with the idea of a particular garment on the woman,
in hyperaesthetic individuals, a very intense interest in this
garment might be developed.
Hammond {op. cit.,]). 46) reports the following case, taken
from Boubaud (" Traite de I'impuissance," Paris, 1876) : —
Case 84. X., son of a general. He was raised in the
country. At the age of fourteen he was initiated into the
joys of love by a young lady. This lady was a blonde, and
wore her hair in ringlets ; and, in order to avoid detection
in sexual intercourse with her young lover, she always
wore her usual clothing,— gaiters, a corset, and a silk dress
on such occasions.
When his studies were completed, and he was sent to
a garrison where he could enjoy freedom, he found that his
sexual desire could be excited only under certain condi-
tions. A brunette could not excite him in the least, and
a woman in night-clothes would stifle every bit of love in
him. In order to awaken his desire, a woman had to be
a blonde, and wear gaiters, a corset and a silk dress, — in
short, she had to be dressed like the lady who had first
awakened his sexual desire. He was always compelled
^ The fact that the partly veiled form is often more charming than
when it is perfectly nude, is, as far as object goes, similar, but quite dif-
ferent psychically. This depends upon the effect of contrast and expecta-
tion, which are common phenomena, and in no sense pathological.
FETICHISM. 237
to give up thoughts of matriiiiony, because he knew he
would be unable to fulfil his marital duty with a woman
in night-clothes.
Hammond (p. 42) reports another case where coitus
maritalis could be performed only by the help of a certain
costume ; and Dr. Moll mentions several similar cases in
individuals of hetero- and homo-sexuahty. The cause
may often be shown to be an early association, and such
may always be assumed. It is only in this way that one
can explain why a certain costume cannot be resisted by
such individuals, no matter what person wears the fetich.
Thus one can understand why, as Coffignon {op. cit.) relates,
men at brothels demand that the women with whom they
are concerned put on certain costumes, such as that of a
ballet-dancer, or a nun, etc. ; and why these houses are
furnished with a complete wardrobe for such purposes.
Binet {op. cit.) relates the case of a judge who was
exclusively m love with Italian girls who came to Paris
as artists' models, and their peculiar costume. The cause
was here demonstrably an impression made at the time of
the awakening of the sexual instinct.
There is but a step from such cases to the complete
absorption of the whole vita sexualis by the fetich, the
possession and manipulation of which may suf&ce to pro-
voke orgasm and even ejaculation where irritable weak-
ness of the centrum ejaculation prevails.
Case 85. P., thirty-three years of age, business man,
son of a mother who suffered from melancholia and
committed suicide. He was tainted with several signs of
anatomical degeneration, was looked upon by his neigh-
bours as a " type," and had the nickname I'amouretix des
nourrices et des bonnes d'enfants.
He became a nuisance to these girls by his obtrusive
behaviour, picked a quarrel with one of them who wore
his fetich, and was arrested.
238 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
He claimed to have always been vehemently excited at
the sight of wet nurses and children's nurses, but not be-
cause they were of the female sex, but because tliey wore
a certain costume. Again, it was not certain portions,
but the costume as a whole which attracted him. To be
in the company of such persons was his greatest happi-
ness. When he returned home from such interviews it
was sufficient for him to recall the impressions just
received, in order to produce orgasmus venereus.
An analogous case is related by Motet. It refers to a
young man, who became sexually excited only at the sight
of a woman attired in bridal costume. The individuality
of the woman was a matter of indifference to him. In
order to gratify his fetichistic cravings, he spent a great
deal of his time at the door of a restaurant where many
weddings were celebrated {Gamier, "Les Fetichistes,
p. 59).
A third form of dress-fetichism, having a much highei
degree of pathological significance, is by far the most fre-
quent. In this form it is no longer the woman herself,
dressed, or even dressed in a particular fashion, that
constitutes the principal sexual stimulus, but the sexual
interest is so concentrated on some particular article
of female attire that the lustful idea of this object is
entirely separated from the idea of woman, and thus
obtains an independent value. This is the real domain
of dress-fetichism, where an inanimate object — an isolated
article of wearing-apparel — is alone used for the excitation
and satisfaction of the sexual instinct. This third form
of dress-fetichism is also the one which forensicaily is
the most important.
In a large number of these cases the fetiches are articles
of female underwear, which, owing to their private use,
are suited to occasion such associations.
Case 86. K., aged forty-five, shoemaker, is reported
FETICHISM. 239
to be without hereditary taint. He is peculiar, and has
small mental endowment. He is of masculine habits, and
without signs of degeneration. Previously blameless in
conduct, on the evening of 5th July, 1876, he was detected
removing stolen female under-garments from a place of
concealment. There were found with him about 300
articles of the female toilet, among them, besides
chemises and drawers, night-caps, garters, and a female
doll. When arrested he was wearing a chemise.
Since his thirteenth year he had been a slave to an
impulse to steal women's linen ; but, after his first
punishment for it, he became very careful, and stole
with refinement and success. When this longing
came over him, he would grow anxious, and his head
would become heavy. Then he could not resist the im-
pulse, cost what it might. It was a matter of indifference
to him from whom he took the articles. At night, on
going to bed, he would put on the stolen clothing and
create beautiful women in imagination, thus inducing
pleasurable feeling and ejaculation. This was apparently
the motive of his thefts ; at least, he had never disposed
of any of the articles, but had hidden them here and
there.
He declared that, earlier in his life, he had indulged in
normal sexual intercourse with women. He denied onan-
ism, pederasty, and other sexual acts. He said he was
engaged at twenty-five, but the engagement was broken
through no fault of his. He was incapable of grasping the
abnormality of his condition and the wrong of his acts.
(Passow, *' Vierteljahrsschrift f. ger. Medic," N. F. xxviii., p.
61 ; Krauss, " Psychologie des Verbrechens," 1884, p. 190).
Case 87. J., a young butcher. When arrested he
wore underneath his overcoat a bodice, a corset, a vest, a
jacket, a collar, a jersey, and a chemise, also fine stockings
and garters.
Since he was eleven he was troubled by the desire to
240 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
wear a chemise of his elder sister. Whenever he could do
it unnoticed he indulged in this pleasure, and since the age
of puberty the wearing of such a garment would bring on
ejaculation. When he became independent he bought
chemises and other articles of female toilet. In his room
a complete outfit of female apparel was found. To put on
such garments was the great aim of his sexual instinct.
This fetichism had financially ruined him. At the hos-
pital he begged the attending physician to permit him
to wear female attire. Inverted sexuality did not exist
(Gamier, " Les Fetich-istes," p. 62).
Case 88. Z., thirty-six years of age, scholar ; has
never heretofore felt interested in woman, only in her
attire, and never had sexual intercourse. Besides the
elegance and smartness of the female toilet in general,
certain underwear, chemises made of cambric and trimmed
with lace, silk corsets, embroidered silk skirts and silk
stockings form his particular fetich. It caused him
voluptuous feelings to inspect and finger such female
garments at the draper's. His ideal was the female form
in bathing costume, with silk stockings and corset, and
clad in a morning-dress with a long train.
He studied the costumes of the courenses des rues, but
found them tasteless. He found more pleasure in gazing
at the shop windows, but felt annoyed because the exhibits
therein were not changed often enough. He found partial
satisfaction in holding and studying fashion magazines,
and in buying now and then single garments of excep-
tional beauty. It would be the height of pleasure for him
if he had access to the toilet arts of the boudoir or the
fitting rooms of the dressmaker, or if he could be the
femme de chambre of some wealthy lady of the world, and
could arrange the toilet for her. There are no traces of
masochism or homosexual inclination to be found on this
pecuhar fetichist. He is of thoroughly manly presence
{Gamier, " La folic a Paris," 1890).
fetichiSm. 241
Hammond {op. cit.) reports a case of passionate interest
in single articles of female wearing-apparel. Here, also,
the patient's pleasure consisted in wearing a corset and
other female garments (without any traces of contrary
sexual instinct). The pain of tight lacing, experienced
by himself or induced in women, is a delight to him, —
sadistic-masochistic element.
A case probably belonging here is one reported hy Diez
(" Der Selbstmord," 1838, p. 24), where a young man
could not resist the impulse to tear female linen. While
tearing it, he always had ejaculation.
A combination of fetichism with an impulse to destroy
the fetich (in a certain sense, sadism with inanimate
objects) seems to occur quite frequently (cf. case 99).
An article of dress, which, though it has not really a
private character, by its material and colour, as well as by
the place where it is worn, might be suggestive of under-
garments, and hence has sexual relations, is the apron
(cf. also the metonymic use of the word " apron " for
" petticoat " in the saying, " To chase every apron," etc.).
This explains the following case : —
Case 89. C, aged thirty-seven; of a badly tainted
family ; of small mental endowment ; plagiocephalic. At
fifteen his attention was attracted by an apron hung out
to dry. He put it on and masturbated behind the fence.
From that time he could not see aprons without repeating
the act. If he met any one — no matter whether man or
woman — with an apron on, he was compelled to run after
the person. In order to free him from this constant steal-
ing of aprons, he was sent as a marine in his sixteenth
year. In this calling he saw no aprons, and had continual
rest. When, at nineteen, he returned home, he was again
compelled to steal aprons, and, as a result, got into
serious complications, and was several times locked up.
He sought to free himself of his weakness by a sojourn of
several years with the Trappists. When he left them, he
16
242 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
was just as bad as before. As a result of a new theft, he
underwent a medico-legal examination, and was committed
to an asylum. He never stole anything but aprons. It
was a pleasure to him to revel in the memory of the first
apron he ever stole. His dreams were filled with aprons.
He occasionally used the memory of his thefts to make
coitus possible, or for masturbation {Charcot - Magnan,
"Arch, de neurolog.," 1882, No. 12).
In a case reported by Lombroso ("Amori anomali pre-
coci nei pazzi," "Arch, di psich.," 1883, p. 17), analogous to
those of this series, a boy of very bad heredity, at the age
of four, had erections and great sexual excitement at the
sight of white garments, particularly underclothing. He
was lustfully excited by handling and crumpling them.
At the age of ten he began to masturbate at the sight of
white, starched linen. He seems to have been affected
with moral insanity, and was executed for murder.
The following case of petticoat-fetichism is coupled with
peculiar circumstances : —
Case 90. Z., aged thirty-five; civil servant; the
only child of a nervous mother and a healthy father.
From childhood he was " nervous," and at the consul-
tation his neuropathic eyes, delicate, slender body, fine
features, very thin voice, and sparse growth of beard
attracted attention. The patient presents nothing ab-
normal except symptoms of slight neurasthenia. Genitals
and sexual functions normal. Patient states that he has
only masturbated four or five times when he was very
young. As early as at the age of thirteen, the patient
was powerfully excited sexually by the sight of wet female
dresses, while the same dresses, when dry, had no effect
upon him. His greatest delight was to look at women
with wet garments in the rain. If he met a woman having
a pleasing face under such circumstances, he experienced
an intense feehng of lustful pleasure, had erection and felt
FETICHISM. 243
impelled to perform coitus. He states that he has never
had any desire to steal wet female dresses or to throw
water on women. He can gi\e no explanation of the
origin of his peculiarity.
It is possible that, in this case, the sexual instinct was
first awakened by the sight of a woman as she exposed
her charms by raising her skirts in wet weather. The
obscure instinct, not yet conscious of its object, then
became directed to the wet garments, as in other
cases.
Lovers of female handkerchiefs are frequent, and, there-
fore, important forensically. As to the frequency of
handkerchief- fetichism, it may be remarked that the
handkerchief is the one article of feminine attire which,
outside of intimate association, is most frequently dis-
played, and which, with its warmth from the person and
specific odours, may by accident fall into the hands of
others. The frequency of early association of lustful
feelings with the idea of a handkerchief, which may
always be presumed to have occurred in such cases of
fetichism, probably is due to this.
Case 91 . A baker's assistant, aged thirty-two, single,
previously of good repute, was discovered stealing a hand-
kerchief from a lady. In sincere remorse, he confessed
that he had stolen from eighty to ninety such handker-
chiefs. He had cared only for handkerchiefs, and, indeed,
only for those belonging to young women attractive to him.
In his outward appearance the culprit presents nothing
peculiar. He dresses himself with much taste. liis con-
duct is peculiar, anxious, depressed and unmanly, and he
often lapses into whining and tears. Lack of self-reliance,
weakness of comprehension, and slowness of perception
and reflection are noticeable. One of his sisters is epilep-
tic. He lives in good circumstances ; never had a severe
illness ; is well developed. In relating his history, he shows
244 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
weakness of memory and lack of clearness ; calculation is
hard for him, though when young he learned and compre-
hended easily. His anxious, uncertain state of mind gives
rise to a suspicion of onanism. The culprit confessed that
he had been given to this practice excessively since his
nineteenth year. For some years, as a result of his vice,
he had suffered with depression, lassitude, trembhng of the
hmbs, pain in the back, and disinchnation for work. Fre-
quently a depressed, anxious state of mind came over him,
in which he avoided people. He had exaggerated, fantas-
tic notions about the results of sexual intercourse with
women, and could not bring himself to indulge in it. Of
late, however, he had thought of marriage. With great
remorse and in a weak-minded way, X. now confessed
that six months ago, while in a crowd, he became violently
excited sexually at the sight of a pretty young girl, and
was compelled to crowd up against her. He felt an
impulse to compensate himself for the want of a more
complete satisfaction of his sexual excitement, by stealing
her handkerchief. Thereafter, as soon as he came near
attractive females, with violent sexual excitement, pal-
pitation of the heart, erection and impetus coeundi, the
impulse would seize him to crowd up against them and
faute de mieux, steal their handkerchiefs. Althoagh the
consciousness of his criminal act never left him for a
moment, he was unable to resist the impulse. During the
act he was uneasy, which was in part due to his inordinate
sexual impulse, and partly to the fear of detection. The
medico-legal opinion rightly gave weight to the congenital
mental enfeeblement and the pernicious influence of
masturbation, and referred the abnormal impulses to a
perverse sexual impulse, cahing attention to the presence
of an interesting and well-known physiological con-
nection between the olfactory and sexual senses. The
inability to resist the pathological impulse was recognised.
X. was not punished {Zijype, "Wiener Med. Wochen-
schrift," 1879, No. 23).
FETICIIISM. 245
I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Fritsch, of
Vienna, for further facts concerning this handerchief-
fetichist, who was again arrested in August, 1890, in the
act of taking a handkerchief from a lady's pocket : —
On searching his house, 446 ladies' handkerchiefs
were found. He stated that he had already burned two
bundles of them. In the course of the examination, it
was further shown that X. had been punished with im-
prisonment for fourteen days in 1883 for stealing twenty-
seven handkerchiefs, and again with imprisonment for
three weeks in 1886. for a similar crime. Concerning his
relatives, nothing more could be learned than that his
father was subject to congestions and that a brother's
daughter was an imbecile and constitutionally neuro-
pathic. X. had married in 1879, and embarked in an
independent business, and in 1881 he made an assign-
ment. Soon after that his wife, who could not live with
him, and with whom he did not perform his marital
duty (denied by X.), demanded a divorce. Thereafter he
lived as assistant baker to his brother. He complained
bitterly of an impulse for ladies' handkerchiefs, but when
opportunity offered, unfortunatel}', he could not resist it.
In the act he experienced a feeling of delight, and felt as
if some one were forcing him to it. Sometimes he could
restrain himself, but when the lady was pleasing to him
he yielded to the first impulse. He would be wet with
sweat, partly from fear of detection, and partly on account
of the impulse to perform the act. He says he has been
sexually excited by the sight of handkerchiefs belonging
to women since puberty. He cannot recall the exact cir-
cumstances of this fetichistic association. The sexual
excitement occasioned by the sight of a lady with a
handkerchief hanging out of her pocket had constantly
increased. This had repeatedly caused erection, but never
ejaculation. After his twenty-first year, he says, he had
inclination to normal sexual indulgence, and had coitus
246 PSYCHOrATIIIA SEXUALIS.
without difficulty without ideas of handkerchiefs. With
increasing fetichism, the appropriation of handkerchiefs
had afforded him much more satisfaction than coitus. The
appropriation of the handkerchief of a lady attractive to
him was the same to him as intercourse with her would
have been. In the act he had true orgasm.
If he could not gain possession of the handkerchief he
desired, he would become painfully excited, tremble and
sweat all over. He kept separate the handkerchiefs of
ladies particularly pleasing to him, and revelled in the sight
of them, taking great pleasure in it. The odour of them
also gave him great delight, though he states that it was
really the odour pecuhar to the linen, and not the perfume,
which excited him sensually. He had masturbated but
very seldom.
X. complained of no physical ailments except occa-
sional headache and vertigo. He greatly regretted his
misfortune, his abnormal impulse,— the evil spirit that
impelled him to such criminal acts. He had but one
wish : that some one might help him. Objectively there
are mild neurasthenic symptoms, anomalies of the distri-
bution of blood, and unequal pupils.
It was proved that X.had committed his crimes
in obedience to an abnormal, irresistible impulse.
Pardon.
Such cases of handkerchief-fetichism, where an abnor-
mal individual is driven to theft, are very numerous. They
also occur in combination with inverted sexuality, as
is proved by the following case, which I borrow from page
162 of Dr. Moll's frequently cited work : — ^
^ On page 161 (op. cit.) Dr. Moll writes concerning this impulse in
hotero-sexual individuals : " The passion for handkerchiefs may go so far
that the man is entirely under their control. A woman tells me : ' I know
, a certain gentleman, and when I see him at a distance I only need to draw
.out my handkerchief so that it peeps out of my pocket, and I am certain
that he will follow me as a dog follows its master. Go where I please, this
• gentleman will follow me. He may be riding in a carriage or engaged in
FETICHISM. 247
Case 92. Handkerchief -fcUchism in a case of contrary
sexual instinct. K., aged thirty-eight ; mechanic ; a power-
fully built man. He makes numerous complaints, —
weakness of the legs, pain in the back, headache, want
of pleasure in work, etc. The complaints give the
decided impression of neurasthenia with tendency to
hypochondria. Only after the patient had been under
Dr. Moll's treatment for several months did he state that
he was also abnormal sexually.
K. had never had any inclination whatever for women ;
but handsome men, on the other hand, had a peculiar
charm for him. Patient had masturbated frequently until
he came to Dr. Moll. He had never practised mutual
onanism or pederasty. He did not think that he would
have found satisfaction in this, because, in spite of his
preference for men, an article of white linen was his chief
charm, though the beauty of its owner played a role. The
handkerchiefs of handsome men particularly excite him
sexually. His greatest delight is to masturbate in men's
handkerchiefs. For this reason he often took his friends'
handkerchiefs. In order to save himself from detection,
he always left one of his own handkerchiefs with his
friends in place of the one he stole. In this way he sought
to escape the suspicion of theft, by creating the appearance
of a mistake. Other articles of men's linen also excited
K. sexually, but not to the extent that handkerchiefs
did.
K. had often performed coitus with women, having
erection and ejaculation, but without lustful pleasure.
There was also nothing which could stimulate the patient
to the performance of coitus. Erection and ejaculation
occurred only when, during the act, he thought of a man's
handkerchief ; and this was easier for the patient when
he took a friend's handkerchief with him and had it in his
hand during coitus. In accordance with his sexual per-
importaat business, and yet, when he sees my handkerchief ho drops every-
thing in order to follow me, — i.e., my handkerchief.' "
248 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
version, in his nightly pollutions with lustful ideas, men's
linen played the principal role}
Still far more frequent than the fetichism of linen gar-
ments is that of loomens shoes. These cases are, in fact,
almost innumerable, and a great many of them have been
scientifically studied ; but I have but a few reports at third
hand of the similar glove-fetichism ; not to speak of case
101 {vide infra), in which glove-fetichism develops itself
merely into " stuff-fetichism ". (Concerning the reason
for the relative infrequency of glove-fetichism, vide p. 219.)
In shoe-fetichism the close relationship of the object
to the feminine person, which explains linen-fetichism, is
absolutely wanting. For this reason, and because there is
a large number of well-observed cases at hand, in which
the feiichistic enthusiasm for the female shoe or boot
consciously and undoubtedly arises from masochistic ideas,
an origin of a masochistic nature, even when it is con-
cealed, may always be assumed in shoe-fetichism when,
in the concrete case, no other manner of origin is demon-
strable. For this reason the majority of the cases of
shoe- or foot-fetichism have been given under "Maso-
chism ". There the constant masochistic character of
this form of erotic fetichism has been sufficiently de-
monstrated by means of transitional conditions. This
presumption of the masochistic character of shoe-fetichism
is weakened and removed only where another accidental
cause for an association between sexual excitation and the
1 Another case of temporary, i.e., periodical handlierchief-fetichism,
accompanied by anxiety and severe sweating, is related by Dr. Moll in the
" Centralblatt f. d. Krankheiten der Harn- und Sexual-organe," v., 8. This
might be a case of latent epilepsy. (Trauma capitis at the age of ten,
imbecility, repeated fainting fits, later on partial amnesia for fetichistic
conditions, accompanied by anxiety and sweating, etc.) In these attacks
of morbid impulse to steal ladies' handkerchiefs, which set in after an
attack of typhus at the age of thirty, the patient would wipe his face
with the stolen article, which act produced erection, and at times also
ejaculation. A physician whom he consulted had given him the advice
never to wear linen shirts again, as his peculiar impulse was caused by
them.
FETICHISM. 249
idea of women's shoes — the occurrence of which is quite
improbable a priori — is capable of proof. In the two
following cases, however, there is such a demonstrable
connection : —
Case 93. Shoe-fetichism. Mr. v. P., of an old and
honourable family, Pole, aged thirty-two, consulted me,
in 1890, on account of " unnaturalness " of his vita sexualis.
He gave the assurance that he came of a perfectly healtby
family. He had been nervous from childhood, and had
suffered with chorea minor at the age of eleven. For ten
years he had suffered with sleeplessness and various neu-
rasthenic ailments. From his fifteenth year he had recog-
nised the difference of the sexes and been capable of
sexual excitation. At the age of seventeen he had been
seduced by a French governess, but coitus was not per-
mitted ; so that intense mutual sexual excitement (mutual
masturbation) was all that was possible. In this situation
his attention was attracted by her very elegant boots.
They made a very deep impression. His intercourse with
this lewd person lasted four months. During this associa-
tion her shoes became a fetich for the unfortunate boy.
He began to have an interest in ladies' shoes in general,
and actually went about trying to catch sight of ladies
wearing pretty boots. The shoe-fetichism gained great
power over his mind. He had the governess touch his
penis with her shoes, and thus ejaculation with great lust-
ful feeling was immediately induced. After separation
from the governess he went to puellas, whom he made
perform the same manipulation. This was usually suffi-
cient for satisfaction. Only seldom did he resort to coitus
as an auxiliary, and inclination for it grew less and less.
His vita sexualis consisted of dream-pollutions, in which
women's shoes played the exclusive role; and of gratifica-
tion with women's shoes appositos ad mentulam, but this
had to be done by the puella. In the society of the
opposite sex the only thing that interested him was the
250 PSYCIIOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
shoe, and that only wlien it was elegant, of the French
style, with heels, and of a brilliant black, like the orignial.
In the course of time the following conditions became
accessory : a prostitute's shoe that is elegant and chic ;
starched petticoats, and black hose, if possible. Nothing
else in woman interests him. He is absolutely indifferent to
the naked foot. Women have not the shghtest psychic
charm for him. He had never had masochistic desires in
the sense of being trod upon. In the course of years his
fetichism had gained such power over him that when he
saw a lady in the street, of a certain appearance and with
certain shoes, he was so intensely excited that he had
to masturbate. Slight pressure on the penis sufficed to
induce ejaculation in this state of severe neurasthenia.
Shoes displayed in shops, and, of late, even advertise-
ments of shoes, sufficed to excite him intensely. In
states of intense libido he made use of onanism if shoes
were not at his immediate command. The patient quite
early recognised the pain and danger of his condition,
and, even when he was free from neurasthenic ailments,
he was morally very much depressed. He sought help of
various physicians. Cold-water cures and hypnotism were
unsuccessful. The most celebrated physicians advised
him to marry, and assured him that, as soon as he once
really loved a girl, he would be free from his fetichism.
The patient had no confidence in his future, but he
followed the advice of the physicians. He was cruelly
disappointed in the hope which the authority of the phy-
sicians had aroused in hnu, though he led to the altar a
lady distinguished by both mental and physical charms.
The wedding-night was terrible ; he felt like a criminal,
and did not approach his wife. The next day he saw a
prostitute with the required chic. He was weak enough
to have intercourse with her in his way. Then he bought
a pair of elegant ladies' boots and hid them in bed, and,
by touching them, while in marital embrace, after a few
days, he was able to perform his marital duty. He ejacu-
FETICHISM. 251
lated tardily, for he had to force himself to coitus; and
after a few weeks this artifice failed, because his imagina-
tion failed. He felt unspeakably miserable, and would
have preferred to make an end of himself. He could no
longer satisfy his wife, who was sensual, and much excited
by their previous intercourse ; and he saw her suffering
severely, both mentally and morally. He could not, and
would not, disclose his secret. He experienced disgust in
marital intercourse ; he felt afraid of his wife, and feared
the coming of night and being alone with her. He could
no longer induce erection.
He again made attempts with prostitutes, and satisfied
himself by touching their shoes. Then the pnclla had to
touch his penis, when he would have ejaculation ; but,
if this did not take place, he would attempt coitus with
the lewd woman ; without success, however, for ejacula-
tion would occur immediately. In absolute despair, the
patient comes for consultation. He deeply regrets that,
against his inner conviction, he had followed the un-
fortunate advice of the physicians, and made a virtuous
wife unhappy, having deeply injured her, both mentally
and morally. Could he answer God for continuing such
a marriage ? Even if he were to discover himself to his
wife, and she were to do everything for him, it would not
lielp him ; for the familiar perfume of the demi-monde was
also necessary.
Aside from his mental pain, this unfortunate man
presented no remarkable symptoms. Genitals perfectly
normal. Prostate somewhat enlarged. He complained
that he was so under the domination of his boot-ideas
that he would even blush when boots were talked about.
His whole imagination was given up to such ideas. When
he was on his estate, he often suddenly had to go a
distance of ten miles to the city, to satisfy his fetichism
at shoe-shops or with pucllis.
This pitiable man could not bring himself to take
treatment ; for his faith in physicians had Ijecn greatly
252 PSTCHOPATHTA SEXUALIS.
shaken. An attempt to ascertain whether hypnosis and
a removal of the fetichistic association by this means,
were possible, proved abortive on account of the mental
excitement of the unfortunate man,, who was exclusively
controlled by the thought that he had made his wife un-
happy.
Case 94. X., aged twenty-four, from a badly tainted
family (mother's brother and grandfather insane, one sister
epileptic, another sister subject to migraine, parents of
excitable temperament). During dentition he had con-
vulsions. At the age of seven he was taught to mastur-
bate by a servant-girl. X. first experienced pleasure in
these manipulations cum ilia pttella for hiito pede calceolo tecto
penem tetigit. Thus, in the predisposed boy, an association
was established, as a result of which, from that time
on, merely the sight of women's shoes, and, finally, merely
the idea of them, sufficed to induce sexual excitement and
erection. He now masturbated while looking at women's
shoes, or while calling them up in imagination. The
shoes of the schoolmistress excited him intensely, and in
general he was affected by shoes that were partly con-
cealed by female garments. One day he could not keep
from grasping the teacher's shoes — an act that caused him
great sexual excitement. In spite of punishment he could
not keep from performmg this act repeatedly. Finally,
it was recognised that there must be an abnormal motive
in play, and he was sent to a male teacher. He then
revelled in the memory of shoe-scenes with his former
school-mistress, and thus had erections, orgasm, and, after
his fourteenth year, ejaculation. At the same time, lie
masturbated while thinking of a woman's shoe. One day
the thought came to him to increase his pleasure by using
such a shoe for masturbation. Thereafter he frequently
took shoes secretly, and used them for that purpose.
Nothing else in a woman could excite him ; the thought
of coitus filled him with horror. Men did not interest
PETICHISM. 253
him in any way. At the age of eighteen he opened a
shop, and, among other things, dealt in ladies' shoes.
He was excited sexually by fitting shoes for his female
patrons, or by manipulating shoes that they had work.
One day while doing this he had an epileptic attack,
and, soon after, another while practising onanism in his
customary way. Then he recognised for the first time
the injury to health caused by his sexual practices. He
tried to overcome his onanism, sold no more shoes, and
strove to free himself from the abnormal association be-
tween women's shoes and the sexual function. Then fre-
quent pollutions, with erotic dreams about shoes, occurred,
and the epileptic attacks continued. Though devoid of
the slightest feeling for the female sex, he determined on
marriage, which seemed to him to be the only remedy.
He married a pretty young lady. In spite of lively
erections when he thought of his wife's shoes, in attempts
at cohabitation he was absolutely impotent, because his
distaste for coitus and for close intercourse in general
was far more powerful than the influence of the shoe-idea,
which induced sexual excitement. On account of his im-
potence, the patient applied to Dr. Hammond, who treated
his epilepsy with bromides, and advised him to hang a
shoe up over his bed, and look at it fixedly during coitus,
at the same time imagining his wife to be a shoe. The
patient became free from epileptic attacks, and potent so
that he could have coitus about once a week. His sexual
excitation by women's shoes also grew less and less
{Hammond, " Sexual Impotence ").
These two cases of shoe-fetichism,^ which apparently
depend upon subjective accidental associations, as is the
' other cases of shoe-fetichism without distinct relations to masochism
are given by Alzheimer, " A Congenital Criminal," " Archiv f. Psychiatric
u. Nerven Krankheiten," Bd. 28, p. 350. This same case was declared by
Rurella, " Fetischismus oder Simulation," ibid., Bd. 28, p. 964, to be
simulation ; but the reasons given are trivial and easily refuted. Vide
also Moll, " Untersuchungen iiber libido sexualis," case 32.
254 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
case in fetichism generally, do not offer anything startling
with reference to their objective cause, because, in the
former case, it is only a matter of partial impression of
the general appearance of woman, and in the latter, a
partial impression of the exciting manipulation.
But there are cases — up till now only two have been
closely observed — in which the determining association
has decidedly not been brought about by any connection
of the nature of the object with the otherwise normally
exciting fcause.
Case 95. L., aged thirty-seven, clerk, from tainted
family, had his first erection at five years, when he saw his
bed-fellow — an aged relative — put on his night-cap. The
same thing occurred later, when he saw an old servant put
on her night-cap. Later, simply the idea of an old, uj^ly
woman's head, covered with a night-cap, was sufficient to
cause an erection. The sight of a cap or of a naked
woman or man only made no impression, but the mere
touch of a night-cap induced erection, and sometimes even
ejaculation. L. was not a masturbator, and had never been
sexually active until his thirty-second year, when he mar-
ried a young girl with whom he had fallen in love. On
his marriage-uight he remained cold until, from necessity,
he brought to his aid the memory-picture of an ugly
woman's head with a ni^ht-cap. Coitus was immediately
successful. Thereafter it was always necessary for him to
use this means. Since childhood he had been subject to
occasional attacks of depression, with tendency to suicide,
and now and then to frightful hallucinations at night.
When looking out of a window, he became dizzy and
anxious. He was a perverse, peculiar, and easily embar-
rassed man, of bad mental constitution {Charcot- Magnan,
"Arch, de neurol.," 1882, No. 12).
In this very peculiar case, the siojultaneous coin-
cidence of the first sexual citation and an absolutely
FETICHISM. 255
heterogeneous impression seems to have determined
tiie association.
Hammond {op. cit.) also mentions a case of accidental
associative fetichism that is quite as peculiar. A married
man, aged thirty, who, in other respects, was healthy,
physically and mentally, is said to have suddenly lost his
sexual power after moving to another house, and to have
regained it as soon as the furniture of the sleeping-room
had been arranged as it was before.
(c) The Fetich is Some Special Material.
There is a third principal group of fetichists who have
as a fetich neither a portion of the female body nor a part
of female attire, but some particular material which is so
used, not because it is a material for female garments, but
because in itself it can arouse or increase sexual feelings.
Such materials are furs, velvets and silks.
These cases differ from the foregoing instances of erotic
dress-fetichism, in this, that these materials, unlike female
linen, do not have any close relation to the female body ;
and, unlike shoes and gloves, they are not related to cer-
tain parts of the person which have peculiar symbolic sig-
nificance. Moreover, this fetichism cannot be due to an
accidental association, like that in the cases of the night-
caps and the arrangement of the sleeping-room ; for these
cases form an entire group having the same object. It
must be presumed that certain tactile sensations (a kind
of tickhng irritation which stands in some distant relation
to lustful sensations ?), in hypersesthetic individuals, fur-
nish the occasion for the origin of this fetichism.
The following is a personal observation of a man
affected with this peculiar fetichism : —
Case 96. N. N., aged thirty-seven ; of a neuropathic
family ; neuropathic constitution. He makes the follow-
ing statement : " From luy earliest youth I have always
256 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
had a deeply rooted partiality for furs and velvets, in so far
that these materials cause me sexual excitement, and the
sight and touch of them give me lustful pleasure. I can
recall no event that caused this peculiarity (such as the
simultaneous occurrence of the first sexual excitation and
an impression of these materials, — i.e., first excitation by
a woman dressed in them) ; in fact, I cannot remember
when this enthusiasm began. However, by this I would
not exclude the jossibility of such an event, — of an acci-
dental connection in a first impression and consequent
association ; but 1 think it very improbable that such a
thing took place, because I believe such an occurrence
would have deeply impressed me. All I know is, that even
when a small child I had a lively desire to see and stroke
furs, and thus had an obscure sexual pleasure. With
the first occurrence of definite sexual ideas, — i.e., the
direction of sexual thoughts to woman, — the peculiar pre-
ference for women dressed in such materials was present.
Since then, up to mature manhood, it has remained un-
changed, A woman wearing furs or velvet, or, even better,
both, excites me much more quickly and intensely than
one devoid of these auxiliaries. To be sure, these materials
are not a conditio sine qua non of excitation ; the desire
occurs also without them in response to the usual stimuli ;
but the sight and, particularly, the touch of these fetich-
materials form for me a powerful aid to other normal
stimuli and intensify erotic pleasure. Often merely the
sight of only a passably pretty girl dressed in these
materials causes me vivid excitement, and overcomes me
completely. Even the sight of my fetich-materials gives
me pleasure, but the touch of them much more. (To the
penetrating odour of furs I am indifferent — rather, it is
unpleasant — and it is endurable only by reason of the
association with pleasing visual and tactile impressions.)
I have an intense longing to touch these materials
while on a woman's person, to stroke and kiss them,
and bury my face in them. My greatest pleasure is,
FETICHISM. 257
inter actum, to see and feel my fetich on the woman's
shoulder.
" Fur, or velvet alone, exerts on me the effect described,
the former much more intensely than the latter. The
combination of the two has the most intense effect. Again,
female garments made of velvet and fur, seen and touched
without the wearer, cause me sexual excitement ; indeed,
though to a less extent, the same effect is exerted by furs
or robes having no relation to female attire, and also by
the velvet and plush of furniture and drapery. Merely
pictures of costumes of furs and velvet are objects of erotic
interest to me ; indeed, the very word " fur " has a magic
charm, and immediately calls up erotic ideas.
" Fur is such an object of sexual interest to me that a
man wearing fur that is effective {v. infra) makes a very
unpleasant, repugnant, and disgusting impression on me,
such as would be made on a normal person by a man in
the costume and attitude of a ballet-dancer. Similarly
repugnant to me is the sight of an old or ugly woman clad
in beautiful furs, because contradicting feelings are thus
aroused.
" This erotic delight in furs and velvet is something
entirely different from simple aesthetic pleasure. I have a
very lively appreciation of beautiful female attire, and, at
the same time, a particular partiahty for point-lace ; but
this is purely of an aesthetic nature. A woman dressed in
a point-lace toilette (or in other elegant, elaborate attire) is
more beautiful than another ; but one dressed in my fetich-
material is more charming.
" Furs, however, exercise on me the effect described
only when the fur has very thick, fine, smooth and rather
long hair, that stands out like that of the so-called bearded
furs. I have noticed that the effect depends upon this. I
am entirely indifferent not only to the ordinary, coarse,
bushy furs, but also to those that are commonly regarded
as beautiful and precious, from which the long hair has
been removed (seal, beaver), or of which the hair is natu-
17
268 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
rally short (ermine) ; and likewise to those of which the
hair is overlong and lies down (monkey, bear). The speci-
fic effect is exerted only by the standing long hair of the
sable, marten, skunk, etc. Now, velvet is made of thick,
fine, standing hairs (fibres) ; and its effect may be due to
this. The effect seems to depend upon a very definite im-
pression of the points of thick, fine hair upon the terminals
of the sensory nerves.
" But how this pecuhar impression on the tactile nerves
is related to sexual instinct is a perfect enigma to me. The
fact is, that this is the case with many men. I would also
state expressly that beautiful female hair pleases me, but
plays no more important part than the other charms ; and
that while touching fur I have no thought of female hair
(the tactile sensation, also, has not the least resemblance
to that imparted by female hair). There is never associa-
tion of any other idea. Fur, per se, arouses sensuahty in
me, — how, I cannot explain.
" The mere aesthetic effect, the beauty of costly furs,
to which every one is more or less susceptible, and which,
since Eaphael's Fornarina and Eeuben's Helene Four-
ment, has been used as the foil and frame of female beauty
by innumerable painters ; which also plays so important a
role in fashion,— the art and science of female dress,— this
esthetic effect, as has been remarked, explains nothing
here. Beautiful furs have the same aesthetic effect on
me as on normal individuals, and affect me in the same
way that flowers, ribbons, precious stones, and other orna-
ments affect every one. Such things, when skilfully used
enhance female beauty, and thus, under certain circum-
stances, may have an indirect sensual effect. They never
have a direct, powerful,, sensual effect on me, as do the
fetich-materials mentioned.
" Though in me, and, in fact, in all ' fetichists,' the
sensual and aesthetic effect must be strictly differentiated,
nevertheless, that does not prevent me from demanding in
my fetich a whole series of isesthetic qualities in form, style,
FETICHISM. 259
colour, etc. I could give a very lengthy description of these
qualities that my taste demands ; but I omit it as not
being essential to the real subject in hand. I would only
call attention to the fact that erotic fetichism is compH-
eated v^ith purely aesthetic tastes.
" The specific erotic effect of my fetich-materials can
be explained no better by the association with the idea
of the person of the female wearing them, than by their
gesthetic impression. For, in the first place, as has been
said, these materials, as such, affect me when entirely
isolated from the body ; and, in the second place, articles
of clothing of a much more private nature, and which
undoubtedly call up associations, exert a much weaker
influence over me. Thus the fetich-materials have an
independent sensual value for me. Why, is an enigma
to me.
" Feathers in women's hats, fans, etc., have the same
erotic fetichistic effect on me as furs and velvet (similar
tactile sensation of airy, peculiar tickling). Finally, the
fetichistic effect, with much less intensity, is exerted by
other smooth materials (satin and silk) ; but rough goods
(cloth, flannel) have a repelling effect.
" In conclusion, I will mention that somewhere I read
an article by Carl Vogt on microcephalic men, according to
which these creatures, at the sight of furs, rushed for
them and stroked theni with every manifestation of de-
light. I am far from any thought, on this ground, to see
in widespread fur-fetichism an atavistic retrogression to
the taste of our hairy ancestors. Every cretin, with that
simplicity belonging to his condition, touches anything
that pleases him, and the act is not necessarily of a sexual
nature ; just as many normal men like to stroke a cat and
the like, or even velvet and furs, and are not thus excited
sexually."
In the literature of this subject, there are a few cases
belonging here ; —
260 PSYCnOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 97. A boy, aged twelve, became powerfully
excited sexually, when, by chance, he covered himself
with a fox-skin. From that time on there was mastur-
bation with the employment of furs, or by means of
taking a furry dog to bed. Ejaculation would result,
sometimes followed by a hysterical attack. His nocturnal
pollutions were induced by dreaming that he lay entirely
covered up in a soft skin. He was absolutely insuscep-
tible to stimuli coming from men or women. He was
neurasthenic, suffered with delusions of being watched,
and thought that every one noticed his sexual anomaly.
He had tadium vitcn on account of this, and finally
became insane. He had marked taint ; his genitals were
imperfectly formed, and he presented other signs of
degeneration {Tarnowshij, op. cit., p. 22).
Case 98. C. is an especial lover of velvet. He is
attracted in a normal way by beautiful women, but it
particularly excites him to have the person with whom
he has sexual intercourse dressed in velvet. In this, it
is remarkable that it is not so much the sight as the
touch of the velvet that causes the excitation. C. told
me that stroking a woman's velvet jacket would excite
him sexually to an extent scarcely possible in any other
way (Dr. Moll, op. cit., p. 127).
A physician communicated to me the following
case : —
In a brothel a man was known under the name of
"Velvet". He would dress a sympathetic puella with
a garment made of black velvet, and would excite and
satisfy his sexual desires simply by stroking his face with
a corner of her velvety dress, not touching any other part
of the person at all.
Another authority assures me that this weakness for
FETICHISM. 261
furs, velvets and silU and feathers, is quite common among
masochists (c/. cases 41 and 42).^
The following is a very peculiar case of material-
fetichism. It is combined with the impulse to injure the
fetich, which, in this case, represents an element of sadism
toward the woman wearing the fetich, or impersonal
sadism toward objects, which is of frequent occurrence
in fetichists (cf. p. 241). This impulse to cause injury
made this a remarkable criminal case : —
Case 99. In July, 1891, Alfred Bachmann, aged
twenty-five, locksmith, was brought before Judge N., in
the second term of the criminal court, in Berlin. In
April, 1891, the 'police had bad numerous complaints,
according to which some evil hand had cut women's
dresses with a very sharp instrument. In the evening of
25th April, they were successful in arresting the perpe-
trator in the person of the accused. A policeman noticed
how the accused pressed, in a remarkable manner, against
a lady in the company of a gentleman, while they were
going through a passage. The officer requested the lady
to examine her dress, while he held the man under
suspicion. It was ascertained that the dress had received
quite a long sht. The accused was taken to the station,
where he was examined. Besides a sharp knife, which
he confessed he used for cutting dresses, two silk sashes,
such as ladies wear on their dresses, were found on him ;
he also confessed that he had taken these from dresses
in crowds. Finally, the examination of his person brought
to light a lady's silk neck-scarf. The accused said he had
found this. Since his statement in this case could not be
refuted, complaint was therefore made to rest on the result
1 In the novels of Sacher-Masoch, fur plays an imporUnt r6lc ; in fact,
it serves as a title in some of them. The explanation given is that fur
(ermin) is the symhol of sovereignty, and therefore the fetich of the men
described in these novels, seems unsatisfactory and far-fetched.
262 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
of the search ; in two instances in which complaint was
made by the injured parties his acts were designated as
injury to property, and in two other instances as theft.
The accused, a man who had been often punished before,
with a pale, expressionless face, before the judge, gave a
strange explanation of his enigmatical action. A major's
cook had once thrown him downstairs when he was
begging of her, and since that time he had entertained
great hatred of the whole female sex. There was a doubt
about his responsibility, and he was therefore examined
by a physician. The medical expert gave the opinion at
the final trial that there was no reason to regard the
accused as insane, though he was of low intelhgence.
The culprit defended himself in a peculiar manner. An
irresistible impulse forced him to approach women wear-
ing silk dresses. TJie touch of silk material gave him a feeling
of delight, and this went so far that, while in prison for
examination, he had been excited if a silk thread happened
to pass through his fingers while ravelhng rags. Judge
Miiller considered the accused to be simply a dangerous,
vicious man, who should be made harmless for a long
time. He advised imprisonment for one year. The court
sentenced him to six months' imprisonment, with loss
of honour for a year.
A classical case of material-fetichism (silk) is the
following related by Dr. P. Gamier.
Case 100. On 22nd September, 1881, V. was
arrested in the streets of Paris whilst he interfered with
the silk dress of a lady in a manner which aroused the
suspicion of his being a pick-pocket. At first he was very
much confused, but finally, after many vain excuses, made
a clean confession of his " mania ". He was an assistant
in a bookseller's shop, twenty-nine years of age ; his father
was a drunkard and a rehgious zealot, his mother of ab-
normal character. She wished to make a priest of him.
FETICHISM. 203
Since his early youth he felt an instinctive impulse — con-
genital as he behaves — to touch silk. When at the age
of twelve as a choir boy he was allowed to wear a silk
sash, he could not often enough finger it. He could not
describe the pecuhar sensation which he experienced in
doing so. Later on he became acquainted with a ten-
year-old girl for whom he had a childish affection. When
on Sundays he met this girl clad in a silk dress, he was
impelled to lovingly put his arms around her and touch
her silk dress. Later on he found exceeding great pleasure
in gazing at the silk gowns exposed in a dressmaker's
shop and to feel them.
When they gave him remnants of silk material, he would
hasten to put them next to his body, which act immedi-
ately produced erection, orgasm and even ejaculation.
These lustful desires made him uneasy, so that he doubted
his vocation to the priesthood and obtained his discharge
from the seminary. In consequence of habitual mastur-
bation he was at that time very neurasthenic. His silk-
fetichism swayed him as ever. Only when a woman wore
a silk gown could she charm him.
Even when a child, ladies with silk gowns played a
prominent part in his dreams ; later on the latter were
accompanied by pollutions. On account of his natural
shyness he did not resort to coitus until later in life,
and then he could only succeed in it with a woman
dressed in silk. He much preferred to mix with crowds in
the street and there touch the silk gowns of ladies, which
always produced ejaculation accompanied by powerful
orgasms and intense lustful feelings. What gratified him
more than being with the prettiest woman was to put
on a silk petticoat when going to bed.
The forensic medical opinion declared him to be a
heavily tainted subject who gave way to abnormal
desires under the strain of morbid impulses. Pardon
(Dr. Gamier, " Annales d'hygiene pubhque," 3" serie
xxix., 5)
264 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The following case of kid-glove-feticMsm is peculiarly
adapted to show the origin of fetichistic associations as
well as the enormous influence permanently exercised by
such an association, although itself based upon a psychico-
physical and morbid predisposition.
Case 101. Mr. Z., an American, thirty-three years
of age, manufacturer, for eight years enjoying a happy
married life, blessed with offspring ; consulted me for a
peculiar troublesome glove-fetichism. He despised him-
self on account of it, and said it brought him well-nigh
to the verge of despair and even insanity.
He claims to come of thoroughly sound parents, but
since infancy has been neuropathic and very excitable.
By nature is very sensual, whilst his wife is very frigid.
At the age of nine, he was seduced by schoolmates to
practise masturbation, which gratified him immensely,
and he yielded to it with passion.
One day when sexually excited he found a small bag
of chamois skin. He stripped it over his membrum and
experienced thereby great sensual pleasure. After that
he used it for onanistic manipulations, put it around his
scrotum and carried it about with him by day and night.
This aroused in him an unusual interest for leather in
general, but particularly for kid gloves.
With puberty this centred entirely in ladies' kid gloves,
which simply fascinated him. If he touched his penis
with one such glove it produced erection andeven ejacula-
tion.
Men's gloves did not excite him in the least, although
he loved to wear them.
In consequence, nothing about woman attracted him
but her kid gloves. These were his fetich. They must
be long, with many buttons, and if worn out, dirty and
saturated with perspiration on the finger-tips, they are
preferable. Women wearing such, even if ngly and old,
had a particular charm for him. Ladies with silk, or
FETICHISM. 265
cotton gloves did not attract him. He always looked at
her gloves first when meeting a lady. As for the rest
he took very little interest in the female sex.
When he could shake hands with a lady gloved with
kid, the contact with the soft, warm leather would cause
erection and orgasm in him.
Whenever he could get hold of such a glove he would
at once retire to a lavatory, wrap it around his genitals
and masturbate.
Later on when visiting brothels he would beg the
'pudla to put on long gloves provided by himself for that
purpose, which act alone would excite him so much that
ejaculation ensued forthwith.
Z. become a collector of ladies' kid gloves. He would
hide away hundreds of pairs in various places. These
he would count and gloat over in his spare time, " as a
miser would over his gold," place them over his genitals,
bury his face in a pile of them, put one on his hand
and then masturbate. This gave him more intense
pleasure than coitus.
He made covers for his penis of them, or suspensories,
wearing them for days. He preferred black, soft leather.
He would fasten ladies' kid gloves around his waist in
such a fashion that they would, apron-like, hang down
over his genitals.
After marriage this fetichism grew worse. As a rule
he was only virile when he put a pair of his wife's gloves
during coitus by her head so that he could kiss them.
The acme of pleasure was when he could persuade his
wife to put on kid gloves and thus touch his genitals
previous to cohabitation.
Z. felt very unhappy on account of tliis fetichism, and
made repeated but vain attempts to free himself of the
curse.
Whenever he came across the word, or the picture
of a glove in novels, fashion-plates, advertisements, etc.,
he was simply fascinated. At the theatre his eyes were
266 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
riveted on the hands of the actresses. He could scarcely
tear himself away from the show-windows of glove-dealers.
He often would stuff long gloves with wool or some
such material to make them resemble arms and hands.
Then he would make tritus membri inter brachia talia arti-
Hcialia, until he had achieved his object.
It is his habit to take ladies' kid gloves to bed with
him and wrap them around his penis until he can feel
it like a large leathern priapus between his legs.
In the larger towns he buys from the cleaners ladies'
gloves which have not been called for, but prefers those
most soiled and worn. Twice he admits to have yielded
to the temptation to steal such gloves, although in every
other respect he is absolutely correct. When in a crowd
he must touch ladies' hands whenever possible. At his
office he allows no opportunity to pass without shaking
hands with ladies, in order to feel for " at least a second
the soft, warm leather ". His wife must wear as much as
possible kid gloves or such made of chamois, with which
he provides her lavishly.
At his office he always has ladies' gloves lying on his
desk. Not an hour passes in which he does not touch
and stroke them. When especially excited (sexually) he
puts such a glove in his mouth and chews it.
Other articles of the female toilet, likewise other parts
of the female body besides the hand, do not attract him.
Z. feels much depressed about this anomaly. He feels
ashamed to look into the innocent eyes of his children,
and prays God to protect them from this curse of their
father.
The object of fetichism may also be found in a thing
which only by sheer accident stands in relation to the body of
woman, as may be gathered from the following instance
related by Moll. It proves, moreover, how by the merely
accidental association of an apperception with a parallel
sexual emotion — based, of course, upon a special psychic
FETICHISM. 267
process — the object of such apperception may become a
fetich which in its turn may some day disappear again.
The theory of association in connection with original
perverse manifestations (based on organo-psychical mo-
tives) seems here quite acceptable. The same may be
said of the data relating to masochism, and sadism.
Case 102. B., thirty years of age, apparently un-
tainted, refined and sensitive ; great lover of flowers ; likes
to kiss them, but without any sensual motive or sensual
excitement ; rather of natura frigida; did not before twenty-
one practise onanism, and subsequently only at periods.
When twenty-one he was introduced to a young lady who
wore some large roses on her bosom. Ever since then
large roses have dominated over his sexual feelings. He
incessantly bought roses ; kissing them would produce
erection. He took them to bed with him although he
never touched his genitals with them. His pollutions
henceforth were accompanied by dreams of roses. He
would dream of roses of fairy-like beauty and, inhaling
their fragrance, have ejaculation.
He became secretly engaged to his "lady of roses,"
but the platonic relations grew colder, and when the
engagement was broken off the rose-fetichism suddenly
and permanently disappeared. It never returned, even
when he became again engaged after a long spell of
melancholia {A. Moll, " Centralb. f. d. Krankheiten der
Harn- und Sexual-organe," v., 8).
(d) Beast-fetichism.
In close relation to stuft'-fetichism, certain cases must
be considered in which beasts exercise an aphrodisical
influence over human beings. One feels tempted to call
it Zoophilia Erotica.
This perversion seems to be rooted in a fetichism the
object of which is the skin of the beast.
268 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The transmitting medium of this fetichism may,
perhaps, be found in a peculiar idiosyncrasis of the
tactile nerves which, by touching furs or animal skins,
produces peculiar and lustful emotions (analogous to
hair-, braid-, velvet- and silk-fetichism). This may,
perhaps, also explain that peculiar hobby for cats and
dogs at times met with in sexually perverted persons
{vide pp. 255-260, especially case 97). The following case,
coming under my personal observation, seems to favour
this assumption.
Case 103. Zoophilia erotica, fetichism. Mr. N. N.,
twenty-one years of age, comes from a neuropathically
tainted family, and is himself congenitally neuropathic.
Even as a child he often felt impelled to perform at
times quite indifferent actions for fear of encountering
some untoward event. He learned easily, never had a
severe illness, had early a great love for domestic animals,
especially dogs and cats, because when petting them he
experienced lustful emotions. For years he indulged in
this play with animals, which sensually stimulated him,
although in an innocent fashion, as it were. When he
arrived at the age of puberty he recognised the immorality
of his acts and tried to free himself from the habit. He
succeeded in this, but henceforth he was troubled in his
dreams by such situations which produced pollutions. He
then began onanism. At first he practised it by manipula-
tion accompanied by the idea that he was petting and
stroking animals. After some time he arrived at psychical
onanism, produced by vividly imagining such situations,
and accompanied by orgasm and ejaculation. This made
him neurasthenic.
He claims that sodomitic ideas never entered his mind,
that the sexus bestiarum never influenced his fancies or
actions, in fact he had given it no thought.
He never had homosexual instinct ; but heterosexual
desires were not foreign to him, though he had never
HOMO-SEXUALITY. 269
indulged in coitus because of want of libido {ex masturba-
tione et neurasthenia !) and from fear of infection. He is
drawn only to women of lithe figure and with a proud
gait.
The usual symptoms of cerebro-spinal neurasthenia
are present. Patient is of slight build and anaemic. He is
greatly concerned to know whether his lost virility can be
restored, as this would raise his waning self-esteem.
Suggestions how to avoid psychic onanism, to remove
neurasthenia, to strengthen the sexual centres, to satisfy
the vita sexualis in the normal way as soon as this should
be possible and successful.
Ejjicrisis. No bestiality, but fetichism. Very likely the
petting of domestic animals coupled with an abnormally
premature vita sexualis coincided with a primary sexual
emotion — probably originating from tactile sensations —
and thus established an association between the two facts
which by repetition became permanent (" Zeitschr. f.
Psychiatrie," Bd, 50).
II. Great Diminution or Complete Absence of Sexual
Feeling for the Opposite Sex, with Substitution of
Sexual Feeling and Instinct for the Same Sex (Homo-
sexuality, or Antipathic Sexual Instinct).
After the attainment of complete sexual development,
among the most constant elements of self-consciousness in
the individual are the knowledge of representing a definite
sexual personality and the consciousness of desire, during
the period of physiological activity of the reproductive
organs (prodaction of semen and ova), to perform sexual
acts corresponding with that sexual personality, — acts
which, consciously or unconsciously, have a procreative
purpose.
The sexual instinct and desire, save for indistinct
feelings and impulses, remain latent until the period of
development of the sexual organs. The child is generis
270 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUADIS.
neutrius ; and though, during this latent period, — when
sexuality has not yet risen into clear consciousness, is but
virtually present, and unconnected with powerful organic
sensations, — abnormally early excitation of the genitals
may occur, either spontaneously or as a result of external
influence, and find satisfaction in masturbation ; yet,
notwithstanding this, the psychical relation to persons of
the opposite sex is still absolutely wanting, and the sexual
acts during this period exhibit more or less a reflex spinal
character.
The existence of innocence, or of sexual neutrality, is
the more remarkable, since very early in education, employ-
ment, dress, etc., the child undergoes a differentiation from
children of the opposite sex. These impressions remain,
however, devoid of psychical significance, becaulse they
apparently are stripped of sexual meaning ; for the central
organ {cortex) of sexual emotions and ideas is not yet
capable of activity, owing to its undeveloped condition.
With the inception of anatomical and functional
development of the generative organs, and the differen-
tiation of form belonging to each sex, which goes hand
in hand with it (in the boy as well as in the girl), rudi-
ments of a mental feeling corresponding with the sex
are developed ; and in this, of course, education and
external influences in general have a powerful effect upon
the individual, who now begins to observe.
If the sexual development is normal and undisturbed,
a definite character, corresponding with the sex, is devel-
oped. Certain well-defined inclinations and reactions in
intercourse with persons of the opposite sex arise ; and
it is psychologically worthy of note with what relative
rapidity each individual psychical type corresponding with
the sex is evolved.
While modesty, for instance, during childhood, is
essentially but an uncomprehended and incomprehensible
exaction of education and imitation, expressed but im-
perfectly in the innocence and naivete of the child; in
HOMO- SEXUALITY. 271
the youth and maiden it becomes an imperative require-
ment of self-respect ; and, if in any way it is offended,
intense vaso - motor reaction (blushing) and psychical
emotions are induced.
If the original constitution is favourable and normal,
and factors injurious to the psycho-sexua^l development
exercise no adverse influence, then a psycho - sexual
personality is developed which is so unchangeable and
corresponds so completely and harmoniously with the sex
of the individual in question, that subsequent loss of the
generative organs (as by castration), or the climacterium
or senility, cannot essentially alter it.
This, however, must not be taken as a declaration that
the castrated man or woman, the youth and the aged
man, the maiden and the matron, the impotent and the
potent man, do not differ essentially from each other in
their psychical existence.
An interesting and important question for what follows
is, whether the peripheral influences of the generative
glands (testes and ovaries), or central cerebral conditions,
are the determining factors in psycho-sexual development.
The fact that congenital deficiency of the generative
glands, or removal of tbem before puberty, have a great
influence on physical and psycho-sexual development, so
that the latter is stunted and assumes a type more closely
resembhng the opposite sex (eunuchs, certain viragoes,
etc.), betokens their great importance in this respect.
That the physical processes taking place in the genital
organs are only co-operative, and not the exclusive factors,
in the process of development of the psycho-sexual char-
acter, is shown by the fact that, notwithstanding a normal
anatomical and physiological state of these organs, a sexual
instinct may be developed which is the exact opposite of
that characteristic of the sex to which the individual
belongs.
In this case, the cause is to be sought only in an anom-
aly of central conditions,— in an abnormal psycho-sexual
272 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
constitution. This constitution, as far as its anatomical
and functional foundation is concerned, is as yet unknown.
Since, in nearly all such cases, the individual tainted with
inverted sexual instinct displays a neuropathic predispo-
sition in several directions, and the latter may be brought
into relation with hereditary degenerate conditions, this
anomaly of psycho-sexual feeling may be called, clinically,
a functional sign of degeneration. This inverted sexuality
appears spontaneously, without external cause, with the
development of sexual life, as an individual manifestation
of an abnormal form of the vita sexualis. having the force
of a congenital phenomenon ; or it develops upon a sexuality
the beginning of which was normal, as a result of very
definite injurious influences, and thus appears as an
acquired anomaly. Upon what conditions this enigmatical
phenomenon of acquired homo-sexual instinct depends
remains still unexplained, and is a mere matter of
hypothesis. Careful examination of the so-called acquired
cases makes it probable that the predisposition — also
present here — consists of a latent homo-sexuality, or, at
any rate, bi-sexuality, which, for its manifestation, requires
the influence of accidental exciting causes to rouse it from
its dormant state.
In so-called antipathic sexual instinct there are degrees
of the phenomenon which quite correspond with the
degrees of predisposition of the individuals. Thus, in the
milder cases, there is simple hermaphrodism ; in more
pronounced cases, only homo-sexual feeling and instinct
but limited to the vita sexualis ; in still more complete
cases, the whole psychical personality, and even the bodily
sensations^ are transformed so as to correspond with the
sexual inversion; and, in the complete cases, the physical
form is correspondingly altered.
The following division of the various phenomena of
this psycho-sexual anomaly is made, therefore, in accord-
ance with these clinical tacts.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 273
A. Homo-sexual Feeling as an Acquired Manifestation in
Both Sexes.
The determining factor here is the demonstration of perverse
feeling for the same sex ; not the proof of sexual acts with the
same sex. These two phenomena must not be confounded
with each other ; perversity must not be taken ior perversion.
Perverse sexual acts, without being dependent upon
perversion, often come under observation. This is espe-
cially true with reference to sexual acts between persons
of the same sex, particularly in pederasty. Here pares-
thesia sexualis is not necessarily at work ; but hyperses-
thesia, with physical or psychical impossibility for natural
sexual satisfaction.
Thus we find homo - sexual intercourse in impotent
masturbators or debauchees, or faute de mieux in sensual
men and women under imprisonment, on ship-board, in
garrisons, bagnios, boarding-schools, etc.
There is an immediate return to normal sexual inter-
course as soon as the obstacles to it are removed. Very
frequently the cause of such temporary aberration is
masturbation and its results in youthful individuals.
Nothing is so prone to contaminate — under certain
circumstances, even to exhaust — the source of all noble
and ideal sentiments, which arise of themselves from a
normally developing sexual instinct, as the practice of
masturbation in early years. It despoils the unfolding bud
of perfume and beauty, and leaves behind only the coarse,
animal desire for sexual satisfaction. If an individual,
thus depraved, reaches the age of maturity, there is
wanting in him that gesthetic, ideal, pure and free
impulse which draws the opposite sexes together. The
glow of sensual sensibility wanes, and the inclination
toward the opposite sex is weakened. This defect
influences the morals, the character, fancy, feeling and
instinct of the youthful masturbator, male or female, in
an unfavourable manner, even causing, under certain
18
274 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
circumstances, the desire for the opposite sex to sink to
nil ; so that masturbation is preferred to the natural
mode of satisfaction.
Sometimes the development of the nobler sexual
feelings toward the opposite sex suffers, on account of
hypochondriacal fear of infection in sexual intercourse ; or
on account of an actual infection ; or as a result of a faulty
education which points out such dangers and exaggerates
them. Again (especially m females), fear of the result of
coitus (pregnancy), or abhorrence of men, by reason of
physical or moral defects, may direct into perverse chan-
nels an instinct that makes itself felt with abnormal
intensity. On the other hand, premature and perverse
sexual satisfaction injures not merely the mind, but also
the body ; inasmuch as it induces neuroses of the sexual
apparatus (irritable weakness of the centres governing
erection and ejaculation; defective pleasurable feehng in
coitus, etc.), while, at the same time, it maintains imagin-
ation and libido in continuous excitement.
Almost every masturbator at last reaches a point where,
frightened on learning the results of the vice, or on ex-
periencing them (neurasthenia), or led by example or
seduction to the opposite sex, he wishes to free himself
of the vice and re-instate his vita sexualis.
The moral and mental conditions are here the most
unfavourable possible. The pure glow of sexual feeling is
destroyed ; the fire of sexual instinct is wanting, and self-
confidence is lost ; for every masturbator is more or less
timid and cowardly. If the youthful sinner at last comes
to make an attempt at coitus, he is either disappointed
because enjoyment is wanting, on account of defective
sensual feeling, or he is lacking in the physical strength
necessary to accomplish the act. The fiasco has a fatal
effect, and leads to absolute psychical impotence. A bad
conscience and the memory of past failures prevent suc-
cess in any further attempts. The ever present libido
sexualis, however, demands satisfaction, and this moral
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 275
and mental perversion separates further and further from
woman.
For various reasons, however (neurasthenic complaints,
hypochondriacal fear of the results, etc.), the individual is
also kept from masturbation. At times, under such cir-
cumstances, bestiality is resorted to. Intercourse with the
same sex is then near at hand, — as the result of seduction
or of the feelings of friendship which, on the level of patho-
logical sexuality, easily associate themselves with sexual
feelings.
Passive and mutual onanism now become the equiv-
alent of the avoided act. If there is a seducer, — which,
unfortunately often happens, — then the cultivated pederast
is produced, — i.e., a man who performs quasi acts of onan-
ism with persons of his own sex, and, at the same time,
feels and prefers himself in an active role corresponding
with his real sex ; who is mentally indifferent not only to
persons of the opposite sex, but also to those of his own.
Sexual aberration reaches this degree in the normally
constituted, untainted, mentally healthy individual. No
case has yet been demonstrated in which perversity has
been transformed into perversion — i.e., into an inversion
of the sexual instinct.^
1 Gamier (" Anomalies Sexuelles," Paris, pp. 508, 509) reports two cases
(cases 222 and 223) that are apparently opposed to this assumption, par.
ticularly the first, in whicn despair about the unfaithfulness of a lover led
the individual to submit to the seductions of men. But the case itself
clearly shows that this individual never found pleasure in homo-sexual acts.
In case 223, the individual was effeminated ab origine, or was at least a
psychical hermaphrodite.
Those who hold to the opinion that the origin of homo-sexual feelings
and instinct is found to be exclusively in defective education and other
psychological influences are entirely in error.
An untainted male may be raised never so much like a female, and a
female like a male, but they will not become homosexual. The natural
disposition is the determining condition ; not education and other accidental
circumstances, like seduction. There can be no thought of antipathic sexual
instinct save when the person of the same sex exerts a psycho-sexual influ-
ence over the individual, and thus brings about libido and orgasm, — i.e.,
has a psychical attraction. Those cases are quite different in which, faute
276 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
With tainted individuals, the matter is quite different.
The latent perverse sexuality is developed under the influ-
ence of neurasthenia induced by masturbation, abstinence,
or otherv/ise.
Gradually, in contact with persons of the same sex,
sexual excitation by them is induced. Eelated ideas are
coloured v/ith lustful feelings, and awaken correspondinj^f
desires. This decidedly degen^erate reaction is the begin-
ning of a process of physical and mental transformation,
a description of which is attempted in what follows,
and which is one of the most interesting psychological
phenomena that have been observed. This metamor-
phosis presents different stages, or degrees.
I. Degree : Simple Beversal of Sexual Feeling.
This degree is attained when a person exercises an
aphrodisiac effect over another person of the same sex
who reciprocates the sexual feeling. Character and in-
stinct, however, still correspond with the sex of the indi-
vidual presenting the reversal of sexual feeling. He feels
himself in the active role; he recognises his impulse
toward his own sex as an aberration, and finally seeks
aid.
With episodical improvement of the neurosis, at first
demieux, with great sensuality and a defective aesthetic sense, the body of
a person of the same sex is used for an onanistic act (not for coitus in a
psychical sense).
In his excellent monograph, Moll shows very clearly and convincingly
the importance of original predisposition in contrast with exciting causes
(c/. op. cit., pp. 212-231). He knows " many cases where early sexual
intercourse with men was not capable of inducing perversion ". Moll sig-
nificantly says, further : " I know of such an epidemic (of mutual onanism)
in a Berlin school, where a person who is now an actor shamelessly intro-
duced mutual onanism. Though I now know the names of very many
urnings in Berlin, yet I could not ascertain, even with anything like pro-
bability, that among all the pupils of that school at that time there was
one that had become an urning ; but, on the other hand, I have quite
certain knowledge that many of those pupils are now normal sexually,
in feeling and intercourse."
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 277
even normal sexual feelings may reappear and assert
themselves. The following case seems well suited to
exemplify this stage of the psycho-sexual degeneration : —
Case 1 04. Acquired Antipathic Sexual Instinct. " I am
an official, and, as far as I know, come of an untainted
family. My father died of an acute disease; my mother,
still living, is very nervous. A sister has been very intensely
religious for some years.
"I myself am tall, and, in speech, gait and manner,
give a perfectly masculine impression. Measles is the
only disease I have had ; but since my thirteenth year I
have suffered with so-called nervous headaches.
"My sexual life began in my thirteenth year, when
I became acquainted with a boy somewhat older than
myself, quocum alter altcrius genitalia tangendo delectabar. I
had the first ejaculation in my fourteenth year. Seduced
to onanism by two older school-mates, I practised it
partly with others and partly alone ; in the latter case,
however, always with the thought of persons of the female
sex. My libido sexualis was very great, as it is to-day.
Later, I tried to win a pretty, stout servant-girl who had
very large mammce ; id solum assecutus sum, ut me pras-
sente superiorem corporis sui partem enudaret mihique
concederet os mammasque osculari, dum ipsa penem
meum valde erectum in manum suam recepit eumque
trivit.
" Quamquam violentissime coitum rogarem hoc solum
concessit, ut genitalia ejus tangerem.
"After going to the university, I visited a brothel and
succeeded without especial effort.
"Then an event occurred which brought about a
change in me. One evening I accompanied a friend
home, and in a mild state of intoxication I grasped him
ad genitalia. He made but slight opposition. I then
went up to his room with him, acd we practised mutual
masturbation. From that time we indulged in it quite
278 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
frequently ; in fact, it came to immissio penis in os, with
resultant ejaculations. But it is strange that I was not
at all in love with this person, but passionately in love
with another friend, near whom I never felt the slightest
sexual excitement, and whom I never connected with
sexual matters, even in thought. My visits to brothels,
where I was gladly received, became more infrequent ; in
my friend I found a substitute, and did not desire sexual
intercourse with women.
"We never practised pederasty, and that word was
not even known between us. From the beginning of this
relation with my friend, I again masturbated more fre-
quently, and naturally the thought of females receded
more and more into the background, and I thought more
and more about young, handsome, strong men with the
largest possible genitals. I preferred young fellows, from
sixteen to twenty-five years old, without beards, but they
had to be handsome and clean. Young labourers dressed
in trousers of Manchester cloth or Enghsh leather, par-
ticularly masons, especially excited me.
" Persons in my own position had hardly any effect on
me; but, at the sight of one of those strapping fellows of
the lower class, I experienced marked sexual excitement.
It seems to me that the touch of such trousers, the
opening of them and the grasping of the penis, as well as
kissing the fellow, would be the greatest dehght. My
sensibility to female charms is somewhat dulled ; yet in
sexual intercourse with a woman, particularly when she
has well-developed mammae, I am always potent without
the help of imagination. I have never attempted to make
use of a young labourer, or the like, for the satisfaction of
my evil desires, and never shall ; but I often feel a longing
to do it. I often impress on myself the mental image of
such a man, and then masturbate at home.
"I am absolutely devoid of taste for female work. I
rather like to move in female society, but dancing is
repugnant to me. I have a lively interest in the fine arts.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 279
That my sexual sense is partly reversed is, I believe, in
part due to greater convenience, which keeps me from
entering into a relation with a girl ; as the latter is a
matter of too much trouble. To be constantly visiting
houses of prostitution is, for aesthetic reasons, repugnant
to me; and thus I am always returning to sohtary onanism,
which is very difficult for me to avoid.
" Hundreds of times I have said to myself that, in
order to have a normal sexual sense, it would be neces-
sary for me, first of all, to overcome my irresistible passion
for onanism, — a practice so repugnant to my aesthetic
feeling. Again and again I have resolved with all my
mic^ht to fight this passion ; but I am still unsuccessful.
When I felt the sexual impulse gaining strength, instead
of seeking satisfaction in the natural manner, I preferred
to masturbate, because I felt that I would thus have more
enjoyment.
" And yet experience has taught me that I am always
potent with girls, and that, too, without trouble and with-
out the vision of masculine genitals. In one case, how-
ever, I did not attain ejaculation because the woman — it
was in a brothel — was devoid of every charm. I cannot
avoid the thought and severe self-accusation that, to a
certain extent, my inverted sexuality is the result of
excessive onanism ; and this especially depresses me, be-
cause I am compelled to acknowledge that I scarcely feel
strong enough to overcome this vice by the force of my
own will.
" As a result of my relations for years with a fellow-
student and pal, mentioned in this communication —
which, however, began while we were at the university,
and after we had been friends for seven years — the im-
pulse to unnatural satisfaction of libido has grown much
stronger. I trust you will permit the description of an
incident which worried me for months : —
" In the summer of 1882, I made the acquaintance
of a companion six years younger than myself, who, with
280 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
several others, had been introduced to me and my ac-
quaintances. I' very soon felt a deep interest in this
handsome man, who was unusually well-proportioned,
shm, and full of health. After a few weeks of associa-
tion, this hking ripened into friendship, and at last into
passionate love, with feelings of the most intense jealousy.
I very soon noticed that in this love sexual excitation was
also very marked ; and, notwithstanding my determina-
tion, aside from all others, to keep myself in check in
relation to this man, whom I respected so highly for his
superior character, one night, after free indulgence in
beer, as we were enjoying a bottle of champagne in my
room, and drinking to good, true and lasting friendship,
I yielded to the irresistible impulse to embrace him, etc.
" When I saw him next day, I was so ashamed that
I could not look him in the face. I felt the deepest regret
for my action, and accused myself bitterly for having thus
suUied this friendship, which was to be and remain so
pure and precious. In order to prove to him that I had
lost control of myself only momentarily, at the end of
the semester I urged him to make an excursion with me ;
and after some reluctance, the reason of which was only
too clear to me, he consented. Several nights we slept
in the same room without any attempt on my part to
repeat my action. I wished to talk with him about the
event of that night, but I could not bring myself to it ;
even when, during the next semester, we were separated,
I could not induce myself to write to him on the subject ;
and when I visited him in March at X., it was the same.
And yet I felt a great desire to clear up this dark point
by an open statement. In October of the same year I
was again in X., and this time found courage to speak
without reserve ; indeed, I asked him why he had not
resisted me. He answered that, in part, it was because
he wished to please me, and, in part, owing to the fact
that he was somewhat apathetic as a result of being a
little intoxicated. I explained to him my condition, and
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 281
also gave him " Psychopathia Sexualis " to read, express-
ing the hope that by the force of my own will I should
become fully and lastingly master of my unnatural im-
pulse. Since this confession, the relation between this
friend and me has been the most delightful and happy
possible ; there are the most friendly feelings on both
sides, which are sincere and true ; and it is to be hoped
that they will endure.
" If I should not improve my abnormal condition, I
am determined to put myself under your treatment ; the
more because, after a careful study of your work, I can-
not count myself as belonging to the category of so-called
urnings ; and also because I have the firm conviction, or
hope, at least, that a strong will, assisted and combined
with skilful treatment, could transform me into a man
of normal feeling."
Case 105. lima S.,^ aged twenty-nine; single; mer-
chant's daughter. She comes of a family having bad
nervous taint. Father was a drinker and died by suicide,
as also did the patient's brother and sister. A sistei
suffers with convulsive hysteria. Mother's father shot
himself while insane. Mother was sickly, and paralysed
after apoplexy. The patient never had any severe illness.
She is bright, enthusiastic and dreamy. Menses at the
age of eighteen without difficulty ; but thereafter they
were very irregular. At fourteen, chlorosis and catalepsy
from fright. Later, hysteria gravis and an attack of
hysterical insanity. At eighteen, relations with a young
man which were not platonic. This man's love was pas-
sionately returned. From statements of the patient, it
seems that she was very sensual, and after separation
from her lover practised masturbation. After this she
led a romantic life. In order to earn a living, she put
on male clothing, and became a tutor ; but she gave up
^ Cf. author's " Experimental Study in the Domain of Hypnotism,"
third edition, 1893.
282 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
her place because her mistress, not knowing her sex, fell
in lo\e with her and courted her. Then she became a
railway-employee. In the company of her companions,
in order to conceal her sex, she was compelled to visit
brothels with them, and hear the most vulgar stories.
This became so distasteful to her that she gave up her
place, resumed the garments of a female, and again sought
to earn her living. She was arrested for a theft, and on
account of severe hystero-epilepsy was sent to the hos-
pital. There inclination and impulse toward the same
sex were discovered. The patient became troublesome on
account of passionate love for female nurses and patients.
Her sexual inversion was considered congenital.
With regard to this, the patient made some interesting
statements : —
" I am judged incorrectly, if it is thought that I feel
myself a man toward the female sex. In my whole
thought and feeling I am much more a woman. Did I
not love my cousin as only a woman can love a man ?
" The change of my feeling originated in this, that, in
Pesth, dressed as a man, I had an opportunity to observe
my cousin. I saw that I was wholly deceived in him. That
gave me terrible heart-pangs. I knew that I could never
love another man ; that I belonged to those who love but
once. Of similar effect was the fact that, in the society of
my companions at the railway, I was compelled to hear
the most offensive language and visit the most disreput-
able houses. As a result of the insight into men's motives,
gained in this way, I took an unconquerable dislike to
them. However, since I am of a very passionate nature
and need to have some loving person on whom to depend,
and to whom I can wholly surrender myself, I felt myself
more and more powerfully drawn toward intelligent women
and girls who were in sympathy with me."
The antipathic sexual instinct of this patient, which was
clearly acquired, expressed itself in a stormy and decidedly
sensual way, and was further augmented by masturbation;
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 283
because constant control in hospitals made sexual satisfac-
tion with the same sex impossible. Character and occupa-
tion remained feminine. There were no manifestations
of viraginity. According to information lately received by
the author, this patient, after two years of treatment in
an asylum, was entirely freed from her neurosis and sexual
inversion, and discharged cured.
Case 106. Mr. X., aged thirty-five, single, civil
servant ; mother insane, brother hypochondriacal.
Patient was healthy, strong, of lively sensual tempera-
ment. He had manifested powerful sexual instinct abnor-
mally early, and masturbated while yet a small boy. He
had coitus the first time at the age of fourteen, he says,
with enjoyment and complete power. When fifteen years
old, a man sought to seduce him, and performed manustu-
pration on him. X. experienced a feeling of repulsion, and
freed himself from the disgusting situation. At maturity
he committed excesses in libido, with coitus ; in 1880 he
became neurasthenic, being afflicted with weakness of erec-
tion and ejaculatio prcecox. He thus became less and less
potent, and no longer experienced pleasure in the sexual
act. At this period of sexual decadence, for a long time
he still had what was previously foreign to him, and is
still incomprehensible to him, — an inclination for sexual
intercourse with immature girls of the age of twelve or
thirteen. His libido increased as virility diminished.
Gradually he developed inclination for boys of thirteen
or fourteen. He was impelled to approach them.
Quodsi ei occasio data est ut tangere posset pueros qui
ei placuere, penis vehementer se erexit turn maxime quum
crura puerorum tangere potuisset. Abhinc feminas non
cupivit. Nonnunquam feminas ad coitum coegit sed erectio
debilis, ejaculatio praematura erat sine ulla voluptate.
Now only youths interested him. He dreamed about
them and had pollutions. After 1882 he now and then
had opportunity concumbere cum jtcvenibus. This led to
284 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALTS.
powerful sexual excitement, which he satisfied by mas-
turbation. It was quite exceptional for him to venture
touching his bed-fellow and indulging in mutual mas-
turbation. He shunned pederasty. For the most part, he
was compelled to satisfy his sexual needs by means of
solitary masturbation. In the act he called up the vision
of pleasing boys. After sexual intercourse with such boys,
he always felt strengthened and refreshed, but morally
depressed ; because there was consciousness of having
performed a perverse, indecent and punishable act. He
found it painful that his disgusting impulse was more
powerful than his will.
X. thinks that his love for his own sex has resulted
from great excess in natural sexual intercourse, and be-
moans his situation. On the occasion of a consultation,
in December, 1889, he asked whether there weie any
means to bring him back to a normal sexual condition,
since he had no real horror femincz, and would very gladly
marry.
This intelligent patient, free from degenerative signs,
presented no abnormal symptoms except those of sexual
and spinal neurasthenia in a moderate degree.
II. Degree : Eviration and Defemination.
If, in cases of antipathic sexual instinct thus developed,
no restoration occurs, then deep and lasting transforma-
tions of the 2) sy chic al personality may occur. The process
completing itself in this way may be briefly designated
»viration (defemination in woman). The patient undergoes
a deep change of character, particularly in his feelings
and inclinations, which thus become those of a female.
After this, he also feels himself to be a woma.n during the
sexual act, has desire only for passive sexual indulgence,
and, under certain circumstances, sinks to the level of a
prostitute. In this condition of deep and more lasting
psycho-sexual transformation, the individual is like unto
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 285
the (congenital) urning of high grade. The possibility of a
restoration of the previous mental and sexual personality
seems in such a case, precluded.
The following case is a classical example of this variety
of lasting acquired antipathic sexual instinct : —
Case 107. Sch., aged thirty, physician, one day told
me the story of his Hfe and malad}^, asking for explana-
tion and advice concerning certain anomalies of his vita
sexualis. The following description gives, for the most
part verbatim, the details of the autobiography ; only in
some portions it is shortened : —
" My parents were healthy. As a child I was sickly ;
but with good care I thrived, and got on well in school.
When eleven years old, I was taught to masturbate by my
playmates, and gave myself up to it passionately. Until
I was fifteen, I learned easily. On account of frequent
pollutions, I became less capable, did not get on well in
school, and was uncertain and embarrassed when called
on by the teacher. Frightened by my loss of capability,
and recognising that the loss of semen was responsible for
it, I gave up masturbation ; but the pollutions became
even more frequent, so that I often had two or three in a
night. In despair, I now consulted one physician after
another. None were able to help me.
" Since I grew weaker and weaker, by reason of the
loss of semen, with the sexual appetite growing more and
more powerful, I sought houses of prostitution. But I was
there unable to find satisfaction ; for, even though the
sight of a naked female pleased me, neither orgasm nor
erection occurred ; and even manustupration by the puella
was not capable of inducing erection. Scarcely would I
leave the house, when the impulse would seize me again,
and I would have violent erections. I grew ashamed
before the girls, and ceased to visit such houses. Thus a
couple of years passed. My sexual life consisted of pollu-
tions. My inclination toward the opposite sex grew less
286 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
and less. At nineteen I went to the university. The
theatre had more attractions for me. I wished to become
an actor. My parents were not wilhng. At the metro-
pohs I was compelled now and then to visit girls with my
comrades. I feared such a situation ; because I knew that
coitus was impossible for me, and because my friends
might discover my impotence. Therefore, I avoided, as
far as possible, the danger of becoming the butt of their
jokes and ridicule.
" One evening, in the opera-house, an old gentleman
sat near me. He courted me. I laughed heartily at the
foolish old man, and entered into his joke. Exinopinato
genitalia mea prehendit, quo facto statim penis meus se
erexit. Frightened, I demanded of him what he meant.
He said that he was in love with me. Having heard of
hermaphrodites in the clinics, I thought I had one before
me, and became curious to see his genitals. The old man
was very willing, and went with me to the water-closet.
Sicuti penem maximum ejus erectum adspexi, perterritus
effugi.
" This man followed me, and made strange proposals
which I did not understand, and repelled. He did not give
me any rest. I learned the secrets of male love for males,
and felt that my sexuality was excited by it. But I
resisted the shameful passion (as I then regarded it), and,
for the next three years, I remained free from it. During
this time I repeatedly attempted coitus with girls in vain.
My attempts to free myself of my impotence by means of
medical treatment were also in vain. Once, when my
libido sexualis was troubling me again, I recalled what
the old man had told me : that male-loving men were
accustomed to meet on the E. Promenade.
" After a hard struggle, and with beating heart, I went
there, made the acquaintance of a blonde man, and allowed
myself to be seduced. The first step was taken. This
kind of sexual love was satisfactory to me. I always
preferred to be in the arms of a strong man. The satis-
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 287
faction consisted of mutual manustupration ; occasionally
in osculum ad penem aUerius. I was then twenty-three
years old. Sitting, together with my comrades, on the beds
of patients in the clinic during the lectures, excited me so
intensely that I could scarcely listen to the lectures. In
the same year I entered into a formal love-relation with a
merchant of thirty-four. We lived as man and vnie. X.
played the man, and fell more and more in love. I gave
up to him, but now and then I had to play the man. After
a time I grew tired of him, became unfaithful and he
grew jealous. There were terrible scenes., which led to
temporary separation, and finally to actual rupture. (The
merchant afterwards became insane, and died by suicide.)
" I made many acquaintances, and loved the most or-
dinary people. I preferred those having a full beard, and
who were tall and of middle age, and able to play the active
role well. I developed a proctitis. The professor thought
it was the result of sitting too much while preparing for
examinations. I developed a fistula, and had to undergo
an operation ; but this did not cure me of my desire to let
myself be used passivelj'. I became a physician and went
to a provincial town, where I had to live like a nun. I
developed a desire to move in ladies' society, and was
gladly welcomed there ; because it was found that I was
not so one-sided as most men, and was interested in
toilettes and such feminine things. However, I felt very
unhappy and lonesome. Fortunately, in this town, I
made the acquaintance of a man, a ' sister,' who felt hke
me. For some time I was taken care of by him. When
he had to leave I had an attack of despair, with depres-
sion, which was accompanied by thoughts of suicide.
" When it became impossible for me to longer endure
the town, I became a military surgeon in the capital.
There I began to hve again, and often made two or three
acquaintances in one day. I had never loved boys or
young people ; only fully developed men. The thought of
falling into the hands of the police was Ixightful. Thus I
288 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
have escaped the clutches of the blackmailer. At the
same time, I could not keep myself from the gratification
of my impulse. After some months I fell in love vi^ith an
official of forty. I remained true to him for a year, and
we lived like a pair of lovers. I was the wife, and was
formally courted by the lover. One day I was transferred
to a small town. We were in despair. The last night was
spent in continually kiosing and caressing one another.
"In T. I was unspeakably unhappy, in spite of some
' sisters ' whom I found. I could not forget my lover. In
order to satisfy my sexual desire, which cried for satis-
faction, I chose soldiers. Money obtained men ; but they
remained cold, and I had no enjoyment with them. I
was successful in being retransferred to the capital, where
there was a new love relation, but much jealousy; because
my lover liked to go into the society of ' sisters,' and was
proud and coquettish. There was a rupture. I was very
unhappy and very glad to be transferred from the capital.
I now stayed in C, alone and in despair. Two infantry
privates were brought into service, ' but with the same
unsatisfactory results. When shall I ever find true love
again?
" I am over medium height, well developed, and look
somewhat aged ; and, therefore, when I wish to make
conquests I use the arts of the toilet. My maimer, move-
ments and face are mascuhne. Physically I feel as youth-
ful as a boy of twenty. I love the theatre, and especially
art. My interest in the stage is in the actresses, whose
every movement and gesture I notice and criticise.
"In the society of gentlemen I am silent and em-
barrassed, while in the society of those like myself I am
free, witty, and as fawning as a cat if a man is sympathetic.
If I am without love, I become deeply melancholic ; but
the favours of the first handsome man dispel my depres-
sion. In other ways I am frivolous and very ambitious.
My profession is nothing to me. Masculine pursuits do
not interest me. I prefer novels and going to the theatre.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 289
I am effeminate, sensitive, easily moved, easily injured
and nervous. A sudden noise makes my whole body
tremble, and I have to collect myself in order to keep
from crying out."
Remarks : The foregoing case is certainly one of acquired
antipathic sexual instinct, since the sexual instinct and
impulse were originally directed toward the female sex.
Sch. became neurasthenic through masturbation.
As an accompanying manifestation of the neurasthenic
neurosis, lessened impressionability of the erection-centre
and consequent relative impotence developed. As a result
of this, sexual sensibility toward the opposite sex de-
creased, with simultaneous persistence of libido sexualis.
The acquired antipathic sexual instinct must be abnormal,
since the first touch by a person of the same sex is an
adequate stimulus for the erection-centre. The perverse
sexual feeling becomes complete. — At first Sch. felt like a
man in the sexual act ; but more and more, as the change
progressed, the feeling and desire of satisfaction changed
to the form which, as a rule, characterises the (congenital)
urning.
This eviration induces a desire for the passive role,
and, further, for (passive) pederasty. It makes a deeper
impress on the character. The character becomes femi-
nine, inasmuch as Sch. now prefers to move in the society
of actual females, has an increasing desire for feminine
occupations, and indeed makes use of the arts of the
toilet in order to improve his fading charms and make
" conquests ".
The foregoing facts concerning acquired antipathic
sexual instinct and effemination find an interesting con-
firmation in the following ethnological data : —
Herodotus already describes a peculiar disease which
frequently affected the Scythians. The disease consisted
in this : that men became effeminate in character, put
19
290 PSYGH.OPATHIA SEXUALIS.
on female garments, did the work of women, and even
became effeminate in appearance. As an explanation of
this insanity of the Scythians/ Herodotvs relates the myth
that the goddess Venus, angered by the plundering of the
temple at Ascalon by the Scythians, had made women of
these plunderers and their posterity.
IIij)'pocrates, not believing in supernatural diseases, re-
cognised that impotence was here a causative factor, and
explained it, though incorrectly, as due to the custom of
the Scythians to have themselves bled behind the ears in
order to cure disease superinduced by constant horse-back
riding. He thought that these veins were of great import-
ance in the preservation of the sexual powers, and that
when they were severed, impotence was induced. Since
the Scythians considered their impotence due to divine
punishment and incurable, they put on the clothing of
females, and lived as women among women.
It is worthy of note that, according to Klaproth (" Reise
•In dem Kaukasus," Berlin, 1812, v., p. 285) and Chotomshi.
even at the present time impotence is very frequent
among the Tartars, as a result of riding unsaddled horses.
The same is observed among the Apaches and Navajos
of the western continent who ride excessively, scarcely
ever going on foot, and are remarkable for small genitals
and mild libido and virility. Sprengel, Lallemaiid and
Nystcn recognised the fact that excessive riding may be
injurious to the sexual organs.
Hammond reports analogous observations of great in-
terest concerning the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico.
These descendants of the Aztecs cultivate so-called " mu-
1 Cf. Sprengel, " Apologie des Hippokrates," Leipzig, 1792, p. 611
Friedreich, " Literargeschichte der psych. Krankheiten," 1830, p. 31
Lalkmand, "Des pertes seminales," Paris, 1836, L, p. 581; Nysten, "Die,
tionn. de medecine," xi. edit., Paris, 1858, Art. " Eviration et Maladie des
Scythes"; Marandon, " De la maladie des Scythes"; " Annal. mldico-
psychol.," 1877, Mars, p. 161; Hammond, 'American Journal of Neu-
rology and Psychiatry," August, 1882.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 291
jerados," of which every Pueblo tribe requires one in the
reh'gious ceremonies (actual orgies in. the spring), in which
pederasty plays an important part. In order to cultivate
a " mujerado," a very powerful man is chosen, and he
is made to masturbate excessively and ride constantly.
Gradually such irritable weakness of the genital organs is
engendered that, in riding, great loss of semen is induced.
This condition of irritability passes into paralytic im-
potence. Then atrophy of the testicles and penis sets in
the hair of the beard falls out, the voice loses its depth
and compass, and physical strength and energy decrease.
Inclinations and disposition become feminine. The " mu-
jerado " loses his position in society as a man. He takes
on feminine manners and customs, and associates with
women. Yet, for rehgious reasons, he is held in honour.
It is probable that, at other times than during the festivals
he is used by the chiefs for pederasty. Hammond had
an opportunity to examine two " mujerados ". One had
become such seven years before, and was thirty-five years
old at the time. Seven years previous, he was entirely
masculine and potent. He had noticed gradual atrophy
of the testicles and penis. At the same time he lost lihido
and the power of erection. He differed in nowise, in
dress and manner, from the women among whom Ham-
rmnd found him. The genital hair was wanting, the
penis was shrunken, the scrotum lax and pendulous, and
the testicles were very much atrophied and no longer
sensitive to pressure. The " mujerado " had large mavimcB
like a pregnant woman, and asserted that he had nursed
several children whose mothers had died. A second " mu-
jerado," aged thirty-six, after he had been ten years in
the condition, presented the same peculiarities, though
with less development of mamma. Like the first, the
voice was high and thin. The body was plump.
292 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
III. Degree : Stage of Transition to Metamoiyhosis Sexualis
Paranoica.
A further degree of development is represented by
those cases in which physical sensation is also transformed
in the sense of a transmutatio sexus. In this respect the
following case is unique : —
Case 108. Autohiograj)Mj . "Born in Hungary in
1844, for many years I was the only child of my parents ;
for the other children died for the most part of general
weakness. A brother of later birth is still living.
" I come of a family in which nervous and mental
diseases have been numerous. It is said that I was very
pretty as a Httle child, with blonde locks and transparent
skin ; very obedient, quiet and modest, so that I was taken
everywhere in the society of ladies without any offence on
my part.
" With a very active imagination — my enemy through
life — my talents developed rapidly. I could read and write
at the age of four ; my memory reaches back to my third
year. I played with everything that fell into my hands, —
with leaden soldiers, or stones, or ribbons from a toy-shop ;
but a machine for working in wood, that was given to me
as a present, I did not like. I hked best to be at home
with my mother, who was everything to me. I had two
or three friends with whom I got on good-naturedly; but
I liked to play with their sisters quite as well, who always
treated me like a girl, which at first did not embarrass me.
I must have already been on the road to become just like
a girl ; at least, I can still well remember how it was
always said : ' He is not intended for a boy '. At this I
tried to play the boy,— imitated my companions in every-
thing, and tried to surpass them in wildness. In this I
succeeded. There was no tree or building too high for
me to reach its top. I took great delight in soldiers. I
avoided girls more, because I did not wish to play with
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 293
their playthings ; and it always annoyed me that they
treated me so much like one of themselves.
" In the society of mature people, however, I was
always modest, and, also, always regarded with favour.
Fantastic dreams about wild animals — which once drove
me out of bed without waking me — frequently troubled
me. I was always very simply but very elegantly dressed,
and thus developed a taste for beautiful clothing. It seems
peculiar to me that, from the time of my school-days, I
had a partiality for ladies' gloves, which I put on secretly
as often as I could. Thus, when once my mother was
about to give away a pair of gloves, I made great opposi-
tion to it, and told her, when she asked why I acted so,
that I wanted them myself. I was laughed at ; and from
that time I took good care not to display my preference
for female things. Yet my delight in them was very great.
I took especial pleasure in masquerade costumes — i.e., only
in female attire. If I saw them, I envied their owners.
What seemed to me the prettiest sight was : two young
Jnen, beautifully dressed as white ladies, with masks on ;
and yet I would not have shown myself to others as a girl
for anything ; I was so afraid of being ridiculed. At school
I worked very hard, and was always among the first.
From childhood my parents taught me that duty came
first ; and they always set me an example. It was also a
pleasure for me to attend school ; for the teachers were
kind, and the elder pupils did not plague the younger ones.
We left my first home ; for my father was compelled, on
account of his business, — which was dear to him, — to sepa-
rate from his family for a year. We moved to Germany.
Here there was a stricter, rougher manner, partly in
teachers and partly in pupils ; and I was again ridiculed
on account of my girlishness. My schoolmates went so
far as to give a girl, who had exactly my features, my
name, and me hers ; so that I hated the girl. But I later
came to be on terms of friendship with her after her
marriage. My mother tried to dress me elegantly ; but
294 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
this was repugnant to me, because it made me the
object of taunting. So, finally, I was delighted when I
had correct trousers and coats. But with these came a
new annoyance. They irritated my genitals, particularly
when the cloth was rough ; and the touch of tailors while
measuring me, on account of their tickling, which almost
convulsed me, was unendurable, particularly about the
genitals Then I had to practise gymnastics ; and I
simply could do nothing at all, or only indifferently the
things that even girls can do easily. While bathing I was
troubled by feeling ashamed to undress ; but I liked to
bathe. Until my twelfth year I had a great weakness, in
my back. I learned to swim late, but ultimately so well
that I took long swims. At thirteen I had pubic hair, and
was about six feet tall ; but my face was feminine until
my eighteenth year, when my beard came in abundance
and gave me rest from resemblance to woman. An
inguinal hernia that was acquired in my twelfth year,
and cured when I was twenty, gave me much trouble,
particularly in gymnastics. Besides, from my twelfth
year on, I had, after sitting long, and particularly while
working at night, an itching, burning and twitching,
extending from the penis to my back, which the acts of
sitting and standing increased, and which was made
worse by catching cold. But I had no suspicion what-
ever that this could be connected with the genitals.
Since none of my friends suffered in this way, it seemed
strange to me ; and it required the greatest patience to
endure it ; the more owing to the fact that my abdomen
troubled me.
" In sexualibus I was still perfectly innocent ; but now,
as at the age of twelve or thirteen, I had a definite feeling
of preferring to be a young lady. A young lady's form
was more pleasing to me ; her quiet manner, her deport-
ment, but particularly her attire, attracted me. But I was
careful not to allow this to be noticed ; and yet I am sure
that I should not have shrunk from the castration-knife,
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 295
could I have thus attained my desire. If I had been asked
to say why I preferred female attire, I could have said
nothing more than that it attracted me powerfully ; per-
haps, also, I seemed to myself, on account of my uncom-
monly white skin, more like that of a girl. The skin of
my face and hands, particularly, was very sensitive. Girls
liked my society ; and, though I should have preferred to
have been with them constantly, I avoided them when I
could ; for I had to exaggerate in order not to appear
feminine. In my heart I always envied them. I was par-
ticularly envious when one of my young girl friends got
long dresses and wore gloves and veils. When, at the age
of fifteen, I was on a journey, a young lady, with whom I
was boarding, proposed that I should mask as a lady and go
out with her ; but, owing to the fact that she was not alone,
I did not acquiesce, much as I should have hked it. While
on this journey, I was pleased at seeing boys in one city
wearing blouses with short sleeves, and the arms bare. A
lady elaborately dressed was hke a goddess to me ; and if
even her band touched me coldly I was happy and envi-
ous, and only too gladly would have put myself in her
place in the beautiful garments and lovely form. Never-
theless, I studied assiduously, and passed through the
Realschule and the Gymnasium in nine years, passing a
good final examination. I remember, when fifteen, to have
first expressed to a friend the wish to be a girl. In answer
to his question, I could not give the reason why. At
seventeen I got into fast society ; I drank beer, smoked,
and tried to joke with waiter-girls. The latter liked my
society, but they always treated me as if I wore petti-
coats. I could not take dancing lessons, they repelled me
so ; but if I could have gone as a mask, it would have been
different. My friends loved me dearly ; I hated only one,
who seduced me into onanism. Shame on those days,
which injured me for life ! I practised it quite frequently,
but in it seemed to myself like a double man, I cannot
describe the feeling ; I think it was masculine, but mixed
296 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
with feminine elements. I could not approach girls ; I
feared them, but they were not strange to me. They im-
pressed me as being more like myself ; I envied them. I
would have denied myself all pleasures if, after my classes,
at home I could have been a girl and thus have gone out.
Crinoline and a smoothly-fitting glove were my ideals.
With every lady's gown I saw I fancied how I should feel
in it, — i.e., as a lady. I had no inchnation toward men.
But I remember that I was somewhat lovingly attached
to a very handsome friend with a girl's face and dark hair,
though I think I had no other wish than that we both
might be girls.
" At the high-school I finally once had coitus ; hoc
modo sensi, me libentius sub puella concubuisse et penem
meum cum cunno mutatum maluisse. To her astonish-
ment, the girl had to treat me as a girl, and did it
willingly ; but she treated me as if I were she (she was
still quite inexperienced, and, therefore, did not laugh at
me).
" When a student at times I was wild, but I always
felt that I assumed this wildness as a mask. I drank and
duelled, but I could not take lessons in dancing, because
I was afraid of betraying myself. My friendships were
close, but without other thoughts. It pleased me most
to have a friend masked as a lady, or to study the ladies'
costumes at a ball. I understood such things perfectly.
Gradually I began to feel hke a girl.
" On account of unhappy circumstances, I twice at-
tempted suicide. Without any cause I once did not sleep
for fourteen days, had many hallucinations (visual and
auditory at the same time), and was with both the living
and the dead. The latter habit of thought remains. I
also had a friend (a lady) who knew my hobby and put
on my gloves for me ; but she always looked upon me
as a girl. Thus I understood women better than other
men did, and in what they differed from men ; so I was
always treated more feminarum — as if they had found in
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 297
me a female friend. On the whole, I could not endure
obscenity, and indulged in it myself only out of braggadocio
when it was necessary. I soon overcame my aversion to
foul odours and blood, and even liked them. Only some
things I could not look at without nausea. I was want-
ing in only one respect : I could not understand my own
condition. I knew that I had feminine inclinations, but
believed that I was a man. Yet I doubt whether, with
the exception of the attempts at coitus, which never gave
me pleasure (which I ascribe to onanism), I ever admired
a woman without wishing I were she ; or without asking
myself whether I should not like to be the woman, or
be in her attire. Obstetrics I learned with difficulty (I
was ashamed for the exposed girls, and had a feeling
of pity for them) ; and even now I have to overcome
a feehng of fright in obstetrical cases ; indeed, it has
happened that I thought I felt the traction myself.
After fining several positions successfully as a physician,
I went through a military campaign as a volunteer
surgeon. Eiding, which, while a student, was painful to
me, because in it the genitals had more of a feminine
feehng, was difficult for me (it would have been easier
in the female style).
" Still, I always thought I was a man with obscure
masculine feeling ; and whenever I associated with ladies,
I was still soon treated as an inexperienced lady. When
I wore a uniform for the first time, 1 should have much
preferred to have slipped into a lady's costume, with a
veil ; I was disturbed when the stately uniform attracted
attention. In private practice I was successful in the
three principal branches. Then I made another military
campaign ; and during this I came to understand my
nature ; for I think that, since the first ass ever made,
no beast of burden has ever had to endure with so much
patience as I have. Decorations wore not wanting, but
I was indifferent to them.
" Thus I went through life, such as it was, never satis-
298 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
fied with myself, full of dissatisfaction with the world,
and vacillating between sentimentality and a wildness
that was for the most part affected.
" My experience as a candidate for matrimony was
very peculiar. I should have preferred not to marry, but
family circumstances and practice forced me to it. I
married an energetic, amiable lady, of a family in which
female government was rampant. I was in love with her
as much as one of us can be in love — i.e., what we love
we love with our whole hearts, and live in it, even though
we do not show it as much as a genuine man does. We
love our brides with all the love of a woman, almost as
a woman might love her bridegroom. But I cannot say
this for myself; for I still believed that I was but a
depressed man, who would come to himself, and find him-
self out by marriage. But, even on my marriage night, I
felt that I was only a woman in man's form ; sub femina
locum meum esse mihi visum est. On the whole, we
hved contented and happy, and for two years were child-
less. After a difficult pregnancy, during which time I
lay at the point of death in the enemy's own country, my
wife gave birth to our first boy in a difficult labour, — a
boy still afflicted with a melancholy nature. Then came
a second, who is very quiet ; a third, full of peculiarities ;
a fourth, a fifth ; and all have predisposition to neuras-
thenia. Since I always felt out of my own place, I went
much in gay society ; but I always worked as much as
human strength would endure. I studied and operated ;
and I experimented with many drugs and methods of
cure, always on myself. I left the regulation of the house
to my wife, as she understood housekeeping very well.
My marital duties I performed as well as I could, but
without personal satisfaction. Since the first coitus, the
mascuhne position in it has been repugnant, and also
difficult for me. I should have much preferred to have
the other role. When I had to dehver my wife, it almost
broke my heart ; for I knew how to appreciate her pain.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 299
Thus we lived long together, until severe gout drove me
to various baths, and made me neurasthenic. At the
same time, I became so anaemic that every iew months I
had to take iron for some time ; otherwise I would be
almost chlorotic or hysterical, or both. Stenocardia often
troubled me ; then came unilateral cramps of chin, nose,
neck and larynx ; hemicrania and cramps of the dia-
phragm and chest muscles. For about three years I had
a feeling as if the prostate were enlarged, — a bearing-down
feeling, as if giving birth to something ; and also pain in
the hips, constant pain in the back, and the like. Yet,
with the strength of despair, I fought against these com-
plaints, which impressed me as being female or effeminate,
until three years ago, when a severe attack of arthritis
completely broke me down.
"But before this terrible attack of gout occurred, in
despair, to lessen the pain of gout, I had taken hot baths,
as near the temperature of the body as possible. On one
of these occasions it happened that I suddenly changed,
and seemed to be near death. I sprang with all my
remaining strength out of the bath : I had felt exactly like
a woman with libido. This happened when the extract
of Indian hemp came into vogue, and was highly prized.
In a state of fear of a threatened attack of gout (feeling
perfectly indifferent about life), I took three or four times
the usual dose of it, and almost died of hashish poison-
ing. Convulsive laughter, a feeling of unheard of strength
and swiftness, a peculiar feeling in brain and eyes, millions
of sparks streaming from the brain through the skin, — all
these feelings occurred. But I could not force myself to
speak. All at once I saw myself a woman from my toes
to my breast ; I felt, as before while in the bath, that the
genitals had shrunken, the pelvis broadened, the breasts
swollen out; a feeling of unspeakable deliglit came over
me. I closed iny eyes, so that at least I did not see the
face changed. My physician looked as if he had a gigantic
potato instead of a head ; my wife had the full moon on
300 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
her thorax. And yet, I was strong enough to briefly
record my will in my note-book when both left the room
for a short time.
" But who could describe my fright when, on the next
morning, I awoke and found myself feeling as if com-
pletely changed into a woman ; and when, on standing
and walking, I felt vulva and mammce. ! When at last I
raised myself out of bed, I felt that a complete trans-
formation had taken place in me. During my illness a
visitor said : ' He is too -patient for a man '. And the
visitor gave me a plant in bloom, which seemed strange,
but pleased me. From that time I was patient, and
would do nothing in a hurry ; but I became tenacious,
like a cat, though, at the same time, mild, forgiving and
no longer bearing enmity, — in short, I had a woman's
disposition. During the last sickness I had many visual
and auditory hallucinations, — spoke with the dead, etc. ;
saw and heard familiar spirits ; felt like a double person ;
but, while lying ill, I did not notice that the man in me had
been extinguished. The change in my disposition was a
piece of good fortune, for I had a stroke of paralysis which
would certainly have killed me had I been of my former
disposition ; but now I was reconciled, for I no longer
recognised myself. Owing to the fact that I still often
confounded neurasthenic symptoms with the gout, I took
many baths, until an itching of the skin, with the feeling
of scabies, instead of being diminished, was so increased
that I gave up all external treatment (I was made more
and more anaemic by the baths), and hardened myself as
best I could. But the imperative female feeling remained,
and became so strong that I wear only the mask of a man,
and in everything else feel hke a woman ; and gradually I
have lost memory of the former individuality. What was
left of me by the gout, influenza ruined entirely.
''Present condition: I am tall, slightly bald, and the
beard is growing grey. I begin to stoop. Since having
influenza I have lost about one-fourth of my strength.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 301
Owing to a valvular lesion, my face looks somev^hat red ;
full beard ; chronic conjunctivitis ; more muscular than
fat. The left foot seems to be developing varicose veins,
and it often goes to sleep ; but it is not really thickened,
though it seems to be.
" The mammary region, though small, svp'ells out per-
ceptibly. The abdomen is feminine in form ; the feet are
placed like a woman's, and the calves, etc., are feminine ;
and it is the same with arms and hands. I can wear ladies'
hose and gloves 7^ to 7| in size. I also wear a corset with-
out annoyance. My weight varies between 168 and 184
pounds. Urine without albumen or sugar, but it contains
an excess of uric acid. But when there is not too much
uric acid in it, it is clear, and almost as clear as water
after any excitement. Bowels usually regular ; but should
they not be, then come all the symptoms of female consti-
pation. Sleep is poor, — for weeks at a time only of two
or three hours' duration. Appetite quite good ; but, on
the whole, my stomach will not bear more than that of a
strong woman, and reacts to irritating food with cutaneous
eruption and burning in the urethra. The skin is white,
and, for the most part, feels quite smooth ; there has been
unbearable cutaneous itching for the last two years ; but
during the last few weeks this has diminished, and is
now present only in the popHteal spaces and on the
scrotum.
" Tendency to perspire. Perspiration was previously
as good as wanting, but now there are all the odious
pecuharities of the female perspiration, particularly about
the lower part of the body ; so that I have to keep myself
cleaner than a woman (I perfume my handkerchief, and
use perfumed soap and eau-de-Cologne).
" General feeling : I feel like a woman in a man's form ;
and even though I often am sensible of the man's form,
yet it is always in a feminine sense. Thus, for example,
I feel the penis as chtoris ; the urethra as urethra and
vaginal orifice, which always feels a httle wet, even when
302 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
it is actually dry ; the scrotum as labia majora ; in short, I
always feel the vulva. And all that that means one alone
can know who feels or has felt so. But the skin all over
my body feels feminine; it receives all impressions, wl ether
of touch, of warmth, or whether unfriendly, as feminine,
and I have the sensations of a woman. I cannot go with
bare hands, as both heat and cold trouble me. When the
time is past when we men are permitted to carry sun-
umbrellas, I have to endure great sensitiveness of the skin
of my face, until sun-umbrellas can again be used. On
awaking in the morning, I am confused for a few moments,
as if I were seeking for myself ; then the imperative feel-
ing of being a woman awakens. I feel the sense of the
vulva (that one is there), and always greet the day with a
soft or loud sigh ; for I have fear again of the play that
must be carried on throughout the day. I had to learn
everything anew ; the knife— apparatus, everything — has
felt different for the last three years ; and with the change
of muscular sense I had to learn everything over again. I
have been successful, and only the use of the saw and
bone-chisel are difficult ; it is almost as if my strength
were not quite sufficient. On the other hand, I have a
keener sense of touch in working with the curette in the
soft parts. It is unpleasant that, in examining ladies, I
often feel their sensations ; but this, indeed, does not repel
them. The most unpleasant thing I experience is foetal
movement. For a long time — several months — I was
troubled by reading the thoughts of both sexes, and I still
have to fight against it. I can endure it better with
women ; with men it is repugnant. Three years ago I
had not yet consciously seen the world with a woman's
eyes ; this change in the relation of the eyes to the brain
came almost suddenly, with violent headache. I was
with a lady whose sexual feeling was reversed, when sud-
denly I saw her changed in the sense I now feel myself, —
viz., she as man, — and I felt myself a woman in contrast
vvith her ; so that I left her with ill-concealed vexation.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 303
At that time she had not yet come to understand her own
condition perfectly.
" Since then, all my sensory impressions are as if they
were feminine in form and relation. The cerebral system
almost immediately adjusted itself to the vegetative ; so
that all my ailments were manifested in a feminine way.
The sensitiveness of all nerves, particularly that of the
auditory and olfactory and trigeminal, increased to a con-
dition of nervousness. If only a window slammed, I was
frightened inwardly ; for a man dare not tremble at such
things. If food is not absolutely fresh, I perceive a cadav-
erous odour. I could never depend on the trigeminus ;
for the pain would jump whimsically from one branch of
it to another ; from a tooth to an eye. But, since my
transformation, I bear toothache and migraine more easily,
and have less feeling of fear with stenocardia. It seems
to me a strange fact that I feel myself to be a fearful, weak
being, and yet, when danger threatens, I am much rather
cool and collected , and this is true in dangerous opera-
tions. The stomach rebels against the slightest indiscre-
tion (in female diet) that is committed without thought of
the female nature, either by ructus or other symptoms ;
but particularly against abuse of alcoholics. The indis-
position after intoxication that a man who feels like a
woman experiences is much worse than any a student
could get up. It seems to me almost as if one feeling
like a woman were entirely controlled by the vegetative
system.
" Small as my nipples are, they demand room, and I
feel them as mamma ; just as during the beginning of
puberty the nipples swelled and pained. On this account,
the white shirt, the waistcoat and the coat trouble me. I
feel as though the pelvis were female ; and it is the same
with the anus and nates. At first the sense of a female
abdomen was troublesome to me ; for it cannot bear
trousers, and it always possesses or induces the feminine
feeling. I also have the imperative feeling of a waist. It
304 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
is as if I were robbed of my own skin, and put in a woman*'s
skin that fitted me perfectly, but which felt everything as if
it covered a woman ; and whose sensations passed through
the man's body, and exterminated the masculine element.
The testes, even though not atrophied or degenerated, are
still no longer testes, and often cause me pain, with the
feeling that they belong in the abdomen, and should be
fastened there ; and their mobility often bothers me.
" Every four weeks, at the time of the full moon, I
have the molimen of a woman for five days, physically and
mentally, only I do not bleed ; but I have the feeling of a
loss of fluid ; a feeling that the genitals and abdomen are
(internally) swollen. A ver}^ pleasant period comes when,
afterward and later in the interval for a day or two, the
physiological desire for procreation comes, which with all
power permeates the woman. My whole body is then filled
with this sensation, as an immersed piece of sugar is filled
with water, or as full as a soaked sponge. It is like this :
first, a woman longing for love, and then, for a man ; and,
in fact, the desire, as it seems to me, is more a longing to
be possessed than a wish for coitus. The intense natural
instinct or the feminine concupiscence overcomes the feel-
ing of modesty, so that indirectly coitus is desired. I have
never felt coitus in a masculine way more than three times
in my life ; and even if it were so in general, I was always
indifferent about it. But, during the last three years, I have
experienced it passively, like a woman ; in fact, oftentimes
with the feeling of feminine ejaculation ; and I always feel
that I am impregnated. I am always fatigued as a woman.
is after it, and often feel ill, as a man never does. Some-
times it caused me such great pleasure that there is nothing
with which I can compare it ; it is the most blissful and
powerful feeling in the world ; at that moment the woman
is simply a vulva that has devoured the whole person.
" During the last three years I have never lost for an
instant the feeling of being a woman, and now, owing to
habit, this is no longer annoying to me, though during
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 305
this period I have felt debased ; for a man could endure
to feel like a woman without a desire for enjoyment ; but
when desires come, the happiness ceases ! Then come
the burning, the heat, the feeling of turgor of the genitals
(when the penis is not in a state of erection the genitals
do not play any part). In case of intense desire, the
feeling of sucking in the vagina and vulva is really terrible
— a hellish pain of lust hardly to be endured. If I then
have opportunity to perform coitus, it is better ; but,
owing to defective sense of being possessed by the other,
it does not afford complete satisfaction ; the feeling of
sterility comes with its weight of shame, added to the
feeling of passive copulation and injured modesty. I seem
almost like a prostitute. Eeason does not give any help ;
the imperative feeling of femininity dominates and rules
everything. The difficulty in carrying on one's occupa-
tion, under such circumstances, is easily appreciated ; but
it is possible to force one's self to it. Of course, it is
almost impossible to sit, walk, or lie down ; at least, any
one of these cannot be endured long ; and with the
constant touch of the trousers, etc., it is unendurable.
" Marriage then, except during coitus, where the man
has to feel himself a woman, is like two women living
together, one of whom regards herself as in the mask of
a man. If the periodical molimina fail to occur, then come
the feelings of pregnancy or of sexual satiety, which a
man never experiences, but which take possession of the
whole being, just as the feeling of feminity does, and are
repugnant in themselves ; and, therefore, I gladly welcome
the regular molimina again. When erotic dreams or ideas
occur, I see myself in the form I have as a woman, and
see erected organs presenting. Since the anus feels fem-
inine, it would not be hard to become a passive pederast ;
only positive religious command prevents it, as all other
deterrent ideas would be overcome. Since such conditions
are repugnant, as they would be to any one, I have a
desire to be sexless, or to make myself sexless. If I had
20
306 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
been single, I should long ago have taken leave of testes,
scrotum and penis.
" Of what use is female pleasure, vv^hen one docs not
conceive ? What good comes from excitation of female
love, when one has only a wife for gratification, even
though copulation is felt as though it were with a man ?
What a terrible feeling of shame is caused by the feminine
perspiration ! How the feeling for dress and ornament
lowers a man ! Even in his changed form, even when he
can no longer recall the masculine sexual feeling, he
would not wish to be forced to feel like a woman. He
still knows very well that, heretofore, he did not con-
stantly feel sexually ; that he was merely a human being
uninfluenced by sex. Now, suddenly, he has to regard his
former individuality as a mask, and constantly feel like
a woman, only having a change when, every four weeks,
he has his periodical sickness, and in the intervals his
insatiable female desire. If he could but avv^ake without
immediately being forced to feel like a woman ! At last
he longs for a moment in which he might raise his mask ;
but that moment does not come. He can only find
amelioration of his misery when he can put on some bit
of female attire or finery, an under-garment, etc. ; for he
dare not go about as a woman. To be compe]led to fulfil
all the duties of a calling with the feeling of being a
woman costumed as a man, and to see no end of it, is
no trifle. Religion alone saves from a great lapse ; but it
does not prevent the pain when temptation affects the
man who feels as a woman ; and so it must be felt and
endured ! When a respectable man who enjoys an un-
usual degree of public confidence, and possesses authority,
must go about with his vulva — imaginary though it be ;
when one, leaving his arduous daily task, is compelled
to examine the toilette of the first lady he meets, and criti-
cise her with feminine eyes, and read her thoughts in her
face ; when a journal of fashions possesses an interest
equal to that of a scientific work (I felt this as a child) ;
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 307
when one must conceal his condition from his wife, whose
thoughts, the moment he feels hke a woman, he can read
in her face, while it becomes perfectly clear to her that
he has changed in body and soul — what must all this be ?
The misery caused by the feminine gentleness that must
be overcome ! Oftentimes, of course, when I am away
alone, it is possible to live for a time more Hke a woman ;
for example, to wear female attire, especially at night, to
keep gloves on, or to wear a veil or a mask in my room,
so that thus there is rest from excessive libido. But when
the feminine feeling has once gained an entrance, it
imperatively demands recognition. It is often satisfied
with a moderate concession, such as the wearing of a
bracelet above the cuff ; but it imperatively demands some
concession. My only happiness is to see myself dressed
as a woman without a feehng of shame ; indeed, when
my face is veiled or masked, I prefer it so, and thus think
of myself. Like every one of Fashion's fools, I have a
taste for the prevaiHng mode, so greatly am I trans-
brmed. To become accustomed to the thought of feehng
only like a woman, and only to remember the previous
manner of thought to a certain extent in contrast with
it, and, at the same time, to express one's self as a
man, requires a long time and an infinite amount of
persistence.
" Nevertheless, in spite of everything, it will happen
that I betray myself by some expression of feminine
feehng, either in sexualibus, when I say that I feel so and
so, expressing what a man without the female feehng
cannot know ; or when I accidentally betray that female
attire is my talent. Before women, of course, this does
not amount to anything ; for a woman is greatly flattered
when a man understands something of her matters ; but
this must not be displayed to my own wife. How fright-
ened I once was when my wife said to a friend that I had
great taste in ladies' dress ! How a haughty, stylish lady
was astonished when, as she was about to make a great
308 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
error in the education of her httle daughter, I described
to her in writing and verbally all the feminine feelings !
To be sure, I hed to her, saying that my knowledge had
been gleaned from letters. But her confidence in me is
as great as ever ; and the child, who was on the road to
insanity, is rational and happy. She had confessed all the
feminine inclinations as sins ; now she knows what, as a
girl, she must bear and control by will and religion ; and
she feels that she is human. Both ladies would laugh
heartily if they knew that I had only drawn on my own
sad experience. I must also add that I now have a finer
sense of temperature and, besides, a sense of the elasticity
of the skin and tension of the intestines, etc., in patients,
that was unknown to me before ; that in operations and
autopsies, poisonous fluids more readily penetrate my
(uninjured) skin. Every autopsy causes me pain ; examina-
tion of a prostitute, or a woman having a discharge, a
cancerous odour, or the like, is actually repugnant to me.
In all respects I am now under the influence of antipathy
and sympathy, from the sense of colour to my judgment of
a person. Women usually see in each other the periodical
sexual disposition ; and, therefore, a lady wears a veil, if
she is not always accustomed to wear one, and usually
she perfumes herself, even though it be only with handker-
chief or gloves ; for her olfactory sense in relation to her
own sex is intense. Odours have an incredible effect on
the female organism ; thus, for example, the odours of
violets and roses quiet me, while others disgust me ; and
with Ylang-Ylang I cannot contain myself for sexual
excitement. Contact with a woman seems homogeneous
to me ; coitus with my wife seems possible to me because
she is somewhat masculine, and has a firm skin ; and yet
it is more an amor lesbicus.
" Besides, I always feel passive. Often at night, when
I cannot sleep for excitement, it is finally accomplished,
si femora mea distensa habeo, sicuti mulier cum viro con-
cumbens, or if I lie on my side ; but an arm or the bed-
• HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 309
clothing must not touch the mamma, or there is no
sleep ; and there must be no pressure on the abdomen.
I sleep best in a chemise and night-robe, and with gloves
on ; for my hands easily get cold. I am also comfortable
in female drawers and petticoats, because they do not
touch the genitals. I liked female dresses best when
crinolines were worn. Female dresses do not annoy the
feminine-feeling man ; for he, like every woman, feels
them as belonging to his person, and not as something
foreign.
" My dearest associate is a lady suffering with neuras-
thenia, who, since her last confinement, feels like a man,
but who, since I explained these feelings to her, coitu
abstinet as much as possible, a thing I, as a husband, dare
not do. She, by her example, helps me to endure my
condition. She has a most perfect memory of the female
feelings, and has often given me good advice. Were she
a man and I a young girl I should seek to win her ; for
her I should be glad to endure the fate of a woman. But
her present appearance is quite different from what it
formerly was. She is a very elegantly dressed gentleman,
notwithstanding bosom and hair ; she also speaks quickly
and concisely, and no longer takes pleasure in the things
that please me. She has a kind of melancholy dissatis-
faction with the world, but she bears her fate worthily
and with resignation, finding her comfort only in religion
and the fulfilment of duty. At the time of the menses,
she almost dies. She no longer likes female society and
conversation, and has no liking for delicacies.
" A youthful friend felt like a girl from the very first,
and had incHnations towards the male sex. His sister
had the opposite condition ; and when the uterus de-
manded its right, and she saw herself as a loving woman
in spite of her masculinity, she cut the matter short, and
committed suicide by drowning.
" Since complete effemination, the principal changes I
have observed in myself are : —
310 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
"1. The constant feeling of being a woman from top
to toe.
" 2. The constant feehng of having female genitals.
*' 3. The periodicity of the monthly molimina.
" 4. The regular occurrence of female desire, though
not directed to any particular man.
"5. The passive female feeling in coitus.
" 6. After that, the feeling of impregnation.
" 7. The female feehng in thought of coitus.
"8. At the sight of women, the feeling of being of their
kind, and the feminine interest in them.
"9. At the sight of men, the feminine interest in them.
" 10. At the sight of children, the same feeling.
" 11. The changed disposition and much greater
patience.
"12. The final resignation to my fate, for which I have
nothing to thank but positive religion ; without it I should
have long ago committed suicide.
" To be a man and to be compelled to feel that
chaque fcmme est future ou elle desire d'etre is hard to
endure."
The foregoing autobiography, scientifically so import-
ant, was accompanied by the following no less interesting
letter : —
" Sm, — I must next beg your indulgence for troubling
you with my communication. I lost all control, and
thought of myself only as a monster before which I myself
shuddered. Then your work gave me courage again ; and
I determined to go to the bottom of the matter, and
examine my past life, let the result be what it might. It
seemed a duty of gratitude to you to tell you the result of
my recollection and observation, since I had not seen any
description by you of an analogous case ; and, finally, I
also thought it might perhaps interest you to learn, from
the pen of a physician, how such a worthless human, or
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 311
masculine, being thinks and feels under the weight of the
imperative idea of being a woman.
" It is not perfect ; but I no longer have the strength
to reflect more upon it, and have no desire to go into
the matter more deeply. Much is repeated ; but I beg
you to remember that any mask may be allowed to fall off,
particularly when it is not voluntarily worn, but enforced.
"After reading your work, I hope that, if I fulfil
my duties as physician, citizen, father and husband, I
may still count myself among human beings who do not
deserve merely to be despised.
" Finally, I washed to lay the result of my recollection
and reflection before you, in order to show that one think-
ing and feehng hke a woman can still be a physician. I
consider it a great injustice to debar woman from Medi-
cine. A woman, through her feehng, gets on the track of
many ailments which, in spite of all skill in diagnosis,
remain obscure to a man ; at least, in the diseases of women
and children. If I could have my way, I should have
every physician Hve the Hfe of a woman for three months ;
then he would have a better understanding and more con-
sideration in matters affecting the half of humanity from
which he comes ; then he would learn to value the great-
ness of woman, and appreciate the difficulty of her lot."
BemarJcs : The badly tainted patient is originally psycho-
sexually abnormal, in that, in character and in the sexual
act, he feels as a female. This abnormal feehng remained
purely a psychical anomally until three years ago, when,
owing to severe neurasthenia, it received overmastering
support in imperative bodily sensations of a transmutatio
sexus, which now dominate consciousness. Then, to the
patient's horror, he felt bodily like a woman ; and, under
the impulse of his imperative feminine sensations, he ex-
perienced a complete, transformation of his former mascu-
hne feeling, thought and will ; in fact, of his whole vita
sexualis, in the sense of eviration. At the same time, his
"ego" is able to control these abnormal psycho-physical
312 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
manifestations, and prevent descent to paranoia, — a
remarkable example of imperative feelings and ideas on the
basis of neurotic taint, which is of great value for a com-
prehension of the manner in v^hich the pyscho-sexual
transformation may be accomphshed. In 1893, three
years later, this unhappy colleague sent me a new account
of his present state. This corresponds essentially with the
former. His physical and psychical feelings are absolutely
those of a woman ; but his intellectual powers are intact, •
and he is thus saved from paranoia (vide infra).
A counterpart to this case, which is of clinical and
psychological moment, is that of a lady as given in : —
Case 109. Mrs. X., daughter of a high official. -Her
mother died from nervous disease. The father was un-
tainted, and died from pneumonia at a good old age. Her
brothers and sisters had inferior psychopathic dispositions ;
one brother was of abnormal character, and very neuras-
thenic.
As a girl Mrs. X. had decided inchnations for boys
sports. So long as she wore short dresses she used to rove
• about the fields and woods in the freest manner, and
climbed the most dangerous rocks and cliffs. She had no
taste for dresses and finery. Once, when they gave her a
dress made in boys' fashion, she was highly dehghted ;
and when at school they dressed her up in boy's clothes
on the occasion of some theatrical performance she was
filled with bHss.
Otherwise nothing betrayed her homo-sexual inclina-
tions. Up to her marriage (at the age of twenty-one) she
cannot call to mind a single instance in which she felt her-
self drawn to persons of her own sex. Men were equally
indifferent to her. When matured she had many admirers.
This flattered her greatly. However, she claims that the
difference of the sexes never entered her mind ; she was
only influenced by the difference in the dress.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 318
When attending the first and only ball she felt interest
only in intellectual conversation, but not in dancing or the
dancers.
At the age of eighteen the menses set in without diffi-
culty. She always looked upon riienstruation as an
unnecessary and bothersome function. Her engagement
with a man who, though good and rich, yet possessed not
the slightest knowledge of woman's nature, was a matter
of utter indifference to her. She had neither sympathy for
nor antipathy against matrimony. Her connubial duties
were at first painful to her, later on simply loathsome.
She never experienced sensual pleasure, but became the
mother of six children. When her husband began to
observe coitus intemi'ptus, on account of the prolific conse-
quences, her religious and moral sentiments were hurt.
Mrs. X. grew more and more neurasthenic, peevish and
unhappy.
She suffered from descensus uteri, erosions on the portio
vaginalis, and became anaemic. Gynecological treatment
and visits to watering-places procured but slight improve-
ments.
At the age of thirty-six she had an apoplectic stroke,
which confined her to bed for two years, with heavy
neurasthenic ailments (agrypnia, pressure in the head,
palpitation of the heart, psychical depression, feelings of
lost physical and mental power, bordering even on in-
sanity, etc.). During this long illness a pecuHar change
of her psychical and physical feelings took place.
The small talk of the ladies visiting her about love,
toilet, finery, fashions, domestic and servants' affairs dis-
gusted her. She felt mortified at being a woman. She
could not even make up her mind again to look in the
mirror. She loathed combing her hair and making her
toilet. Much to the surprise of her own people her hitherto
soft and decidedly feminine features assumed a strongly
masculine character, so much so that she gave the
impression of being a man clad in female garb. She
314 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
complained to her trusted physician that her periods
had stopped, — in fact, she had nothing to do with such
functions. When they recurred again she felt ill-tempered,
and found the odour of the menstual flow most nauseating,
but definitely refused the use of perfumes, which affected
her in a similar unpleasant manner.
But in other ways she felt that a peculiar change had
come over her entire being. She had athletic spells, and
great desire for gymnastic exercises. At times she felt as
if she were just twenty. She was startled, — when her
aeurasthenic brain allowed of thought at all, — at the flight
and novelty of her thoughts, at her quick and precise
method of arriving at conclusions and forming opinions,
at the curt and short way of expressing herself, and her
novel choice of words not always becoming a lady. Even
an inclination to use curse words and oaths were noticeable
in this otherwise so pious and correct woman.
She reproached herself bitterly, and grieved because
she had lost her feminity, and scandalised her friends by
her thoughts, sentiments, and actions.
She also perceived a change in her body. She was
horrified to notice her breasts disappearing, that her
pelvis grew smaller and narrower, the bones became
more massive, and her skin rougher and harder.
She refused to wear any more a lady's night-dress or a
lady's cap, and put away her bracelets, earrings and fans.
Her maid and her dressmaker noticed a different odour
coming from her person ; her voice also grew deeper,
rougher and quite masculine.
When the patient was finally able to leave her bed, the
female gait had altered, feminine gestures and movements
in her female attire were forced, and she could no longer
bear to wear a veil over her face. Her former period of
life spent as a woman seemed strange to her, as if it did
not belong to her existence at all ; she could play no longer
the role of woman. She assumed more and more the
character of a man. She experienced strange feelings in
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 315
her abdomen ; and complained to the physician attending
her that she could feel no longer the internal organs of
generation, that her body was closed up, the region of her
genitals enlarged, and often had the sensation of possessing
a penis and scrotum. She showed, also, unmistakable
symptoms of male libido. All these observations affected
her deeply, filled her with horror, and depressed her so
much that an attack of insanity was apprehended. But
by incessant efforts and kind advice the family physician
finally succeeded in calming the patient and piloting her
safely over this dangerous point. Little by little she gained
her equilibrium in this novel, strange and morbid physico-
psychical form. She took pains in performing her duties
as housewife and mother. It was interesting to observe
the truly manly firmness of will which she developed, but
her former softness of character had vanished. She
assumed the role of the man in her house, a circumstance
which led to many dissensions and misunderstandings. She
became an enigma which her husband was unable to solve.
She complained to her physician that at times a
'* bestial masculine libido " threatened to overcome her,
which made her despondent. Marital intercourse with
the husband appeared to her most repulsive — in fact,
impossible. Periodically the patient experienced feminine
emotions, but they became scarcer and weaker as time
went by. At such periods she became conscious again of
her female genitals and breasts, but these episodes affected
her painfully, and she felt that such a " second trans-
mutation " would be unbearable, and would drive her to
insanity.
Now she has become reconciled to her transmutatio
sexus, brought about by her severe illness, and bears her
fate with resignation, finding much support in her religious
convictions.
What affects her most keenly is the fact tiiat, like an
actress, she must move in a strange spliere — i.e., in tliat
of a woman (" Status Prnnsens," Sept., LS92).'
316 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
TV. Degree : Metamorphosis Sexualis Paranoica.
A final possible stage in this disease-process is the
delusion of a transformation of sex. It arises on the basis
of sexual neurasthenia that has developed into neuras-
thenia universalis, resulting in a mental disease, — paranoia.
The following cases show the development of the
interesting neuro-psychological process to its height : —
Case 110. K., aged thirty-six, male, single, servant,
received at the chnic on 26th February, 1889, is a tjrpical
case of paranoica persecutoria, resulting from neurasthenia
sexualis, with olfactory hallucinations, sensations, etc.
He comes of a predisposed family. Several brothers
and sisters were psychopathic. Patient has a hydro-
cephalic skull, depressed in the region of the right fon-
tanelle ; eyes neuropathic. He has always been very
sensual ; began to masturbate at nineteen ; had coitus at
twenty-three ; begat three illegitimate children. He gave
up further sexual intercourse on account of fear of
begetting more children, and of being unable to provide
for them. Abstinence proved very painful to him. He
also gave up masturbation, and was then troubled with
pollutions. A year and a half ago he became sexually
neurasthenic, had diurnal pollutions, became thereafter ill
and miserable, and, after a time, generally neurasthenic,
finally developing paranoia.
A year ago he began to have parsesthetic sensations, —
as if there were a great coil in the place of his genitals ;
and then he felt that his scrotum and penis were gone,
and that his genitals were changed into those of a female.
He felt the growth of his breasts ; that his hair was
that of a woman ; and that feminine garments were on his
body. He thought himself a woman. The people in the
street gave utterance to corresponding remarks : " Look
at the woman ! The old blowhard ! " In a half-dreamy
state, he had the feeling as if he played the part of a
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 317
woman in coitus with a man, which caused him the most
lively feelings of pleasure. During his stay at the clinic,
a remission of the paranoia occurred, and, at the same
time, a marked improvement of the neurasthenia. Then
the feelings and ideas due to a developing metamorphosis
sexualis disappeared.
A more advanced case of eviration, on the way to a
transformatio sexus paranoica, is the following : —
Case 111. Franz St., aged thirty-three; school-
teacher , single ; probably of tainted family ; always
neuropathic; emotional, timid, intolerant of alcohol ; began
to masturbate at eighteen. At thirty there were mani-
festations of neurasthenia sexualis (pollutions with conse-
quent fatigue, soon beginning to occur during the day ;
pain in the region of the sacral plexus, etc.). Gradually,
spinal irritation, pressure in the head, and cerebral neuras-
thenia were added. Since the beginning of 1885 the
patient had given up coitus, in which he no longer experi-
enced pleasurable feeling. He masturbated frequently.
In 1888 he began to have delusions of suspicion. He
noticed that he was avoided, and that he had unpleasant
odours about him (olfactory hallucinations). In this way
he explained the altered attitude of people, and their
sneezing, coughing, etc.
He could smell corpses and foul urine. He recognised
the cause of his bad smells in inward pollutions. He
recognised these in a feeling he had as if a fluid flowed
up from the symphysis toward the breast. Patient soon
left the clinic.
In 1889 he was again received in an advanced stage of
paranoia masturbatoria persecutoria (delusions of physical
persecution).
In the beginning of May, 1889, the patient attracted
notice, in that he was cross when he was addressed as
** mister ". He protested against it because he was a
318 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
woman. Voices told him this. He noticed that his
breasts were growing. Some weeks before, others had
touched him in a sensual manner. He heard it said that
he was a whore. Of late, dreams of pregnancy. He
dreamed that, as a woman, he indulged in coitus. He felt
the immissio penis, and, during the hallucinatory act, also
a feeling of ejaculation.
Head straight ; facial form long and narrow ; parietal
eminences prominent ; genitals normally developed.
The following case, observed in the asylum at Illenau,
is a pertinent example of lasting delusional alteration of
sexual consciousness : —
Case 112. Metamorphosis sexualis paranoica. N., aged
twenty-three, single, pianist, was received in the asylum
at Illenau in the last part of October, 1S65. He came of
a family in which there was said to be no hereditary taint ;
but there was phthisis (father and brother died of pul-
monary tuberculosis). Patient, as a child, was weakly and
dull, though especially talented in music. He was always
of abnormal character ; silent, retiring, unsocial, and
sullen. He practised masturbation after fifteen. After a
few years neurasthenic symptoms (palpitation of the heart,
lassitude, occasional pressure in the head, etc.) and also
hypochondriacal symptoms were manifested. During the
last year he had worked with great difficulty. For about
six months neurasthenia had increased. He complained
of palpitation of the heart, pressure in the head and
sleeplessness; was very irritable, and seemed to be sexually
excited. He declared that he must marry for his health.
He fell in love with an artiste, but almost at the same
time (September, 1865) he fell ill with paranoia perse-
cutoria (ideas of enemies, derision in the street, poison in
food ; obstacles were placed on the bridge to keep him
from going to his inamorata). On account of increasing
excitement and conflicts with those about him that he
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 319
considered inimical to him he -was taken to the asylum.
At first he presented the picture of a typical paranoia
'pcrsecxitoria with symptoms of sexual, and later general,
neurasthenia, though the delusions of persecution did
not rest upon this neurotic foundation. It was only
occasionally that the patient heard such sentences as
this : " Now the semen will be drawn from him. Now
the bladder will be cut out."
In the course of the years 1866-68, the delusions of
persecution became less and less apparent, and were for
the most part replaced by erotic ideas. The somatic and
mental basis was a lasting and powerful excitation of the
sexual sphere. The patient fell in love with every woman
he saw, heard voices which told him to approach her, and
beg to be allowed to marry, declaring that, if he were
not given a wife, he would waste away. With continu-
ance of masturbation, in 1869, signs of future effemination
made themselves manifest. " He would, if he should get
a wife, love her only platonically." The patient grows
more and more peculiar, lives in a circle of erotic ideas,
sees prostitution practised in the asylum, and now and
then hears voices which impute immoral conduct with
women to him. For this reason he avoids the society of
women, and only associates with them for the sake of
music when two witnesses are with him.
In the course of the year 1872, the neurastlicnic
condition became markedly increased. Now paranoia jjcr-
secutoria again comes into the foreground, and takes on
a clinical colouring from the neurotic basis. Olfactory
hallucinations occur. Magnetic influences are at work on
him — " magnetic waves produced by striking an anvil ''
(false interpretation of sensations due to spinal asthenia).
With continued and intense sexual excitement and excess
in masturbation, the process of effemination constantly
progresses. Only episodically is he a man and inclined
toward a woman, complaining that the shameless prosti-
tution of the men in the house makes it impossible for a
320 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
lady to come to him. He is dying of magnetically poisoned
air and unsatisfied love. Without love he cannot live.
He is poisoned by lewd poison that affects his sexual
desire. The lady that he loves is surrounded here by the
lowest vice. The prostitutes in the house have fortune-
chains ; that is, chains in which, without moving, a man
can indulge in lustful pleasure. He is ready now to satisfy
himself with prostitutes. He is possessed of a wonderful
ray of thought that emanates from his eyes, which is
worth 20,000,000. His compositions are worth 500,000
francs. With these indications of delusions of grandeur,
there are also those of persecution — the food is poisoned by
venereal excrements ; he tastes and smells poison, hears in-
famous accusations, and asks for appHances to close his ears.
From August, 1872, however, the signs of effemination
become more and more frequent. He acts somewhat
affectedly, declaring that he can no longer live among men
that drink and smoke. He thinks and feels like a woman.
He must thenceforth be treated hke a woman and trans-
ferred to a female ward. He asks for confections and
dehcate desserts. Occasionally, on account of tenesmus
and cystospasm, he asks to be transferred to a lying-in
hospital and treated as a woman very ill in pregnancy.
The abnormal magnetism of masculine attendants has an
unfavourable effect on him.
At times he still feels himself to be a man, but in a
way which indicates his abnormally altered sexual feeling.
He pleads only for satisfaction by means of masturbation,
or for marriage without coitus. Marriage is a sensual
institution. The girl that he would take for a wife must
be a masturbator.
About the end of December, 1872, his personality
became completely feminine. From that time he remained
a woman. He had always been a woman, but in his
babyhood a French Quaker, an artist, had put masculine
genitals on him, and by rubbing and distorting his thorax
had prevented the development of his breasts.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING IN BOTH SEXES. 321
After this he demanded to be transferred to the female
department, protection from men that wished to violate
him, and asked for female clothing. Eventually he also
desired to be given employment in a toy - shop, with
crocheting and embroidery work to do, or a place in a
dressmaking establishment with female work. From the
time of the transformatio sexus, the patient begins a new
reckoning of time. He conceives his previous personality
in memory as that of a cousin.
He always speaks of himself in the third person, and
calls himself the Countess V., the dearest friend of the
Empress Eugenie ; asks for perfumes, corsets, etc. He
takes the other men of the ward for girls, tries to raise a
head of hair, and demands "Oriental Hair - Kemover,"
in order that no one may doubt his gender. He takes
delight in praising onanism, for " she had been an onanist
from fifteen, and had never desired any other kind of
sexual satisfaction ". Occasionally neurasthenic symptoms
olfactory hallucinations, and persecutory delusions are
observed. All the events up to the time of December,
1872, belong to the personality of the cousin.
The patient's delusion that he is the Countess V. can
no longer be corrected. She proves her identity by the
fact that the nurse has examined her, and finds her to be
a lady. The countess will not marry, because she hates
men. Since he is not provided with female clothing and
shoes, he spends the greatest part of the day in bed, acts
like an invahd lady of position, affectedly and modestly,
and asks for bon-bons and the like. His hair is done up
in a knot as well as it allows, and the beard is pulled out.
Breasts are made out of rolls of bread.
In 1874 caries began in the left knee-joint, to which
pulmonary tuberculosis was soon added. Death on 2nd
December, 1874. Skull normal. Frontal lobes atrophic.
Brain anaemic. Microscopical (Dr. Schille). In the superior
layer of the frontal lobe, ganglion cells somewhat shrunken;
in the adventitia of the vessels, numerous fat-corpuscles ;
21
322 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
glia unchanged ; isolated pigment particles and colloid
bodies. The lower layers of the cortex normal. Genitals
very large ; testicles small, lax, and show no change
macroscopically on section.
The delusion of sexual transformation, displayed in its
conditions and phases of development in the foregoing
case, is a manifestation remarkably infrequent in the
pathology of the human mind. Besides the foregoing
cases, personally observed, I have seen such a case, as an
episodical phenomenon, in a lady having sexual inversion
(case 118, of the seventh edition of this work), one in a girl
affected with original paranoia, and another in a lady
suffering with origiiial paranoia.
Save for a case briefly reported by Arndt ^ in his text-
book, and one quite superficially described by S&icux
(" Eecherches Clinique," p. 33), and the two cases known
to Esquirol,'^ 1 cannot recall any cases of delusion of sexual
transformation in literature.
I have already mentioned on page 289 the interesting
relations existing between the facts of delusional trans-
formation of sex and the so-called insanity of the Scythians.
Maratidon (" Annales medico-psychologiques," 1877, p.
161), like others, has erroneously presumed that with the
ancient Scythians there was an actual delusion, and that
the condition was not merely that of eviration. According
to the law of empirical actuahty, the delusion, so infrequent
to-day, must also have been very infrequent in ancient
times. Since it can only be conceived as arising on the
basis of a paranoia, there can be no thought of its endemic
occurrence ; it can only be regarded as a superstitious
manifestation of eviration (the result of anger of the
goddess), as is also evident from the statements of Hippo-
crates.
1 An abstract of this may be found in case 103 of the ninth edition of
this book.
- Cf. ibid., cases 104 and 105.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 323
The facts of the so-called Scythian insanity, as well as
the facts lately learned about the Pueblo Indians, are also
worthy of note anthropologically, in so far as atrophy of
the testes and genitals in general, and approximation to
the female type, physically and mentally, were observed.
This is the more remarkable, since, in men who have lost
their procreative organs, such a reversal of instinct is quite
as unusual as in women, mutatis mutandis, after the natural
or artificial climacteric.
B. Homo-Sexual Feeling as an Abnormal Congenital
Manifestation.^
The essential feature of this strange manifestation of
the sexual life is the want of sexual sensibility for the
opposite sex, even to the extent of horror, while sexual
inclination and impulse toward the same sex arc present.
At the same time, the genitals are normally developed, the
sexual glands perform their functions properly, and the
sexual type is completely differentiated.
^ Bibliography (besides works mentioned hereafter) : Tardieu, " Des
attentats aux moeurs," 7 6dit., 1878, p. 210. Hofmann, " Lehrb. d. ger.
Med.," 6 Aufl., pp. 170, 887. Gley, "Revue philosophique," 1884, No.
1. Magnan, " Annal. med.-psychol.," 1885, p. 458. Sliaw and Ferris,
" Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases," 1883, April, No. 2. Dernhardi,
" Der Uranismus," Berlin (Volksbuchhandlung), 18852. Chevalier, " De
I'inversion de I'instinct sexual," Paris, 1885. Ritti, " Gaz. hebdom. de
medecine at de chirurg.," 1878, 4. Januar. Tamassia, " Rivista sperim,"
1878, pp. 97-117. Lombroso, " Archiv. di Psichiatr.," 1881. Charcot et
Magtvan, "Archiv. de neurologie," 1882, Nr. 7, 12. Moll, " Die contriire
Sexualempfindung," Berlin, 2nd edit., 1893 (numerous bibliographic refer-
ences). Chevalier, "Archives de I'anthropologie criminelle," vol. v., No.
27 ; vol. vi.. No. 31. Reuss, " Aberrations du sens g6n6sique," " Annales
d'hygi^ne publique," 1886. Saury, " Etude clinique sur la folio hore-
ditaire," 1886. Brouardel, " Gaz. des hopitaux," 1886 and 1887. Tilier
"L'instinct sexuel chez I'homme et chez les animaux," 1889. Carlicr,
" Les deux prostitutions," 1887. Lacassagne, art. " P^derastio," in the
"Diction, encyclopedique." Viber t, a.vt. " P6derastie," in the "Diction,
mod. et de chirurgie." Coutagne, "Lyon medical," 1880, Nos. 35, 30.
Blumer, " Americ. Journ. of Insanity," July, 1882. V. Krafft, " Zeitschr.
f. Psychiatrie," No. 38. Blumenstock, art. " Contriiro Soxualcmplhidung,"
324 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Feeling, thought, will, and the whole character, in
cases of the complete development of the anomaly, corre-
spond with the peculiar sexual instinct, but not with the
sex which the individual represents anatomically and
physiologically. This abnormal mode of feeling may not
infrequently be recognised in the manner, dress and
caUing of the individuals, who may go so far as to yield
to an impulse to don the distinctive clothing corresponding
with the sexual role in which they feel themselves to be.
Anthropologically and clinically, this abnormal mani-
festation presents various degrees of development : —
1 Traces of hetero-sexual, with predominating homo-
sexual, instinct (psycho-sexual hermaphrodism).
2. There exists incHnation only toward the same sex
(homo-sexuahty).
3. The entire mental existence is altered to correspond
with the abnormal sexual instinct (effemiuation and
viraginity).
4. The form of the body approaches that which
corresponds to the abnormal sexual instinct. However
actual transitions to hermaphrodites never occur, but, on
the contrary, completely differentiated genitals ; so that,
"Realencyclop. d ges. Heilkunde," 2 Aufl. vi. Brouardel, " Gaz. des
hfipiteaux," 1887. Eriese, "Inaugural dissert.," Wiirzburg, 1888. Hofman,
art. " Paederastie," "Realencyclop. d. ges. Heilkunde," 2 Aufl. xv. Tar-
nowsky, " Die krankhaften Erscheinungen des Geschlechtsinnes," ?«rlii.
1886. Magnan, " Stance de racademie de m^decine du 13 Janvier," 1885,
i(Zem, " Annales medico psychol.," 1886 ("Anomalies du sens genital";
" Discussion sur la folie hereditaire "). Serieux, " Recherches cliniques sur
les anomalies de I'instinct sexuel," Paris, 1886. Chevalier, " L'inversion
sexuelle," Lyon, Paris, 1893. Ladame, " Revue de I'hypnotisme," Sept.,
1889. Peyer, " Miinch. med. Wochenschrift," 1890, No. 23. Leimn,
"Neurolog. Centralblatt," 1891, No. 18. V. Schrenck-Notzing, "Die
Suggestions-therapie," etc., Stuttgart. Eulenhurg, op. ci^., p. 66, " Homo-
sexuelle Parerosie ". Raffalovich, " Die Entwickelung der Homo-
sexualitfit," Berlin, 1895 , idem, " Uranisme et Unisexualite," Paris, 1886.
V. Schrenck-Notzing, " Klin. Zeit- und Streitfragen," ix. 1 (Wien, 1895).
Laupts, "Perversion et perversite sexuelles," Paris, 1896. Ellis, "Das
contriire Geschlechtsgefuhl," Leipzig, 1896. Legrain, " Des anomalies de
I'instinct sexuel," etc., Paris, 1896.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNOEMAL MANIFESTATION. 325
just as in all pathological perversions of the sexual Hfe,
the cause must be sought in the brain {androgyny and
gynandry).
The first definite communications ^ concerning this
enigmatical phenomenon of Nature are made by Gasper
(" Ueber Nothzucht und Paderastie," Casper's " Viertel-
jahrsschrift," 1852, i.), who, it is true, classes it with
pederasty, but makes the pertinent remark that this
anomaly is, in most cases, congenital, and, at the same
time, to be regarded as a mental hermaphrodism. There
exists here an actual disgust of sexual contact with women,
while the imagination is filled with beautiful young men,
and with statues and pictures of them. It did not escape
Casper that in such cases emissio penis in anum (pederasty)
is not the rule, but that, by means of other sexual acts
(mutual onanism), sexual satisfaction is sought and
obtained.
In his " Chnical Novels " (1863, p 33) Gasper gives the
interesting confession of a man showing this perversion
of the sexual instinct, and does not hesitate to assert that,
aside from vicious imagination and vice, as a result of
over-indulgence in normal sexual intercourse, there are
numerous cases in which " pederasty " has its origin in
a remarkable, obscure impulse, which is congenital and
inexplicable. About the middle of the " sixties " a certain
assessor, Ulrichs, himself subject to this perverse instinct,
1 Dr Moll, of Berlin, called my attention to the fact that in Moritz's
" Magazin f. Erfahrungsseelenkunde," vol. viii., Berlin, 1791, references
are made to antipathic sexual instinct in man. In fact, two biographies
of men are there reported who manifested an enthusiastic love for
persons of their own sex. In the second case, which is particularly
noteworthy, the patient himself explains his aberration by the fact that,
as a child he was caressed only by grown persons, and as a boy of ten
or twelve years only by his school - fellows. "This, and the want of
association with persons of the opposite sex, in me caused the natural
inclination toward the female sex to be entirely diverted to the male sex.
i am still quite indifferent to women."
It cannot be determined whotlier such a case is one of congenital
(psycho-sexual hermaphrodisia ?) or acquired antipathic sexual instinct.
326 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
came out and declared, in numerous articles, under the
nom-de-plume " Numa Numantius,^ that the sexual mental
life was not connected with the bodily sex ; that there
were male individuals that felt like women toward men
{anima muliebris m corpore virili inclusa). He called these
people " urnings," and demanded nothing less than the legal
and social recognition of this sexual love of the urnings
as congenital and, therefore, as right ; and the permission
of marriage among them Ulrichs failed, however, to
prove that this certainly congenital and paradoxical sexual
feeling was physiological, and not pathological.
Griesinger (" Archiv f. Psychiatric," i., p. 651) threw the
first ray of light on these facts, anthropologically and
clinically by pointing out the marked hereditary taint
of the individual in a case which came under his own
observation.
We owe thanks to Westphal (" Archiv f. Psychiatric,"
ii., p. 73) for the first systematic consideration of the
manifestation in question, which he defined as "congenital
reversal of the sexual feeling, with consciousness of the
abnormality of the manifestation," and designated with
the name, since generally accepted, of antipathic sexual
instinct. At the same time, he began a series of cases,
which up to this time has numbered about 200, those
reported in this monograph not being included.
West2Jhal leaves it undecided as to whether inverted
sexual feeling is a symptom of a neuropathic or of a
psychopathic condition, or whether it may occur as an
isolated manifestation. He holds fast to the opinion that
the condition is congenital.
From the cases published up to 1877 I have desig-
nated this peculiar sexual feeling as a functional sign
of degeneration, and as a partial manifestation of a
neuro- (psycho-) pathic state, in most cases hereditary, — a
*" Vindex, Inclusa, Vindicta, Pormatrix, Ara spei, Gladius furens "
(Leipzig, H. Matthes, 18G4 and 1865) ; Ulrichs, " Ki-itische Pfeilc," IST'J,
in Commission, by H. Cronlein, Stuttgart, Augustenstrasse, 5.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 327
supposition which has found renewed confirmation in a
consideration of additional cases. The following pecu-
liarities may be given as the signs of this neuro- (psycho-)
pathic taint : —
1. The sexual hfe of individuals thus organised mani-
fests itself, as a rule, abnormally early, and thereafter with
abnormal power. Not infrequently still other perverse
manifestations are presented besides the abnormal method
of sexual satisfaction, which in itself is conditioned by the
peculiar sexual feeling.
2. The psychical love manifest in these men is, for
the most part, exaggerated and exalted in the same way
as their sexual instinct is manifested in consciousness,
with a strange and even compelling force.
3. By the side of the functional signs of degeneration
attending antipathic sexual feeling are found other
functional, and in many cases anatomical, evidences of
degeneration.
4. Neuroses (hysteria, neurasthenia, epileptoid states,
etc.) co-exist. Almost invariably the existence of temporary
or lasting neurasthenia may be proved. As a rule, this is
constitutional, having its root in congenital conditions. It
is awakened and maintained by masturbation or enforced
abstinence.
In male individuals, owing to these practices or to
congenital disposition, there is finally neurasthenia sextialis,
which manifests itself essentially in irritable weakness of
the ejaculation centre. Thus it is explained that, in most
of the cases, simply embracing and kissing, or even only
the sight of the loved person, induce the act of ejaculation.
Frequently this is accompanied by an abnormally powerful
feeling of lustful pleasure, which may be so intense as to
suggest a feeling of "magnetic" currents passing through
the body.
5. In the majority of cases, psychical anomalies (bril-
liant endowment in art, especially music, poetry, etc., by
the side of bad intellectual powers or original eccentricity)
328 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
are present, which may even go so far as pronounced con-
ditions of mental degeneration (imbecihty, moral insanity).
In many urnings, either temporarily or permanently,
insanity of a degenerative character (pathological emo-
tional states, periodical insanity, paranoia, etc.) makes its
appearance.
6. In almost all cases v^here an examination of the
physical and mental peculiarities of the ancestors and
blood relations has been possible, neuroses, psychoses,
degenerative signs, etc., have been found in the families.^
The depth of congenital inverted feeling is shown l)y
the fact that the lustful dream of the male-loving urning
has for its content only male individuals ; that of the
female-loving woman, only female individuals, with corre-
sponding situations.
The observation of West2)hal, that the consciousness of
one congenitally defective in sexual desires toward the
opposite sex is painfully affected by the impulse toward
the same sex, is true in only a number of cases. Indeed,
in many instances, the consciousness of the abnormality
of the condition is wanting. The majority of urnings are
happy in their perverse sexual feeling and impulse, and
unhappy only in so far as social and legal barriers stand
in the way of the satisfaction of their instinct toward
their own sex.
The study of antipathic sexual feeling points directly
to anomalies of the cerebral organisation of the affected
individuals. The very fact that in these cases, with few
exceptions, the sexual glands are found quite normal,
anatomically and functionally, seems to favour this
assumption.
1 Tarnowshy {op. cit., p. 34) records a case which shows that antipathic
sexual feeling, as a concomitant manifestation with neurotic degeneration,
may also affect the descendants of parents having no neurotic taint. In
tliis instance, lues of the parents plaj'ed a part, as in a similar case of
Scholz (" Vierteljahrsschr. f. ger. Med."), in which the perversion of the
sexual desires stood in causal relation with an arrest of psychical develop-
ment, caused by traumatism.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 329
This enigmatical manifestation in the nature of man
has led to many attempts of explanation.
Among lay persons, it is called vice ; in the language
of the law, crime. Those tainted with it, although recog-
nising it as an abnormality, claim for it the same rights
and privileges that are accorded to normal (hetero-sexual)
love, on account of its being based upon a freak of nature.
From Plato down to Ulrichs, m antipathic sexual circles,
this standpoint is maintained, Plato's " Banquet," chapters
viii. and ix., are quoted for that purpose, viz. : " There is
no Aphrodites without an Eros. But there are two
goddesses. The older Aphrodites came into existence
without a mother ; being the daughter of Uranos she is
called Urania. The younger Aphrodites is the daughter
of Zeus and Diana and is called Pandemos. The Eros
of the former must, therefore, be Uranos, that of the
latter Pandemos. With the love of Eros Pandemos the
ordinary human beings love ; Eros Uranos did not choose
a female but a male , this is the love for boys. Whoever
is inspired with this love turns to the male sex." From
many other places m the classics the impression may be
won that Uranic love attained a higher position even
than her sister. More recent explanations of the homo-
sexual instinct have emanated from philosophers, psj^cho-
logists and natural scientists.
One of the most peculiar explanations is advanced by
Schojjenhauer (" Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung "),
who seriously contends that nature seeks to prevent old
men {i.e., over fifty years of age) from begetting children,
since experience teaches that these never turn out good.
For this purpose nature in her wisdom has turned the
sexual instinct in old men towards their own sex ! The
great philosopher and thinker evidently was not aware
that sexual inversion, as a rule, exists ab origine, and that
pederasty, occurring in the senium, is only sexual perversity,
but by no means proves the presence of perversion.
Binet attempts to explain these pecuhar manifestations
330 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
from a psycJwlogical standpoint, thinking (with Condillac)
to reduce them— together with other bizarre psychical
phenomena — to the law of association of ideas {i.e.,
association of ideas with sentiments in statu nascendi.
This clever psychologist assumes that the instinct not
as yet sexually differentiated is determined by the coin-
cidence of a vivid sexual emotion with the simultaneous
sight or contact of a person of the opposite sex. In
this manner a mighty association is created, which takes
root by repeating itself, whilst the original associative
process is forgotten or becoiaes latent. Even to-day v.
Schrenck-Notzing and others lean to this opinion, in their
efforts to explain the inverted sexual instinct (chiefly
when acquired); but it cannot withstand serious criticism.
Psychological forces are insufficient to explain manifes-
tations of so thoroughly degenerated a character {vide
infra) .
Chevalier ("Inversion Sexuelle," Paris, 1893) rightly
demurs against Binet that these attempts at psychological
explanations explain neither the precocity of homo-sexual
impulses, i.e., such as have existed long before sexual
feelings were associated with imagination, nor the aver-
sion towards the opposite sex, nor early appearance of
secondary psychico-sexual manifestations. Nevertheless,
Binct's subtle remark that the lasting presence of such
associations is only possible in predisposed (tainted) indi-
viduals is worthy of note.
Neither do the explanations attempted by physicians
and naturalists prove anything to satisfaction. Glcy
(" Revue philosophique," January, 1884) maintains that
those afflicted with inverted sexual instinct have a female
brain (!) but mascuHne sexual glands, and that an existing
morbid condition of the brain determines the sexual life,
whilst e contra and normally the sexual glands influence
the sexual cerebral functions. Magnan (" Annales med.
psychol.," 1885, p. 458) also speaks of a female brain in
the body of a man and vice versa. Ulrichs (" Memnon,"
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 331
1868) comes closer to the point when he speaks of a
anima muliehris virili corpori innata, and thus seeks to
explain congenital effeminaioO. According to Mantegazza
{op. cit. 1886, p. 106), anatomical anomalies exist in such
persons in so far as the natural plexus of the genital nerves
terminates in the rectum, thus misdirecting thither all
lustful desires. But surely nature never is guilty of such
errors or " saltus ". Neither does she burden a mascuhne
body v^ith a female brain. The author of this hypothesis,
otherwise so acute, quite overlooks the fact that the
individuals given to sexual inversion, as a rule, abhor
the use of the anus — viz., pederasty. Mantegazza reverts,
as a support for his hypothesis, to the communications
which he received from a well-known prominent author,
who assured him that he was not as yet satisfied in his
own mind whether he derived greater pleasure from coitus
than from defaecation. Even if we admit the correctness
of this statement, it would only prove that its author was
sexually abnormal, and that he derived but a minimum of
pleasure from coitus. Moreover, one would come to the
conclusion that the mucous membrane of his rectum was,
in some abnormal manner, erogenous.
Bernhardi (" Der Uranismus," Berlin, 1882) casually
found in five effeminati (" Pathici ") absence of spermatozoa,
in four cases not even sperm crystals, and thought to
find the solution of this " enigma of many thousand years"
in the assumption that the pathicus was a " monster of
the feminine sex, having nothing else in common with
the male than the male genitals, which in some cases
are even only imperfectly developed ". This author could
not even base his contention upon an autopsy, which,
no doubt, would have eventually established a case of
hermaphrodism .
Those practising active viraginity and gynandry ho
styles as " monsters of mascuhne gender in opposition to
which the passive tribadc is as perfect a woman as the
active pa^dicator is a perfect man ".
332 PSTCnOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The author of this book has made an attempt to utiHse
facts of heredity for an explanation of this anomaly.
Proceeding from the experience that manifestations of
sexual perversion are frequently found in the parents, he
suspects that the various grades of congenital sexual
inversion represent various grades of sexual anomaly
inherited by birth, acquired by ascendency, or otherwise
developed. In this connection, the lavy of progressive
heredity must also be considered.
All attempts at explanation made hitherto on the
ground of natural philosophy or psychology, or those of
a merely speculative character are insufficient.
Later researches, hovi^ever, proceeding on embryo-
logical (onto- and phylogenetic) and anthropological lines
seem to promise good results.
Emanating from Frank Lydston (" Philadelphia Med. and
Surg. Recorder," September, 1888,) and Kiernan (" Medical
Standard," November, 1888), they are based (1) on the
fact that bisexual organisation is still found in the lower
animal kingdom, and (2) on the supposition that mono-
sexuality gradually developed from bisexuality. Kiernan
assumes in trying to subordinate the sexual inversion
to the category of hermaphrodism that in individuals thus
affected retrogression into the earlier hermaphrodisic
forms of the animal kingdom may take place at least
functionally. These are his own words : " The original
bisexuality of the ancestors of the race, shown in the
rudimentary female organs of the male, could not fail to
occasion functional, if not organic reversions, when mental
or physical manifestations were interfered with by disease
or congenital defect. It seems certain that a feminily
functionating brain can occupy a male body and vice
versa.''
Chevalier (op. cit., p. 408) proceeds from the original
bisexual life in the animal kingdom, and the original
bisexual predisposition in the human foetus.
According to him the difference in the gender, with
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 333
marked physical and psychical sexual character, is only
the result of endless processes of evolution. The psycho-
physical sexual difference runs parallel with the high level
of the evolving process. The individual being must
also itself pass through these grades of evolution ; it is
originally bisexual, but in the struggle between the male
and female elements either one or the other is conquered,
and a monosexual being is evolved which corresponds with
the type of the present stage of evolution. But traces of
the conquered sexuality remain. Under certain circum-
stances, these caracteres sexuels latents may gain Darwin's
signification, i.e., they may provoke manifestations of
inverted sexuality Chevalier does not, however, look
upon such processes as a retrogression fatavism), in the
sense of Lombroso's opinion and that of others, but rather
considers them with Lacassagne as disturbances in the
present stage of evolution.
If the structure of this opinion is continued, the
following anthropological and historical facts may be
evolved : —
1. The sexual apparatus consists of (a) the sexual
glands and the organs of reproduction ; (b) the spinal
centres, which act either as a check or a stimulus upon
(a) ; (c) the cerebral regions, in which the psychical
processes of the vita sexualis are enacted.
Since the original predisposition of (a) is of a bisexual
character, the same must be claimed for {b) and (c).
2. The tendency of nature in the present stage of
evolution is the reproduction of monosexual individuals,
and the law of experience teaches that that cerebral centre
is normally developed which corresponds with the sexual
glands ("Law of the Sexual Homologous Development ")
3. This destruction of antipathic sexuality is at present
not yet completed. In the same manner in which the
processus vermiformis in the intestinal tube points to
former stages of organisation, so may also be found in
the sexual apparatus — in the male as well as in the
334 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
female — residua, which point to the original onto- and
phylogenetic bisexuality, not to speak of hermaphrodisic
malformations, which may be looked upon merely as
partial excesses of development, or disturbances in the
formation of the sexual organisation, and especially of
the external genitals.
The residua referred to are, in the male, the utriculus
masculinus (remnants of the " Miillersche Gangs ") and
the nipple, in woman the paroophoron (remnants of the
original renal portions of the Wolftian bodies), and the
epoophoron (remnants of Wolff's ganglia, and analogous
with the epididymis in the male). Beigel, Klebs, Furst and
others have found in the human female suggestions of the
Wolffian bodies in the shape of the so-called Gartnerian
canals, which in the female ruminants are regularly present
in the lateral wall of the uterus.
4. Besides, a long line of clinical and anthropological
facts favour this assumption.
I will only call attention to the not infrequent cases
of individuals with characters of mixed or (in the
sense of sexual inversion) predominating physical and
psychical sexuality ("female men and male women "), to
the appearance of the female character (psychically and
physically) in men, consequent upon castration {eunuchs),
and of the male character in women after the removal of
the ovaries in early yd^h, also to the manifestations of
viraginity in climax prcBcox, and even to the development
of a second gender.
Professor Kaltenhach gives a remarkable instance of
such a second (antipathic) vita sexualis, developed upon
climax jpracox.
On the 17th of February, 1892, he consulted me about
" a woman, thirty years of age, married two years, who
formerly had irregular menstruations ".
Since June, 1891, a sudden series of manifestations
which corresponded with the process of masculine puberty,
viz., full beard, hair of the head much darker, eyebrows
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS ABNORMAL MANIFESTATION. 335
and pubis strongly developed, chest and abdomen covered
with hair as in man.
Increased activity of the sudoriparous and sebaceous
glands. Upon chest, back and face strong miliary and
acne developments, whilst formerly the tint was classically
white and smooth. Change of voice — formerly rich
soprano, now a " lieutenant's voice ". The entire facial
expression changed. Complete change of carriage : chest
broad, waist gone, abdomen prominent with adipose tissue,
short thick-set neck, masculine all over. Lower part
of face broad, breasts flat and masculine. Psychical
changes : formerly mild and tractable, now energetic,
hard to control, even aggressive. From the beginning
of marriage no adequate sexual desire, but no traces of
inversion.
In the sexual organs also highly interesting changes
may be found. " Thus this young woman has changed
into a man, to all intents and purposes."
My explanation of the case : —
" Climax prcBcox, loss of former feminine sexuality.
Physical and psychical development of male sexuality,
hitherto latent. Interesting illustration of the bi-sexual
predisposition, and of the possibility of continued existence
of a second sexuality in a latent state, under conditions
hitherto unknown."
Unfortunately, I could obtain no further information
about the subsequent metamorphosis of this case, or the
presence of probable hereditary taint.
Vide also cases 108 and 109, given above. In these
severe neurasthenia was the causating element of trans-
miitatio sexus, based upon heavy taint ; the change, however,
being only psychical, and not affecting the physical sexual
character.
5. These manifestations of inverted sexuality are
evidently found only in persons with organic taint} In
1 The researches in zoology, by Klaus (" Zoology," 1891, p. 490) show
that, in the lower grades of the auiiual world, not only hcrmaplirodisni
336 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
normal constitutions the law of mono-sexual development,
homologous with the sexual glands, remains intact. That
the cerebral centre is developed under other conditions,
quite independent from the peripheral sexual organs (in-
cluding the sexual glands), is evident from the cases oi
hermaphrodism (at least, so far as pseudo-hermaphrodism
is concerned), in which the law referred to above remains
intact in the sense of mono-sexual development, analogous
to the sexual glands. In hcrmaprodismus verus, however,
physically as well as psychically, a mutual influence of
both centres obtains, and thus also a neutralisation of
the vita amoris, assuming even a state of asexuality, and
a tendency to physically and psychically combine and
put into operation both these sexual characters.
But hermaphrodism and sexual inversion stand in no
relation to each other. This is clear from the fact that
the hermaphrodite (or, practically speaking, the pseudo-
hermaphrodite) follows the law of evolution quoted above,
and does not offer inverted sexuality, whilst, on the
other hand, hermaphrodism has never been anatomically
observed in cases of antipathic sexual instinct. This
follows, without further argument, from the difference of
the conditions under which they originate, for in sexual
inversion we must look for the cause in central (cerebral)
defects, and in hermaphrodism in the anomalies affecting
the peripheral sexual apparatus.
The facts quoted seem to support an attempt of
a historical and anthropological explanation of sexual
inversion.
It is a disturbance of the law of the development of
the cerebral centre, homologous to the sexual glands
(homo - sexuality), and eventually also of the law of
exists, but that also (physiological ?) sexual exchange in one and the
same individual may take place. Klaus states that the cyniothoidecB
(classified under Crustacea) perform in the first part of their life the
functions of the male, and in the second part under many, even
secondary, changes of the sexual character those of the female.
HOMO-SEXUAL FEELING AS AB.NOEMAL MANIFESTATION. 337
the mono-sexual formation of the individual (psychical
" hermaphrodism "). In the former case it is the centre
of bi-sexual predisposition, antagonistic to the gender
represented by the sexual gland, which in a paradoxical
manner conquers that originally intended to be superior ;
yet the law of mono-sexual development obtains.^
In the other case victory lies with neither centre ; yet
an indication of the tendency of mono-sexual development
remains, in so far that one is predominant, as a rule the
contrary. This is the more remarkable since it has not
the support of a corresponding sexual gland — in fact, not
even a peripheral sexual apparatus, another proof that the
cerebral centre is autonomous, and in its development
independent of the sexual glands.
In the first case it must be assumed that the centre
which by right should have conquered was too weak.
This fact may be recognised in the subsequently weak
libido in the sexual character, but feebly marked in the
physical and psychical conditions.
In the second case both centres were too weak to
obtain victory and superiority.
This defect of the natural laws must, from the anthro-
pological and clinical standpoint, be considered as a
manifestation of degeneration. In fact, in all cases of
sexual inversion a taint of a hereditary character may
be established. What causes produce this factor of taint
and its activity is a question which cannot be well
answered by science in its present stage.^
1 A mono-sexual psychic apparatus of generation, in a mono-sexual
body which belongs to the opposite sex, does, of course, not mean a
" feminine soul in a masculine brain," or vice versa — this would simply
contradict all monistic and scientific thought ; neither a feminine brain
in a masculine body — this contradicts every anatomical fact — but only a
feminine psycho-sexual centre in a masculine brain, and vice versa.
^ Joseph Mailer, in a clever brochure (" Uber Gamophagy," Stuttgart,
1892) offers an inducement for further research in this direction. Ho
advances the opinion that by a certain law established by necessity, and
transcending in normal fashion, a union of the organs and their qualities is
22
338 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
There are plenty of analogous cases to be found in
tainted individuals. For the symptoms of influences
disturbing physical and psychical evolution, and plainly
to be found in the germ of procreation, exhibit themselves
in many other manifestations of a defective or perverse
character (signs of anatomical, functional, somatic and
psychical degeneration).
The antipathic sexual instinct is only the strongest
mark left by a vs^hole series of exhibitions of the partial
development of psychical and physical inverted sexual
characters (vide supra), and one may be easily permitted
to say : The more indistinct the psychical and physical
sexual characters appear in the individual, the deeper it
is below the present level of perfect homologous mono-
sexuality obtained in the evolution of manifold thousands
of years.
The cerebral centre mediates the psychical and,
indirectly, also the physical sexual characters. The
various grades of congenital antipathic sexuality will be
found to correspond with the intensity of various grades
of taint.
The same holds good with regard to "acquired" sexual
inversion, which exhibits itself only later in hfe. Untainted
man will never become sexually inverted through onanism
or seduction by persons of the same sex ; for, as soon
as the extrinsic influences cease, he returns to normal
sexual functions. The tainted individual, however, whose
psycho-sexual centre is originally weak, is in a different
position. All possible psychical and physical deficiencies,
especially neurasthenia, are able to impair his weakened
sexuality, homologous though it may have been hitherto
effected. This union would explain how, in the struggle of the development
of mono- and bi-sexuality, those organs and their qualities suffer the
common fate of conquest or defeat which belong together as a whole
with regard to their functional capacity. The defect of the elements
connecting the organs during the struggle for superiority in beings
subject to organic taint could only be explained as a negative result of
this hypothetical law.
CONGENITAL ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT IN MAN. 339
to the sexual glands. These evil influences may render
him furthermost psychically bi-sexual, then invertedly
mono - sexual, and eventually may effect even eviratio
{defeminatio), by way of producing physical and psychical
characters of sexuahty, in the sense of predominating
contrary, or the destruction of original, centres. On
page '269 I have tried to shov7 in how far neurasthenia
may give the impulse for the development of antipathic
sexuality.
Congenital Antipathic Sexual Instinct in IVIan.i
The sexual acts by means of which male urnings
seek and find satisfaction are multifarious. There are
individuals of fine feeling and strength of will who
sometimes satisfy themselves with platonic love, with
1 Cases : (1) Gasper, " Klin. Novellen," p. 36 (" Lohrb. d. gerichtl.
Med.," 7 Aufl., p. 176). (2) Westphal, " Archiv f. Psychiatrie," ii., p. 73.
(3) Schmincke, ibid., iii., p. 225. (4) Scholz, " Vierteljahrssch. f. gerichl.
Med.," xix. (5) Clock, " Arch. f. Psychiatrie," v., p. 564. (6) Servaes, ibid.,
vi., p. 484. Westphal, ibid., vi., p. 620. (8-10) Stark, " Zeitsch. f.
Psychiatrie," Bd. 81. (11) Liman {Casper's " Lehrb. d. gerichtl. Med.,"
6 Aufl., p. 509), p. 291. (12) Legrand du Saulle, " Ann. mM. psychol.,"
1876, May. (13) Sterz, " Jahrb. f. Psych.," iii.. Heft. 3. (14) Knieg,
" Brain," 1884, Oct. (15) Charcot and Magnan, " Arch, de neurol.," 1882,
No. 9. (16-18) Ki^n, " Zeitsch. f. Psych.," Bd. 39, p. 216. (19) Rabow,
" Erlenmeyer's Centralbl.," 1883, No. 8. (20) Blumer, " Americ. Journ.
of Insan.," 1882, July. (21) Savage, "Journ. of Ment. Science," 1884, Oct.
(22) Scholz, " Viertelj. f. gerichtl. Med.," N.F., Bd. 43, Heft. 7. (23)
Magnan, " Ann. m6d. psych.," 1885, p. 461. (24) Chevalier, " Do
I'inversion de I'instinct sexuel," Paris, 1885, p. 129. (25) Morsclli, " La
riforma medica," 4 vol., March. (26) Leonpacher, "Friedreich's
Blatter," 1888, Heft. 4. (27) Hollander, " Allg. Wiener mad. Zeit.," 1882.
(28) Kriese, " Erlenmeyer's Centralbl.," 1888, No. 19. (29-32) v. KraJJt,
" Psychopathia Sexualis," 3rd edit., cases 32, 36, 42, and 43. (33) Golcnko,
" Euss. Arch. f. Psych.," Bd. ix.. Heft 3. (von Rothe mitgetheilt, in " Zeitsch.
f. Psych."). (34) V. Krafft, " Internat. Centralblatt, f. d. Physiol, and Pathol,
d. Harn- und Sexualorgane." Bd. i.. Heft 1. (35) Cantarano, " La Psichi-
atria," 1887, vol. v., p. 195. (36) Sirieux, " Rcchorches cliniques sur les
anomalies d I'instinct sexuel," Paris, 1888, obs. 13. (37-42) Kiernan, " The
Med. Standard," 1888, 7 cases. (43-46) Rabow, " Zeitsch. f. Klin. Mod.,"
Bd. xvii., Suppl. (47-51) v. KrajJt, " Neue Forschungen," Bcob. 1, 3,4, 5,
340 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
the risk, however, of becoming nervous (neurasthenic)
and insane as a result of this enforced abstinence. In
other instances, for the same reasons which may lead
normal individuals to avoid coitus, onanism, faute de mieux,
is indulged in.
In urnings with nervous systems congenitally irritable,
or injured by onanism (irritable weakness of the ejacu-
lation centre), simple embraces or caresses, with or without
contact of the genitals, are sufficient to induce ejaculation
and consequent satisfaction. In less irritable individuals,
the sexual act consists of manustupration by the loved
person, or mutual onanism, or imitation of coitus between
the thighs. In urnings morally perverse and potent, quoad
erectionem, the sexual desire is satisfied by pederasty, — an
8. (52-61) Idem, " Psychopathia Sexualis," 5th edit. Beob. 53, 61, 64, 66,
73, 75, 78, 84, 85, 87. (62-65) Idem, " Neue Forschuugen," 2nd edit., Beob.
3, 4, 5, 6. (66-67) Hammond, " Sexual Impotence ". (63-71) Gamier,
"Anomalies sexuelles," 1889, cases 227, 228, 229, 280. (72) v. Erafft,
"Friedreich's Blatter," 1891, Heft 6. (73-87) Idem, "Psych. Sex.," 6th
edit., Beob. 78, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 101, 102. (88)
Frdnhel, " Med. Zeit. d. Vereins f . Heilkunde in Preussen," Bd. 22,
p. 102 {homo mollis). (89-91) Bernheim, " Hypnotisme," Paris, 1891,
obs. 38, etc. {92) Wetterstrand, " Der Hypnotismus," 1891. (93) Milller,
" Hydrotherapie," 1890, p. 309. (94-96) v. Schrenck-Notzing, " Suggestions
therapie," 1892, cases 63, 67, 68. (97) Ladame, " Revue de I'hypnotisme,"
1889, Sept. 1. (98) v. Krafft, " Internat. Centralblatt f. d. Krankh. d.
Harn- Geschlechtsorgane," Bd. i.,Heftl. (99-100) T^acJi/wZz, " Friedreich's
Blatter f. gerichtl. Med.," 1892, Heft 6. (101-110) Moll, " Contr. Sexual-
empfindung," 2 edit., cases 1-10. (111-123) v. Krafft, " Psych. Sex.,"
8 Aufl., Beob. 109, 110, 114, 119, 121, 122, 125, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 143.
(124-143) Idein, " Jahrb. f. Psych.," xii., 1894. (144) Legrain, "Arch, de
Neurologie," 1886, Jan. (145) Dessoir, " Zeitsch. f. Psychiatric," Bd. 50,
Heft 5, p. 959. (146-151) v. Krafft, "Psych. Sex.," 9. Aufl., Beob. 109,
110, 128, 129, 131, 133. (152-181) Idem, " Der contrar Sexuale vor dem
Strafrichter," 2 Aufl., Wien, 1895, Beob. 21-50. (182) " Laupts, "Arch.
d'Authropol. criminelle," 1894 and 1895, p. 320. (183) Snoo, " Psychiatr.
Bladen," xii., xiii. (184) Mcyhofer, " Zeitschr. f. Med. Beamte," v., 16.
(185) Talbot, " Journ. of Mental Science," 1896, April. (186-218) Moll,
" Untersuchungen iiber Libido Sexualis," cases 5, 6, 9, 15-27, 30, 38, 48, 49,
53-55, 63, 64, 67, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 78. (219-251) Havelock Ellis,
" Bulletin of the Psychol. Section," 1895, Dec, vol. 3, No. iv. (252)
Spaink, "Psych. Bladen," 1893, 3.
CONGENITAL ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT IN MAN. 311
act, however, which is repugnant to perverted individuals
that are not defective morally, much in the same way
as it is to normal men. The statement of urnings is
remarkable, that the adequate sexual act with persons
of the same sex gives them a feeling of great satisfaction
and accession of strength, while satisfaction by solitary
onanism, or by enforced coitus with a woman, affects
them in an unfavourable way, making them miserable
and increasing their neurasthenic symptoms.
As to the frequency^ of the occurrence of the anomaly,
it is difficult to reach a just conclusion, since those affected
with it break from their reserve but infrequently ; and in
criminal cases the urning with perversion of sexual instinct
is usually classed with the person given to pederasty for
simply vicious reasons. According to Gasper and Tardieu's,
as well as my own, experience, this anomaly is much more
frequent than reported cases would lead us to presume.
Ulrichs (" Kritische Pfeile," p. 2, 1880) declares that,
on an average, there is one person affected with antipathic
sexual instinct to every 200 mature men, or to every 800
of the population ; and that the percentage among the
Magyars and South Slavs is still greater, — statements
^ That inversion of the sexual instinct is not infrequent is proved,
among other things, by the circumstance that it is frequently a subject
in novels. Chevalier (op. cit.) points out in French literature, besides the
novels of Balzac, like "La Passion au Desert " (treating of bestiality) and
" Sarrazine " (treating of the love of a woman for a eunuch), Diderot's
" La Religieuse " (a story of one given to amor lesbicus) ; Balzac's " La
Fille aux Yeux d'Or " (amor lesbicus) ; Th. Gautier's " Mademoiselle de
Maupin " ; Feydeau's " La Comtesse de Clialis " ; Flaubert's "Salammbo,"
etc. Belot's " Mademoiselle Giraud, ma Femme " may also be mentioned
(now translated into English). It is interesting that the heroines of these
(Lesbian) novels appear in the character and rdlc of the husband of a lover
of the same sex, and that their love is extremely passionate. Moreover,
the neuropathic foundation of this sexual perversion does not escape the
writers. This theme is treated in German literature in " Fridolin's
heimliche Ehe," by Wilbrand ; in "Brick and Brack oder Licbt im
Schatten," by Emerich Graf Stadion ; also by Balduin Groller, " Prinz
Klotz ". The oldest urning romance is probably that published by
Fetronius at Home, under the Empire, under the title " Satyricon ".
342 PSYcnorATHiA sexualis.
which may be regarded as untrustworthy. The subject
of one of my cases knows personally, at his home (13,000
inhabitants), fourteen urnings. He further declares that
he is acquainted with at least eighty in a city of 6(3,000
inhabitants). It is to be presumed that this man, otber-
wise worthy of belief, makes no distinction between the
congenital and the acquired anomaly.
1. Psychical Hermaphroditism.^
The characteristic mark of this degree of inversion of
the sexual instinct is that, by the side of the pronounced
sexual instinct and desire for the same sex, a desire
toward the opposite sex is present ; but the latter is
much weaker and is manifested episodically only, while
the homo-sexuality is primary, and, in time and intensity,
forms the most striking feature of the vita sexualis.
The hetero-sexual instinct may be but rudimentary,
manifesting itself simply in unconscious (dream) life ; or
(episodically, at least) it may be powerfully exhibited.
The sexual instinct toward the opposite sex may be
strengthened by the e.xercise of will and self-control ; by
moral treatment, and possibly by hypnotic suggestion ;
by improvement of the constitution and the removal of
neuroses (neurasthenia) ; but especially by abstinence from
masturbation.
However, there is always the danger that homo-sexual
feelings, in that they are the most powerful, may become
permanent, and lead to enduring and exclusive antipathic
sexual instinct. This is especially to be feared as a
result of the influences of masturbation (just as in
acquired inversion of the sexual instinct) and its neuras-
thenia and consequent exacerbations ; and, further, it is
to be found as a consequence of unfavourable experiences
* Cf. author's work, " Uebcr psychosexuales Zwittcrthum," in the
"Internationales Centralblatt f. d. Physiologic u. Pathologic dor Harn-
und Sexualorganc," Bd. i.. Heft 2.
PSYCHICAL HERMAPHRODITISM. 343
in sexual intercourse with persons of the opposite sex
(defective feeling of pleasure in coitus, failure in coitus
on account of weakness of erection and premature
ejaculation, infection).
On the other hand, it is possible that aesthetic and
ethical sympathy with persons of the opposite sex may
favour the development of hetero-sexual desires. Thus
it happens that the individual, according to the predomi-
nance of favourable or unfavourable influences, experiences
now hetero-sexual, now homo-sexual, feeling.
It seems to me probable that such hermaphrodites
from constitutional taint are not infrequent.^ Since they
attract very little attention socially, and since such secrets
of married life are only exceptionally brought to the
knowledge of the physician, it is at once apparent why
this interesting and practically important transitional
group to the group of absolute inverted sexuality has
thus far escaped scientific investigation.
Many cases of frigiditas uxoris and mariti may possibly
depend upon this anomaly. Sexual intercourse with the
opposite sex is, in itself, possible. At any rate, in cases
of this degree, no horror sexus alterius exists. Here is
a fertile field for the application of medical and moral
therapeutics (v. infra).
The differential diagnosis from acquired antipathic
sexual instinct may present difficulties ; for, in such cases,
as long as the vestiges of a normal sexual instinct are not
absolutely lost, the actual symptoms are the same {v. infra).
In the first degree, the sexual satisfaction of homo-
sexual impulses consists in passive and mutual onanism
and coitus inter femora.
Case 113. Antipathic sexual instinct with sex^tal satis-
1 This idea is supported by the statemonta of an unmarried urning,
which Dr. Moll, of Berlin, kindly comraunicatcd to me. lie oould report
a number of cases of his acquaintance, in which married men at the same
time had " relations " with men.
344 PSYCIIOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
faction in heterosexual intercourse. Mr. Z., aged thirty-six,
consulted me on account of an anomaly of his sexual
feelings, which had become a matter of anxiety to
him in connection with an intended marriage. Patient's
father was neuropathic, and suffered with nightmare and
night-terrors. Grandfather was also neuropathic ; father's
brother an idiot. Patient's mother and her family were
healthy and normal mentally. The patient had three
sisters and one brother, the latter being subject to moral
insanity. Two sisters are healthy, and living happy
married lives.
As a child, the patient was weak, nervous, and subject
to night-terrors, like his father ; but he never had any
severe illness except coxitis, as a result of which he limps
slightly. Sexual impulses were manifested early. At
eight, without any teaching, he began to masturbate.
From his fourteenth year, ejaculation. He was mentally
well endowed, and his principal interest was in art and
hterature. He was always weak muscularly, and had no
inclination for boyish sports and later for manly occu-
pations. He had a certain interest for female toilettes,
ornaments, and occupations. From the time of puberty
the patient noticed in himself an inexplicable inclination
toward male persons. Youths of the lowest classes were
especially attractive to him. Cavalry men especially
excited his interest. He experienced a lustful desire
to press himself against such individuals from behind.
Occasionally, in crowds, it was possible for him to do
this ; and in such an event an intense feeling of pleasure
passed over him. After his twenty-second year, on such
occasions, he now and then had an ejaculation. From
that time ejaculation occurred when a sympathetic man
laid his hand on the patient's thigh. He was now in
great anxiety lest he might sometime assault a man
sexually People of the lower classes, wearing tight,
brown trousers, were especially dangerous for him. His
greatest pleasure would be to embrace such a man and
PSYCHICAL HEEMAPHRODITISM. 345
press himself to him ; but, unfortmiately, the movahty of
his country did not allow such a thing. Pederasty seemed
disgusting to him.
It gave him great pleasure to gain a sight of the
genitals of males. He was always compelled to look at
the genitals of every man he met. In circuses, theatres,
etc., only male performers interested him. Patient has
never noticed any inclination for women. He does not
avoid them, even dances with them on occasion, but he
never feels the slightest sensual excitation under such
circumstances.
At the age of twenty-eight the patient was neurasthenic
as a result of his excessive masturbation.
Then frequent pollutions in sleep occurred, which
weakened him very much. It was only occasionally that
he dreamed of men when he had pollutions ; and never
of women. A lascivious dream-picture (pederasty) had
occurred but once. He dreamed of death-scenes, of being
attacked by dogs, etc. After these, as before, he suffered
with great libido sexualis. Often there came up before him
such lascivious thoughts as gloating over the death of
animals in the slaughter-house, or allowing himself to be
whipped by boys ; but he always overcame such desires,
and also the impulse to dress in a military uniform.
In order to cure himself of masturbation, and to
thoroughly satisfy his libido, he determined to frequent
brothels. He first attempted sexual intercourse with a
woman when twenty-one, after over-indulgence in wine.
The beauty of the female form, and female nudity in
general, made no impression on him. However, he was
able to enjoy the act of coitus, and thereafter he visited
brothels regularly for " purposes of health ".
From this time he took great pleasure in hearing men
tell stories of their sexual relations with the opposite sex.
Ideas of flagellation would also come to him while
in a brothel, but the retention of such fancies was not
essential for the performance of coitus. He considered
346 PSYCHOPATniA SEXUALIS.
sexual intercourse with prostitutes only a remedy against
the desire for masturbation and men, — a kind of safety-
valve to prevent compromising himself with some man.
The patient now wishes to marry, but fears not only
that he could have no love for a decent woman, but also
that he might be impotent for intercourse with her.
Hence his thought and need of medical advice.
The patient is very intelligent, and is, in all respects,
of masculine appearance. In dress and manner he presents
nothing that would attract attention. Gait, voice and
frame, — the pelvis especially, — masculine in character.
Genitals of normal development. The normal growth
of hair for a male is abundant. The patient's relatives
and friends have not the slightest suspicion of his sexual
anomalies. In his inverted sexual fancies he has never
felt himself in the role of a woman toward a man. For
some years he has been entirely free from neurasthenic
troubles.
The question as to whether he considered himself
a subject of congenital sexual inversion he could not
answer. It seems probable that there was a congenital
weak inclination for the opposite sex, with a greater one
for the same sex, which, as a result of early masturbation
in consequence of the homo-sexual instinct, was still more
weakened, but not reduced to nil. With the cessation of
masturbation, the feeling for women became in a measure
more natural, but only in a coarsely sensual way.
Since the patient explained that, for reasons of family
and ])usiness, it was necessary for him to marry, it was
impossible to avoid this delicate question.
Fortunately, the patient limited his inquiries to the
question as to , his virility as a husband ; and it was
necessary to reply that he was virile, and that he would
probably be so in conjugal intercourse with the wife of his
choice, — at least, if she were to be in mental sympathy
with him ; besides, that he could at all times improve his
power by exercising his imagination in the right direction.
PSYCHICAL HERMAPHRODITISM. 347
The main thing was to strengthen the sexual inchnation
for the opposite sex, which was defective, hut not absolutely
wanting. This could be done by avoiding and opposing
all homo-sexual feelings and impulses, possibly with the
help of the artificial inhibitory influences of hypnotic
suggestion (removal of homo-sexual desires by suggestion);
by the excitation and exercise of normal sexual desires
and impulses; by complete abstinence from masturbation,
and eradication of the remnants of the neurasthenic
condition of the nervous system by means of hydro-
therapy, and possibly general faradisation.
I am indebted to a physician, aged thirty, for . the
following autobiography, which is also in other respects
noteworthy : —
Case 114. Psychic hermaphroditism ; abortive antipathic
sexual instinct. "In my ancestry I am rather predisposed
hereditarily. My grandfather on my father's side was a
high-liver and a speculator. My father was a man of
character, but for more than thirty years he suffered with
folic circulairc, without, however, being much hampered
by it in business. My mother, Hke her father before her,
suffers with stenocardiac attacks. My mother's father
and brother are said to have been sexually hyperaesthetic.
My only sister, about nine years older than myself, was
twice subject to attacks of eclampsia, and during puberty
was religiously exalted, and probably also sexually hyper-
a)sthetic. During many years she suffered with severe
hysterical neurosis, but she is now quite hardy.
" As an only son, and born late, I was the apple of
my mother's eye ; and it is due to her indefatigable care
that I survived childhood, after having passed througli all
the possible diseases of children (hydrocephalus, measles,
croup, small -pox, and, at thirteen, chronic intestinal
catarrh, which lasted a year). My mother, being herself
very religious, raised me, witliout spoiling me, in a religious
348 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
way, and implanted in me, as ihe gaiding moral principle,
an unyielding devotion to duty which was further carried
to an extreme in me by a teacher whom I still call a
friend. Owing to my dehcate health, my childhood, in
greater part, was spent in bed. I was given to quiet
occupations, especially reading ; and thus as a boy I came
to be — if not hlas4 — premature at least. As early as eight
or nine the parts of books that excited me most were
those where injuries or operations that had to be endured
by beautiful girls or ladies were described. Thus I was
thrown into great excitement by a story in which was
pictured a maiden that had run a thorn into her foot,
with a boy taking it out for her. Indeed, every time
that I looked upon this picture, which was in nowise
lascivious, I had an erection. Whenever possible, I went
to see chickens killed ; and if I had missed that, I looked
at the spots of blood, and stroked the warm bodies of the
birds, with pleasurable shudders. I would emphasise the
fact that I have always been a great lover of animals, and
have felt disgust and pity while killing larger animals,
and even in the vivisection of frogs.
" The kiUing of chickens is still a great sexual stimulus
for me, and especially holding them, during which I have
palpitation of the heart and precordial oppression. It is
of interest that my father had a passion for binding to-
gether the hands of girls and young women.
" I think that another of my sexual abnormalities is
attributable to this strain of cruelty. As I shall clearly
describe later, one of my favourite games was that of an
improvised doll-theatre, where I inspired the parts of my
companions. Almost always it was a young girl who, at
the command of her papa, whom I represented, had to
have a painful operation done on her foot. The more the
girl cried, the more it gratified me. How I came to hit
upon the foot as the constant object of operation will be
seen from the following: When a very young boy, I
happened to see my eldest sister change her stockings.
PSYCHICAL HERMAPHRODITISM. 3-19
When she hastily hid her feet, my attention was attracted
and immediately the sight of her bare feet to the ankles
came to be the ideal of my longing. Naturally, this made
my sister very careful. This became the occasion for
constant quarrels, which, on my part, were kept up with
all the wiles of cunning and flattery, and with even ex-
plosions of anger, until my seventeenth year. In other
respects my sister was to me very indifferent. Indeed, her
kiss is repugnant to me. Faute de mleux, I made use of
the feet of servants (masculine feet had no effect on me).
My greatest desire would have been to cut the nails, or,
sit venia verbo, the corns, on the foot of a beautiful woman.
My lustful dreams were concerned with these things.
Indeed, I applied myself to the study of medicine really
in the expectation of gaining an opportunity to satisfy
my desires, or cure them. Thank God, I attained the
latter. After undertaking the first dissection of the lower
extremity of a female, this unhappy desire was removed
from me. I was unhappy because I was always deeply
ashamed of this impulse. I think I may spare further
details concerning it, since this peculiar enthusiasm, which
even inspired me to write verses, has been sufficiently
described by others.
" Now concerning the last phase of my sexual errors :
I was about thirteen, and had just begun to mature, when
a school-mate, who happened to be our guest, teased me
one night by kicking me with his bare feet under the
covers. I seized his foot, and immediately became greatly
excited, and had a pollution after it — the first that I had.
The boy was peculiarly girlish in form, and was also
mentally effeminate. Again another comrade who had
very small and delicate hands and feet, whom I once saw
in a bath, caused unusual excitement in me. I thought
it a great piece of good fortune to be in bed with either
of these, though any nearer sexual intercourse than
embracing them never came into my mind. Moreover,
I always thrust such thoughts aside with aversion. Some
350 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
years later, when about sixteen or eighteen, I made the
acquaintance of two other boys that awakened my sexual
feehng. When I played with either of these, I immediately
had an erection. Both were very energetic and lively,
but delicately formed and child-like. At the occurrence
of puberty I lost interest in both of them, though a warm
friendship was preserved. I should never have allowed
myself to indulge in vicious practices with them.
" When I went to the university, I forgot completely
these errors of my libido sexualis, and from principle I
avoided sexual intercourse until I was twenty-four, despite
the contempt of my companions. When pollutions became
too frequent, and I began to fear cerebral neurasthenia
ex abstinentia, I indulged in normal sexual intercourse,
and although doing it in a rather vigorous manner, I
derived much benefit from it.
" The especial field of work to which I have devoted
myself is responsible for the fact that I am almost im-
potent with pueltis publicis, and also for the fact that the
naked form of a woman disgusts rather than excites me.
The act always satisfies me the most, if, during it, I can
keep the vision of the face before me ; but since, on the
other hand, the idea that the girl near me is enjoyed by
another is unbearable, for years I have found it absolutely
necessary for my mental comfort, despite the pecuniary
sacrifice, to keep a mistress, and, indeed, a virgin. Other-
wise the most terrible jealousy made me absolutely in-
capable of work. I must also mention that, at thirteen,
I fell in love platonically for the first time ; and since then
I have often pined in chaste love. What distinguishes
my case from all others is the fact that I have never once
masturbated in my life.
"Some weeks ago, in sleep, I was frightened by a
dream of naked boys, from which I awoke with an erection.
In conclusion, I venture to undertake the difficult task of
describing my present condition : Medium height, grace-
fully formed. Skull dolichocephalic, with prominence in
PSYCHICAL HEEMAPHRODITISM. 351
the occipital region ; circumference, 59 centimetres; frontal
prominence marked ; glance somewhat neuropathic ; pupils
medium ; teeth very defective ; muscular structure, strong
and tense ; abundant hair, blonde. Varicocele on the left
side ; frenum too short, which hindered me in coitus. I
severed it myself three years ago. Since then ejaculation
is retarded, and pleasurable feeling much diminished.
Temperament choleric. Quick of comprehension ; good
at drawing conclusions ; energetic ; for one hereditarily
predisposed, very persevering. I learn languages easily,
and have a good ear for music, but otherwise I have no
talent for the arts. I am always ambitious to do my
duty, but I am constantly troubled with tadium vitm, and
only kept from attempts at suicide by my religion and
the thought of my mother. Otherwise I am a typical
candidate for suicide. I am ambitious, jealous, have a
fear of paralysis ; left-handed. I am filled with socialistic
ideas. I like adventures, and I am courageous. I have
decided never to marry."
Case 115. Psychical hermaphrodism. Hetero-sexual
feeling early interfered with by masturbation, but epi-
sodically very intense. Homo-sexual feeling ab origine
perverse (sexual excitation by men's boots).
Mr. X., of high social position, aged .twenty-eight, came
to me in September, 1887, in a despairing mood, to con-
sult me on account of a perversion of his vita scxualis, which
made life seem almost unbearable to him, and which had
repeatedly brought him near to suicide. The patient comes
of a family in which neuroses and psychoses have been
of frequent occurrence. In the father's family there had
been marriages between first cousins for three generations.
The father is said to have been a healthy man, and to
have lived morally in marriage. However, his father's
preference for fine-looking servants seems remarkable to
the son. The mother's family is described as eccentric.
The mother's grandfather and great-grandfather died
352 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
melancholic ; her sister was insane ; a daughter of the
grandfather's brother was hysterical, and had nympho-
mania. Only three of the mother's twelve brothers and
sisters married. Of these, one brother was homo-sexual,
and always nervous as a result of excessive masturbation.
The patient's mother is said to have been a bigot of small
mental endowment, nervous, irritable, and inclined to
melancholia.
Patient has a sister and a brother. The brother is
neuropathic and frequently melancholic ; and, though
mature has never shown the slightest trace of sexual
inclinations. The sister is an acknowledged beauty, and
much sought by gentlemen. This lady is married, but
childless, as reported, owing to the impotence of her
husband. She has always been indifferent to the at-
tentions shown her by men, but is charmed by female
beauty, and actually in love with some of her female
friends.
With respect to himself, the patient asserts that when
four years old he dreamed of handsome jockeys wearing
shining boots. He never dreamed of women when he
grew older. His nightly pollutions were always induced
by "boot-dreams". From his fourth year he had a
peculiar partiality for men, or, more correctly, for lackeys
wearing shining boots. At first they only excited his
interest, but, with development of his sexual functions,
the sight of them caused powerful erections and lustful
pleasure. It was only servants' boots that affected him ;
the same kind of boots on persons of like social station
were without effect on him. In a homo-sexual sense, there
was no sexual impulse connected with these situations.
Even the thought of such a possibility was disgusting to
him. At times, however, he had sensually coloured ideas
— like being his servant's servant, and drawing off his
boots ; but the idea of being stepped on by him, or of
having to blacken his boots, was most pleasing. The
pride of the aristocrat rose up against such thoughts. In
PSYCHICAL HEEMArHEODITISM. 353
general, these notions about boots were disgusting and
painful to him.
Sexual instinct was early and powerfully developed.
It first found expression in indulgence in sensual thoughts
about boots, and, after puberty, in dreams accompanied by
pollutions ; otherwise, mental and physical development
was undisturbed. Patient was well endowed mentally —
learned easily, finished his studies, and became an officer.
On account of his distinguished, manly appearance and
his high position, he was much sought in society.
He characterises himself as a clever, quiet, strong-
willed, but superficial man. He asserts that he is a
passionate hunter and rider, and that he has never had
any inclination for feminine pursuits. In the society of
ladies he has always been reserved ; dancing always tired
him. He never had an interest in any lady of high
social position. As for women, only the buxom peasant
girls, such as are the models of painters in Kome, had
taken his fancy. He had, however, never felt any sexual
interest even in such representatives of the female sex.
In the theatre and circus only male performers had
attracted him ; but, at the same time, they caused him
no sensual feelings. As for men, only their boots excited
him, and, indeed, only when the wearers belonged to the
servant class and were handsome men. Men of his own
position, wearing ever so fine boots, were absolutely
indifferent to him.
With reference to his sexual inclinations, the patient
IS still uncertain whether he feels these more toward the
opposite sex or his own. He is inclined to think that
originally he had more inclination for women, but that
this sympathy was, in any case, very weak. He states
with certainty that the sight of a naked man made no
impression on him, and that thc3 sight of male genitals
was even repugnant to him. In the case of women, this
was not exactly the case; but even the most beautiful
feminine form did not excite him sexually. When a
23
354 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
young officer, he was now and then compelled to accom-
pany his comrades to brothels. He was the more easily
persuaded to this, since he hoped by this means to get
rid of his vile partiality for boots ; but he was impotent
unless he brought the thought of boots to his aid. Under
such circumstances, the act of cohabitation was normally
performed, but without pleasurable feeling. Patient felt
no impulse to intercourse with women, always requiring
some external cause — i.e., persuasion. Left to himself
his vita sexualis consisted in revelling in ideas about boots,
and in corresponding dreams with pollutions. Since more
and more there became connected with them the impulse
to kiss his servant's boots, to draw them off, etc., the
patient determined to use every means to rid himself of
this disgusting desire, which deeply wounded his pride.
At that time, being in his twentieth year, and in Paris,
he recalled a very beautiful peasant girl, who lived in his
distant home. He hoped, with her assistance, to free
himself of his sexual perversion. He went home, and
tried to win the girl's favour. He asserts that at that
time he was deeply in love with this person, and that
the sight of her, or the touch of her dress, gave him
sensual pleasure ; and, when she once kissed him, he had
a powerful erection. After about a year and a half, the
patient succeeded in gaining his desires with this person.
He was potent, but ejaculated tardily (ten to twenty
minutes), and never had a pleasurable feeling in the act.
After about a year and a half of sexual intercourse
with this girl, his love for her grew cold, because he
did not find her so " fine and pure " as he wished. From
this time it was necessary for him to call upon ideas
about boots for help, which had been latent, in order to
be potent in sexual intercourse with her. In proportion as
his power failed, these ideas arose spontaneously. There-
after he had coitus with other women. Now and then,
especially when the woman was in sympathy with him,
the act took place without any assistance of imagination.
PSYCHICAL HEEMAPHRODITISM. 355
It once happened that the patient committed a rape.
It is remarkable that on this single occasion he had a
pleasurable feeling in the (forced) act. Immediately after
the deed he had a feeling of disgust. When, an hour
after the forced indulgence, he had coitus with the same
v/oman, with her consent, he experienced no feeling of
pleasure.
With the decline of virility — i.e., when it was main-
tained only with ideas about boots — libido for the opposite
sex decreased. The patient's slight libido and weak
inclination for women are evidenced by the fact that,
while he still sustained sexual relations with the peasant
girl, he began to masturbate. He learned the vice from
^^ Bo^Lsseaii,''s Confessions," the book accidentally falling
into his hands. The boot - fancies immediately linked
themselves with corresponding impulses. He then had
violent erections, masturbated, and ejaculation afforded
him a lively feeling of pleasure, which was denied to him
in coitus ; and at first he felt himself mentally brighter
and fresher, as a result of masturbation.
In time, however, symptoms of sexual, and later on
of general neurasthenia, with spinal irritation, appeared.
He then temporarily gave up masturbation, and sought
his first love ; but she was now more than ever indifferent
to him. Since he finally became impotent, even when
he called ideas of boots to his assistance, he gave up
women entirely, and again practised masturbation ; which
protected him from the impulse to kiss and blacken, etc.,
servants' boots. At the same time, he felt his sexual
position keenly. He again occasionally attempted coitus,
and was successful in it as soon as he thought of blackened
boots. After continued abstinence from masturbation, he
was at times successful in coitus without any artificial
aid.
The patient says that his sexual needs are intense.
If no ejaculation has taken place for a long time, he
becomes congestive, psychically much excited, and tor-
356 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
mented by repugnant images of boots, so that he is forced
to have coitus, or, preferably, to masturbate.
During the past year his moral position became most
painfully complicated by the fact that, as the last of a
wealthy line of high position, and at the importunate
desire of his parents, he must marry. The bride is of
rare beaut}^ and mentally in perfect sympathy with him ;
but, as a woman, she is as indifferent to him as any
other, .^sthetically she satisfies him " as any work of
art would " ; in his eyes, she is simply ideal. To honour
her in a platonic way would be happiness worth striving
for ; but to possess her as a wife is a painful thought. He
is certain beforehand that with her he will be impotent,
save with the help of ideas of boots. To use such means,
however, is in opposition to his respect and his moral and
sesthetic feelings for the lady. Were he to soil her with
such thoughts, she would lose, in his eyes, all her aesthetic
value ; and then he would become impotent for her,
and she would become repugnant to him. The patient
considers his position one of despair, and confesses that
he has of late been repeatedly near suicide.
He is a man of much intelligence, and decidedly of
masculine appearance, with abundant growth of beard,
deep voice, and normal genitals. The eye has a neuro-
pathic expression. No signs of degeneration. Symptoms
of spinal neurasthenia. It was possible to reassure the
patient, and give him hope of his future.
The medical advice consisted in means for combatinfj
the neurasthenia, and the interdiction of masturbation
and indulgence of the fancy in images of boots, in the
hope that, with the removal of the neurasthenia, cohabi-
tation without ideas of boots would become possible ; and
that, in time, the patient would become morally and
physically capable of marriage.
In the latter part of October, 1888, the patient wrote to
me that he had resolutely resisted masturbation and his
imagination. In the interval he had had but one dream
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 357
about boots, and scarcely a pollution. He had been free
from homo-sexual inclinations, but, in spite of this, there
was often considerable sexual excitement, without any-
thing like adequate libido for woman. In this deplorable
situation, he was now compelled by circumstances to
marry in three months.
2. Homo-Sexual Individuals, or Urnings.
In contradistinction from the preceding group of
psycho-sexual hermaphrodites, there are here present, ah
origine, sexual desires and inclinations for persons of the
same sex exclusively ; but, in contrast with the following
group, the anomaly is hmited to the vita sexualis, and
does not more deeply and seriously affect character and
mental personality.
The vita sexualis of these urnings, mutatis mutandis, is
entirely like that in normal hetero-sexual love ; but, since
it is the exact opposite of the natural feeling, it becomes
a caricature, and this the more, since these individuals,
at the same time, and as a rule, are subject to hyperas-
thesia sexualis ; wherefore, their love for their own sex is
emotional and passionate.
The urning loves and deifies the male object of his
affections, just as the normal man idealises the woman
he loves. He is capable of the greatest sacrifice for him,
and experiences the pangs of unhappy, often unrequited,
love ; he suffers from the disloyalty of the beloved object,
and is subject to jealousy, etc.
The attention of the male-loving man is given only to
male dancers, actors, athletes, statues, etc. The sight of
female charms is indifferent to him, if not repulsive. A
naked woman is disgusting to him, while the sight of
male genitals, hips, etc., affords him infinite pleasure.
Bodily contact with a sympathetic man induces a
thrill of delight ; and, since such individuals are in most
cases sexually neurasthenic (congenitally or from onanism
358 PSTCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
or enforced abstinence from sexual intercourse), under
such circumstances ejaculation is very easily induced,
which even in the most intimate intercourse with women
cannot be induced at all, or only by mechanical means.
The sexual act with a man, in many instances, affords
pleasure, and leaves behind a feeling of comfort. Should
the urning be able to force himself to coitus, in which, as
a rule, disgust has the effect of an inhibitory concept, and
makes the act impossible, then his feeling is something
like that of a man compelled to take disgusting food or
drink. However, experience teaches that not infrequently
urnings belonging to this group marry, either from ethical
or social considerations.
Such unfortunates are relatively potent, in so far that
in marital intercourse they incite their imagination, and,
instead of thinking of their wives, they call up the image
of some loved male person. But for them coitus is a
great sacrifice, and no pleasure. It makes them, for days
after, nervous and miserable. If such urnings, by means
of powerful stimulation of their fancy, or under the
influence of alcohoHc drink, or by erections induced by an
overfilled bladder, etc., are not enabled to overcome the
inhibitory feelmgs and ideas, then they are entirely im-
potent ; while the mere touch of a man may induce intense
erection, and even ejaculation.
Dancing with a woman is unpleasant to an urning,
but to dance with a man, especially one with an attractive
form, is to him the greatest of pleasures.
The male urning, if he possess higher culture, is not
opposed to non-sexual intercourse with women, when by
mind and refinement they make conversation charming
It is only woman in her sexual role that he abhors.
In this degree of sexual degeneration, character and
occupation correspond with the sex which the individual
represents. Sexual perversion remains an isolated anom-
aly of the mental benig of the individual, deeply affecting
the social existence. In accordance with this, these
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 359
individuals feel themselves in the sexual act in the same
role which would naturally be theirs in hetero-sexual
intercourse.
However, transitions to group 3 occur, inasmuch as
sometimes the passive rdle which corresponds with homo-
sexual feeling is thought of or desired, or at least forms
the subject of dreams. Moreover, leanings to occupations
and tendencies of taste are manifested which do not
correspond with the sex of the individual. In many cases
one gets the impression that such symptoms are artificial,
the result of educational influences ; in other cases, that
they represent deeper acquired degenerations of the
original anomaly, superinduced by perverse sexual activity
(masturbation), and analogous to the signs of progressive
degeneration observed in acquired sexual inversion.
Regarding the manner of sexual satisfaction, it must
be stated that with many male urnings the mere embrace
is sufficient to induce ejaculation, subject as they are to
irritable weakness of the sexual apparatus. In cases of
sexual hypersesthesia, and of paresthesia of the moral
sense, great pleasure is afforded by intercourse with
persons of the lowest condition.
On the same basis, desires to commit pederasty (active,
of course) and other similar aberrations occur, though
it is but seldom, and apparently only in cases of moral
defect, and by reason of libido nimiain individuals especially
passionate, that active pederasty is indulged in.
The sexual desire of mature urnings, in contradistinction
to old and decrepit debauchees, who prefer boys {and indulge in
pederasty by preference), seems never to be directed to immature
males. Only for want of better material, and in case of
violent passion, does the urning become dangerous to boys.
Case 116. Mr. A., thirty years of age, artist. Mother
heavily tainted psychopathically. Brother sexually in-
verted.
A. is neuropathic from childhood ; with puberty
360 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
neurasthenic. At the age of six he felt extremely happy
when it became his lot to sit near a certain chmn in
school.
With puberty he began to masturbate, thinking during
the act of sympathetic playfellows. Pollutions accom-
panied by homo-sexual dreams.
He does not fancy the passive role towards the male
sex. When twenty years of age, but more so at the age
of twenty-five, he was very much in love with men fully
matured. Woman possessed no charm for him. He
made several attempts at coitus cum j^uclUs, succeeded,
but derived no pleasure either mentally or physically
from it, and soon relinquished all intimate intercourse
with the female sex. Only men of manly appearance,
of high education and refined manners impress him.
He cannot resist such men. A. contends that he is not
sensual, but that he takes interest more in the soul than
in the body of others.
His sexual gratification consists in kisses and em-
braces, which produce ejaculation, with intense lust. This
prevents masturhatio ynutita, and other immoral actions,
which disgust him. Faute de micux, he has at times
indulged in masturhatio solitaria.
He is of decidedly masculine appearance, without any
signs of degeneration.
He acknowledges his sexual position to be abnormal,
but feels quite happy in it.
Case 117. Mr. U., twenty-four years old, technician.
Father insane. He has three insane relatives.
At the age of seven, during a spell of fever, and even
without the slightest knowledge of sexual differences,
he began to be interested in the 'posteriora of his male
companions.
This inclination disappeared at the age of twelve,
when he was introduced to the secrets of the vita sexualis.
His sexual instinct matured early and strongly. Pollu-
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 361
tions were always accompanied by homo-sexual dreams.
Woman disgusted him. For years he was, at the waning
of daylight, impelled with an overruling desire to converse
with men.
He would follow men in the street for hours until quite
exhausted. He burned with the desire to sleep with a man
and touch his genitals. Up till now he was unsuccessful
in this. As a last remedy, he would resort to auto-
masturbation. He feels his position keenly, for fear
of succumbing to his degenerate taste. U. gives the
impression of being a person of peculiar habits, and
wanting in mental equilibrium. Genitals are normal.
Personal appearance decidedly masculine.
Case 118. D., twenty-four years old, student. Father
was emotional, of changeable temperament, irascible,
petulant, eccentric in his views and actions, of weak will-
power, distracted, and had neuropathic eyes ; in the latter
years of his life he was addicted to drink, and died of
phthisis at the age of forty ; he possessed no psychopathic
qualities of value.
D.'s mother was healthy ; but an aunt of hers was
psychopathic, and committed suicide, whilst one of her
cousins was a drunkard and hypersexual.
D. is of lank but manly form, well bearded for a
person of his age. Cranium asymetrical, frame masculine.
Genitals well formed and normal.
D. was always rather delicate, nervous, emotional,
excitable, unsteady, but talented and given to flattery.
His sexual instinct awoke at an early age. He inclined
exclusively to his own sex, but for some time indulged
only in auto - masturbation. With the age of sixteen
he became markedly cerebro-asthenic, had to interrupt
his studies and seek relief from nervous ailments in
hydropathic establishments.
When arrived at maturity he was more drawn to the
urning than to the normally developed man, more to the
362 PSYCHOrATHIA SEXUALIS.
youth than the matured male. His fetich was the voice,
the higher register of the sympathetic young man's
voice enchanted his psycho-sexual feelings, whilst a bass
voice simply repulsed him. Fetichism of garments is
also indicated, in so far as decidedly masculine dress, such
as the military garb, etc., is repulsive to him ; on the
contrary, evening dress attracts.
D. considers his nature to be that of a female. He
takes no interest in virile sports ; although character-
ologically or anthropologically he betrays no signs of
female character, and even to the eye of the expert he
does not present the appearance of an urning.
His homo-sexual activity consists in masturbatio mutua,
and at times receptio membri alterius in ore. But not even
during this act nor in nocturnal pollutions does his fancy
assume the feminine role. He has not the slightest
interest for women, and never approaches them.
During the last three years D. has become a morphia
eater to soothe his neurasthenic troubles. Upon my
advice he went to a hydropathic institution and had
himself also hypnotised. This, however, produced only
torpor, but the patient was easily amenable to suggestion.
Neurasthenia disappeared ; he began to master his weak-
ness for masturbation, and to have erotic dreams of women,
but, trying to have sexual intercourse with them, he was
impotent, and succeeded only in passive masturbation by
female hands, which gave him a sort of gratification.
For some months after protracted treatment improve-
ment continued, but then the patient relapsed into the
practice of masturbation, became again neurasthenic,
yielded to morphinism, and his whole sexual intercourse
was directed to homo-sexual acts.
Case 119. Mr. G., twenty-three years. Came to
consult me on account of constitutional neurasthenia,
coupled with insomnia which had been very acute for
several months past.
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 363
He comes of a family personally well known to me,
most members of which are affected with neuroses, and
other conditions of psychical degeneration.
He confesses to being an urning. Had even at the
age of seven erections when bathing with other boys.
He repeatedly fell in love with school-mates! With
puberty masturbation, and pollutions accompanied by
homo-sexual dreams. Since the age of eighteen repeated
attempts at coitus cum muliere were abortive on account
of impotence, ex horrore fcmmcB. For the last two years
he has given up women's society, and practised exclusively
homo-sexual intercourse. He prefers men of the age of
twenty to thirty. He plays the role of the man. His
passions and courtings are those of the male. He asserts
that he feels himself refreshed mentally and bodily by
homo-sexual intercourse, which he practises inter femora.
Once he tried active pederasty, but desisted on the ground
of ethical sentiments. For the last few months he has
maintained permanent intercourse with a man of his
own proclivities.
Previously he was often impotent in the homo-sexual
act. This was caused by want of cleanliness on the part
of his companion, or because of the thought that he had
to pay money for the privilege ; in other cases bashfulness,
on account of the high position held by the other party.
G. understands that his sexual instinct is abnormal,
but he finds gratification in it, and seeks no change.
Anatomically and anthropologically G. presents decid-
edly the appearance of a man ; his genitals are normal.
Case 120. Mr. Z., aged fifty years, married, in the
Civil Service. P. Father psychopathic, whose sister was
an inmate of an asylum for the insane until, her death.
Z., whose sister was also a patient in a lunatic asylum,
suffered up to his eighth year from convulsions, and since
pubescence from cephalalgia ; at school he was highly
eccentric and intractal le.
364 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
At the age of sixteen, whilst at a Jesuit college, he
was one night assaulted by a school-mate, who explained
to him the sexual functions, and persuaded him to consent
to coitus inter femora.
Z. took pleasure in the act, and in his dreams and
when awake revelled in the memory of this nocturnal
adventure, always imagining that he was taking the
passive role, forced upon him by superior strength.
The intercourse with the youthful seducer developed
into a relation such as only exists between husband and
wife, and consisted in mutual masturbation for a period
of twelve months. This time Z. considers the happiest
of his life. Death severed the connection in 1864, the
friend succumbing to cerebral paralysis. Z. bemourned
his loss as only a wife can that of her husband.
In the autumn of 1864 Z. approached another school-
mate, who, however, proved unsympathetic and refused
him.
At the university Z. affected feminine coquetry, wore
patent leather shoes, parted his hair in the middle, had
various love affairs with young men, and was unspeakably
happy when at some private theatricals he could appear
in the role of a woman. He had at that time a great
weakness for pomatums, strong scents and jewellery.
The gentle sex never attracted him. When upon one
occasion he was induced to go with others to a brothel
the girl that fell to bis lot appeared to him like a wooden
statue, and he could not accomplish coitus.
This experience aroused in him doubts as to his
future. But soon he persuaded himself again that his
homo-sexual instinct and actions contained no unnatural
elements.
In 1872 he entered upon matrimony, based upon
respect and self-interest. He succeeded in performing
his conjugal duties, imagining the wife to be a handsome
young man. This sexual intercourse was, however, of
rare occurrence, since it gave him no mental pleasure,
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS, 365
and he again sought compensation in homo-sexual acts,
consisting merel}' in mutual masturbation.
During the last seven years Z. has had no sexual
connection with his wife ; but from this union sprang two
sons (now grown up), whom he declares to be perfectly
sound and sexually normal.
Z. states that his homo - sexual inclinations have
caused him much worry, and that, though in vain, he
resisted them with all his will-power, in order to be true
to his wife. The very sight of a young man clad in
close-fitting trousers was suliicient to overcome him. On
such occasions, especially after partaking of wine, which
he never liked, congestions to the head and hallucinations
of a sexual character took place. He fancied he beheld
naked young men approach him with penis erect, grasp
his genitals, masturbate him, and perform coitus mter
femora with him. He yielded to it in thought, had
orgasm, but rarely ejaculation. This happened to him
at times also before he fell asleep.
In 1895 Z. was sentenced to six months' imprisonment
on account of immoral acts with a young navvy of seven-
teen years of age.
His examination at the clinic showed him to be
neurotically much tainted and wanting in mental balance.
Cranium asy metrical ; typical instance of neurasthenia
cerehralis ; genitals normal.
Case 121. On a summer evening, at twilight, X.
Y., a physician of a city in North Germany, was detected
by a watchman while committing a misdemeanour with a
countryman in a field. He was practising masturbation
on him, and then inontulam alius in os suum immisit. X,
escaped legal prosecution by flight. The authorities dis-
missed the complaint, because there had been no publicity,
and because immissio memhri in anum had not taken place.
Among X.'s effects was found an extensive correspond-
ence of a perverse sexual character, which showed that
366 PSYC HOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
he had had perverse intercourse for years with all classes
of people.
X. came of a neurotic family. His paternal grand-
father died by suicide while insane. His father was a
weak, peculiar man. One brother masturbated at the age
of two. A cousin was sexually perverse, and practised
perverse acts, similar to those of X., while a youth ; he
became weak-minded, and died of spinal disease. A
paternal great-uncle was an hermaphrodite. His mother's
sister was insane. His mother is said to have been
healthy. X.'s brother is nervous and irascible.
X., hkewise, was nervous as a child. The mewing of
a cat would create great fear in him ; and if one but
imitated the voice of a cat he would cry bitterly, and
run to others for protection. Shght physical disturb-
ance caused violent fever. He was a quiet, dreamy
child, of excitable imagination, but of slight mental
capabilities. He did not indulge much in boyish games ;
he preferred feminine pursuits. It gave him especial
pleasure to curl the hair of the housemaid or of his
brother.
At thirteen X. went to an institute. There he prac-
tised mutual masturbation, seduced his comrades, and his
cynical conduct made him unmanageable ; so that he
bad to be taken home. At that time the parents found
love-letters with lascivious contents, showing perverse
sexuality. From the age of seventeen he studied under
the strict surveillance of a professor in a gymnasium.
He made but sad progress in learning. He had only a
talent for music.
After finishing his studies, the patient entered the
university at the age of nineteen. There he attracted
attention by his cynical character and his association
with young persons who were thought to be given to
mascuhne love. He began to be dandified ; wore striking
cravats, and low cut shirts ; he forced his feet into narrow
shoes, and curled his hair in a remarkable way. This
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 367
peculiarity disappeared when he left the school and
returned home.
At the age of twenty-four he was for a long time
neurasthenic. From that time until his twenty-ninth
year he was earnest and skilful in his profession ; but
he avoided the society of the opposite sex, and constantly
associated with men of doubtful character.
The patient would not allow a personal examination.
In writing, he made the excuse that this would be of no
use, because his impulse to his own sex had existed
from his earliest childhood, and was congenital. He had
always had horror femince, and had never been inclined
to avail himself of the charms of women. Toward men
he felt himself in the role of a man. He recognised his
impulse toward his own sex as abnormal, and excused his
sexual indulgence as being the result of an abnormal
natural condition.
Since his flight X. lives out of Germany, in Southern
Italy, and, as I learned from a letter, now, as before, he
indulges in perverse love. X. is an earnest, stately man,
of masculine features, well-grown beard, and normally
developed genitals. Dr. X. furnished me a short time ago
with his autobiography, of which the following is worthy
of mention : —
" When, at the age of seven, I entered the private
school, I felt very uncomfortable, and found very little
sympathy with my companions. Only toward one of
them, who was a very handsome child, did I feel attracted,
and I loved him wildly. In childish games I always knew
how to arrange it so that I could appear in feminine
attire ; and my greatest pleasure was to form intricate
coiffures for our servant-girls. I often regretted that I
was not a girl.
"My sexual instinct awakened when I was thirteen,
and from the moment of its appearance it was directed
toward youthful, strong men. At first I was not really
certain that this was abnormal, but consciousness of it
368 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
came when I saw and heard how my companions were
characterised sexually. I began to masturbate at the age
of thirteen. At seventeen I left home and went to the
gymnasium of a large capital, where I was put to board
with a married professor of the gymnasium, with whose
son I afterward had sexual relations. It was with him
that I first had sexual satisfaction. Thereafter I made
the acquaintance of a young artist, who very soon noticed
that I was abnormal, and confessed to me that he was
in the same condition. I learned from him that this
abnormality was very frequent ; and this knowledge over-
came the trouble that I had had in supposing that I
was alone in my abnormality. This young man had an
extensive acquaintance with persons in like condition, to
which he introduced me. There I became the object of
general attention, for on all sides I was declared to be
very attractive physically. I soon became insanely loved
by an old gentleman ; but, not finding him to my taste,
I endured him but a short time, and then gave ear to a
young and handsome officer who lay at my feet. He was
really my first love.
" After passing my final examination, at the age of
nineteen, free from the discipline of school, I made the
acquaintance of a great number of people like myself, and
among them Karl Ulrichs {Numa Numantinus).
" When, later, I took up the study of medicine, and
associated with many normal youths, I was often in a
position where I was compelled to visit public prostitutes.
After having consorted to no purpose with various pros-
titutes, some of whom were very beautiful, the opinion
was spread among my acquaintances that I was impotent,
and I strengthened this by telling of previous sexual
excesses. At that time I had numerous external relations
wdth persons who prized my physical peculiarities, which
were considered very beautiful. The result of this was,
that I was exciting somebody all the time ; and I received
such a mass of love-letters that I was often in embarrass-
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 369
ment. The acme of this was reached later when, as a
physician, I hved in the hospital. There I moved about
like a celebrated person, and the scenes of jealousy that
took place on my account almost led to the discovery of
the whole thing. Shortly after this, I fell ill with an
inflammation of my shoulder-joint, from which I recovered
after three months. During this illness I received sub-
cutaneous injections of morphine several times daily,
which were suddenly discontinued, and which I practised
thereafter secretly after my recovery. For the purpose
of special study, I spent some months in Vienna, before
entering into ]Drivate practice, and there, by means of
some recommendations, I gained entrance to various
circles of people like myself. I there learned that the
abnormality in question, in its various forms, is spread
through the lower classes as well as the higher, and that
those who are approachable for money are not infrequently
met among the higher classes.
" When I established myself in the country, I hoped
to cure myself of the morphine habit by means of cocaine ;
and then I became a victim of cocaine, of which, only
after three relapses, I was able to rid myself (about two
years ago). In my position, it was impossible for me to
find sexual satisfaction, and I noticed with pleasure that
the use of cocaine had overcome my desire. When, on
the first occasion, at the urgent request of my aunt, I had
emancipated myself from cocaine, I travelled for a few
weeks in order to improve my health, the perverse im-
pulses were again awakened in their old strength, and,
one evening, while out in the fields by the city amusing
myself with a man, I noticed that I had been detected by
the authorities and advertised ; but that the act of which
I was accused was not punishable, in accordance with
the opinion expressed by the highest court of the G-erman
kingdom. I had, therefore, to be careful ; for already the
announcement of the crime had been heralded on all
sides. I saw that after this I should be compelled to
24
o70 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
leave Germany, and find a new home where neither the
law nor public opinion would be opposed to that impulse,
which, like all abnormal instincts, could not be overcome
by the will. Since I was never deceived for a moment
about the matter, in recognising my impulses as opposed
to social usages, I repeatedly attempted to become master
of them ; but by these efforts they were increased in power.
This same observation has been communicated to me by
acquaintances. Since I was exclusively drawn toward
strong, youthful and masculine individuals, and they
were very seldom inclined to yield to my wishes, I was
compelled to buy them. Since my desire was limited to
persons of the lower classes, I was always able to find
such as were purchasable with money. I hope that the
following statements will not awaken your repugnance.
At first I intended to omit them ; but, for the completeness
of this communication, I may include them, since they
serve to enrich the clinical material. I am compelled to
perform the sexual act in the following way : —
" Pene juvenis in os recepto, ita ut commovendo ore
meo effecerim, ut is quem cupio, semen ejaculaverit,
sperma in perinaeum exspuo, femora comprimi jubeo et
penem meum adversus et intra femora compressa immitto.
Dum haec fiunt, necesse est, ut juvenis me, quantum potest,
amplectatur. Quae prius me fecisse narravi, eandem mihi
afferunt voluptatem, acsi ipse ejaculo. Ejaculationem
pene in anum immittendo vel manu terendo assequi, mihi
nequaquam amoenam est.
" Sed inveni, qui penem meum receperint atque ca
facientes, quae supra exposui, effecerint, ut libidines mete
plane sint saturata?.
"Concerning my person, I must still mention the
following : I am 186 centimetres tall, of masculine appear-
ance, and, with the exception of abnormal irritability of
the skin, healthy. My hair and beard are black and
thick. My genitals are of medium size and normally
formed. I am able, without any trace of fatigue, to per-
HOMO-SEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. 371
form the sexual act from four to six times in twenty-four
hours. My Hfe is very regular. I use alcohol and tobacco
very sparingly. I play the piano quite well, and some
of my unpretentious compositions have been much ap-
plauded. I have lately finished a novel, which, as my
first work, has been very favourably criticised by my
friends. The story has several problems taken from the
life of urnings in the subject-matter.
"Among the large number of fellow-sufferers that are
personally known to me, I have naturally been in a posi-
tion to make observations concerning the condition and
the degrees of abnormality ; and, perhaps, the following
communications may be of service to you : —
" The most abnormal thing that I am acquainted with
was the impulse of a gentleman who lived in Berlin. He
preferred, above all others, young fellows with unwashed
feet, which he would lick passionately. A gentleman in
Leipzig was similar to him ; who, where it was possible,
would linguam in anum immittere, preferring the parts to
be uncleaned. Several have assured me that the sight of
riding-boots or of parts of military uniforms induced such
excitement in them that spontaneous ejaculation resulted.
A man in Paris compelled a friend ut in os ei mingat.
" With reference to the degree in which many feel
themselves as women, which is with me not the case, two
persons in Vienna are examples. They bore feminine
names. One is a barber who calls himself ' French
Laura'; the other was formerly a butcher, who calls
himself ' Selcher-Fanny '. Both of them never missed an
opportunity, during the carnival time, to show themselves
in very fantastic feminine masks. In Hamburg there is a
person that many people believe to be a woman, because
he always goes about the house in feminine attire, and
only occasionally leaves the house, and always in such
clothing. This man wished to stand as godmother at
a christening, and, as a result of it,- gave rise to great
scandal.
372 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
" Feminine timidity, frivolity, obstinacy and weakness
of character are the rule in such individuals.
" Several cases of perverse sexuality are know^n to me
where epilepsy and psychoses are present. Hernias are
remarkably frequent. In practice many persons come to
me to be treated for diseases of the anus, because of recom-
mendation by friends. I saw two syphilitic and one local
chancre, and several fissures ; and at present I am treating
a gentleman for condylomata of the anus, which form a
rounded tumour as large as a fist. One case of primary
affection of the soft palate I saw in Vienna, in a young
man who used to frequent fancy-dress balls in girl's
attire, and entice young men ; he would then pretend
that he was menstruating, and thus induce the others to
use him per os. The assertion was made that in this way
he had deceived fourteen men in one evening. Since, in
none of the pubhcations concerning antipathic sexuality
that I have seen, I have found anything concerning the
intercourse of pederasts among themselves, I venture to
communicate something concerning it in conclusion : —
"As soon as individuals that are affected with in-
verted sexuality become acquainted, there is a detailed
narration of their experiences, loves and seductions, as
far as the social difference between them allows such
entertainment. Only in very few cases is this amusement
uncommon with new acquaintances. Among themselves,
they call themselves ' aunts ' ; in Vienna, ' sisters ' ; and
two very masculine public prostitutes in Vienna, whom I
accidentally became acquainted with, and who lived in a
perverse sexual relation with each other, told me that for
the corresponding condition in women the name ' uncle '
was used. Since becoming conscious of my abnormal
instinct I have met thousands of such individuals.
" Almost every large city has some meeting-place, as
well as a so-called promenade. In smaller cities there
are relatively few ' aunts,' though in a small town of 2300
inhabitants I found eight, and in one of 7000 eighteen of
EFFEMINATION. 373
whom I was absolutely sure, — to say nothing of those
whom I suspected. In my own town of 30,000 inhabitants
I personally know about 120 ' aunts '. The greater number
of them, and I especially, possess the capability of judging
another immediately as to whether they are alike or not,
which, in the language of the ' aunts,' is called ' reason-
able ' or * unreasonable '. My acquaintances are often
astounded at the certainty of my judgment. Individuals
that are apparently absolutely masculine I recognise as
' aunts ' at the first sight. On the other hand, I am able
to behave myself in such a masculine way that, in circles
to which I have been introduced by acquaintances, there
is a doubt as to my genuineness. When I am in the
mood, I can act exactly like a girl,
" Since the majority of * aunts,' like myself, in no way
regret their abnormality, but would be sorry if the con-
dition were to be changed ; and, moreover, since the
congenital condition, according to my own and all other
experience, cannot be influenced, all our hope rests upon
the possibility of a change of the laws with reference to it,
so that only rape or the commission of public offence,
when this can be proved at the same time, shall be
punishable."
3. Effemi nation.
There are various transitions from the foregoing cases
to those making up this category, characterised by the
degree in which the psychical personahty, especially in
general manner of feehng and inclinations, is influenced
by the abnormal sexual feeling. In this group are fully
developed cases in which males are females in feeling ;
and vice versa women, males. This abnormality of feeling
and of development of the character is often apparent in
childhood. The boy likes to spend his time with girls,
play with dolls, and help his mother about the house ;
he likes to cook, sew, knit ; he develops tastes in female
374 psYcnorATiiiA sexualis.
toilettes, and even becomes the adviser of his sisters. As
he grows older he eschews smoking, drinking and manly
sports, and, on the contrary, finds pleasure in adornment
of person, art, belles-lettres, etc., even to the extent of
giving himself entirely to the cultivation of the beautiful.
Since woman possesses parallel inclinations, he prefers to
move in the society of women.
If he can assume the rSle of a female at a masquerade
it is his greatest delight. He seeks to please his lover, so
to speak, by studiously trying to represent what pleases
the female-loving man in the opposite sex — modesty,
sweetness, taste for aesthetics, poetry, etc. Efforts to
approach the female appearance in gait, attitude and
attire are frequently seen.
With reference to the sexual feeling and instinct of
these urnings, so thoroughly permeated in all their mental
being, the men, without exception, feel themselves to be
females. Thus they feel themselves to be antagonistic to
persons of their own sex constituted like themselves, as
of course, they are like them in form. But, on the other
hand, they are drawn toward those of their own sex that
are homo-sexual or sexually normal. The same jealousy
which occurs in normal sexual life also occurs here, when
rivalry is threatened ; and, indeed, since they are, as a
rule, hyperffisthetic sexually, this jealousy is often bound-
less.
In cases of completely developed inverted sexuality,
hetero-sexual love is looked upon as a thing absolutely
incomprehensible; sexual intercourse with a person of
the opposite sex is unthinkable, impossible. Such an
attempt brings on the inhibitory concept of disgust or
even horror, which makes erection impossible. Only
two of my cases transitional to the third category were
able, with the aid of imagination which made the female
in question assume the role of man, to have coitus for the
time being ; but the act, which yielded no gratification,
was a great sacrifice, and afforded no pleasure.
EFFEMINATION. 375
In homo-sexual intercourse effeminated men feels
himself in tlie act always as a woman. The means of
indulgence, where there is irritable weakness of the
ejaculation centre, are simply succuhus, or passive coitus
inter femora; in other cases, passive masturbation, or
ejaculatio viri dilecti in ore. Some have a desire for passive
pederasty ; occasionally a desire for active pederasty
occurs. In one attempt of this kind, the man desisted
because of the disgust which seized him when the act
reminded him of coitus.
There tvas never inclination for immature persons {hoy -love).
Not infrequently there were only platonic desires.
Case 1 22. Autobiography. In the subsequent pages
you will find a description of the character as well as
the psychic and sexual feelings of an urning, i.e., of an
individual who, despite of mascuHne anatomy, has the
feelings of a woman, and who is not in the least attracted
by women, but whose entire sexual instinct is directed
towards men.
" I am convinced that the enigma of our existence can
only be solved by the impartial scientist (or, at any rate,
that hght can be thrown upon it by him). For which
reason I give this description of my life for the sole
purpose of elucidating this cruel error of nature, and thus
to benefit in all possible manner such fellow-beings as
are afflicted in a similar way. Urnings there will be as
long as the human race endures, for there were such
ever since humanity began. But as science progresses,
men will look upon the like of myself as subjects worthy
rather of compassion than of disdain. I shall confine
myself to brevity, avoiding personaHties and adopting
rather a cynical style, for I aspire to truth.
" I am thirty-four and a half years of age, a merchant
with moderate income, of medium size, slender, but not
muscular ; I have a well-bearded, but very common face
376 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
and make at first the impression of being an ordinary
man. But my gait is feminine, my movements are
awkward and devoid of elegance and manly bearing. My
voice is neither feminine nor shrieking, but rather of bari-
tone resonance. This much for my external appearance.
" I do not smoke or drink, neither can I whistle, ride,
perform gymnastics, fence or shoot. I do not fancy horses
or dogs, and have never held a gun or sword in my hand.
My intrinsic feelings and sexual desires are feminine
all through. I can lay no claim to higher education —
I only went as far as the fifth form of the gymnasium —
nevertheless I am intelligent, and love to read good
literature ; am of sound judgment, but am easily moved
by spontaneous emotions, and readily yield to the influence
of others who understand me and know how to prey
upon my weaknesses. I form for ever resolutions, but
never have the energy to carry them through. Like unto
woman, I am petulant and nervous, irritable without
cause, at times vicious, and towards persons not present
and against whom I have a grudge, arrogant and unjust,
even to a degree insulting.
"In all my doings I am superficial, even careless, and
am devoid of real moral sentiment, of tender feelings
towards my parents, brothers and sisters ; but I am not
egotistical, but rather inclined to self-sacrifice, cannot
resist tears, and am easily won over by cordial, depre-
catory manners, as is common in woman.
" At an early age I took a dislike to the manly sports
practised by my companions ; liked to play with little
girls, who suited my character better than boys ; was
shy, and easily blushed.
" At the age of twelve-thirteen the close-fitting uniform
of a soldier caused in me peculiar emotions ; and, whilst
during the subsequent years my school-mates always
talked about girls, and even entered upon love affairs,
I was never able to resist the influence which a well-
formed man, especially with well-pronounced j^osteriora,
EFFEMINATION. 377
made upon my senses. I would follow him for hours,
and simply revel in the sight of him.
" Although I never reflected much upon these impres-
sions— so totally different from those of my companions —
I began to practise onanism, always thinking of manly
heroic forms, until a friend, when I was seventeen,
explained matters to me. Since that time I have been
with girls about eight or ten times ; but, in order to
produce erection, I had to call to aid the thought of
some handsome man known to me, and I am convinced
that even now I could not go with a woman without the
assistance of my fancy. Soon after I discovered my
anomaly I preferred to go with well-matured and well-
built urnings, for at that time I did not have opportunity
or sufficient knowledge to have intercourse with real men.
" But my taste has completely changed, so that
only men of fine, supple and muscular form attract me
sensually. Their charms excite me as if I were a real
woman. Thus it has happened that in the course of
time I have made the intimate acquaintance of at least
a dozen men who, for a consideration of one or two
florins, serve my purpose. When alone with such a fine
fellow in my room, I derive the utmost pleasure from
membrum ejus vel maxime si magnum atque crassum
est, manibus capere et apprehendere et premere, turgentes
nates femoraque tangere atque totum corpus manibus
contrectare et, si conceditur, os, faciem atque totum corpus,
immovero nates, ardentibus osculis obtegere. Quodsi
membrum magnum purumque est, dominusque ejus mihi
placet, ardente libidine mentulam ejus, in os meum
receptam complures horas sugere possum, neque autem
delector, si semen in os meum ejaculatur, cum maxime
eorum qui, * urninge ' nominantur pars hac re non modo
delectatur, sed etiam semen nonnunquam devorat.
" But the height of pleasure I experience when such a
man vievibrum meum in os recipit et erectionem in ore suo
concedlt.
378 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
" It may sound strange but I can alwa3^s find fellows
whom I may use in this manner for a consideration.
They learn about this at the barracks, for the urnings
know fully well that the soldier will do almost anything
for money. In fact these young fellows when once
trained to it will continue the practice whilst at the
same time indulging in their passion with woman.
" Urnings as a rule do not attract me, for everything
that smacks of the feminine is repulsive to me. Still I
have come across some who can enchant me the same as
the real man does. In fact I rather go with them because
they requite passionately my burning love. When alone
with such a being I give my emotions free play and revel
to the utmost in my animal instinct. Osculor, premo,
amplector eum, linguam meam in os ejus immitto ; ore
cupiditate tremente ejus labrum superius sugo, faciem
meam ad ejus nates adpono et odore voluptari e nati])us
omanente voluptate obstupescor. Genuine men in close
fitting uniforms make the deepest impression upon me,
and should I have the chance of throwing my arms around
such a fellow and of kissing him it produces immediate
ejaculation, a circumstance which I ascribe to frequent
auto-masturbation. For I often did this in former years
well-nigh every time when I beheld such a fine fellow
whose image was ever present before me during the act.
My taste in this regard is by no means very refined, but
more like that of a servant girl who sees her ideal in a
stalwart dragoon. A pretty face may be a pleasant
attribute, but by no means indispensable for kindling my
sensual fire ; the main thing always is : vir inferiore
corporis parte robusta et bene firmosa, turgidis femoribus
durisque natibus thorax qualibet forma. A prominent
abdomen disgusts me ; a sensual mouth and white teeth
simply makes me tingle and if such a man has also a
membrum pulchrum magnum et a^qualiter formatum,
all my demands, even the most exorbitant, are quite
satisfied.
EFFEMINATION. 379
"When men sensually excited me in former years I
would have five to eight ejaculations during the night
(even now four to six), for I am uncommonly sensual;
the very clanking of the sword of a cavalry man on the
pavement excites me. My imagination is very vivid ;
during all hours of the day I think of handsome men with
muscular limbs and could derive the utmost pleasure from
witnessing how a strong powerful fellow magna mentula
prffiditus me prrosente puellam futuat ; mihi persuasum
est, fore ut hoc adspectu sensus mei vehementissima per-
turbatione afficiantur et dum futuit corpus adolescentis
pulchri tangam et, si liceat, ascendam in eum dum cum
puella concumbit atque idem cum eo faciam et membrum
meum in ejus anum immittam. The only thing that has
prevented me from carrying out this idea, which fills my
thoughts frequently, is the want of means.
" Most of all I am enchanted by soldiers, but I have
also a great weakness for butchers, cabdrivers, carmen,
circus riders and ship's captains, but they must be of
elastic and muscular build. I hate intimacy with urnings,
in fact for them I have a great aversion which I can
neither explain nor justify. With the exception of one
I have never had intimate relations with such. But I
have cordial relations of many years' standing with several
urnings whose company I enjoy, but sexual intercourse
has never taken place between us, in fact they are in no
wise aware of my anomaly.
" I detest conversing about politics, state-economy, or
any other serious topic, but I love to chat with fair
knowledge and especial preference about the theatre. At
the opera I live, so to speak, upon the stage and feel as
though the audience were applauding me. There is
nothing I should like better than to play the role of the
heroine or some other important female character.
" The most interesting and all-absorbing topic of con-
versation with my companions is for ever ' our men ' ;
this theme is inexhaustible ; their most secret charms are
380 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
described to the minutest details, mentulae sestimantur
quanta sint magnitudine, quanta crassitudine ; de forma
eorum atque rigiditate conferimus, alter ab altero cog-
noscit cujus semen celerius, cujus tardius ejaculetur. I
may mention here that one of my four brothers allowed
himself to be used for homo-sexual purposes without
being an urning himself. All four of them are passionate
devotees of the gentle sex and are for ever given to
sexual excess. The genitals of the male members of our
family are all abnormally well developed.
" I again repeat the words with which I started these
lines. I could not choose my expressions as my intention
was to place in your hands certain material for the study
of an urning's life, and absolute truth is in this regard
imperative. Kindly ascribe to this effort the many cyni-
cisms I have uttered."
In the month of October, 1890, the writer of this epistle
came to me personally. His appearance tallied with the
description given by himself. Genitals very large with
alfundant growth of hair. He claims that his parents had
sound nerves, but a brother had committed suicide by
shooting himself on account of some nervous disorder ; the
other three, he says, are highly neurasthenic. This man
was in a most despondent frame of mind. He could
suffer such a life no longer, for he was entirely reduced to
the intercourse with mercenary men, could not practise
abstinence on account of his extreme sensuality. Neither
could he perceive how he could be made hetero-sexual and
capable of enjoying the nobler pleasure of man, as for
thirteen years his instinct had been homo-sexual. He
feels as a woman does, and, like her, seeks conquests
among men who are not urnings. When he converses
with an urning it is the same as if two women were to-
gether. He should prefer to be sexless. Would castration
liberate him ?
Attempts at hypnotism had but weak effects on this
so highly excitable patient.
EFFEMINATION. 381
Case 123. B., writer, forty-two years of age, un-
married, was sent to me by his own physician (with whom
he had fallen in love), as a case of sexual inversion. B. gave
readily in modest language an account of his vita anteacta
and especially sexualis. He seemed pleased to obtain at
last an authentic explanation of his abnormal state which
he had always considered a disease.
B. possesses no knowledge of his grandparents. The
father was of an irascible, excitable nature, a drinker,
and of strong sexual wants. After begetting twenty-four
children with the same woman, he obtained a divorce, and
after that had three children by his housekeeper. The
mother was a healthy woman. Of the twenty-four chil-
dren only six are now among the living, several of whom
suffer from nervous affections, but are sexually normal,
except one sister who for ever runs after the men.
B. claims to have always been delicate and sickly.
His vita sexualis awoke at the age of eight. He began
to masturbate and derived much pleasure from pencm
aliorum pueromm in os arrigere. At the age of twelve he
began to fall in love with men, preferring those in the
thirties and with moustache. His sexual needs at that
period were extraordinary and erections and pollutions
were frequent. He masturbated daily, thinking of some
man whom he loved. His ambition was always penem
viri in os arrigere, which thought caused ejaculation
accompanied by the utmost lust. But only twelve times
thus far had he been successful in this. He never felt
nausea at the penis of others if they were sympathetic ;
on the contrary. Active as well as passive pederasty
disgusted him thoroughly and he never accepted such
offers. During the perverse act he played the role of
woman. His love for sympathetic men is boundless. He
could do anything for the man whom he thus loved, and
when beholding him he trembled with excitement and
lustful feelings.
When nineteen he was several times lured by his
382 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
companions to a brothel, but coitus did not please him and
only at the moment of ejaculation did he experience a sort
of gratification. He could only be virile with woman
when he thought of her during the act as the man whom
he loved. He much rather would have preferred the
woman to allow him immissio 2icnis in os ; but she refused.
Faute de mieux he indulged in coitus ; twice even he was
a father. The younger of the two children, now a girl of
eight, has already begun masturbation and mutual onan-
ism, which fact troubled him very much. Was there no
remedy for this ?
Patient says that towards men he always feels himself
to be of feminine type (this also during sexual intercourse).
His idea is that this sexual perversion originated from the
fact that his father when begetting him wished to beget a
girl. The other children of the family always teased him
on account of his girlish ways and manners. To sweep
the rooms and wash the dishes were ever pleasant oc-
cupations for him. His housework was always much
admired and praised because he was cleverer than the
girls. Whenever he could he would don girl's attire. At
the Mardi-gras balls he always wore the female mask. He
made a capital coquette on account of his female nature.
Drinking, smoking, manly sports and occupations
never suited him, but he was passionately fond of sewing
and was often upbraided on account of his weakness for
dolls when a boy. When at the circus or the theatre his
attention was only drawn to the male performers. He
had an irresistible desire to loiter about W. C's. in order
to get a look at the men's genitals.
Female charms never attracted him. Coitus was only
possible when aided by the thought of a beloved man.
Nocturnal pollutions were always produced by lascivious
dreams about men.
Despite numerous sexual excesses B. has never
suffered from neurasthenia sexualis ; neither are there
symptoms of neurastlunia of any kind.
EFFEMINATION. 383
Features delicate ; sparse side whiskers and moustacbe,
which began to grow only when he was twenty-eight.
His external appearance, excepting a light, swinging
gait, does not indicate female nature. He observes that
he is often teased on account of his womanish carriage.
His manners are highly modest. Genitals large, well
developed, quite normal, with abundance of hair ; pelvis
masculine. Cranium rachitic, shghtly hydrocephalic ;
parietal bones rather bulging. Countenance exceptionally
small. Patient says he is easily provoked to wrath.
Case 124. Taylor had occasion to examine a certain
■Ehza Edwards, aged twenty-four. It was discovered that
she was of masculine sex. E. had worn female clothing
from her fourteenth year, and had also been an actress.
The hair was worn long, after the manner of females, and
parted in the middle. The form of the face was feminine,
but otherwise the body was masculine. The beard was
carefully pulled out. The masculine, well - developed
genitals were fixed in an upward position by an artful
bandage. The condition of the anus indicated passive
pederasty {Taylor, " Med. Jurisp.," 1873, ii., p. 286, 473).
Case 125. An official of middle age, who for some
years had been happy in family life, and was married to a
virtuous woman, presented a pecuhar manifestation of
antipathic sexual feeling.
One day, through the indiscretion of a prostitute, the
following scandal became public : About once a week X.
would appear in a house of prostitution, and there dress
himself up as a woman, always requiring, as a part of his
costume, a coiffure. When his toilet was completed, he
would lie down on the bed, and have the prostitute perform
manustupration. But he very much preferred to have a
male person (a servant of the house). This man's father
was hereditarily tainted, had been insane several times,
and was afflicted with hypcroesthesia and parcesthesia sexualis.
384 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
4. Androgyny.
Forming direct transitions from the foregoing groups
are those individuals of antipathic sexuahty in whom not
only the character and all the feelings are in accord with
the abnormal sexual instinct, but also the frame, the
features, voice, etc. ; so that the individual approaches
the opposite sex anthropologically, and in more than a
psychical and psycho-sexual way. This anthropological
form of the cerebral anomaly apparently represents a very
high degree of degeneration ; but that this variation is
based on an entirely different ground than the teratological
manifestation of hermaphrodism, in an anatomical sense,
is clearly shown by the fact that thus far, in the domain
of inverted sexuality, no transitions to hermaphroditic
malformation of the genitals have been observed. The
genitals of these persons always prove to be fully differen-
tiated sexually, though not infrequently there are present
anatomical signs of degeneration (epispadiasis, etc), in
the sense of arrests of development in organs that are
otherwise well marked.
There is yet wanting a sufficient record of cases
belonging to this interesting group of women in masculine
attire with masculine genitals. Every experienced observer
of his fellow-men remembers masculine persons that were
very remarkable for their womanish character and type
(wide hips, form rounded by abundant development of
adipose tissue, absence or insufficient development of
beard, feminine features, deHcate complexion, falsetto
voice, etc).
In persons belonging to the fourth group, and in
certain ones in the third, forming transitions to the fourth,
there seems to be a feeling of shame (sexual) toward
persons of the same sex, and not toward those of the
opposite sex.
Case 1 26. Androgyny. Mr. v. H., aged thirty, single ;
ANDROGYNY. 385
of neuropathic mother. Nervous and mental diseases are
said not to have occurred in the patient's family, and his
only brother is said to be mentally and physically com-
pletely normal. The patient developed tardily physically,
and, therefore, spent much of his time at the sea-shore
and climatic resorts. From childhood he was of neuro-
pathic constitution, and, according to the statements of
his relatives, unlike other boys. His disinclination for
masculine pursuits and his preference for feminine
amusements were early remarked. Thus he avoided all
boyish games and gymnastic exercises, while doll-play
and feminine occupations were particularly pleasing to
him. Subsequently he developed well physically, and
escaped severe illnesses, but he remained mentally
abnormal, incapable of an earnest aim in life, and
decidedly feminine in thought and feeling.
In his seventeenth year pollutions occurred, became
more frequent, and finally took place during the day ; so
that the patient grew weak, and manifested various ner-
vous disturbances. Symptoms of neurasthenia spinalis
made their appearance, and have lasted up to the last few
years, but they have become milder with the decrease in
the number of pollutions. Onanism is denied, but is
very probable. An indolent, effeminate, dreamy habit of
thought has become more and more noticeable ever since
puberty. All efforts to induce the patient to take up an
earnest pursuit in life were vain. His intellectual
functions, though formally quite undisturbed, were never
equal to the motive of an independent character, and the
higher ideals of life. He remained dependent, an over-
grown child ; and nothing more clearly indicated his
original abnormal condition than an actual incapability
to take care of money, and his own confession that he
had no ability to use money reasonably ; that as soon as
he had money he wasted it for curios, toilet-articles, and
the like.
Incapable as he was of a reasonable use of money, the
25
386 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
patient was no more capable of leading a social existence,
indeed, he was incapable of gaining an insight into its
significance and value.
He learned very poorly, spending his time in toilettes
and artistic nothings, particularly in painting, for which
he evinced a certain capability ; but in this direction he
accomplished nothing, since he was wanting in persever-
ance. He could not be brought to take up any earnest
thought ; he had a mind only for externals, was always
distracted, and serious things quickly wearied him. Pre-
posterous acts, senseless journeys, waste of money and
debts repeatedly occur throughout the course of his later
life ; and even for these positive faults in his life he was
wanting in understanding. He was self-willed and in-
tractable, and never did well as soon as an attempt was
made to put him on his feet and point out to him his
own interests.
With these manifestations of an original abnormal and
defective mind, there were notable indications of perverse
sexual feeling, which were also indicated in the somatic
habitus of the patient. Sexually, the patient felt like a
woman toward men, and had inclinations toward people
of his own sex, with indifference, if not actual disinclin-
ation, for females.
In his twenty-second year it is asserted that he had
sexual intercourse with women, and was able to perform
the act of coitus normally ; but, partly on account of
increase of neurasthenic symptoms which was occa-
sional after coitus, and partly on account of fear of
infection — but really by reason of a want of satisfaction —
he soon ceased to indulge in such intercourse. Concerning
his abnormal sexual condition, he is not quite clear ; he
is conscious of an inclination toward the male sex, but
confesses, only in a shame-faced way, that he has certain
pleasurable feehngs of friendship for mascuhne individuals,
which, however, are not accompanied by any sensual
feelings. The female sex he does not exactly abhor ; he
ANDROGYNY. 387
could even bring himself to marry a woman who could
have an attraction for him, by means of similarity in
artistic tastes, if he could but be freed from conjugal
duties, which were unpleasant to him, and the performance
of which made him tired and weak. He denied having
had sexual intercourse with men, but his blushing and
embarrassment, and, still more, an occurrence in N., where
the patient some time before provoked a scandal by
attempting to have sexual intercourse with youths, gave
him the lie.
His external appearance also, habitus, form, gestures,
manners and dress are remarkable, and decidedly recall
the feminine form and characteristics. The patient,
however, is over middle height, but thorax and pelvis are
decidedly of feminine form. The body is rich in fat ; the skin
is well groomed, delicate and soft. This impression of
a woman in masculine dress is further increased by a
thin growth of hair on the face, which is shaven, with the
exception of a small moustache ; by the mincing gait ;
the shy, effeminate manner ; the feminine features ; the
swimming, neuropathic expression of the eyes ; the traces
of powder and paint ; the curtailed cut of the clothing,
with the bosom-like prominence of the upper garments ;
the fringed, feminine cravat ; and the hair brushed down
smoothly from the brow to the temples. The physical
examination makes undoubted the feminine form of the
body. The external genitals are well developed, though
the left testicle has remained in the canal ; the growth of
hair on the mons veneris is thin, and the latter is unusually rich
in fat and prominent. The voice is high, and without masculine
timbre.
The occupation and manner of thought of v. H. are
decidedly feminine. He has a boudoir and a well-supplied
toilet-table, at which he spends many hours in all kinds
of arts for beautifying himself. He abhors the chase,
practice with arms, and such masculine pursuits, and
calls himself an cesthete ; speaks with preference of his
388 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
paintings and attempts at poetry. He is interested
in feminine occupations, in which — e.g., embroidery —
he engages, and calls his greatest pleasure. He could
spend his life in an artistic and aesthetic circle of ladies
and gentlemen, in conversation, music and aesthetics.
His conversation is preferably about feminine things, —
fashions, needlework, cooking and household work.
The patient is well nourished, but anaemic. He is
of neuropathic constitution, and presents symptoms of
neurasthenia, which are maintained by a bad manner of
of life, lying abed, living in-doors, and effeminateness.
He complains of occasional pain and pressure in the
head, and has habitual constipation. He is easily frightened ;
complains of occasional lassitude and fatigue, and drawing
pains in the extremities, in the direction of the lumbo-
abdominal nerves. After pollutions, and regularly after
eating, he feels tired and relaxed ; he is sensitive to
pressure over the spinous processes of the dorsal vertebrae,
as also to pressure along accessible nerves. He feels pecuhar
sympathies and antipathies towards certain persons, and,
when he meets people for whom he has an antipathy,
he falls into a condition of peculiar fear and confusion.
His pollutions, though now they occur but seldom, are
pathological, in that they occur by day, and are unaccom-
panied by any sensual excitement.
Opinion.
1. Mr. V. H., according to all observations and reports,
is mentally an abnormal and defective person, and that,
in fact, ah origine. His antipathic sexual instinct repre-
sents a part of his abnormal physical and mental condition.
2. This condition, in that it is congenital, is incurable.
There exists defective organisation of the highest cerebral
centres, which renders him incapable of leading an in-
dependent life, and of obtaining a position in life. His
perverse sexual instinct prevents him from exercising
ANDROGYNY. 389
normal sexual functions ; and this is attended by all the
social consequences of such an anomaly, and the danger
of satisfaction of perverse impulses arising out of his
abnormal organisation, with consequent social and legal
conflicts. Fear of the latter, however, cannot be great,
since the (perverse) sexual impulse of the patient is
weak.
3. Mr. V. H., in the legal sense of the word, is not
irresponsible, and neither fit for, or in need of, treatment
in a hospital for the insane.
It is possible for him — though but an overgrown
child, and incapable of personal independence — to live in
society, even under the care and guidance of normal
individuals. To a certain extent, it is possible for him to
respect the laws and restrictions of society, and to judge
his own acts ; but, with respect to possible sexual errors
and conflicts with criminal laws, it must be emphasised
that his sexual instinct is abnormal, having its origin
in organic pathological conditions ; and this circumstance
should eventually be used in his favour. On account of
his notorious lack of independence, he cannot be dis-
charged from parental care or guardianship, inasmuch
as otherwise he would be ruined financially.
4. Mr. V. H. is also physically ill. He presents signs
of slight anaemia and of neurasthenia spinalis.
A rational regulation of his manner of life and a tonic
regimen, and, if possible, hydro-therapeutic treatment,
seem necessary. The suspicion that this trouble has its
origin in early masturbation should be entertained, and
the possibility of the existence of spermatorrhoea, that is
of importance etiologically and therapeutically, is probable.
(Personal case. Zeitschr. /. Psychiatrie.)
^90 psychopathia sexualis.
Sexual Inveksion in Woman.^
Science in its present stage has but few data to fall
back on, so far as the occurrence ^ of homosexual instinct
in woman is concerned as compared with man.
It would not be fair to draw from this the conclusion
that sexual inversion in woman is rare, for if this anomaly
is really a manifestation of functional degeneration, then
degenerative influences will prevail ahke in the female
as well as in the male.
The causes of apparent infrequency in woman may be
found in the following facts: (1) It is more difficult to
gain the confidence of the sexually perverse woman ; (2)
this anomaly, in so far as it leads to sexual intercourse,
inter feminas, does not fall (in Germany at any rate) under
the criminal code, and therefore remains hidden from
public knowledge ; (3) sexual inversion does not affect
woman in the same manner as it does man, for it does
not render woman impotent ; (4) because woman (whether
sexually inverted or not) is by nature not as sensual and
certainly not as aggressive in the pursuit of sexual needs
as man, for which reason the inverted sexual intercourse
among women is less noticeable, and by outsiders is
considered mere friendship. Indeed, there are cases on
record (psychical hermaphrodism, even homosexuality)
in which the causes of frigiditas uxoris remain unknown
even to the husband.
1 Literature : Havelock Ellis, " Alienist and Neurologist," April, 1895 ;
Moll, " Contriire Sexualempfindung," second edition, p. 322.
2 Observations : (1) Wcstphal, " Arch. f. Psych.," ii., p. 73 ; (2) Gock, op.
cit, No 1. ; (3) Wise, " The Alienist and Neurologist," January, 1883; (4)
Cantarano, " La Psichiatria, 1883," p. 201 ; (5) Serieux, op. cit., obs. 14 ;
(6) Kiernan, op. cit. ; (7) Milller, Friedreich's " Bliiicer f. ger. Med.," 18al,
Heft 4. ; (8-13) Moll, " Contrare Sexualempfindung, 2 Aufl. Beob., 18, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23 ; (14) Meijhofer, " Zeitsch. f. Medicinalbeamte," v., 16 ; (15-
16) Zuccarelli, " Inversione congenita in due donne," Napoli, 1888 ; (17-
27) Moll, " Untersuchungen iiber Libido sexualis," FaUe 10-12, 40-44, 47,
56, 57; (28-29) Havelock Ellis, op. cit.; (30) Penta e Ursa, " Archiv. delle
psichopatie sexuali," p. 33 ; (31) Penta, ibid., p. 94.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 391
Certain passages in the Bible/ the history of Greece
("Sapphic Love")» the moral history of ancient Eome
and of the Middle Ages,''' offer proofs that congressus
intersexualis feminarum took place at all times, the same
as it is practised now-a-days in the harem, in female
prisons, brothels and young ladies' seminaries {vide infra,
amor lesbicus).
Still it must be admitted that many of these cases
are to be reduced to causes of perversity and not per-
version.^ So far as the clinical aspect is concerned I may
be brief, for this anomaly shows the same qualifications alike
in man and woman, mutatis mtitaiidis, and runs through
the same grades. Psychico-hermaphrodisic and many homo-
sexual women do not betray their anomaly by external
appearances nor by mental (masculine) sexual characteris-
tics. Remarkable, however, it is that Dr. Flatau {Moll,
op. cit., p. 334) in examining the larynx of twenty-three
homosexual women found in several of them a decidedly
masculine formation.
In the transition to the subsequent grade, i.e., that of
viraginity (analogous to ejfemhiatio in the male) strong
preference for male garments will be found. In dreams,
but also in the ideal or real homosexual function,
the individual in question plays an indifferent sexual
role.
1 Paul, Epist. ad Rom. ^ Floss, op. cit.
3 It is a remarkable fact that in fiction, lesbic love is frequently used
as the leading theme, viz., Diderot, '• La Beligieuse " ; Balzac, " La fille
aux yeux d'or"; Th. Gautier, "Mademoiselle de Maupin " ; Feydeau,
" La Comtesse de chalis " ; Flaubert, " SalammbO " ; Belot, " Mademoiselle
Giraud, ma femme," etc.
The heroines of these (lesbic) novelles appear to the beloved persons
of the same sex in the character and the rSle of a man ; their love is most
intense.
The oldest case of sexual inversion recorded thus far in Germany ia
one of viraginity dating as far back as the beginning of the eighteenth
century. It is that of a woman vyho was married to another woman
cohabiting with the consort by means of a leathern priapus. Vide Dr.
Mullej- in Friedreich's " Blatter f. ger. Med." 1891, Heft 4.
392 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Where viraginity is fully developed, the woman so
acting assumes definitely the masculine role.
In this grade modesty finds expression only towards
the same but not the opposite sex.
In such cases the sexual anomaly often manifests itself
by strongly marked characteristics of male sexuality.
The female urning may chiefly be found in the haunts
of boys. She is the rival in their play, preferring the
rocking-horse, playing at soldiers, etc., to dolls and other
girlish occupations. The toilet is neglected, and rough
boyish manners are affected. Love for art finds a sub-
stitute in the pursuit of the sciences. At times smoking
and drinking are cultivated even with passion.
Perfumes and sweetmeats are disdained. The con-
sciousness of being a woman and thus to be deprived of
the gay college life, or to be barred out from the military
career, produces painful reflections.
The masculine soul, heaving in the female bosom,
finds pleasure in the pursuit of manly sports, and in
manifestations of courage and bravado. There is a strong
desire to imitate the male fashion in dressing the hair
and in general attire, under favourable circumstances even
to don male attire and impose in it. Arrests of women
in men's clothing are by no means of rare occurrence.
A case of a woman who for years successfully posed as
a man (hunter, soldier, etc.,) is related by Mailer in
Friedreich's "Blattern"; another by Wise {op. cit.) and
others.
The ideals of such viragines are certain female characters
who in the past or the present have excelled by virtue of
genius and brave and noble deeds.
Gynandry represents the extreme grade of degenerative
homosexuahty. The woman of this type possesses of the
feminine quahties only the genital organs ; thought, senti-
ment, action, even external appearance are those of the
man.
Often enough does one come across in life such
SEXUAL INVEESION IN WOMAN. 393
characters, whose frame, pelvis, gait, appearance, coarse
masculine features, rough deep voice, etc., betray rather
the man than the woman Moll (op. cit. p. 331) has given
many interesting items about the mode of life led by these
men-women, and about the way in which they satisfy
their sexual needs.
Mutatis mutandis, the situation is the same as with the
man-loving man. These creatures seek, find, recognise,
love one another, often hve together as "father" and
"mother" in pseudo marriage. Suspicion may always
be turned towards homosexuality when one reads in the
advertisement columns of the daily papers : " Wanted, by
a lady, a lady friend and companion ".
Numerous psychical hermaphrodites of the female
gender, and even homosexualists, enter upon matrimony
with men partly on account of being ignorant of their
own anomaly, and partly because they wish to be pro-
vided for. Some of these marriages linger on in a way,
the husband, perhaps, being psychically sympathetic, thus
rendering the marital act possible to the unhappy wife.
But in most cases, when one or two children have been
born, she seeks under all kinds of pretexts to avoid the
connubial duty.
More frequently, however, incompatibihty wrecks these
unions. Homosexual intercourse continues after marriage
just the same as with the homosexual man.
When viraginity prevails marriage is impossible, for
the very thought of coitus cum viro arouses disgust and
horror.
The intersexual gratification among these women
seems to be reduced to kissing and embraces, which
seems to satisfy those of weak sexual instinct, but pro-
duces in sexually neurasthenic females ejaculation.
Automasturbation, faute de miciix, seems to occur in all
grades of the anomaly the same as in men.
Strongly sensual individuals may resort to cunnilingas
or mutual masturbation.
394 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
In grades 3 and 4 the desire to adopt the active role
towards the beloved person of the same sex seems to
invite the use of the priapus.
Case 1 27. Psychical hermaphrodism. Mrs. X., twenty-
six years of age, suffers from neurasthenia. She is heredi-
tarily tainted, suffers periodically from delusions. She
has been married seven years, has two healthy children, a
boy of six and a girl four years old. Success in gaining
the confidence of the patient. . She confesses that she
always inclined more to persons of her own sex, and that,
although she esteems and Hkes her husband, sexual inter-
course disgusts her. Since the birth of the younger of the
two children she has prevailed upon him to give it up
altogether. When at the seminary she interested herself
in other young ladies in a manner which she can only
describe as love. At times, however, she also found her-
self drawn to certain gentlemen, and especially of late
her virtue had been sorely tried by an admirer to whose
advances she was afraid she might succumb, for which
reason she avoided being alone with him. But such
episodes were only of a quite transient character as com-
pared with her passionate liking for persons of her own
sex. Her whole desire was to be kissed and embraced by
them and have the most intimate intercourse with them.
She suffered much from nervousness because she could
not always reahse these desires. The patient is not
aware of this inclination to persons of the same sex being
of a sexual character, for beyond kissing, embracing, or
fondhng them she would not know what to do with them.
Patient thinks herself to be of a sensual nature. It is
likely that she is addicted to masturbation.
She considers her sexual perversion as "unnatural,
morbid ".
There is nothing in the behaviour or the manners or
the external appearance of this lady which in the least
betrays her anomaly.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 395
Case 128. Psychical hermaphrodism. Mrs. M., forty-
four years of age, claims to be an instance illustrating the
fact that in one and the same human being, be it man or
woman, the inverted as well as the normal direction of
sexual life may be combined. The father of this lady was
very musical, generally possessed considerable talents for
art, was a great admirer of the gentle sex, and himself of
exceptional beauty. He died, after repeated apoplectic
attacks, with dementia in an asylum. His brother was
neuropsychopathic, as a child was afflicted with somnam-
bulism, and later on with hypercesthesia sexualis. Although
married and father of several married sons, he fell despe-
rately in love with Mrs. M., then eighteen years of age,
and attempted to abduct her.
Her grandfather (on the paternal side) was very eccen-
tric and a well-known artist, who had originally studied
theology, but for love of the dramatic art became a mimic
and singer. He was given to excess in Baccho et Venere,
extravagant and fond of splendour, and died at the age of
forty-nine from apoplexia cerebri. Her mother's father and
her mother both died of pulmonary phthisis.
She had eleven brothers and sisters, of whom only six
are alive now. Two brothers died at the age of sixteen
and twenty of tuberculosis. One brother is suffering from
laryngeal phthisis. Four living sisters the same as Mrs.
M. are physically like unto the father, very nervous and
shy. Two younger sisters are married and in good health,
and both have healthy children. Another one, a maiden,
is suffering from nervous affection.
Mrs. M. is the mother of four children, several of
whom are rather delicate and neuropathic.
There is nothing of importance in the history of the
patient's childhood. She learned easily, had gifts for
poetry and aesthetics, was somewhat affected, loved to
read novels and sentimental literature, was of neuropathic
constitution and very sensitive to changes of temperature,
the slightest draught would make her flesh creep. It is
396 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
noteworthy, however, that one day when ten years of age
she fancied her mother did not love her. Thereupon she
put a lot of sulphur matches in her coffee and drank it to
make herself ill, in order to draw her mother's love to
herself.
Puberty began without difficulty at the age of eleven,
with subsequent regular menses. Even previous to that
period sexual life had awakened, which ever since was
very potent. The first sentiments and emotions lay in
the homosexual direction. She conceived a passionate,
though platonic, affection for a young lady, wrote love-
songs and sonnets to her, and never was happier than
when, upon one occasion, she could admire the " charms
of her beloved" in the bath, or when she could gaze
upon the neck, shoulders and breasts of this lady whilst
dressing. She could resist only with difficulty the desire
to touch these physical charms. When a girl she was
deeply in love with Raphael's and Guido Eeni's Madonnas.
She was irresistibly impelled to follow pretty girls and
ladies by the hour, no matter how inclement the weather
might be, admiring their air of refinement and watching
for a chance of showing them a favour, giving them
flowers, etc. The patient asserts that up to her nineteenth
year she had not the slightest knowledge of the difference
of sexes, since she had been brought up by a prudish old
maiden aunt like a nun in a cloister. In consequence of
this crass ignorance she fell a victim to a man who loved
her passionately and insidiously betrayed her virtue. She
became the wife of this man, gave birth to a child,
and led an "eccentrically" sexual hfe with him, but felt
satisfied with the sexual intercourse. A few years later
she became a widow. Since then her affections again
turned to persons of her own sex, the principal reason for
which was, the patient thinks, the fear of the results of
sexual intercourse with man.
At the age of twenty-seven she entered upon a second
marriage with a man of infirm constitution. It was not
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 397
a love match. Thrice she became a mother, and fulfilled
all the conditions of maternity ; but her health ran down,
and during the latter years her dislike for coitus ever
increased, chiefly on account of her husband's infirmity,
although her desire for sexual gratification remained
strong.
Three years after her second husband's death, she
discovered that her daughter by the first husband, now
nine years of age, was given to masturbation and going
into decline. She read an article about this vice in the
EncydopcBdia, and now could not resist the temptation to
try it herself, and thus became an onanist. She hesitates
to give a full account of this period of her life. She
states, however, that she became sexually so excited that
she had to send her two daughters away from home in
order to preserve them from something " terrible ". The
two boys could remain at home.
Patient became neurasthenic ex masttirbatione (spinal
irritation, pressure in the head, languor, mental constipa-
tion, etc.) at times even dysthymic, with worrying tadium
vita.
Her sexual inclinations turned now to woman, now
to marl. But she controlled herself, suffered much from
her abstinence, especially since she resorted to mastur-
bation on account of her neurasthenic afflictions only
at the last instance. At present the patient — now forty-
four years of age, but still having regular periods —suffers
from a violent passion for a young man with wliom, on
account of her avocation, she is bound to be in constant
contact.
The patient does not offer anything extraordinary in
her external appearance, though graceful of Iniild, she is
slight of form. Pelvis decidedly feminine, but arms and
legs large, and of pronounced mascuHne type. Female
boots do not reall}' fit her, and she has quite crippled
and malformed her feet by forcing them into narrow
shoes. Genitals quite normal. Excepting a descensus uteri
398 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
with hypertrophy of the vaginal portion, no changes are
noticeable. She still claims to be essentially homosexual,
and declares that her inclination and desire for the
opposite sex are only periodical and grossly sensual.
Although she has strong sexual feelings towards the man
aforementioned, yet her greatest and noblest pleasure
she finds in pressing a kiss upon the soft cheek of a
sweet girl. This pleasure she enjoys often, for she is
the " favourite aunt " among these " dear creatures," to
whom she renders the services of the " cavalier " un-
stintingly, always feeling herself in the role of the man.
Case 129. Homosexuality. Miss L., fifty-five years
of age. No information about her father's family. The
parents of her mother are described as irascible, capricious
and nervous. One brother of her mother is an epileptic,
another eccentric and mentally abnormal.
Mother was sexually hypersesthetic, and for a long
time a messalina. She was considered to be psychopathic
and died at the age of sixty-nine of cerebral disease.
Miss L. developed normally, had only slight illnesses
in childhood, and was mentally well endowed, but of a
neuropathic constitution, emotional, and troubled with
numerous fads.
At the age of thirteen, two years previous to her first
menstruation, she fell in love with a girl-friend (" a
dreamy feeling, quite pure of sensuality ").
Her second love was for a girl older than herself who
was a bride ; this was accompanied by tantalising sensual
desires, jealousy, and an "undefined consciousness of
mystical impropriety ". She was refused by this lady
and now fell in love with a married woman, who was
a mother and twenty years lier senior. As she controlled
her sensual emotions, this lady never even divined the
true reason of this enthusiastic friendship which lasted
for twelve years. Patient describes this period as a
veritable martyrdom.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 399
Since she was twenty-five she had begun to mastur-
bate. Patient seriously thought that, perhaps, by marriage
she might save herself, but her conscience objected, for
her children might inherit her weakness, or she might
make a sincere husband unhappy.
At the age of twenty-seven she was approached with
direct proposals by a girl who denounced abstinence as
absurd, and plainly described the homosexual instinct
which ruled her and was very impetuous in her demands.
She suffered the caresses of the girl, but would not con-
sent to sexual intercourse, as sensuality without love
disgusted her.
Mentally and bodily dissatisfied the years fled by,
leaving the consciousness of a spoiled life. Now and then
she became enthusiastic about ladies of her acquamtance,
but controlled herself. She also rid herself from mastur-
bation.
When she was thirty-eight years of age she became
acquainted with a girl nineteen years her junior, of ex-
ceptional beauty, who came from a demoralised family,
and had been at an early age seduced by her cousins to
mutual masturbation. It cannot be ascertained whether
this girl A. was a case of psychical hermaphrodism or of
acquired sexual inversion. The former hypothesis seems
the likelier of the two.
The following is taken from an autobiography of Miss
L. :—
" Miss A., my pupil, began to show me her idolatrous
love. She was sympathetic to the highest degree. Since
I knew that she was entangled in a hopeless love afi"air
with a dissolute fellow and continued intimate intercourse
with demoralised female cousins, I decided not to repulse
her. Compassion and the conviction that she was surely
drifting into moral decay determined me to suffer her
advances.
" I did not consider her affection as dangerous, as I did
not think it possible that (considering her love affair) in
400 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ONE soul two passions (one for a man and another for a
woman) could exist simultaneously. Moreover, I was
certain of my power of resistance. I kept, therefore, Miss
A. about me, renewed my moral resolutions, and con-
sidered it to be my duty to use her love for me for
ennobling her character. The folly of this I soon found
out. One day whilst I lay asleep Miss A. took occasion
to satisfy her lust on me. Although I woke up just in
time, I did not have the moral strength to resist her.
I was highly excited, intoxicated as it were — and she
prevailed.
" What I suffered immediately after this occurrence
beggars description. Worry over the broken resolutions,
which to keep I had made such strenuous efforts, fear of
detection and subsequent contempt, exuberant joy at last
to be rid of the torturing watchings and longings of the
single state, unspeakable sensual pleasure, wrath against
the evil companion, mingled with feelings of the deepest
tenderness towards her. Miss A. calmly smiled at my
excitement, and with caresses soothed my anger.
" I accepted the situation. Our intimacy lasted for
years. We practised mutual masturbation, but never to
excess or in a cynical fashion.
"Little by little this sensual companionship ceased.
Miss A.'s tenderness weakened ; mine, however, remained
as before, although I felt no longer the same sensual
cravings. Miss A. thought of marriage, partly in order to
find a home, but especially because her sensual desires had
turned into the normal paths. She succeeded in finding
a husband. I sincerely hope she will make him happy,
but I doubt it. Thus I have the prospect before me to
linger on the same joyless, peaceless life as it ever was in
youthful days.
" It is with sadness that I remember the years of our
loving union. It does not disturb my conscience to have
had sexual intercourse with Miss A., for I succumbed to
her seduction, having honestly endeavoured to save her
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 401
from moral ruin and to bring her up an educated and
moral being. In this I honestly think I have succeeded
after all. Besides, I rest in the thought that the moral
code is established only for normal humans, but is not
binding for anomalies. Of course, the human being who
is endowed by nature with sentiments of refinement, but
whose constitution is abnormal and outside the conven-
tionalities of society, can never be truly happy. But I
experienced a sad tranquillity and felt happy when I
thought Miss A. to be so too.
" This is the history of an unhappy woman who, by
the fatal caprice of nature, is deprived of all joy of hfe
and made a victim of sorrow."
The author of this woeful story is a lady of great refine-
ment. But she has coarse features, a powerful but through-
out feminine frame. A few years ago she passed through
the climacterium without trouble, and since then has been
entirely free from sensual worry. Sexually she has never
played a defined role towards the woman she loved ; for
men she never felt the shghtest inclination.
Her statements about the family relations and the
health of her paramour, Miss A., estabhsh a heavy taint
beyond doubt. The father died in an insane asylum, the
mother was deranged during the period of her climac-
terium, neuroses were of frequent occurrence in the
family, and Miss A. herself suffered at times heavily from
hysteropathy, with hallucinations and delirium.
Case 130. Homosexuality. S. J., age thirty-eight,
governess. Came to me for medical advice on account
of nervous trouble. Father was periodically insane, and
died from cerebral disease. Patient is an only child.
She suffered early from anxiety and alarming fancies,
e.g., that she would wake up in a coffin after it had been
fastened down ; that she would forget something when
going to confession, and thus receive holy communion
unworthily. Was often troubled with headaches, very
402 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
excitable, easily startled, but notwithstanding had a great
desire to see exciting things such as funerals, etc.
From the earliest youth she was subject to sexual
excitement, and spontaneously practised masturbation.
At the age of fourteen she began to menstruate. Her
periods were often accompanied by colicky pains, intense
sexual excitement, neuralgia and mental depression. With
the age of eighteen she gave up masturbation success-
fully.
The patient never experienced an inclination towards
a person of the opposite sex. Marriage to her only meant
to find a home. But she was mightily drawn to girls.
At first she considered this affection merely as friendship,
but she soon recognised from the intensity of her love
for girl friends and her deep longings for their constant
society that it meant more than mere friendship.
To her it is inconceivable that a girl could love a man,
although she can comprehend the feeling of man toward
woman. She always took the deepest interest in pretty
girls and ladies, the sight of whom caused her intense
excitement. Her desire was ever to embrace and kiss
these dear creatures. She never dreams of men, always
of girls only. To revel in looking at them was the acme
of pleasure. Whenever she lost a " girl friend " she felt
in despair.
Patient claims that she never felt in a defined role,
even in her dreams, towards her girl friends. In appear-
ance she is thoroughly feminine and modest. Feminine
pelvis, large mammae, no indication of beard.
Case 131. Homosexuality. Mrs. E., aged thirty-five,
of high social position, was brought to me in 1886 by her
husband for advice.
Father was a physician ; very neuropathic. Paternal
grandfather was healthy and normal, and reached the age
of ninety-six. Facts concerning paternal grandmother
are wanting. All the children of father's family are said
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 403
to have been- nervous. The patient's mother was
nervous, and suffered with asthma. The mother's
parents were healthy. One of the mother's sisters had
melanchoha.
From her tenth year patient has been subject to
habitual headache. With the exception of measles, she
has had no illness. She was gifted, and enjoyed the
best of training, having especial talent for music and
languages. It became necessary for her to prepare her-
self for the work of a governess, and during her earlier
years she was mentally overworked. She passed through
an attack of melancholia sine delirio, of some months'
duration, at seventeen. The patient asserts that she has
always had sympathy only for her own sex, and found
only an aesthetic interest in men. She never had any
taste for female work. As a Httle girl, she preferred to
play with boys.
She says she remained well until her twenty-seventh
year. Then, without external cause, she became depressed
and considered herself a bad, sinful person, had no plea-
sure in anything, and was sleepless. During this time of
illness she was also troubled with delusions : she must
think of her death and that of her relatives. Kecovery
after about five months. She then became a governess,
was overworked, but remained well, except for occasional
neurasthenic symptoms and spinal irritation.
At twenty-eight she made the acquaintance of a lady
five years younger than herself. She fell in love with
her, and her love was returned. The love was very
sensual, and satisfied by mutual masturbation. " I loved
her as a god ; hers is a noble soul," she said, when she
mentioned this love-bond. It lasted four years and was
ended by the (unfortunate) marriage of her friend.
In 1885, after much emotional strain, the patient
became ill with symptoms of hystero-neurasthenia (dys-
pepsia, spinal irritation, and tonic spasmodic attacks ;
attacks of hemiopia with migraine and trausitory aphasia;
404 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
pruritus pudendi et ani). In February, 1886, these symp-
toms disappeared.
In March she became acquainted with her present
husband, whom she married without taking much time
for reflection ; for he was rich, much in love with her,
and his character was in sympathy with her own.
On 6th April, she read the sentence, " Death misses
no one ". Like a flash of lightning in a clear sky, the
former delusions of death returned. She was forced to
meditate on the most horrible manner of death for
herself and those about her, and constantly imagined
death-scenes. She lost rest and sleep, and took no
pleasure in anything. Her condition improved. Late in
May, 1886, she was married, but was still troubled by
painful thoughts at that time : that she would bring
misfortune on her husband and those about her.
First coitus on 6th June, 1886. She was deeply de-
pressed morally by it. She had had no such conception
of matrimony. The husband, who really loved his wife,
did all he could to quiet her. He consulted physicians,
who thought all would be well after pregnancy. The
husband was unable to explain the peculiar behaviour
of his wife. She was friendly toward him, and suffered
his caresses. In coitus, which was actually carried out,
she was entirely passive, and after the act she was tired,
exhausted all day long, nervous, and troubled with spinal
irritation.
A bridal tour brought about a meeting with her old
friend, who had lived in an unhappy marriage for three
years. The two ladies trembled with joy and excitement
as they sank into each other's arms, and became insepar-
able. The husband saw that this friendly relation was
a peculiar one, and hastened their departure. He had an
opportunity of ascertaining, through the correspondence
of his wife with this friend, that the letters interchanged
were like those of two lovers.
Mrs. R. became pregnant. During pregnancy the
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 405
remains of depression and delusions disappeared. In
September, during about the ninth week of pregnancy,
abortion took place. After that, renewed symptoms of
hystero-neurasthenia. In addition to this, there were
anteflexio et latero-positio dextra uteri, ancsmia, et atonia
ventriculi.
At the consultation the patient gave the impression
of a very neuropathic, tainted person. The neuropathic
expression of the eyes cannot be described. Appearance
entirely feminine With the exception of a very narrow,
arched palate, there was no skeletal abnormahty. With
difficulty the patient could be brought to give the details
of her sexual abnormality. She complained that she had
married without knowing what marriage between men
and women was. She loved her husband dearly for his
mental qualities, but marital intercourse was a pain to
her ; she did it unwillingly, without ever finding any
satisfaction in it. Post actum, all day long she was weary
and exhausted. Since the abortion and the interdiction
of sexual intercourse by the physicians, she had been
better ; but she thought of the future with horror. She
esteemed her husband, and loved him mentally ; but she
would do anything for him, if he would but avoid her
sexually in the future. She hoped to have sexual feeling
for him in time. When he played the violin, she seemed
to feel the beginning of an inclination for him that was
sometbing more than friendship ; but it was only tran-
sitory, and she could get no assurance for the future
in it. Her greatest happiness was in correspondence with
her former lover. She felt that this was wrong, but she
could not give it up ; for to do so made her miserable.
Case 132. Homosexuality. Miss X. belongs to the
middle class in a large city. At the end of my observa-
tions she was twenty-two years of age.
She is considered a beauty ; much admired by men ;
decidedly sensual ; a born Aspasia ; refused all proposals
406 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
of marriage. She reciprocated, however, the advances of
one admirer, a youthful scholar, entertained relations with
him, that is to say, she allowed him to kiss her, but not
as a lover. "When on one occasion Mr. T. thought he had
obtained the aim of his attentions, she begged him under
tears to desist, alleging that her refusal was not based
upon moral principles, but rooted in deeper psychical
reasons. Subsequent epistolary correspondence between
the two disclosed the existence of sexual inversion.
Her father was given to drink, her mother hystero-
pathic. She herself is of neuropathic constitution, has a
large bust and the appearance of an exceptionally hand-
some woman, but is strikingly mannish in her manners,
has masculine tastes, loves gymnastics and horseback
exercise, smokes, and has masculine carriage and gait.
She would like to go on the stage.
Recently she caused much talk on account of her
enthusiastic friendships with young ladies. One young
lady lives with her. They sleep in the same bed.
Up to her puberty Miss X. claims to have been
sexually indifferent.
At the age of seventeen, whilst at a spa, she made the
acquaintance of a young foreigner whose " royal " appear-
ance fascinated her. She was happy when, on a certain
occasion, she could dance with him the whole evening.
The next evening at twiHght she happened to witness the
revolting scene of this charming young man right opposite
from her window in the shrubbery of the gardens futuare
more bestiarum mulierem quondam inter menstruationem.
Aspectu sanguinis currentis et libidinis quasi bestialis viri
Miss X. was horrified, almost annihilated, and felt it
difficult to recover her mental balance. For a long time
she lost her sleep and appetite, and from that time she
has seen in man only the embodiment of coarse vulgarity.
Two years later, in a public park, she was approached
by a young lady who smiled and looked upon her in such
a peculiar fashion that she felt a thrill through her soul.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 407
The day after, Miss X. was irresistibly impelled to go
to the park again. The young lady was already there,
and seemed to be waiting for her. They greeted each
other like old acquaintances ; talked and joked together,
made fresh appointments, and when the weather became
too inclement they met at the boudoir of the young lady.
" One day," Miss X. relates in her confidential revela-
tions, " she led me to her divan, and whilst she was seated
I knelt down at her feet. She fastened her timid eyes
upon me, stroked away the hair from my forehead, and
said, 'Ah ! if I only could love you once really ! May I ?'
I consented, and whilst we thus sat together, gazing into
each other's eyes, we drifted into that current which
allows of no retreat. . . . She was enchantingly beauti-
ful. All I wished was to possess the power of the artist
to immortalise that form upon the canvas. To me it was
a novel experience. I was intoxicated. We abandoned
ourselves to each other without restriction, drunk with
the ravages of sensual feminine pleasure. I do not believe
that man can ever grasp the exuberance of such piquant
tenderness ; man is not sufficiently refined ; he is much
too coarse. . . . Our wild orgy lasted until I sank down
exhausted, powerless, unnerved. I fell asleep on her bed.
Suddenly I awoke with an unspeakable thrill, hitherto
unknown to me, running through my whole being. She
was upon me — cunnilingum perficiens — the highest pleasure
for her, tandem mihi non licebat altrum quam osculos dare
ad mammas, which caused her to quiver convulsively.
" This intercourse lasted for a whole year, when the
removal of her father to another city separated us."
Miss X. admitted that in this homosexual intercourse
she always felt in the role of man towards the woman,
and that on one occasion, faute de mietcx, she granted
cunnilingus to one of her male admirers.
Case 133. Homosexuality. Mrs. C, aged thirty-two
wife of an official, a large, not uncomely woman, feminine
408 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
in appearance, conies of a neuropathic and emotional
mother. A brother was psychopathic, and died of drink.
Patient was always pecuhar, obstinate, silent, quick-
tempered, and eccentric. The brothers and sisters are
excitable people. Pulmonary phthisis has been frequent
in the family. When only a girl of thirteen, with signs
of great sexual excitement, she attracted attention by
enthusiastic love for a female friend of her own age. Her
education was strict, though the patient secretly read
many novels, and wrote innumerable poems. She married
at eighteen to free herself from unpleasant circumstances
at home.
She says she has always been indifferent toward men.
In fact, she avoided balls. Female statues pleased her
Her greatest happiness was to think of marriage with
a beloved woman. She was not aware of her sexual
peculiarity until marriage, and the thing had remained
inexphcable to her. Patient did her marital duty, and
bore three children, two of whom were subject to con-
vulsions. She lived pleasantly with her husband, but she
esteemed him only for his moral qualities. She gladly
avoided coitus. " I should have preferred intercourse
with a woman."
Until 1878 she had been neurasthenic. On the occa-
sion of a sojourn at a watering-place she made the ac-
quaintance of a female urning, whose history I have
reported as case 6, in the " Irrenfreund," No. 1, 1884.
The patient came home a changed person. Her
husband says : " She was no longer a woman, no longer
had any love for me and the children, and would have
no more of marital approaches. She was inflamed with
passionate love for her female friend, and had taste for
nothing else." After the husband forbade her lover the
house, there was interchange of letters with such expres-
sions in them as " My dove ! I hve only for you, my
soul ". There were meetings and frightful excitement
when an expected letter did not come. The relation was
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 409
in nowise platonic. From certain indications it is pre-
sumable that mutual masturbation was the means of
sexual satisfaction. This relation lasted until 1882, and
made the patient decidedly neurasthenic.
She absolutely neglected the house, and her husband
hired a woman of sixty years as a housekeeper, and also
a governess for the children. The patient fell in love
with both, who, at least, allowed caresses, and profited
materially through the love of their mistress.
In the latter part of 1883, on account of developing
pulmonary tuberculosis, she had to go south. There she
became acquainted with a Russian lady of forty years,
and fell passionately in love with her ; but she did not
meet with a return of love in her sense. One day in-
sanity became manifest. She thought the Russian lady
a nihilist ; that she was magnetised by her ; and she
presented formal persecutory delusions. She fled, was
caught in an Italian city, and placed in a hospital, where
she soon became quiet. Again she worried the lady with
her love, felt herself very unhappy, and planned suicide.
"When she returned home, she was greatly depressed
because she did not have the lady, and was harsh toward
her family. A delusive, erotic state of excitement came
on about the end of May, 1884. She danced, shouted,
and called herself a man ; demanded her former lover, and
said she was of royal blood. She escaped from the house
in male attire, and was taken to the asylum in a state
of eroto-maniacal excitement. After a few days the
exaltation disappeared. The patient became quiet, and
made a desperate attempt at suicide ; after it she was
in great anguish of mind with tadium vita;. The perverse
sexual feeling grew less and less noticeable as tuberculosis
progressed. The patient died of phthisis in the beginning
of 1885.
The examination of the brain presented nothing un-
usual as far as architecture and arrangement of convolu-
tions were concerned. Weight of l)rain 1150 grammes.
410 PSYCHOPATHIA" SEXUALIS.
Skull slightly asymmetrical. No anatomical signs of
degeneration. External and internal genitals without
anomaly.
Case 134. Viraginity. Miss N., twenty-five years of
age. Parents supposed to be healthy. Her brothers
and sisters are all neuropathic. Three of her sisters are
married. She is very talented, es[jecially in the fine arts.
Even in her earliest childhood she preferred playing at
soldiers and other boys' games ; she was bold and tom-
boyish, and tried even to excel her little companions of
the other sex. She never had a liking for dolls, needle-
work or domestic duties. Puberty at fifteen. She soon
fell in love with young ladies, but only in a platonic
fashion, for she is a "respectable girl". For several
years since then her libido is very strong. She can
hardly restrain herself. Her dreams are of a lascivious
character, only about females, with herself in the role of
man. She is desperately in love with a woman of forty,
whom she torments with her jealous conduct.
Miss N. is indifferent to men. She could safely live
with a man in the same room, whilst towards persons of
her own sex she is most bashful.
She is quite conscious of her pathological condition.
Masculine features, deep voice, manly gait, without
beard, small mammae ; crops her hair short, and makes
the impression of a man in woman's clothes.
Case 135. Viraginity. C. E., maid-servant, aged
twenty-six, suffered from the time of her development
with original paranoia and hysteria. As a result of her
delusions, her life had been somewhat romantic, and in
1884, in Switzerland, where she had gone on account of
delusions of persecution, she came under the observation
of the authorities. On this occasion it was ascertained
that E. was affected with sexual inversion.
Concerning her parents and relatives, there is no
SEXUAL INVEESION IN WOMAN. 411
information at hand. E,. asserted that, with the excep-
tion of an inflammation of the lungs at the age of sixteen,
she had never been severely ill.
First menstruation at fifteen, without any difficulties ;
thereafter it was very often irregular and abnormally
excessive. The patient declared that she never had had
inclinations toward the opposite sex, and had never allowed
the approach of a man. She never could understand how
her friends could describe the beauty and amiability of
men. But it was charming and inspiring for her to
imprint a kiss on the lips of a beloved female friend-
She had a love for girls that was incomprehensible to her.
She had passionately loved and kissed some of her female
friends, and she would have given up her life for them.
Her greatest delight would have been to have constantly
lived with such a friend and absolutely possessed her.
In this she felt toward the beloved girl like a man.
Even as a little child she had an inclination only for the
play of boys, and she loved to hear shooting and military
music, was always much excited by them, and would
gladly have gone as a soldier. The chase and war have
been her ideals. In the theatre only feminine performers
interested her. She knew very well that the whole of this
inclination was unwomanly, but she could not help it. It
had always been a great pleasure for her to go about in
male clothing, and in the same way she had always pre-
ferred masculine work, and had shown unusual skill in it ;
while with reference to feminine occupations, especially
handiwork, she had to say the contrary. The patient had
also a weakness for smoking and spirits. On account of
persecutory delusions, in order to rid herself of her per-
secutions, the patient had often gone about in male attire
and played the part of a man. She did this with such
(natural) skill that, as a rule, she was able to deceive
people concerning her sex.
It is authoritatively established that in 1884 for a
long time the patient went about in male attire, now
412 PSYCHOrATHIA SEXUALIS.
in the garments of a civilian, now in the uniform of a
heutenant ; and in August of the same year, dressed
as a male servant, sh3 fled to Switzerland through delu-
sions of persecution. There she found service in a mer-
chant's family and fell in love with the daughter of the
house, "the beautiful Anna," who, on her side, not
recognising the sex of E., fell in love with the handsome
young man.
Concerning this episode the patient makes the follow-
ing characteristic statement : " I was madly in love with
Anna. I don't know how it came about, and I cannot
put myself right concerning this impulse. In this fatal
love lies the reason why I played the role of a man so
long. I have never yet felt any love for a man, and I
believe that my love is for the female and not the male
sex. I can in nowise understand my condition."
From Switzerland R. wrote letters home to her friend
Amelia, which were produced at the examination. They
are letters showing passionate love, which goes beyond
the bounds of friendship. She apostrophises her friend :
" My flower, sun of my heart, longing of my soul ". She
was her greatest happiness on earth ; her heart was hers.
And in her letters to her friend's parents she wrote :
" You, too, should watch my 'flower,' for if she should die
I also would be unable to endure life ".
For the purpose of investigating her mental condition,
E. remained for some time in an asylum. On one occa-
sion, when Anna was allowed to pay E. a visit, there
was no end of passionate embraces and kisses. The
visitor acknowledged freely that they had before secretly
embraced and kissed in the same way.
E. is a tali, slim, stately person, of feminine form
in all respects, but with masculine features. Cranium
regular ; no anatomical signs of degeneration. Genitals
normal and indicative of virginity. E. makes the impres-
sion of a morally pure and modest person. All the
circumstances indicate that she has only indulged in
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 413
platonic love. Eye and appearance are indicative of a
neuropathic person. Severe hysteria, occasional catalep-
toid attacks, with visionary and dehrious states. The
patient is very easily brought into a state of somnam-
buhsm by hypnotic influence, and in this condition is
susceptible to all possible suggestions. (Personal case.
''Friedreich's Blatter," 1881, Heft i.)
Case 136. Viraginity. Miss 0., twenty-three years
of age. Mother constitutionally and heavily hystero-
pathic. Mother's father insane. Father's family un-
tainted.
Father died early of pneumonia. Patient was brought
to me by her trustee because she ran away recently from
home in male attire in order to rove through the world
and become an " artiste ". Very gifted in music.
For several years past she has attracted much atten-
tion by her bold, mannish behaviour, and by wearing her
hair and attire in male fashion. Since she was thirteen
she was demonstrative in her love for girl friends, whom
she often wearied with fervent embraces.
She does not seek to conceal her passionate fondness
for persons of her own sex. Claims that since her
thirteenth year she is fully conscious of the fact that
she can love only women. She feels as a man towards
woman ; thinks she looks like a man, and would much
rather wear men's clothes.
A short time ago she seriously asked a relative who
is in the police department to obtain permission for her
to go about in male attire.
Her erotic dreams deal only with intimate intercourse
with female friends. She never took the slightest interest
in men, and never thought of marriage.
She feels quite happy in her abnormal sexual condi-
tion, and does not recognise it as pathological. She
cannot comprehend tliat her sexual instinct differs from
that of other women.
414 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The circumference of the head is 51 cm. Frame quite
feminine ; but the feet are exceptionally large and more
of masculine type. Carriage, attitude and gait quite
masculine. Female voice. Monthly periods regular since
her thirteenth year.
Case 137. Miss X., aged thirty-eight, consulted me
late in the fall of 1881, on account of severe spinal irrita-
tion and obstinate sleeplessness, in combating which she
had become addicted to morphine and chloral. Her
mother and sister were nervous sufferers, but the rest of
the family were healthy. The trouble dated from a fall
on her back in 1872, at which time the patient was
terribly frightened, though, when a girl, she had been
subject to muscular cramps and hysterical symptoms.
Following this shock, a neurasthenic and hysterical
neurosis developed, with predominating spinal irritation
and sleeplessness. Episodically, hysterical paraplegia,
lasting as long as eight months, and hysterical hallu-
cinatory delirium, with convulsive attacks, occurred. In
the course of this, symptoms of morphinism were added.
A stay of some months in the hospital relieved the latter,
and considerably improved the neurasthenic neurosis, in
the treatment of which general faradisation exerted a
remarkably favourable influence.
Even at the first meeting, the patient produced a
remarkable impression by reason of her attire, features,
and conduct. She wore a gentleman's hat, her hair
closely cut, eye-glasses, a gentleman's cravat, a coat-like
outer garment of masculine cut that reached well down
over her gown, and boots with high heels. She had
coarse, somewhat masculine features ; a harsh, deep voice ;
and made rather the impression of a man in female attire
than that of a lady, if one but overlooked the bosom and
the decidedly feminine form of the pelvis. During the
long time that she was observed, there were never signs
of erotism. When questioned concerning her attire, she
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 415
would only respond that the style she chose suited her
better. Gradually it was ascertained from her that, even
when she was a small girl, she had had a preference for
horses and masculine pursuits, and never any interest
in feminine occupations. Later she developed a particular
pleasure in reading, and prepared herself to be a teacher.
Dancing had never pleased her ; it had always seemed
silly to her. The hallet had never interested her. Her
greatest pleasure had always been in the circus. Until
her sickness, in 1872, she had neither had inclination
for persons of the opposite nor for those of her own
sex. From that time she had, what was remarkable to
herself, a peculiar friendship for females, particularly for
young ladies ; and she had a desire, and satisfied it, to
wear hats and coats of masculine style. Since 1869, she
had worn her hair short, and parted it on the side, as
men do. She asserts that she was never sexually excited
in the company of men, but that her friendship and
self-sacrifice for sympathetic ladies was unbounded ; while
from that time she also experienced repugnance for gen-
tlemen and their society.
Her relatives report that, before 1872, the patient had
a proposal of marriage, which she refused ; and that when
she returned from a sojourn at a watering-place, in 1874,
she was sexually changed, and occasionally showed that
she did not regard herself as a female.
Since that time she would associate only with ladies,
has had a kind of love-relation with one or another, and
made remarks which indicated that she looked upon her-
self as a man. This predilection for women was decidedly
more than mere friendship, since it expressed itself in
tears, jealousy, etc.
When, in 1874, she was stopping at a watering-place,
a young lady, who took her for a man in disguise, fell
in love with her. When this lady married, later, the
patient was for a long time depressed, and spoke of un-
faithfulness. Moreover, since her illness, her relatives
416 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
were struck by her desire for masculine attire, her
mascuhne conduct, and disinclination for feminine pur-
suits ; while previously, at least sexually, she had pre-
sented nothing unusual.
Further investigations showed that the patient had
a love-relation, which was not purely platonic, with the
lady described in case 133 ; and that she wrote her
affectionate letters like those of a lover to his' beloved.
In 1887 I again saw the patient in a sanatorium, where
she had been placed on account of hystero-epileptic attacks,
spinal irritation, and morphinism. The inverted sexual
feeling existed unchanged, and only by the most careful
watching was the patient kept from improper advances
toward her fellow-patients.
Her condition remained quite unchanged until 1889.
Then the patient began to fail, and she died of " ex-
haustion," in August, 1889. The autopsy showed, in
the vegetative organs, amyloid degeneration of the kid-
neys, fibroma of the uterus, and cyst of the left ovary.
The frontal bone was much thickened, uneven on the
inner surface, with numerous exostoses ; dura adherent
to vault of cranium. Long diameter of skull, 175 milli-
metres ; lateral diameter, 148 millimetres ; weight of the
oedematous, but not atrophied, brain, 1175 grammes.
The meninges delicate, easily removed. Cortex pale.
Convolutions broad, not numerous, regularly arranged.
Nothing abnormal in cerebellum and great ganglia.
Case 138. Gynandry} History: On 4th November,
1889, the stepfather of a certain Count Sandor V. com-
plained that the latter had swindled him out of 800f.,
under the pretence of requiring a bond as secretary of
a stock company. It was ascertained that Sandor had
entered into matrimonial contracts and escaped from the
nuptials in the spring of 1889 ; and, more than this, that
^ Cf. the expert medical opinion of this case, by Dr. Birnbacher, in
"Friedreich's Blatter f. ger. Med.," 1891, Heft 1.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 417
this ostensible Count Sandor was no man at all, but a
woman in male attire — Sarolta (Charlotte), Countess V.
S. was arrested, and, on account of deception and
forgery of public documents, brought to examination.
At the first hearing S. confessed that she was born on the
6th Sept., 1866 ; that she was a female, Catholic, single,
and worked as an authoress under the name of Count
Sandor V.
From the autobiography of this man-woman I have
gleaned the following remarkable facts that have been
independently confirmed : —
S. comes of an ancient, noble and highly respected
family of Hungary, in which there have been eccentricity
and family peculiarities. A sister of the maternal grand-
mother was hysterical, a somnambulist, and lay seventeen
years in bed, on account of fancied paralysis. A sec(md
great-aunt spent seven years in bed, on account of a
fancied fatal illness, and at the same time gave balls. A
third had the whim that a certain table in her salon
was bewitched. If anything were laid on this table, 'she
would become greatly excited and cry, " Bewitched ! be-
witched ! " and run with the object into a room which
she called the " Black Chamber," and the key of which
she never let out of her hands.. After the death of this
lady, there were found in this chamber a number of
shawls, ornaments, bank-notes, etc. A fourth great-aunt
during two years did not leave her room, and neither
washed herself nor combed her hair ; then she again
made her appearance. All these ladies were, nevertheless,
intellectual, finely educated and amiable.
S.'s mother was nervous, and could not bear the light
of the moon.
She inherited many of the peculiarities of her father's
family. One line of the family gave itself up almost
entirely to spiritualism. Two blood relations on the
father's side shot themselves. The majority of her male
relatives are unusually talented ; the females are decidedly
27
418 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
narrow-minded and domesticated. S.'s father had a high
position, which, however, on account of his eccentricity
and extravagance (he wasted over a milhon and a hall),
he lost.
Among many foolish things that her father encouraged
in her was the fact that he brought her up as a boy,
called her Sandor, allowed her to ride, drive and hunt,
admiring her muscular energy.
On the other hand, this foolish father allowed his
second son to go about in female attire, and had him
brought up as a girl. This farce ceased when the son
was sent to a higher school at the age of fifteen.
Sarolta-Sandor remained under her father's influence
till her twelfth year, and then came under the care of her
eccentric maternal grandmother in Dresden, by whom,
when the masculine play became too obvious, she was
placed in an institute and made to wear female attire.
At thirteen she had a love-relation with an Eaglish
girl, to whom she represented herself as a boy, and ran
aWay with her.
Sarolta returned to her mother, who, however, could
do nothing, and was compelled to allow her daughter to
again become Sandor, wear male clothes, and, at least
once a year, to fall in love with persons of her own sex.
At the same time S. received a careful education and
made long journeys with her father, of course always as a
young gentleman. She early became independent and
visited cafh, even those of doubtful character, and, indeed,
boasted one day that in a brothel she had had a girl sitting
on each knee. S. was often intoxicated, had a passion for
masculine sports and was a very skilful fencer.
She felt herself drawn pariicularly toward actresses,
or others of similar position, and, if possible, toward those
who were not very young. She asserts that she never
had any inclination for a young man, and that she has
felt, from year to year, an increasing dislike for young
men.
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 419
"I preferred to go into the society of ladies with ugly,
ill-favoured men, so that none of them could put me in
the shade. If I noticed that any of the men awakened
the sympathies of the ladies, I felt jealous. I preferred
ladies who were bright and pretty ; I could not endure
them if they were fat or much inclined toward men. It
delighted me if the passion of a lady was disclosed under
a poetic veil. All immodesty in a woman was disgusting
to me. I had an indescribable aversion for female attire, —
indeed, for everything feminine,— but only in as far as it
concerned me ; for, on the other hand, I was all enthu-
siasm for the beautiful sex."
During the last ten years S. had lived almost con-
stantly away from her relatives, in the gui^e of a man.
She had had many liaisons with ladies, travelled much,
spent much, and made debts.
At the same time she carried on hterary work, and was
a valued collaborator on two noted journals of the capital.
Her passion for ladies was very changeable; con-
stancy in love was entirely wanting.
Only once did such a liaison last three years. It was
years before that S., at Castle G., made the acquaintance
of Emma E., who was ten years older than herself. She
fell in love with her, made a marriage contract with her,
and they lived together as man and wife for three years
at the capital.
A new love, which proved fatal to S., caused her to
sever her matrimonial relations with E. The latter would
not have it so. Only with the greatest sacrifice was S.
able to purchase her freedom from E, who, it is reported,
still looks upon herself as a divorced wife, and regards
herself as the Countess V. ! That S. also had the power
to excite passion in other women is shown by the fact
that when she (before her marriage with E.) had grown
tired of a Miss D., after having spent thousands of guldens
on her, she was threatened with shooting by D. if she
should become untrue.
420 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
It was in the summer of 1887, while at a watering-
place, that S. made the acquaintance of a distinguished
official's family. Immediately she fell in love with the
daughter, Marie, and her love was returned.
Her mother and cousin tried in vain to break up
this affair. During the winter the lovers corresponded
zealously. In April, 1888, Count S. paid her a visit, and
in May, 1889, attained her wish ; in that Marie— who,
in the meantime, had given up a position as teacher —
became her bride in the presence of a friend of her lover,
the ceremony being performed in an arbour, by a pseudo-
priest, in Hungary. S., with her friend, forged the mar-
riage certificate. The pair Hved happily, and, without
the interference of the stepfather, this false marriage,
probably, would have lasted much longer. It is remark-
able that, during the comparatively long existence of the
relation, S. was able to deceive completely the family of
her bride with regard to her true sex.
S. was a passionate smoker, and in all respects her
tastes and passions were masculine. Her letters and
even legal documents reached her under the address of
" Count S.". She often spoke of having to drill. From
remarks of the father-in-law it seems that S. (and she
afterward confessed it) knew how to imitate a scrotum
with handkerchiefs or gloves stuffed in the trousers. The
father-in-law also, on one occasion, noticed something
like an erected member on his future son-in-law (probably
a priapus). She also occasionally remarked that she was
obliged to wear a suspensory bandage while riding. The
fact is, S. wore a bandage around the body possibly as a
means of retaining a priapus.
Though S. often had herself shaved pro forma, the
servants in the hotel where she lived were convinced
that she was a woman, because the chambermaids found
traces of menstrual blood on her linen (which S. explained,
however, as hoemorrhoidal) ; and, on the occasion of a
bath which S. was accustomed to take, they claimed to
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 421
have convinced themselves of her real sex by looking
through the key-hole.
The family of Marie make it seem probable that she
for a long time was deceived with regard to the true
sex of her false bridegroom. The following passage in
a letter from Marie to S., 26th August, 1889, speaks in
favour of the incredible simplicity and innocence of this
unfortunate girl : " I don't like children any more, but
if I had a little Bezerl or Patscherl by my Sandi — ah,
what happiness, Sandi mine ! "
A large number of manuscripts allow conclusions
to be drawn concerning S.'s mental individuality. The
chirography possesses the character of firmness and
certainty. The characters are genuinely masculine. The
same peculiarities repeat themselves everywhere in their
contents — wild, unbridled passion ; hatred and resistance
to all that opposes the heart thirsting for love ; poetical
love, which is not marred by one ignoble blot ; enthusiasm
for the beautiful and noble ; appreciation of science and
the arts.
Her writings betray a wonderfully wide range of
reading in classics of all languages, in citations from
poets and prose writers of all lauds. The evidence of
those qualified to judge literary work shows that S."
poetical and literary ability is by no means small. The
letters and writings concerning the relation with Marie
are psychologically worthy of notice,
S. speaks of the happiness there was for her when
by M.'s side, and expresses boundless longing to see her
beloved, if only for a moment. After such a happiness,
she could have but one wish — to exchange her cell for
the grave. The bitterest thing was the knowledge that
now Marie, too, hated her. Hot tears, enough to drown
herself in, she had shed over her lost happiness. Whole
quires of paper are given up to the apotheosis of this
love, and reminiscences of the time of the first love and
acquaintance.
422 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
S. complained of her heart, that would allow no reason
to direct it ; she expressed emotions which were such
as only could be felt — not simulated. Then, again, there
were outbreaks of most silly passion, with the declara-
tion that she could not live without Marie. " Thy dear,
sweet voice ; the voice whose tone perchance would raise
me from the dead ; that has been for me like the warm
breath of Paradise ! Thy presence alone were enough
to alleviate my mental and moral anguish. It was a
magnetic stream ; it was a peculiar power your being
exercised over mine, which I cannot quite define ; and,
therefore, I cling to that ever-true definition : I love you
because I love you. In the night of sorrow I had but
one star— the star of Marie's love. That star has lost
its light ; now there remains but its shimmer — the sweet,
sad memory which even lights with its soft ray the
deepening night of death — a ray of hope."
This writing ends with the apostrophe : " Gentlemen,
you learned in the law, psychologists and pathologists,
do me justice ! Love led me to take the step I took ; all
my deeds were conditioned by it. God put it in my
heart.
" If He created me so, and not otherwise, am I then
guilty ; or is it the eternal, incomprehensible way of
fate ? I relied on God, that one day my emancipation
would come ; for my thought was only love itself, which
is the foundation, the guiding principle, of His teaching
and His kingdom.
" 0 God, Thou All-pitying, ' Almighty One ! Thou
seest my distress ; Thou knowest how I suffer. Incline
Thyself to me ; extend Thy helping hand to me, deserted
by all the world. Only God is just. How beautifully
does Victor Hugo describe this in his ' Legjndes du
Siecle'! How sad do Mendelssohn's words sound to
me : ' Nightly in dreams I see thee ' ! "
Though S. knew that none of her writings reached
her lover, she did not grow tired writing of her pain
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 423
and delight in love, in page after page of deification of
Marie. And to induce one more pure flood of tears, on
one still, clear summer evening, when the lake was
aglow with the setting sun like molten gold, and the bells
of St. Anna and Maria- Worth, blending in harmonious
melancholy, gave tidings of rest and peace, she wrote :
"For that poor soul, for this poor heart that beat for
thee till the last breath ".
Personal examination : The first meeting which the
experts had with S. was in a measure, a time of embarrass-
ment to both sides ; for them, because perhaps S.'s some-
what dazzling and forced masculine carriage impressed
them ; for her, because she thought she was to be marked
with the stigma of moral insanity. She had a pleasant
and intelligent face, which, in spite of a certain delicacy
of features and diminutiveness of all its parts, gave a
decidedly masculine impression, had it not been for the
absence of a moustache. It was even difficult for the
experts to realise that they were concerned with a woman,
despite the fact of female attire and constant association ;
while, on the other hand, intercourse with the man
Sandor was much more free, natural, and apparently
correct- The culprit also felt this. She immediately be-
came more open, more communicative, more free, as soon
as she was treated like a man.
In spite of her inclination for the female sex, which
had been present from her earliest years, she asserts that
in her thirteenth year she first felt a trace of sexual feeling,
which expressed itself in kisses, embraces, and caresses,
with sexual pleasure, and this on the occasion of her
elopement with the red-haired English girl from the Dres-
den institute. At that time feminine forms exclusively
appeared to her in dream-pictures, and ever since, in
sensual dreams, she has felt herself in the situation of
a man, and occasionally, also, at such times, experienced
ejaculation.
She knows nothing of solitary or mutual onanism
424 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Such a thing seemed very disgusting to her, and not
conducive to manliness. She had, also, never allowed
herself to be touched ad genitalia by others, because it
would have revealed her great secret. The menses began
at seventeen, but were always scanty and without pain.
It was plain to be seen that S. had a horror of speaking
of menstruation; that it was a thing repugnant to -her
masculine consciousness and feeling. She recognised the
abnormahty of her sexual inclinations, but had no desire
to have them changed, since in this perverse feeling she
felt both well and happy. The idea of sexual intercourse
with men disgusted her, and she also thought it would be
impossible.
Her modesty was so great that she would prefer to
sleep among men rather than among women. Thus,
when it was necessary for her to answer the calls of
nature or to change her linen, it was necessary for her to
ask her companion in the cell to turn her face to the
window, that she might not see her.
When occasionally S. came in contact with this com-
panion,— a woman from the lower walks of hfe, — she
experienced a sexual excitement that made her blush.
Indeed, without being asked, S. related that she was
overcome with actual fear when, in her cell, she was
compelled to force herself into the unusual female attire.
Her only comfort was that she was at least allowed to
keep a shirt. Remarkable, and what also speaks for the
significance of olfactory sensations in her vita sexualis, is
her statement that, on the occasions of Marie's absence,
she had sought those places on which Marie's head was
accustomed to repose, and smelled them, in order to
experience the delight of inhaling the odour of her hair.
Among women, those who are beautiful, or voluptuous,
or quite young, do not particularly interest her. The
physical charms of w^omen she makes subordinate. As
by magnetic attraction, she feels herself drawn to those
between twenty-four and thirty. She found her sexual
SEXUAL INVEESION IN WOMAN. 425
satisfaction exclusively in corpora femmce (never in her own
person), in the form of manustupration of the beloved
woman, or cunnilingus. Occasionally she availed herself
of a stocking stuffed with oakum as a priapus. These
admissions were made only unwillingly by S., and with
apparent shame ; just as in her writings immodesty or
cynicism are never found.
She is religious, has a lively interest in all that is noble
and beautiful, — men excepted, — and is very sensitive to
the opinion others may entertain of her morality.
She deeply regrets that in her passion she made Marie
unhappy, and regards her sexual feelings as perverse, and
such a love of one woman for another, among normal
individuals, as morally reprehensible. She has great
literary talent and an extraordinary memory. Her only
weakness is her great frivolity and her incapability to
manage money and property reasonably. But she is
conscious of this weakness, and does not care to talk
about it.
She is 153 centimetres tall, of delicate build, thin,
but remarkably muscular on the breast and thighs. Her
gait in female attire is awkward. Her movements are
powerful, not unpleasing, though they are somewhat
masculine and lacking in grace. She greets one with
a firm pressure of the hand. Her whole carriage is
decided, firm and somewhat self-conscious. Her glance
is intelligent ; mien somewhat diffident. Feet and hands
remarkal)ly small, having remained in an infantile stage
of development. Extensor surfaces of the extremities
remarkably well covered with hair, while there is not the
slightest trace of beard, in spite of all shaving experi-
ments. The hips do not correspond in any way with
those of a female. Waist is wanting. The pelvis is so
slim and so little prominent, that a line drawn from the
axilla to the corresponding knee is straight — not curved
inward by a waist or outward by the pelvis. The skull is
slightly oxycephalic, and in all its measurements falls
426 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
below the average of the female skull by at least one
centimetre.
The circumference of the head is 52 centimetres ; the
occipital half-circumference, 24 centimetres ; the line from
ear to ear, over the vertex, 23 centimetres ; the anterior
half-circumference, 28*5 centimetres ; the line from glabella
to occiput, 30 centimetres ; the ear-chin line, 26*5 centi-
metres ; long diameter, 17 centimetres ; greatest lateral
diameter, 13 centimetres ; diameter at auditory meati, 12
centimetres; zygomatic diameter, 11'2 centimetres. The
upper jaw projects strikingly, its alveolar process pro-
jecting beyond the under jaw about 0"5 centimetre. The
position of the teeth is not fully normal ; the right upper
canine has not developed. Mouth remarkably small ;
ears prominent ; lobes not differentiated, passing over
into the skin of the cheek. Hard palate, narrow and
high ; voice rough and deep ; mammae fairly developed,
soft and without secretion, Mons veneris covered with
thick, dark hair. Genitals completely feminine, without
trace of hermaphroditic appearance, but at the stage of
development of those of a ten-year-old girl. The labia
majora touch each other almost completely ; labia minora
have a cock's-comb-like form, and project under the labia
majora. The clitoris is small and very sensitive. Frenu-
lum delicate ; perineum very narrow ; introitus vaginaB
narrow ; mucous membrane normal. Hymen wanting
(probably congenitally) ; likewise the carunculee myrti-
formes. Vagina so narrow that the insertion of a mem-
brum virile would be impossible, and it is also very
sensitive ; certainly coitus had not taken place. Uterus
is felt, through the rectuin, to be about the size of a
walnut, immovable and retroflected.
The pelvis appears generally narrowed (dwarf-pelvis),
and of decidedly masculine type. The distance between
anterior superior spines is 22'5 centimetres (instead of
26*3 centimetres). Distance between the crests of the
ilii, 26"5 centimetres (instead of 293 centimetres) ; be-
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 427
tween the trochanters, 27-7 centimetres (31) ; the external
conjugate diameter, 17-2 centimetres (19 to 20) ; therefore,
presmnably, the internal conjugate would be 7'7 centi-
metres (10-8). On account of narrowness of the pelvis,
the direction of the thighs is not convergent, as in a
woman, but straight.
The opinion given showed that in S. there was a
congenitally abnormal inversion of the sexual instinct,
which, indeed, expressed itself, anthropologically, in ano-
mahes of development of the body, depending upon great
hereditary taint ; further, that the criminal acts of S.
had their foundation in her abnormal and irresistible
sexuality.
S.'s characteristic expressions — " God put love in my
heart. If He created me so, and not otherwise, am I,
then, guilty ; or is it the eternal, incomprehensible way
of fate ? " — are really justified.
The court granted pardon. The " countess in male
attire," as she was called in the newspapers, returned
to her home, and again gave herself out as Count Sandor.
Her only distress is her lost happiness with her beloved
Marie.
A married woman, in Brandon, Wisconsin, whose
case is reported by Dr. Kiernan (" The Medical Standard,"
1888, November and December), was more fortunate.
She eloped, in 1883, with a young girl, married her, and
lived with her as husband undisturbed.
An interesting " historical " example of androgyny is
a case reported by Spitzka (" Chicago Medical Keview,"
20th August, 1881). It was that of Lord Cornbury,
Governor of New York, who lived in the reign of Queen
Anne. He was apparently affected with moral insanity ;
was terribly' licentious, and, in spite of his high position,
could not keep himself from going about in the streets
in female attire, coquetting with all the allurements of a
prostitute.
428 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
In a picture of him that has been preserved, his narrow
brow, asymmetrical face, feminine features, and sensual
mouth at once attract attention. It is certain that he
never actually regarded himself as a woman.
Moreover, in individuals afflicted with sexual inversion,
in themselves, the perverse sexual fueling and inclination
may be complicated with other perverse manifestations.
Thus here, with reference to the activity of the instinct,
there may be acts quite analogous to acts indulged in by
individuals in perverse satisfaction of the instinct, but
who, at the same time, have a natural inclination toward
persons of the opposite sex.
Owing to the circumstance that abnormally increased
sexuality is almost a regular accompaniment of anti-
pathic sexual feeling, acts of lustful sadistic cruelty in
the satisfaction of libido are easily possible. A remarkable
example of this is the case of Zastrow (CasjJer-Liman, 7.
Auflage, Bd. i., p. 160 ; ii., p. 487), who bit one of his
victims (a boy), tore his prepuce, slit the anus, and
strangled the child.
Z. came of a psychopathic grandfather and melan-
cholic mother. His brother indulged in abnormal sexual
pleasures, and committed suicide.
Z. was a congenital urning, and in hahitus and occupa-
tion masculine. There was phimosis. Mentally, he was
a weak, perverse, socially useless man. He had horror
femince, and, in his dreams, he felt himself like a woman
toward a man. He was painfully conscious of his want
of normal sexual feeling and of his perverse instinct, and
sought satisfaction in mutual onanism, with frequent
desire for pederasty.
Similar sadistic feelings of this kind, in those afflicted
with antipathic sexual instinct, are found in some of
the foregoing histories (c/. cases 107 and 108 of this
edition, and case 96 of the sixth edition ; also Moll,
SEXUAL INVERSION IN WOMAN. 429
" Contr. Sexualempfindung," second edition, p. 189; v.
Krafft, " Jahrb. f. Psychiatrie," xii., pp. 357 and 389 ; Moll,
" Untersuchungen iiber Libido sexualis," cases 26 and 27).
As examples of perverse sexual satisfaction dependent
on antipathic sexual instinct, may be mentioned the Greek,
who, as Athendus reports, was in love with a statue of
Cupid, and defiled it, in the temple of Delphi ; and besides
the monstrous cases reported by Tardieu {" Attentats," p.
272), the terrible one reported by Lornbroso (" L'uomo
delinquente," p. 200), of a certain Artusio, who wounded
a boy in the abdomen, and abused him sexually by means
of the incisions.
Cases 92, 110 and 115 (eighth edition) show that
fetichism may also occur with antipathic sexual instinct ;
moreover a case of shoe-fetichism related by me in " Jahr-
biicher f. Psychiatrie," xii., 1 ; Moll, op. cit., second edition,
p. 179 ; Gamier, " Les Fetichistes," p. 98.
The following case, taken from Gamier, is a classical
example of boot-fetichism. At times masochism forms a
complication of sexual inversion Of. Moll, second edition,
p. 172 (case 12) and p. 190; Hem, " Internat. Centralbl.
f. d. Physiol, and Pathol, der Harn- und Sexualorgane,"
iv., Heft 5 (homosexuality in a woman with passive flagel-
lantism and koprophagia) ; v. Krafft, case 43 in sixth
edition of this book, also case 115 of this edition and
114 of eighth edition ; ditto " Jahrbiicher fiir Psychiatrie,"
xii., p. 339 (homosexuality, abortive masochism), p. 351
(psych, hermaphrod. masochism).
Case 139. Homosexuality. X., twenty-six years of
age, of the upper classes, was arrested for having prac-
tised masturbation in a public park. By heredity heavily
tainted; skull abnormal ; was peculiar from earliest youth ;
psychically abnormal ; at the age of ten he began to show
a peculiar interest in patent leather shoes ; began to
masturbate at thirteen, but in order to procure ejaculation
he must fasten his eyes upon patent leather shoes. He
430 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
never felt any inclination towards woman, and when, at
the age of twenty-one, he once attempted coitus at a
brothel derived no satisfaction from the act. With the
twenty-fourth year his homosexual instinct began to
assert itself more and more. But he felt himself drawn
only to young men who wore elegant clothes and patent
leather boots. Thinking of such men, he masturbated.
His ideal was to live with such a man and practise mutual
masturbation. Unable to realise his wishes, he would
introduce a ball into his anus, and moving it in and out
fancy himself to have coitus with his ideal young man
wearing patent leather boots. Simultaneously he would
masturbate. During this imitation of passive pederasty
he would wear drawers made of red silk. For some time
he was wont to stick notices on public buildings to this
effect : " My nates are at the disposal of handsome gentle-
men who wear patent leather boots ". Whilst writing
such notices and looking at his own patent leather shoes,
he would have an erection. Since his sixteenth year,
when young men began to interest him, he had eyes only
for their patent leather boots. He loved to loiter about
the show-windows of boot shops and the drilling-grounds
of the military school, where he had opportunity for
admiring the officers in their patent leather boots. One
day he bought a pair for himself and became quite in-
toxicated by gazing at them. The very smell of them
was sufficient to excite him very much sexually. He
finally put them on, that in them he might make con-
quests ; but he was not successful. Now he used them
for another purpose. He would masturhando ejaculate
into them. The most intense lustful pleasure he derived
when he put, during this act, one of the shoes to his anus
or inter femora, rubbing it about there. When one day
X. found a defect on the uppers of one of these shoes,
which he always saved most carefully, he was very de-
jected. He looked upon hnnself as a person who has
just discovered the first wrinkle in the face of the beloved.
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 431
One day when in the park he thought that a young man
made advances to him according to his own desire ; he
was highly elated, and could not resist to expose his
person. He was arrested, but not sentenced. He was
sent to an insane asylum {Gar7iier, " Les Fetichistes,"
p. 114).
DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS, AND THERAPY OF ANTIPATHIC
SEXUAL INSTINCT.
While up to this time antipathic sexual instinct has
had but an anthropological, clinical, and forensic interest
for science, now, as a result of the latest investigations,
there is some thought of therapy in this incurable con-
dition, which so heavily burdens its victims, socially,
morally, and mentally.
A preparatory step for the application of therapeutic
measures is the exact differentiation of the acquired from
the congenital cases ; and among the latter, again, the
assignment of the concrete case to its proper position in
the categories that have been scientifically established.
The diagnostic differentiation of the acquired from the
congenital condition is made without difficulty in the
early stages of the anomaly.
If sexual inversion has already taken place, then the
history of the development of the case will throw light
upon it.
The important decision, prognostically, as to whether
the inverted sexual instinct is congenital or acquired, can
only be made in such cases by means of the most miimte
details of the history.
The establishment of the fact that antipathic sexual
instinct existed before indulgence in masturbation is of
great importance with reference to deciding whether the
anomaly is congenital or not. In this, however, a diffi-
culty arises, owing to the possibility of imperfect locali-
sation of past events (illusions of memory).
432 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
For the presumption of acquired antipathic sexual
instinct, it is important to prove the existence of
heterosexual instinct before the beginning of solitary or
mutual onanism.
In genera], the acquired cases are characterised in
hat:—
1, The homosexual instinct appears as a secondary
factor, and always may be referred to influences (mas-
turbatic neurasthenia, mental) which disturbed normal
sexual satisfaction. It is, however, probable that here,
in spite of powerful sensual libido, the feeling and in-
clination for the opposite sex are weak ab orirjine, especially
in a spiritual and assthetic sense.
2, The homosexual instinct, as long as inversio scxualis
has not yet taken place, is looked upon, by the indi vidua
affected, as vicious and abnormal, and yielded to only
faute de mieux.
3, The heterosexual instinct long remains predomi-
nant, and the impossibility to satisfy it gives pain. It
weakens in proportion as the homosexual feeling gains in
strength.
On the other hand, in congenital cases : —
(a) The homosexual instinct is the one that occurs
primarily, and becomes dominant in the vita scxualis. It
appears as the natural manner of satisfaction, and also
dominates the dream-life of the individual.
(6) The heterosexual instinct fails completely, or, if
it should make its appearance in the history of the
individual (psycho-sexual hermaphrodism), it is still but
an episodical phenomenon which has no root in the
mental constitution, and is essentially but a means to
satisfaction of sexual desire.
The differentiation of the above groups of congenital
inverted sexuality from one another, and from the cases
in which the anomaly is acquired, will, after the foregoing,
present no difficulties.
The proijnosis of the cases of acquired antipathic sexual
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 433
instinct is, at all events, much more favourable than that
of the congenital cases. In the former, the occurrence
of effemination — the mental inversion of the individual, in
the sense of perverse sexual feeling — is the limit beyond
which there is no longer hope of benefit from therapy.
In the congenital cases, the various categories established
in this book form as many stages of psycho-sexual taint,
and benefit is probable only within the category of the
psychical hermaphrodites, though possible {vide the case
of Schrenk-Notzing) in that of the urnings.
The prophylaxis of these conditions becomes thus the
more important — for the congenital cases, prohibition of
the reproduction of such unfortunates ; for the acquired
cases, protection from the injurious influences which
experience teaches may lead to the fatal inversion of the
sexual instinct.
Numerous predisposed individuals meet this sad fate,
because parents and teachers have no suspicion of
the danger which masturbation brings in its train to
children.
In many schools and academies masturbation and vice
are actually cultivated. At present much too little atten-
tion is given to the mental and moral peculiarities of the
pupils.
If only the tasks are done, nothing more is asked.
That many pupils are thus ruined in body and soul is
never considered.
In obedience to affected prudery, the vita sexiialis is
made a mystery to the developing youth, and not the
sHghtest attention given to the excitations of his sexual
instinct. How few family physicians are ever called in,
during the years of development of children, to give
advice to their patients that are often so greatly pre-
disposed !
It is thought that all must be left to Nature ; in the
meantime, Nature rises in her power, and leads the help-
less, unprotected innocent into dangerous by-paths.
28
434 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
A more detailed treatment of this prophylactic side of
the subject is impossible here.-^
To parents and teachers, the experiences detailed in
this and numerous other scientific works on masturbation,
present valuable suggestions.
The lines of treatment, when antipathic sexual instinct
exists, are the following : —
1. Prevention of onanism and removal of other in-
fluences injurious to the vita sexnalis.
2. Cure of the neurosis {neurasthenia sexualis and uni-
versalis) arising out of the unhygienic conditions of the
viita sexualis.
3. Mental treatment, in the sense of combating homo-
sexual, and encouraging heterosexual, feehngs and impulses.
The most important part of the treatment lies ni
fulfilling the third indication, particularly with reference
to onanism.
Only in very few cases, where acquired antipathic
sexual instinct has not progressed far, can the fulfilment
of 1 and 2 be sufficient, as a case fully reported by the
author in the " Irrenfreund," 1885, No. 1, proves. Cf.
case 128, ninth edition of this book.
As a rule, physical treatment, even though it be re-
inforced morally by good advice with reference to the
avoidance of masturbation, the repression of homosexual
feelings and impulses, and the encouragement of hetero-
sexual desires, will not prove sufhcient, even in cases of
acquired sexual inversion.
Here a method of mental treatment — hypnotic sug-
gestion— is all that can really benefit the patient.
1 With reference to prophylaxis, the following words, which were
written to me by the subject of case 88 of the sixth edition, are note-
worthy : " If it were only possible that — not as among the Spartans,
where the weaklings were allowed to perish for the sake of perfect selec-
tion, in accordance with the Darwinian idea — our antipathic sexual instincts
might be recognised early in youth ; and if it were only possible that, at
this time of life, the worst of all diseases could be cured by suggestion I
Probably cure could be more easily effected in youth than later."
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 435
I know of but one case in which aato-suggestion
proved successful, c/. case 129, ninth edition.
As a rule, only suggestion coming fro^n a second person,
and that by means of hypnosis, promises success.
In such cases, the object of post-hypnotic suggestion
is to remove the impulse to masturbation and homosexual
feelings, and to encourage heterosexual emotions with
a sense of virility,
A prerequisite is, of course, the possibility to induce
hypnosis of sufficient intensity. It is, unfortunately, in
these very cases of neurasthenia that this proves impos-
sible, since the subject is often excited, embarrassed, and
in no condition to concentrate the thoughts.
By reason of the great benefit that can be given to
such unfortunates, and with Ladame's case in view {v.
infra), in all such cases, everything should be done to
force hypnosis — the only means of salvation. The result,
in the three following cases, was satisfactory : —
Case 140. Antipathic sexual instinct acquired through
mast2irbation. Mr. X., merchant, aged twenty-nine. Father's
parents healthy. Nothing nervous in father's family.
Father was an irritable, peevish old man. One brother
of the father was a man-about-town, and died unmarried.
Mother died in third confinement, when the patient
was six years old ; she had a deep, rough, masculine
voice, and coarse appearance. Of the children, one
brother is irritable, " melancholic," and indifferent to
women.
When a child, patient had scarlet fever with delirium.
Up to his fourteenth year he was Hght-hearted and social,
but, after that, quiet, sohtary, and " melancholic ". The
first trace of sexual feehng appeared in his tenth or
eleventh year, and at that time he learned masturbation
from other boys, and practised mutual onanism with
them.
At the age of thirteen or fourteen, ejaculation for the
436 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
first time. Patient has felt no evil results of onanism
until the last three months.
At school he learned easily, but was troubled with
headaches. After the age of twenty, pollutions, in spite
of daily practice of onanism. "With pollutions occurred
" procreative " dreams, as man and wife might perform
the act. In his seventeenth year he was seduced into
mutual onanism by a man having a love for men. He
found satisfaction in this, inasmuch as he was always
very passionate sexually. It was a long time before the
patient again sought new opportunities for intercourse
with males. He did it simply to rid himself of semen.
He felt no friendship or love for the person with whom
he had intercourse. He felt satisfaction only when he
played the passive role — when manustupration was prac-
tised on him. When the act was once completed, he had
no respect for the individual. If it happened that, later,
he came to respect the man, then he ceased to indulge
in the act with him. Later it became indifferent to him
whether he masturbated or had masturbation practised
on him. When he himself practised onanism, he always
thought of pleasing men practising onanism on him
during the act. He preferred a hard, rough hand.
The patient thought that, had he not been led astray,
he would have arrived at a natural mode of satisfaction
of his sexual desires. He never felt love for his own sex,
though he had pleased himself with the thought of
loving men. At first he had had sensual inclinations to-
ward the opposite sex. He had taken pleasure in dancing,
and he had been pleased with women, but he had taken
more, pleasure in the figure than the face. He had had
erections at the sight of women that pleased him. He
had never attempted coitus, for fear of infection ; whether
he was potent or not with women, he did not know. He
thought he could be so no longer, because his feeling for
women had grown cold, especially during late years.
While previously, in his sensual dreams, he had had
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 437
ideas of both men and women, of late years he had
dreamed only of approaches to men ; he could not re-
member that he had dreamed, in late years, of sexual
relations with a woman. At the theatre, as well as in
the circus and ballet, the feminine figure had always
interested him. In museums, masculine and feminine
statues had affected him equally.
Patient is a great smoker, a beer-drinker, loves male
society, and is a gymnast and skater. Anything dandified
was repugnant to him, and he had never felt any desire
to please men ; he would even liave preferred to please
women.
He now felt his position to be painful, because onanism
had obtained the upper hand. Masturbation, that had
previously been practised without evil effects, now began
to disclose its bad results.
Since July, 1889, he had suffered with neuralgia of
the testicles. The pain occurred particularly at night ;
and at night there was also trembling (increased reflex
excitability). •
Sleep was not refreshing, and he would wake up with
pain in the testicles. He was inclined, now, to indulge
more frequently in onanism. He was afraid of the con-
sequences of the habit. He hoped that his sexual life
might still be turned into normal channels. Now, he
thought of the future ; he had a relation with a girl, who
was attractive to him, and the thought to possess her
as a wife was pleasing.
For five days he had abstained from onanism, but he
could scarcely believe that he would be able, with his
own strength, to overcome the habit. Of late he had
been very much depressed, having lost all desire for
work, and become tired of life.
Patient is tall, powerful, well nourished, and has a
thick growth of beard. Skull and skeleton normal. Knee-
jerks very prompt ; deep reflexes in upper extremities
much increased. Pupils dilated, equal, and act promptly.
438 PSTCnOPATHIA S]:XUALIS.
Carotids of equal calibre ; hyperaesthesia iirethrne ; cords
and testicles not sensitive ; genitals normal.
The patient was calmed, and given hope for the future,
provided that he gave up onanism and attempted to transfer
his sexual desires from persons of his own sex to females.
Hip-baths (24° to 20° E.); extr. Secal. cornut. aquos.,
0"5 ; antipyrm, I'O {pro die) ; pot. brom., 4'0 (evenings),
were ordered.
13th December. To-day the patient came, in a dis-
turbed condition of mind, complaining that, unaided, he
was unable to resist the impulse to masturbate, and be
asked for help.
A trial of hypnosis induced a condition of deep lethargy
in the patient.
He was given the following suggestions : —
1. I can not, must not, and will not masturbate again.
2. I abhor the love for my own sex, and shall never
again think men handsome.
3. I shall and will become well again, fall in love with
a virtuous woman, be happy, and make her happy.
14th December. "While out walking to-day, patient
saw a handsome man, and felt himself powerfully drawn
toward him.
From this time there were hypnotic sittings every
second day, with the above suggestions.
18th December (fourth sitting), somnambulism oc-
curred ; the impulse to onanism and interest in men
disappear.
At the eighth sitting " complete virility " was added to
the above suggestions. The patient feels himself morally
elevated and physically strengthened. The neuralgia of
the testicles has disappeared. He now found that he
was without sexual feeling.
He now believed himself free from masturbation and
inverted sexual inchnation.
After the eleventh sitting he thought that further help
was unnecessary. He wished to go home, and marry.
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 439
He felt well and potent. Early in January, 1890, treat-
ment ceased.
In March, 1890, the patient wrote : " I have since
had several occasions on which it has been necessary for
me to use all my moral strength in order to overcome
my habit, and, thank God, I have been successful in
freeing myself from this vice. Several times I have had
opportunity for sexual intercourse, and I have found
pleasure in it. I look calmly on my happy future."
The foregoing details of the successful results of
hypnotic suggestion, in cases of acquired sexual inversion,
make it seem possible that those unfortunates who are
afflicted with congenital perversion may be helped in
some degree by the same means.
The most favourable cases are those of psychosexual
hermaphrodism in which at least rudimentary heterosexual
feelings may be strengthened by suggestion and brought
into active practice.
Case 141. Mr. von X., aged twenty- five, landed
proprietor. He comes of a neuropathic, irascible father,
who is said to have been sexually normal. His mother
was nervous, as were her two sisters. Maternal grand-
mother was nervous, and maternal grandfather a roue,
much given to venery. Patient is like his mother, and
an only child. From birth he was weak, suffered much
with migraine, and was nervous. He passed through
several illnesses. At fifteen he began masturbation, with-
out having been taught.
Until his seventeenth year he says he never had
feeling for men, or, in fact, any sexual inclination ; but
at this time desire for men arose. He fell in love with a
comrade. His friend returned his love. They embraced
and kissed and indulged in mutual onanism. Occasionally
patient practised coitus inter femora viri. He abhorred
pederasty. Lascivious dreams were concerned only with
440 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
men. In the circus and theatre males alone interested
him. The inchnation was for those of about twenty years.
Handsome, tall forms were enticing to him. Given these
conditions, he was quite indifferent to other characteristics
of the m-en. In his sexual affairs with men his part was
always that of a man.
After his eighteenth year the patient was always a
source of anxiety to his highly respected parents, for he
then began a love-affair with a male waiter, who fleeced
him and made him an object of remark and ridicule.
He was taken home. He consorted with servants and
hostlers. He caused a scandal. He was sent away to
travel about. In London he got into a " blackmailing
scrape," but succeeded in escaping to his home.
He profited in no way by this bitter experience,
and again showed disgraceful inclinations toward men.
Patient was sent to me to be cured of his fatal peculiarity
(December, 1888). Patient is a tall, stately, robust, well-
nourished young man, of masculine build ; large, well-
formed genitals. Gait, voice, and attitude are masculine.
He has no pronounced masculine passions. He smokes
but httle, and only cigarettes ; drinks httle, and is fond
of confectionery. He loves music, arts, Besthetics, flowers,
and moves in ladies' society by preference. He wears a
moustache, the face being otherwise cleanly shaved. His
garments are in nowise remarkable. He is a soft, hlas4
fellow, and a do-nothing. He lies abed mornings, and
can scarcely be made to rise before noon. He says he
has never regarded his inclination toward his own sex
as abnormal. He looks upon it as congenital ; but, tau[;ht
by his evil experiences, he wishes to be cured of his
perversion. He has httle faith in his own will. He has
tried to reform, but always lapses into masturbation
which he finds injurious, inasmuch as it causes (slight)
neurasthenic symptoms. There is no moral defect. In-
telligence is a little below the average. Careful education
and aristocratic manners are app:u'cnt. The exquisite
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 441
neuropathic eye betrays a nervous constitution. The
patient is not a complete and hopeless urninf:,^ He has
heterosexual feelings, his sensual inclinations toivard the oppo-
site sex, however, are manifested hut weakly and infrequently.
When nineteen, he was first taken to a brothel by friends.
He experienced no horror femince, had efficient erections,
and some pleasure in coitus, bat not the instinctive
dehght he experienced while embracing men.
Since then, patient asserts that he has had coitus six
times, twice sua sponte. He gives the assurance that he is
always capable of it, but he does it only faute de micux, as
he does masturbation, when the sexual impulse troubles
him, as a substitute for intercourse with men. He has
thought of the possibility of finding a sympathetic lady
and marrying her. He would regard marital cohabitation
and abstinence from intercourse with men as hard duties.
Since there were rudiments of heterosexual feelings
present, and the case could not be looked upon as hopeless,
it seemed that treatment was indicated. The indications
were clear enough, but there was no support for them
in the will of the indolent patient, so unconscious of his
own position. It lay near to seek support for the moral
influence in hypnosis. The fulfilment of this hope seemed
doubtful, because the famous ilawsew had tried several
times, in vain, to hypnotise him.
At the same time, by reason of the most important
social interests of the patient, it was necessary to make
another attempt. To my great surprise, Bemheim's pro-
cedure induced immediately a condition of deep lethargy,
with possibility of post-hypnotic suggestion.
At the second sitting somnambulism was induced by
merely looking at him. The patient easily yields to
suggestions of all kinds ; indeed, contractures are induced
by stroking him. He is awakened by counting three.
Awakened, patient has amnesia for all the events of the
hypnotic state. Hypnosis is induced every second or
third day for the communication of hypnotic suggestions.
442 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
At the same time, moral and hydro-therapeutic measures
are employed.
The hypnotic suggestions were as follow : —
1. I abhor onanism, because it makes me weak and
miserable.
2. I no longer have inclination toward men ; for love
for men is against religion, nature and law.
3. I feel an inclmatioii toward women ; for woman
is lovely and desirable, and created for man.
During the sittings the patient always repeated verbatim
these suggestions. After the fourth sitting it was notice-
able, that, when taken into society, he paid court to
ladies. Shortly after that, when a famous prima-donna
sang, he was all enthusiasm for her. Some days later
the patient sought the address of a brothel.
Yet he preferred the society of young gentlemen ; but
the most careful watching failed to reveal anything
suspicious.
17th February. Patient asks to be allowed to indulge
in coitus, and is very well satisfied with his experience
with one of the demi-monde.
16th March. Up to this time, hypnosis twice a week.
The patient always passes into deep somnambulism by
simply being looked at, and, at request, repeats the sug-
gestions. He is susceptible to all kinds of post-hypnotic
suggestion, and, in the waking state, knows not the least
of the influences exerted on him in the hypnotic state.
In the hypnotic condition he always gives the assurance
that he is free from onanism and sexual feeling for
men. Since he gives the same answers in hypnosis— e.(/.,
that on such and such a date he practised onan'sm for
the last time, and that he is too much under the will
of the physician to be able to lie — his assertions deserve
belief; the more, since he looks well and is free from
all neurasthenic symptoms, and, in the society of men,
not the slightest suspicion rests on him. An open, free,
and manly bearing is developed.
ANTIPATHIC SEXUAL INSTINCT. 443
Moreover, since, of his own will, he now and then
indulf:^es in coitus with pleasure, and occasional pollutions
are induced by lascivious dreams which concern women,
there can be no doubt of the favourable change of his
vita sexualis ; and it is presumable that the hypnotic sug-
gestions have developed into auto-suggestive inclinations,
which direct his feelings, thoughts and will. Probably
the patient will always remain a natura frigida ; but he
more often speaks of marriage, and of his intention to
win a wife as soon as he has become acquainted with
a sympathetic lady. Treatment was stopped. (Author's
own case, " Internat. Centralbl. fiir die Physiol, und
Pathol, der Harn- und Sexualorgane " Band i.)
In July, 1889, I received a letter from his father,
telhng me of the son's good health and conduct.
On 24th May, 1890, by chance, I met my former
patient, while on a journey. His bright, healthful appear-
ance allowed the most favourable opinion of his condition.
He told me that he still had sympathetic feeling for some
men, but never anything like love. He occasionally had
pleasurable coitus with women, and now thought of
marriage.
I hypnotised him, in the former manner, to try him,
and asked for the commands I had given him. In a deep
condition of somnambulism, and in the same tone of
voice as formerly, the patient repeated the suggestions
he had received in December, 1888 — an excellent example
of the possible duration and power of post-hypnotic sug-
gestion.
Other cases may be found in the eighth edition, cases
137, 138, 140, 141 ; and ninth edition, case 133 of this
book.
The cases quoted by the author, as well as those given
by Ladavie in which suggestion removed the homosexual
instinct, or, at least, neutralised it (as a protection from
shame and law), seem to afford a proof that even the
444 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
gravest cases of congenital sexual inversion may be bene-
fited by the application of hypnotism.
Wetterstrand (cf. Schrenck^op. cit., case 49), Bernheim (cf.
Schrenck, case 51), Muller {cf. Schrenck, case 53), Schrenck
(op. cit., cases 66, 67), report even complete success in
displacing the homosexual by the heterosexual instinct
coupled with virility. Schrenck (op. cit., cases 62, 63)
succeeded also in cases of effeminatio.
But only when hypnotism produces deep somnam-
buhsm, decided and lasting results may be hoped for,
which after all are nothing more than suggestive training,
not a real cure. They are marvellous " arte/acta " of
hypnotic science practised on abnormal human beings,
but by no means " transformations " {cf. Schrenck) of a
psychosexual existence.
Very instructive in this respect is a case related by
Schrenck, the representative of which after effected
" cure " says of himself : " I am ever conscious of a
certain insuperable coercion which does not rest upon
moral principles, but must, as I beheve, be referable
directly to treatment ". At any rate such " cures "
afford no proof whatsoever against the assumption of
original conditionahty of sexual inversion.
It is necessary here to warn the reader against illusions
about the true value of hypnotic therapy.
IV.— SPECIAL PATHOLOGY.
the manifestations of abnormal sexual life in the
various forms and states of mental
disturbance.
Arrest of Mental Development.
Sexual life in idiots is, generally speaking, but slightly
developed. It is wanting entirely in idiots of high grade.
In such instances the genitals are frequently small and
deformed, and menstruation is late or does not occur at
all. There is either impotence or sterility. Even in
idiots of low grade, sexuality is not prominent. In rare
cases it is manifested with a certain periodicity, and then
with greater intensity. It may then find expression in
sudden impulses, and be violently satisfied. Perversions
of the sexual instinct do not seem to occur at the lowest
levels of mental development.
AVhen the desire for sexual satisfaction is opposed
in these cases, great passion is excited, with danger of
murderous assault on the pers-ons attacked. It is to be
expected that idiots should not exercise choice, and even
attempt to satisfy the sexual instinct on their nearest
relatives.
Thus Marc-Ideler reports the case of an idiot who
attempted to rape his sister, and had almost strangled
her when he was discovered.
Friedreich reports an analogous case (" Friedreich's
Blatter," 1858, p. 60).
I have repeatedly had occasion to give opinions in
cases of attempts to rape little girls.
(445)
446 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Giraud (" Annal. med. psych," 1885, No. 1) also reports
a case of this kind. Consciousness of the significance
of the act is always wanting ; but an instinctive know-
ledge that such obscene acts are not publicly permitted
is often present, and causes the act to be undertaken in
a deserted place.
In imbeciles the sexual instinct is usually developed
as in normal individuals. The moral inhibitory ideas are
cloudy, and, therefore, the sexual impulse is more or less
openly manifested. For this reason imbeciles are sources
of disturbance in society. Abnormal intensity and per-
version of the sexual instinct are infrequent.
The most frequent manner of satisfaction of the
sexual desire is onanism. The weak-minded seldom make
sexual attacks on adults of the opposite sex.
Sexual satisfaction with animals is frequently at-
tempted. The great majority of cases of injury (sexual)
to animals must be attributed to imbeciles. Children are
quite often their victims.
E7nminghaus (" Maschkas Handb.," iv., p. 234) draws
attention to the frequency of unrestricted manifestation
of sexual instinct, which comprises open masturbation,
exhibition of the genitals, attacks on children and those
of the same sex, and sodomy.
Giraud ("Annal. med. psychol.," 1855, No. 1) has
reported a whole series of immoral attacks on children ^ : —
1. H., aged seventeen, imbecile, enticed a little girl into
a barn, by giving her nuts. There he exposed her genitals
and showed his own, making movements of coitus on
the child's abdomen. He had no idea of the moral
significance of the act.
2. L., aged twenty-one ; imbecile ; degenerate. While
^ For numerous cases, "v. Henke's, Zeitschr.," xxiii., " Erganzungs-
heft," p. 147 ; Combes," Annal. med. psychol.," 1866 ; Lijnan, " Zweifelh
Geisteszustande," p. 389 ; Casper-Liman, " Lehrb., 7. Auflage," Fall 295;
Bartels, " Friedreich's, Blatter f. gerichtl. Med.," 1890, Heft 1.
AEEEST OF MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. 447
he was watching cattle, his sister of eleven years, with a
playmate of eight years, came and told him how some
miknown man had attempted to do them violence. L.
led the children to a deserted house and attempted coitus
with the younger child, but let her go because immission
was unsuccessful, and because the child cried out. On
the way home he promised to marry her if she would
not say anything. At the trial he thought that by
marriage he could right the wrong he had done.
3. G. aged twenty-one, microcephalic, imbecile, has
masturbated since his sixth year, and practised active
and passive pederasty. He has repeatedly tried to per-
form pederasty with boys, and attacked little girls. He
was absolutely without an understanding of his acts.
His sexual desires were manifested periodically and in-
tensely, as in animals.^
4. B., aged twenty-one ; imbecile. While alone in a
forest with his sister of nineteen, he demanded that she
allow coitus. She, refused. He threatened to strangle
her, and stabbed her with a knife. The frightened gnl
wrenched his penis, and he then left her and quietly
went on with his work. B. has a deformed, micro-
cephalic skuU, and has no sense of the significance of
his act.
Emminghaus {op. cit., p. 234) reports the case of an
exhibitionist : —
Case 142. A man, aged forty, married, had for six-
teen years been accustomed to exhibit himself in parks, at
dusk, to httle girls and servants, and drew their atten-
tion to himself by whisthng. After having been frequently
punished for it, he avoided the places, but he carried on
his practice elsewhere. Hydrocephalus. Mental weakness
of slight degree. Mild sentence passed.
1 Other cases of pederasty, v. Casper, " Klin, Novcllen," Fall 5 ;
Combes, " Annal. med. psychol.," July, 1866.
448 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 143. X.,of tainted family ; imbecile; defective
and perverted in intellect, feeling and v^ill. For help
and protection he was brought before an officer. It was
complained that he had repeatedly exposed his genitals
to servant-girls, and had shown himself at windows with
the upper portion of his body naked. No other mani-
festations of inverted sexual instinct. No onanism reported
{Sander, " Archiv f. Psych.," i., p. 655).
Case 144. Pederasty with a child. On 8th April,
1884, at ten o'clock a.m., while X. was sitting in the street,
holding a boy of eighteen months on her lap, a certain
Vallario approached and took the child from X., saying
he was going to take it for a walk. He went the distance
of half a kilometre, and returned, saying that the child
had fallen from his arms, and thus injured its anus. The
anus was torn, and blood was pouring from it. At the
place where the deed was done, traces of semen were
found. V. confessed his horrible crime, and, at his final
trial, he acted so strangely that an examination of his
mental condition was made. He had impressed the
prison attendants as being an imbecile. V., aged forty-
five, mason, defective morally and intellectaally, is dolicho-
microcephalic ; has narrow, deformed fucial bones, and
the halves of the face and the ears are asynnnetrical ; the
brow is low and retreating ; genitals normal. V. shows
general diminution of cutaneous sensibility, is imbecile,
and has no ideas. He lives in the present, has no
ambition, and does nothing of his own will. He has no
desires and no emotional feeling. He has never had
coitus. Nothing more could be ascertained about his
vita sexualis. Proofs of intellectual and moral idiocy, due
to microcephaly ; the crime is ascribed to a perverse, un-
controllable sexual impulse. Sent to an asylum {Virgilio,
" 11 Manicomio," v. y^ear, No. 3).
A case mentioned by L. Meyer (" Arch. f. Psych.," Bd.
STATES OF ACQUIRED MENTAL WEAKNESS. 449
i., p. 103) shows how female imbeciles may indulge in
shameless prostitution and immorality/
States of Acquired IVlental Weakness.
The numerous anomalies of the vita sexualis in senile
dementia have been described in the section on " General
Pathology ". In other conditions of acquired mental
weakness — those due to apoplexy ; trauma capitis ; to the
secondary stages of psychoses ; or to inflammatory pro-
cesses in the cortex (lues, paretic dementia), — perversions
of the sexual instinct seem to be infrequent ; and here
the immoral sexual acts seem to depend on abnormally
increased or uninhibited sexual feeling, which, in itself,
is not abnormal.
1. Dementia Consecutive to Psychoses.
Casper (" Klin. Novellen," Fall 31) reports a case that
belongs here. It is that of a physician, aged thirty-three,
who attempted rape on a child. He was weakened
mentally, as a result of hypochondriacal melancholia.
He excused his deed in a very silly way, and had no
appreciation of the moral and criminal meaning of the
act, which was apparently the result of a sexual impulse
that could not be controlled on account of his mental
weakness.
Case 21, in Liman's, " Zweifelhafte Geisteszustande,"
is an analogous case (dementia after melancholia ; offence
against morals by exhibition).
2. Dementia After Apoplexy.
Case 145. B., aged fifty-two. He passed through a
cerebral attack, and was no longer able to carry on his
business as a merchant.
1 V. Sander, " Vierteljahrsschr. f. ger. Med.," xviii., p. 31 ; Casper,
" Klin. Novellen," Fall 27.
29
450 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
One day, in the absence of his wife, he locked two
girls in the house, gave them liquors to drink, and then
carried out sexual acts with the children. He commanded
them to say nothing, and went to his business. The
medical expert established mental weakness, resulting
from repeated apoplexies. B., who, up to this time,
had been well-behaved, says he committed the criminal
act because of an uncontrollable and incomprehensible
impulse ; and that, when he came to himself, he was
ashamed, and sent the girls away. Since his apoplectic
attack, B. had been weak-minded, incapable of business,
and hemiplegic ; but, soon after arrest, he made an un-
skilful attempt at suicide. He often cried, childishly.
His moral and intellectual energy in opposing his sexual
impulses was certainly much Weakened. No sentence
{Giraud, " Ann. med. Psychol," March, 1881).
'■ .. 3. Dementia After Injury of Head.
Case 146. K, when fourteen years old, was injured
on the head by a horse. The skull was fractured in
several places, and several pieces of bone required re-
moval.
From that time K. was weak mentally, irascible, and
ill-tempered. Gradually he developed an inordinate and
truly beastly sensuality, which drove him to the most
immoral acts. One day he raped a girl of twelve, and
strangled her for fear of discovery. Arrested, he confessed.
The medical experts declared him responsible, and he
was executed.
The autopsy revealed ossification of almost all the
sutures, remarkable asymmetry of the halves of the skull,
and evidences of healed fractures. The affected hemi-
sphere had bands of cicatricial tissue running through
it, and was one-third smaller than the other {Friedreich's
" Blatter," 1885, Heft 6).
STATES OF ACQUIRED MENTAL WEAKNESS. 451
4. Acquired Mental Weakness, Probably Resulting
from Lues.
Case 147. X,, officer, had repeatedly committed
immoral acts with little girls ; among other things, he
had induced them to perform manustupration on him,
had exposed his genitals, and handled theirs.
X., formerly healthy, and of blameless life, was in-
fected with syphihs in 1867. In 1879 paralysis of the
left abducens occurred. Thereafter mental weakijess was
noticed, with a change of his disposition and character.
Headache, occasional incoherence of speech, failure of
power of thought and logic, occasional inequality of
pupils, and paresis of the right facial muscles, were ob-
served.
X., aged thirty-seven, shows no trace of lues when
examined. The paralysis of the left abducens is still
present. The left eye is amblyopic. He is mentally
weak. Concerning the trial that was before him, he said
it was nothing but a harmless misunderstanding. Indi-
cations of aphasia. Weakness of memory, particularly
for recent events. Superficial emotional reaction ; rapid
exhaustion of memory and ability to speak. Proved :
that the ethical defect and the perverse sexual impulse
are the symptoms of an abnormal condition of brain
induced by lues.
Suspension of criminal proceedings (personal case,
" Jahrbiicher fiir Psychiatric ").
5. Paretic Dementia.
Here the sexual life is usually abnormally affected ; in
the incipient stages of the disease, as well as in episodical
states of excitement, it is intensified, and sometimes per-
verse. In the final stages libido and sexual power usually
become 7nl.
Just as in the prodromal stage of the senile forms, one
sees here, in connection with more or less evident losses
452 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
in the moral and intellectual spheres, expressions of an
apparently intensified sexual instinct (obscene talk, las-
civiousness in intercourse with the opposite sex, thouglits
of marriage, frequenting of brothels, etc.), which is char-
acteristic of the clouding of consciousness.
Seduction, abduction and pubHc scandal are here the
order of the day. At first there is still some appreciation
of the circumstances, though the cynicism of the acts is
striking enough. As the mental weakness increases, such
patients- become criminal by reason of exhibition, mastur-
bation in the streets and attempts at immoral acts with
children.
If conditions of mental excitement come on, attempts
at rape are committed, or, at least, grossly immoral acts, —
the patient attacks women on the street, appears in public
in very imperfect dress ; or, half-clothed, tries to force his
way into strange houses, to cohabit with the wife of an
acquaintance, or to marry the daughter on the spot.
Numerous cases belonging to this category are cited
by Tardieu ("Attentats aux moeurs ") ; Mendel (" Progres-
sive Paralyse der Irren," 1880, p. 123); Westphal ("Arch.
f. Psych., vii., p. 622) ; and a case by Petrucci ("Annal.
med. Psychol.," 1875) shows that bigamy may also occur
here.
The brutal disregard of consequences with which the
patients in the advanced stages attempt to satisfy their
sexual needs is characteristic.
In a case reported by Legrand (" La folie," p. 519), the
father of a family was found masturbating in the open
street. After the act he consumed his semen.
A patient seen by me, an officer, of a prominent
family, in broad daylight, made attacks on little girls at
a watering-place.
A similar case is reported by Dr. Begis (" De la
dynamie ou exaltation fonctionnelle au debut de la paral.
gen.," 1878).
Cases reported by TarnowsJcy {op. cit., p. 82) show that
EPILEPSY. 453
also pederasty and bestiality may occur in the prodromal
stages and course of this malady.
Epilepsy.
Epilepsy is allied to the acquired states of mental
weakness because it often leads to them, and then all the
possibilities of reckless satisfaction of the sexual impulse
that have been mentioned may occur. Moreover, in
many epileptics the sexual instinct is very intense. For
the most part it is satisfied by masturbation, now and
then by attacks on children, and by pederasty. Perver-
sion of the instinct with perverse sexual acts seems to be
infrequent.
Much more important are the numerous cases in
literature in which epileptics, who, during intervals,
present no signs of active sexual impulse, but manifest it
in connection with epileptic attacks, or during the time
of equivalent or post-epileptic exceptional mental states.
These cases have scarcely yet been studied clinically, and
forensically not at all ; but they deserve careful study.
In this way certain cases of violence and rape would be
understood, and legal murders prevented.
From the following facts it will certainly be clear that
the cerebral changes which accompany the epileptic out-
break may induce an abnormal excitation of the sexual
instinct.^ Besides, in the exceptional mental states of
epileptics, they are unable to resist their impulses, by
reason of the disturbance of consciousness.
For years I have known a young epileptic, of bad
heredity, who, always after frequent epileptic seizures,
^ Arndt (" Lehrb. d. Psych," p. 410) especially emphasises the pas-
sionate element in epileptics : " I have known epileptics who behaved
in a most sensual way toward their mothers, and others who were
suspected by their fathers of sexual intercourse with the mothers". But
when Arndt declares that, wherever there is a peculiarity of the sexual
life, thought of an epileptic element should come into consideration, he is
in error.
454 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
attacks his mother and tries to violate her. After a time
he comes to himself, and has no recollection of his acts.
In the intervals he is very strict in morals, and has hut
slight sexual inclination.
Some years ago I became acquainted with a young
peasant, who, during epileptic attacks, masturbated shame-
lessly, but during the intervals was above reproach.
Simon (" Crimes et delits," p. 220) mentions an epilep-
tic girl of twenty-three, well educated, and of the best
morals, who, in attacks of vertigo, would shout out ob-
scene words, then raise her dress, make lascivious move-
ments, and try to tear open her undergarments.
Eiernan ("Alienist and Neurologist," January, 1884)
reports the case of an epileptic who always had, as an
aura, the vision of a beautiful woman in lascivious
attitudes, which induced ejaculation. After some years,
with treatment with potassium bromide, the vision was
changed to that of a devil attacking him with a pitchfork.
The instant this reached him, he became unconscious.
The same author speaks of a very respectable man
who had, two or three times a year, epileptic attacks of
furor and dysthymia, with impulses to pederasty, which
lasted a week or two ; and of a lady who, with epilepsy that
came on during the climacterium, had sexual desire for boys.
Case 1 48. W., of good heredity, previously healthy ;
before and after the attack, sound mentally, quiet, kind,
temperate. On 13th April, 1877, he had no appetite. On the
14th, in the presence of his wife and children, he demanded
coitus, first of his wife's friend, who was present, then
of his wife. Taken away, he had an epileptoid attack ;
after this he became wildly maniacal and destructive,
threw hot water on those that tried to approach him, and
threw a child in the stove. Then he soon became quiet,
but for some days remained confused, and finally came
to himself with no recollection of the events of his attack
{Kowalewsky, " Jahrbiicher f. Psych.," 1879).
EPILEPSY. 455
Another case, examined by Casper (" Klin. Novellen,"
p. 267), may be attributed to epilepsy (latent). A respect-
able man attacked four women, one after another, in the
open street (one before two witnessss), and violated one
of them, " notwithstanding that his young, pretty and
healthy wife " lived hard by.
The epileptic significance of the sexual acts in the
following cases is unequivocal : —
Case 1 49. L., an official, aged forty; a kind husband
and father. During four years he has offended public
morals twenty-five times, for which he has had to endure
long imprisonment.
In the first seven complaints he was accused of expos-
ing his genitals to girls from eleven to thirteen years
old, while passing them on horseback, and calhng their
attention by obscene words. While in confinement, he
had exposed his genitals at a window which opened on
a popular street.
L.'s father was insane ; his brother was once met on
the street wearing only a shirt. During his military
service L. had had two attacks of severe fainting. Since
1859 he had suffered with peculiar attacks of vertigo, at
such times becoming weak, tremulous, and deathly pale ;
it grew dark before his eyes, he saw bright stars, and was
forced to get support in order to keep upright. After
violent attacks, great weakness, profuse sweating.
Since 1861 he had been very irritable, which, respected
though he was as an official, caused him much trouble in
his work. His wife noticed the change in him. He had
days when he would run about the house as if insane,
holding his head between his hands, striking the wall, and
complaining of headache. In 1864 he fell to the ground
four times, lying there stiff, with eyes open. Confused
states of consciousness were also proved to have occurred.
L. declared that he had not the slightest remem-
456 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
brance of the crime of which he was accused. Observa-
tion showed further and more violent attacks of epileptic
vertigo. L. was not sentenced. In 1875 paretic dementia
developed with rapidly fatal results {Westphal, " Arch. f.
Psych.," vii., p. 113).
Case 150. A rich man of twenty-six had lived for
a year with a girl with whom he was very much in love.
He cohabited but rarely, but was never perverse.
Twice during the year, after excessive indulgence in
alcohol, he had had epileptic attacks. One evening after
dinner, at which he had taken much wine, he hurried to
the house of his mistress, and into her sleeping-apartment,
although the servant told him she was not at home.
From there he hastened into a room where a boy of
fourteen was sleeping, and began to violate him. At the
cry of the child, whose prepuce and hand he had injured,
the servant hurried to them. He left the boy and raped
the maid ; after that he went to bed and slept twelve
hours. "When he awoke, he had an indistinct remem-
brance of intoxication and coitus. Thereafter there were
repeated epileptic attacks {Tarnowshy, op. cit., p. 52).
Case 151. X., of high social position, led a dissolute
life for some time, and had epileptic attacks. He be-
came engaged. On his wedding day, shortly before the
ceremony, he appeared on his brother's arm before the
assembled guests. When he came before his bride, he
exposed his genitals and began to masturbate. He was
at once taken to an expert in mental disease. On the
way he constantly masturbated, and for some days was
actuated by this impulse, which gradually decreased in
intensity. After this paroxysm the patient had only a
confused remembrance of the events, and could give no
explanation of his acts {Tarnotosky, op. cit, p. 53).
Case 1 52. Z., aged twenty-seven ; very bad heredity ;
EPILEPSY. 457
epileptic. He violated a girl of eleven, and then killed
her. He lied about the deed. Absence of memory, i.e.,
mental confusion at the time of the crime, was not proved.
(Pugliese, " Arch, di Psich.,"'viii., p. 622).
Case 1 53. V., aged sixty ; physician ; violated chil-
dren. Sentenced to imprisonment for two years. Dr.
Marandon later on proved the existence of epileptoid
attacks of apprehensiveness, dementia, erotic and hypo-
chondriacal delusions and occasional attacks of fear {Lacas-
sagne, "Lyon, med.," 1887, No. 51).
Case 154. On 4th August, 1878, H., aged about
fifteen, was picking gooseberries with several httle girls
and boys as her companions. Suddenly she threw L.,
aged ten, to the ground and exposed her, and ordered A.,
aged eight, and 0., aged five, to bring about conjunctio
membrorum with the girl, and they obeyed.
H. had a good character. For five years she had been
subject to irritability, headache, vertigo and epileptic
attacks. Her mental and physical development had been
arrested. She had not menstruated, but she manifested
menstrual molimena. Her mother is suspected to be
epileptic. For three months H., after seizures, had
frequently done strange things, and afterward had no
remembrance of them.
H. seems to have been deflowered. Mental defect is
not apparent She said she had no remembrance of the
act of which she was accused. According to her mother's
testimony, she had an epileptic attack on the morning of
4th August, and she had been, on that account, told by her
mother not to leave the bouse (Pilrkhauer, "Friedreich's
Blatter f. ger. Med.," 1879, H. 5).
Case 155. Immoral acts of an epileptic in states of
abnormal uyiconsciousness. — T., revenue collector ; aged fifty-
two ; married. He is charged of being guilty of immo-
458 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
rality with boys for the past seventeen years, by practising
masturbation on them, and by inducing them to carry out
the act on himself. The accused, a respected oiScer, is
overcome by the terrible crime attributed to him, and
declares that he knows nothing of the deeds of which
he is accused. His mental integrity is questionable.
His family physician, who has known him twenty
years, emphasises his peculiar, retiring disposition and
his mercurial moods. His wife asserts that T. once tried
to throw her in the water, and that he sometimes had
outbreaks in which he tore off his clothing, and tried to
throw himself out of window. T. knew nothing of these
attacks. Other witnesses testified to strange changes
of mood and peculiarities of character. A physician
reports the observation of occasional attacks of vertigo
and convulsions in him.
T.'s grandmother was insane ; his father was affected
with chronic alcoholism, and of late years had had epilep-
tiform attacks. The father's brother was insane, and had
killed a relative while in a delirious state. Another uncle
of T. had killed himself. Of T.'s three children, one
was weak-minded, another cross-eyed, and the third was
subject to convulsions. The accused asserted that he bad
occasional attacks in which consciousness was so reduced
that he did not know what he was about. These attacks
were ushered in by an aura-like pain in the back of his
neck. He was then impelled to go out in the air. He
did not know where he went. His wife had perfectly
satisfied him sexually. For eighteen years he had had
chronic eczema (actual) of the scrotum, which had often
caused him to have extraordinary sexual excitement.
The opinions of the six experts were contradictory (sane,
— attacks of latent epilepsy) ; the jury disagreed, and he
was dismissed. Dr. Legrand du Saulle, who was called as
an expert witness, found that, until his twenty-second
year, T. had urinated in bed from ten to eighteen times a
year. After that time the enuresis nocturna had ceased ;
EPILEPSY. 459
but, from that time, states of mental confusion, lasting from
an hour to a day, had occurred occasionally, and they left
the patient without any remembrance of them. Soon T.
was arrested again for public immorality, and sentenced to
imprisonment for fifteen months. In prison he grew sick,
and apparently much weaker mentally. For this reason
he was pardoned, but the mental weakness increased.
T. was noticed to have repeated epileptoid convulsions
(tonic convulsion with tremor and loss of consciousness)
{Auzouy, " Annal. med. psychol., 1874, Nov. ; Legrand du
Saulle, " Etude med. legale," etc., p. 99).
The following case of immoral acts with children, ob-
served by the author and reported in " Friedreich's Blatter,"
will serve to conclude this group,^ so important in its legal
bearings. It is the more important, in that a state of
unconsciousness was established at the time of the act,
and because, for allied reasons, the facts related in Latin
show how a complicated and refined act becomes possible
in such a state of unconsciousness.
Case 156. P., aged forty-nine; married; hospital
beneficiary. He was accused of having committed the
following terrible acts with two girls, — D., aged ten, and
G., aged nine, — whom he had taken to his work-shop on
25th May, 1883.
D. testifies : " I was in the meadow with G. and my
sister J., aged three. P. called us into his shop and
fastened the door. Tum nos exosculabatur, linguam in
OS meum demittere tentabat faciemque mihi lambebat ;
sustulit me in gremium, bracas aperuit, vestes meas
sublevavit, digitis me in genitalibus titillabat et membro
vulvam meam fricabat ita ut humida fierem. When I
cried, he gave me twelve kreuzers, and threatened to
^ Cf. also Liman, " Zweifelhafte Geisteszustande," Fall 6; Lasigtie,
"Exhibitionists, Union med.," 1877; Ball and Chambard, "Art. Som-
nambulisme" (" Diet, des scienc. med.," 1881).
460 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
shoot me if I exposed him. At last he tried to persuade
me to come again the next day."
G. testified : "P. nates et genitaha D . . se exosculatus,
iisdem me conatibus aggressus est. Deinde filiolum
quoque tres annos natum in manus acceptum osculatus
est nudatumque parti suse virih appressit. Postea quae
nobis essent nomina interrogavit ac censuit, genitalia
D . . se meis multo esse majora. Quin etiam nos impuHt,
ut membrum suum intueremur, manibus comprehendere-
mus et videremus, quantopere id esset erectum."
At his examination, 29th May, P. said he had but an
indistinct recollection of having fondled, caressed and
made presents to a little girl a short time before. If he
had done anything more, it must have been in an irre-
sponsible condition. Besides, he had suffered for years
with weakness in his head as result of an injury. On
22nd June he knew nothing of the events of 25th May,
and nothing of his examination on 29th May. This
amnesia was shown also on cross-examination.
P. comes of a family affected with cerebral disease ; a
brother was epileptic. P. was formerly a drinker. Years
before he had actually received an injury to his head.
Since then, from time to time, he has had attacks of
mental disturbance, introduced by moroseness, irritability,
tendency to alcoholic excesses, apprehension, and delu-
sions of persecution sufficient to induce threats and deeds
of violence. At the same time he would have auditory
hypersesthesia, vertigo, headache and cerebral conges-
tion,— all this, with great mental confusion and amnesia
for the whole period of the attack, which would sometimes
last for weeks.
During the intervals he was subject to headache,
which started from the seat of injury on the head (a
small scar in the skin over the right temple), which was
painful on pressure. With exacerbation of the headache
he became very irritable, morose to an extent that in-
clined him to suicide, and mentally like one drunk. In
PEEIODICAL INSANITY. 461
1879, while in such a state, he made an impulsive attempt
at suicide, of which he afterward had no remembrance.
Soon after this, being sent to hospital, he gave the
impression of being epileptic, and for a long time was
treated with pot. bromide. At the end of 1879 he was
taken to the infirmary, no actual epileptic attack having
been observed.
During his lucid intervals he was a virtuous, indus-
trious, good-natured man, and had never shown any
sexual excitement ; and, until this time, never sexual
inclinations, even during his mental confusion. More-
over, until lately he had lived with his wife. At the time
of the criminal act he had shown signs of an approaching
attack, and had asked the physician to prescribe pot.
bromide.
P. asserted that, since the injury to his head, he had
been intolerant of heat and alcohol, which immediately
brought on headache and confusion. The medical exami-
nation proved the truth of his assertions about mental
weakness, irritability and poor sleep.
If pressure were made at the seat of the trauma, P.
became congested, irritable, confused and trembled all
over ; he appeared excited ; consciousness was disturbed,
and remained so for hours.
At times, when he is free from the sensations that
start from the scar, he seems kind, free, willing and open,
though he is mentally weak and cloudy. P. was not
sentenced (vide "Friedreich's Blatter" for full report).
Periodical Insanity.
Just as in cases of non-periodical mania, an abnormal
intensity or a noticeable prominence of the sexual sphere
■js very often manifested in the periodical attacks {v. infra,
"Mania").
The following case, reported by Scrvaes ("Arch. f.
Psych."), shows that it then may also be perverted : —
462 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 157. Catharine W., aged sixteen; she has
not yet menstruated ; previously healthy. Father very
irascible.
Seven weeks before admission (3rd December, 1872),
melancholic depression and irritability. 27th November,
maniacal outbreak, lasting two days ; thereafter, melan-
cholic. 6th December, normal condition.
24th December (twenty-eight days after the first
maniacal attack), silent, shy, depressed. 27th December,
exaltation (jolly, laughing, etc.), with violent love for an
attendant (female). 31st December, suddenly melan-
cholic catalepsy, which disappeared after two hours. 20th
January, 1873, new attack like the previous one. A simi-
lar one on 18th February, with traces of menses. The
patient had no recollection whatever for what occurred in
the paroxyms, and blushed scarlet with astonishment and
shame when told about them.
Thereafter there were abortive attacks, which entirely
disappeared, to give place to the normal mental condition
in June.
In a case reported by Gock ("Arch. f. Psych." v.),
which was probably circular insanity, in a man of very
bad heredity, during the stage of exaltation there was
•manifestation of sexual feeling for men. In this case,
however, the patient thought himself a girl, and it is
questionable whether the sexual inclination was induced
by the delusion or by an antipathic sexual instinct.
In connection with these cases of abnormal manifesta-
tion of the sexual instinct are those which, as a symptoui
of mania, manifest an abnormal and frequently a perverse
sexual instinct in an impulsive way, analogous to dipso-
mania, which forms the nucleus of the psychical disturb-
ance, while in the intervals the sexual instinct is neither'
intense nor perverse.
Quite a genuine case of such periodical psychopathia
sexualis, connected with the process of menstruation, is
PERIODICAL INSANITY. 463
the following reported by Anjd (" Arch. f. Psych." xv.,
Hett 2) :—
Case 1 58. A quiet lady, near the climacteric. Very
bad heredity. In her youth attacks of petit mat. Al-
ways eccentric, quick-tempered ; very moral ; childless
marriage.
Several years ago, after a violent emotional disturb-
ance, a hystero-epileptic attack, with post-epileptic in-
sanity of several weeks' duration. Thereafter there was
sleeplessness for several months. Following this, there
was always menstrual insomnia, and the impulse to
embrace and kiss boys of ten, and fondle their genitals.
During this excitement there was no desire for coitus ;
certainly not for intercourse with adults.
The patient often speaks openly of this impulse, and
asks to be watched, as she is not to be trusted. In the
intervals she anxiously avoids all talk of it, is very modest,
and in nowise passionate sexually.
With reference to the still imperfectly known cases
of periodical j)sijchopatliia sexualis of this kind, Tarnowsky
{op. cit., p. 38) has made valuable contributions, though
his cases were not all of a periodic nature.
Tarnowsky reports cases where married, cultured men,
the fathers of families, were, from time to time, compelled
to perform the most terrible sexual acts, while during
the intervals they were sexually normal, abhorred their
paroxysmal sexual acts, and shuddered before the expec-
tation of their repetition.
If a new paroxysm came on, the normal sexual instinct
disappeared ; a state of mental excitement arose with
insomnia, and thoughts and impulses to commit the per-
verse sexual acts, with anxious confusion and an increas-
ing impulse to the abhorred indulgence. In this state
the act was a relief, because it ended the condition. The
analogy with dipsomania is complete.
4:64 PSYCHOPATIIIA SEXUALIS.
For other cases (of periodical pederasty), vide 'I'limov-
shy, op. cit., p. 41. The case there reported, on page 40
belongs in the category of epilepsy.
The following case, reported by Anjdl (" Arch. f.
Psych,," XV., Heft 2), is one of the most typical of the
convulsive-like occurrence of sexual excitement : —
Case 159. A gentleman of high social position, aged
forty -five ; generally respected and beloved ; heredity good ;
very moral ; married fifteen years. Previously sexually
normal , the father of several healthy children, and living
in happy matrimony Eight years ago he had a sudden
fright. For some weeks thereafter he had a feeling of
apprehension and cardiac attacks. Then came attacks,
at intervals of several months or a year, of what the
patient called his " moral catarrh ". He became sleepless.
After three days, loss of appetite, increasing irritability,
strange appearance ; fixed stare, staring into space ; pale-
ness, changing with redness ; tremor of the fingers ; red,
shining eyes, with peculiar glassy expression ; and violent,
quick manner of speech. There was a desire for girls of
from five to ten years, even for his own daughters. He
would beg his wife to guard the children. For days at
a time, while in this state he would shut himself in his
room. Previously he was compelled to pass school-girls
on the street, and he found a peculiar pleasure in exposing
his genitals before them, by actmg as if about to urinate.
For fear of exposure, he shuts himself in his room,
morose, incapable of movement, and torn by feelings of
fear. Consciousness seems to be undisturbed. The at-
tacks last from eight to fourteen days. The cause of their
return is not clear. Improvement is sudden ; there is
great desire for sleep, and, after this is satisfied, he is
well again. In the interval there is nothing abnormal,
Anjel assumes an epileptic foundation, and considers the
attacks to be the psychical equivalents of epileptic con-
vulsions.
SATYEIASIS AND NYMPHOMANIA. 465
IWania.
. With the general excitation that here exists in the
psychical organ, the sexual sphere is likewise often impli-
cated. In maniacal individuals of the female sex, this is
the rule. In certain cases, it may be questionable whether
the instinct, which, in itself, is not intensified, is simply
recklessly manifested, or whether it is present in actual
abnormal intensity. For the most part, the latter is the
true assumption — certainly so where sexual delusions and
their rehgious equivalents are constantly expressed. In
accordance with the degrees of intensity of the disease,
the intensified instinct is expressed in different forms.
In simple maniacal exaltation in men, courting,
frivolity, and lasciviousness in speech, and frequenting
of brothels, are observed ; in women, inclination for the
society of men, personal adornment, perfumes, talk of
marriage and scandals, suspicion of the virtue of other
women ; or there is manifested the rehgious equivalent —
pilgrimages, missionary work, desire to go into a cloister
or to become the servant of a priest ; and in this case
there is much talk about innocence and virginity.
At the height of mania there may be seen invitations
to coitus, exhibition, obscenity, great excitation at sight
of women, tendency to smear the person with saliva,
urine, and even faeces; rehgio-sexual delusions, —to be
under the protection of the Holy Ghost, to have given
birth to Christ, etc. ; open onanism and pelvic movements
of coitus.
In maniacal men care must be taken to prevent
shameless masturbation and sexual attacks on women.
Satyriasis and Nymphomania.
States of mental excitement in which an abnormal
intense sexual impulse is prominent are called satyriasis
(in males) and nymphomania or uteromania (in women).
30
466 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Moreau considers these cases peculiar to themselves,
but he is certainly in error. The sexual complexus of
symptoms is always but the partial manifestation of a
general psychosis (mania, hallucinatory insanity ?),
The essential element of the state of sexual excitement
is a condition of psychical hypersesthesia with involve-
ment of the sexual sphere. The imagination calls up
only sexual images, which may lead to hallucinations,
illusions and true hallucinatory delirium.
The most indifferent ideas excite sensual association,
and the lustful colouring of the ideas and apperceptions is
very much intensified.
The abnormal state of consciousness implicates the
whole- course of feehng and desire, and is accompanied by
general physical excitement like that which accompanies
coitus {v. "Physiology"). Often the genitals are in a
constant state of turgor (priapism in males).
The man affected with this sexual passion seeks to
satisfy his desire at any price, and, therefore, becomes
very dangerous to women. Faute de mieux, he practises
onanism or sodomy. The nymphomaniacal woman seeks
men by exhibition, or to attract them by her sensual
conduct; at the sight of men she is intensely excited
sexually, and satisfies herself by masturbation or by pelvic
movements of coitus.
Satyriasis is rare. Nymphomania is more frequently
observed, and not seldom in the climacteric. It may
occur in senility. Abstinence,^ with constant excitation
of the sexual sphere as a result of psychical or peripheral
irritation {pmrikis, pudcndi oxyuris, etc.), may cause these
conditions, but probably only in those predisposed.
The assertion that it may also result from poisoning
by cantharides seems to depend upon confounding it with
priapism. The primary lustful feeling that accompanies
priapism due to cantharides soon becomes painful. Saty-
1 Cf. the interesting cases of Marc-Ideler, ii., p. 137 ; Ideler, " Grund-
riss der Seelenheilkunde," ii., pp. 488-92.
HYSTERIA. 467
riasis and nymphomania are acute abnormal psycho-
sexual states.
There are also cases that, not without reason, might
be called chronic satyriasis or nymphomania. To these
belong the men who, for the most part as a result of
abusus veneris, or more particularly of masturbation, suffer
with neurasthenia sexualis, and at the same time have intense
libido sexualis. The imagination, as in acute cases, is in a
state of excitement, and the mind full of obscene images ;
so that the most elevated ideas are besmirched with the
cynical images and thoughts.
The thought and desire of such men are solely directed
to the sexual sphere ; and since their flesh is weak, led on
by their fancy, they come to indulge in the grossest per-
versions' of the sexual act.
Analogous cases in women may be called chronic
nymphomania. They naturally lead to prostitution. Le-
grand du Saulle ("La folie," p. 510) reports interesting
cases which apparently are genuine.
Melancholia.
The thoughts and feelings of melancholiacs are not
favourable for the excitation of sexual desires. At the
same time, these patients sometimes masturbate. In my
experience such cases have always been hereditarily pre-
disposed and previously given to onanism. The act did
not seem to be so much due to a lustful desire as to be
induced by habit, ennui, anxiety and the impulse to change
temporarily the painful mental condition.
Hysteria.
In this neurosis the sexual life is very frequently
abnormal ; indeed, always in predisposed individuals.
All the possible anomalies of the sexual function may
occur here, with sudden changes and peculiar activity ;
468 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
and, on an hereditary degenerate basis and in moral
imbecility, they may appear in the most perverse
forms. The abnormal change and inversion of the
sexual feeling are never without effect upon the patient's
disposition.
The following case, reported by Giraud, is one of this
nature worthy of repetition : —
Case 160. Marianne L., of Bordeaux. At night,
while the household was asleep under the influence of
narcotics which she had administered, she had given
the children of the house to her lover for sexual enjoy-
ment, and made them witness immoral acts. It was
found that L. was hysterical (hemianaesthesia and con-
vulsive attacks), but before her illness she had been
a moral, trustworthy person. Since her illness she
had become a shameless prostitute, and lost all moral
sense.
In the hysterical the sexual sphere is often abnorm-
ally excited. This excitement may be intermittent
(menstrual?). Shameless prostitution, even in married
women, may result. In a milder form the sexual impulse
expresses itself in onanism, going about in a room naked,
smearing the person with urine and other filthy things,
or wearing male attire, etc.
Schille (" Klin. Psychiatrie," 1886, p. 237), finds very
frequently an abnormally intense sexual impulse " which
disposes girls, and even women living m happy marriage,
to become Messalinas ".
The author cites known cases in which, on the wed-
ding-journey, attempts at flight with men who had been
accidentally met were made ; and respected wives who
entered into liaisons, and sacrificed everything to their
insatiable impulse.
In hysterical insanity the abnormally intense sexual
impulse may express itself in delusions of jealousy, un-
PARANOIA. 469
founded accusations against men for immoral acts,'
hallucinations of coitus,^ etc.
Occasionally frigidity may occur, with absence of lust-
ful feeling — due, for the most part, to genital anaBsthesia.
Paranoia.
Abnormal manifestations in the sexual sphere, in the
various forms of paranoia, are not infrequent. Many of
these cases are developed on sexual abuse (masturbatic
paranoia) or sexual excitement ; and, according to experi-
ence, in individuals psychically degenerate, with other
functional signs of degeneracy, the sexual sphere is, for
the most part, deeply implicated.
In paranoia religiosa and erotica the abnormally intense
and, under certain circumstances, perverse sexual instinct
is most clearly manifested. In the first variety, however,
the condition of sexual excitation is expressed not so much
in a direct method of satisfaction of the sexual desires
as (there are exceptions) in platonic love — in enthusiastic
admiration of a person of the opposite sex who is pleasing
aesthetically. Under certain circumstances, the enthusiasm
is for an imaginary person, a portrait, or a statue.
A love for the opposite sex that is weak and purely
mental also, often has its basis in weakness of the geni-
tals due to long-continued masturbation ; and, under the
guise of virtuous admiration for a beloved person, great
lasciviousness and sexual perversion are often concealed.
Episodically, especially in women, violent sexual excite-
ment may occur as a nymphomania.
For the most part, paranoia religiosa rests upon sexual-
ity which manifests itself in a sexual impulse that is ab-
^ Vide case of Merlac, in the author's "Lehrb. d. ger. Psychopathol.,"
2 Aufl., p. 322 ; Morel, " Traitu des malad. mentales," p. 687 ; Legrand,
" La folie," p. 337 ; Process La Ronciere, in " Annal. d'hyg.," 1 Seric, iv. ;
3 Serie, xxii.
2 The incubus in the witch-trials of the middle ages depended on
them.
470 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
normally early and intense. The libido finds satisfaction
in masturbation or religious enthusiasm, the object of
which may be a certain minister, saint, etc.
The psycho-pathological relations between the sexual
and religious domains have been described in detail on
p. 10 et seq.
Apart from masturbation, sexual crimes are relatively
frequent in religious paranoia.
Marc's work (p. 160) contains a remarkable example of
religious insanity.
Giraiid ("Annal. med. psychoL") has reported a case
of immorality with a little girl by a religious paranoiac,
aged forty-three, who was temporarily erotic. Here, also,
belongs a case of incest {Liman, '* Vierteljahrsschr. f. ger.
Med.").
Case 161. M. impregnated his daughter. His wife,
mother of eighteen children, and herself pregnant by her
husband, lodged the complaint. M. had had religious
paranoia for two years. "It was revealed to me that I
should beget the Eternal Son with my daughter. Then a
man of flesh and blood would arise by my faith, who
would be 1800 years old. He would be a bridge between
the Old and New Testament." This command, which be
deemed divine, was the cause of his insane act.
Sexual acts that have a pathological motive sometimes
occur in persecutory paranoia.
Case 162. A woman of thirty had, under promise
of money and food, enticed a boy of five, who played near
her, handled bis genitals, and then attempted coitus. She
was a teacher, who had been betrayed and then cast off.
Previously moral, for some time she had given herself to
prostitution. The explanation of her immoral change
was given, when it was found that she had various delu-
sions of persecution, and thought she was under the secret
PARANOIA. 471
influence of her seducer, who impelled her to sexual acts.
She also believed that the boy had been put in her way
by her seducer. Coarse sensuality as a motive for her
crime came less into consideration, as it would have been
easy for her to satisfy sexual desire in a natural way
[Kilssner, " Berl. klin. Wochenschrift ").
Cullerre ("Perversions sexuelles chez les persecutes,"
in "Annal. medico-psychol.," March, 1886) has reported
similar cases, — the case of a patient who, suffering with
'paranoia sexualis pcrsecutoria, tried to violate his sister,
giving as a reason that the impulse was given him by
Bonapartists.
In another case a captain, suffering with delusions of
persecution by electro-magnetism, was driven to ped-
erasty,— a thing he abhorred. In a similar case the
persecutor impelled to onanism and pederasty.
V. PATHOLOGICAL SEXUALITY IN ITS LEGAL
ASPECTS.'
The laws of all civilised nations punish those who
commit perverse sexual acts. Inasmuch as the preserva-
tion of chastity and morals is one of the most important
reasons for the existence of the commonwealth, the state
cannot be too careful, as a protector of morality, in the
struggle against sensuality. This contest is unequal ;
because only a certain number of the sexual crimes can
be legally combated, and the infractions of the laws by so
powerful a natural instinct can be but little influenced by
punishment. It also lies in the nature of the sexual
crimes that but a part of them ever reach the knowledge
of the authorities. Public sentiment, in that it looks
upon them as disgraceful, lends much aid.
Criminal statistics prove the sad fact that sexual
crimes are progressively increasing in our modern civili-
sation.^ This is particularly the case with immoral acts
with children under the age of fourteen.
The morahst sees in these sad facts nothing but the
decay of general morality, and in some instances comes
to the conclusion that the present mildness of the laws
punishing sexual crimes, in comparison with their severity
in past centuries, is in part responsible for this.
^ S. Weisbrod, " Die Sittlichkeitsverbrechen vor dem Gesetz," Berlin,
1891; Dv. Pasqnale Pcnta, " 1 -peYveYtimenti sessuali neiruomo," Napoli,
1893; Se?/(^<?Z, " Die Beurtheilung der perversen Sexualvergehen in foro,"
" Vierteljahrsschr. fiir ger. Med.," 1893, Heft 2; Viazzi, " Sui reati ses-
suali" ("Bibliobeca antropologico-giuridica").
^ Cf. Cas2?er, "KUn. Novellen"; Lombroso, '' Ooltdanmier's Archiv,'
Bd. XXX. ; Oetlingcn, " Moralstatistik," p. 494.
(472)
PATHOLOGICAL SEXUALITY IN ITS LEGAL ASPECTS. 473
The medical investigator is driven to the conclusion
that this manifestation of modern social life stands in
relation to the predominating nervous condition of later
generations, in that it begets defective individuals, excites
the sexual instinct, leads to sexual abuse, and, with
continuance of lasciviousness associated with diminished
sexual power, induces perverse sexual acts.
It will be clearly seen from what follows how such an
opinion is justified, especially with respect of the increas-
ing number of sexual crimes committed on children.
It is at once evident, from what has gone before, that
neuropathic, and even psychopathic, states are largely
determinate for the commission of sexual crimes. Here
nothing less than the responsibility of many of the men
who commit such crimes is called in question.
Psychiatry cannot be denied the credit of having re-
cognised and proved the psycho-pathological significance
of numerous monstrous, paradoxical sexual acts.
Law and Jurisprudence have thus far given but little
attention to the facts resulting from investigations in
psycho-pathology. Law is, in this, opposed to Medicine,
and is constantly in danger of passing judgment on in-
dividuals who, in the hght of science, are not responsible
for their acts.
Owing to this superficial treatment of acts that deeply
concern the interests and welfare of society, it becomes
very easy for justice to treat a delinquent, who is as
dangerous to society as a murderer or a wild beast, as a
criminal, and, after punishment, release him to prey on
society again ; on the other hand, scientific investigation
shows that a man mentally and sexually degenerate ah
origine, and therefore irresponsible, must be removed from
society for life, but not as a punishment.
A judge who considers only the crime, and not its
perpetrator, is always in danger of injuring not only im-
portant interests of society (general morality and safety),
but also those of the individual (honour).
474 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
In no domain of criminal law is co-operation of judge
and medical expert so much to be desired as in that of
sexual delinquencies ; and here only anthropological and
clinical investigation can afford light and knowledge.
The nature of the act can never, in itself, determine a
decision as to whether it lies within the limits of mental
pathology, or within the bounds of mental physiology.
The perverse act does not indicate perversion of instinct. At
any rate, the most monstrous and most perverse sexual
acts have been committed by persons of sound mind. The
perversion of feeling must be shown to be pathological. This
proof is to be obtained by learning the conditions attend-
ing its development, and by proving it to be part of an
existing general neuropathic or psychopathic condition.
The species facti is important ; but it, too, allows only
presumptions, since the same sexual act, according as it
is committed by an epileptic, paralytic, or a man of sound
mind, takes on other features and peculiarities, in accord-
ance with the manner in which it is done.
Periodical recurrence of the act under identical circum-
stances, and an impulsive manner in carrying it out,
give rise to weighty presumptions that it is of pathological
significance. The decision, however, must follow after
referring the act to its psychological motive (abnormalities
of thought and feeling), and after showing this elementary
anomaly to be but one symptom of a general neuropathic
condition — either an arrest of mental development, or a
condition of psychical degeneration, or a psychosis.
The cases discussed in the portion of this work devoted
to general and special pathology will certainly be useful
to the medical expert, in assisting him to discover the
motive of the act.
To obtain the facts necessary to allow a decision of
the question whether immorality or abnormality occa-
sioned the act, a medico-legal examination is required — an
examination which is made according to the rules of
science ; which takes account of both the past history of
PATHOLOGICAL SEXUALITY IN ITS LEGAL ASPECTS. 475
the individual and the present condition, — the anthropo-
logical and clinical data.
The proof of the existence of an original, congenital
anomaly of the sexual sphere is important, and points to
the need of an examination in the direction of a condition
of psychical degeneration. An acquired perversity, to be
pathological, must be found to depend upon a neuropathic
or psychopathic state.
Practically, paretic dementia and epilepsy must first
come to mind. The decision concerning responsibility
will depend on the demonstration of the existence of a
psychopathic state in the individual charged with a sexual
crime.
This is indispensable, to avoid the danger of covering
simple immorality with the cloak of disease.
Psychopathic states may lead to crimes against moral-
ity, and at the same time remove the conditions necessary
to the existence of responsibility, under the following cir-
cumstances : —
1. To oppose the normal or intensified sexual desire,
there may be no moral or legal notions, owing to {a) the
fact that they may never have been developed (states of
congenital mental weakness) ; or to {h) the fact that they
have been lost (states of acquired mental weakness).
2. When the sexual desire is increased (states of psy-
chical exaltation), consciousness simultaneously clouded
and the mental mechanism too much disturbed to allow
the opposing ideas, virtually present, to exert their in-
fluence.
3. When the sexual instinct is perverse (states of
psychical degeneration). It may, at the same time, be so
intensified as to be irresistible.
Cases of sexual delinquency that occur outside of states
of mental defect, degeneration, or disease, can never be
excused on the ground of irresponsibility.
In many cases, instead of an abnormal psychical condi-
tion, a neurosis (local or general) is found. Inasmuch as
476 PSYCHOPATniA SEXUALIS.
the transitions from a neurosis to a psychosis are easy,
and elementary psychical disturbances are frequent in
the former, and constant in profound perversion of the
sexual life, the neurotic affection — e.g., impotence, irritable
weakness, etc. — exerts an influence on the motive of the
incriminating act ; and a just judge, notwithstanding the
lack of legal irresponsibility due to mental defect or dis-
ease, will recognise the circumstances which ameliorate
the heinousness of the crime.
For various reasons the practical jurist will, in all cases
of sexual crimes, call medical experts to make a psychiatric
examination.
To be sure, his own conscience and judgment must be
the guides when necessity makes them his only reliance.
Under the following circumstances indices are given which
ooint to a pathological condition : —
The accused is senile. The sexual crime is commit-
ted openly, with remarkable cynicism. The manner of
obtaining sexual satisfaction is silly (exhibition), or cruel
(mutilation or murder), or perverse (necrophilia, etc.).
From what experience teaches, it may be said that,
among the sexual acts that occur, rape, mutilation, peder-
asty, amor lesbicus, and bestiality may have a psycho-
pathological basis.
In case of lust-murder — in as far as its ulterior object
goes beyond the murder itself — and likewise in cases of
mutilation of corpses, psychopathic conditions are probable.
Exhibition and mutual ma^turlxition seem to indicate
the probable existence of pathological conditions. Mas-
turbation of another and passive onanism may occur in
connection with senile dementia and inverted sexual feel-
ing, but also with mere sensuahty,
Cimnilinyus and fcllare {j^cncm in os muUeris arrigere)
have not thus far been shown to depend upon psycho-
pathological conditions.
These horrible sexual acts seem to be committed only
by sensual men who have become satiated or impotent
OFFENCE AGAINST MOEALITT. 477
from excessive indulgence in a normal way. Pcedicatio
mulierum does not seem to be psychopathic, but rather a
practice of married men of low morality, who wish to
prevent pregnancy ; and of satiated cynics in non-marital
sexual indulgence.
The practical importance of the subject makes it neces-
sary that the sexual acts threatened with punishment as
sexual crimes be considered by jurists from the standpoint
of the medico-legal expert. Thus there is an advantage
gained, in that the psycho-pathological acts, according to
circumstances, are placed in the right Hght by comparison
with analogous acts that fall within the domain of physio-
logical psychology.
1. Offence Against Morality in the Form of Exhibition. ^
(Aiistrian Statutes, § 516 ; Abridgment, § 195. German Statutes, § 183.)
In man's present condition of civilisation, modesty is
a characteristic and motive so firmly fixed by centuries
of education that presumption of a psycho-pathological
element necessarily arises when public decency is coarsely
offended.
The presumption is justifiable that an individual who
has in this way offended public decency and his own self-
respect was incapable of (idiots) or had lost the feehngs of
morality (states of acquired mental weakness) ; or that he
acte& while in a clouded state of consciousness (transitory
insanity, states of partial consciousness).
A very distinctive act which belongs here is that of
exhibition (exposure).
The cases thus far recorded are exclusively those of
men who ostentatiously expose their genitals to persons
of the opposite sex, whom in some instances they even
pursue, without, however, becoming aggressive.
1 Boissier et Lachaux, " Perversions sexuelles a forme obs''dante,"
"Archives de Neurologie," 1893, October; Sch'd/cr, " Vierteljahrsschr. f.
gcrichtl. Med.," 3 Folge, x., 1.
478 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The silly manner of this sexual activity, or really
sexual demonstration, points to intellectual and moral
weakness; or, at least, to temporary inhibition of the
intellectual and moral functions, with excitation of libido
dependent upon a decided disturbance of consciousness
(abnormal unconsciousness, mental confusion), and at
the same time calls the virihty of these individuals in
question. Thus there are various categories of exhibi-
tionists.
The first category includes acquired states of mental
weakness in which, owing to the causative cerebral (or
spinal) disease, consciousness is clouded, and the ethical
and intellectual functions are interfered with ; and in
which there can be no resistance made to a sexual desire
that has either always been intense or that has been
intensified by the disease-process. At the same time
impotence exists, and no longer permits expression of the
sexual instinct in violent acts (rape), but only in acts that
are silly.
The majority of reported cases* fall in this category
They are those of individuals afflicted with senile demen-
tia, paretic dementia, or mental defects due to alcoholism,
epilepsy, etc.
Case 163. Z., high official, aged sixty; widower;
father of a family. He gave offence in that, during
fourteen days, he had repeatedly exposed his genitals at
his window, to a girl of eight years who lived opposite
him. After a few months, under hke circumstances, this
man repeated his indecent act. At his examination he
acknowledged the depravity of his action, and could give
no excuse for it. Death, a year later, due to cerebral
disease (Lasegtie, op. cit.).
^Lasdgue, "Union M^dicale," 1877, May; Laugier, "Annal d'hygiene
publ.," 1878, No. 106; Pelanda, " Pornopatlis," "Archivio di Psichiatria,"
viii. ; Schucliardt, " Zeitschr. f. Medicinalbeamte," 1890, Heft 6.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 479
Case 164. Z., aged seventy-eight; seaman. He
had repeatedly exhibited his genitals on children's play-
grounds and in the neighbourhood of girls' schools. This
was the only way in which he was active sexually. He
was married, and the father of ten children. Twelve
years previously he had suffered a severe head-injury, which
left a deep scar, indenting the bone. Pressure on this
scar caused pain ; at the same time his face would flush,
his expression become fixed, and he would grow som-
nolent, with convulsive movements in the right upper
extremity (apparently epileptoid state in connection with
cortical disease). Moreover, there was senile dementia
and advanced senium. It is not reported whether the
exhibition coincided with epileptoid attacks or not.
Senile dementia proved ; pardoned (Dr. Schuchardt, op. cit.).
Pelanda (op. cit.) has reported a number of cases of this
kind : —
1. Paralytic, aged sixty. At the age of fifty-eight he
began to exhibit himself to women and children. In the
asylum at Verona, for a long time thereafter, he was
lascivious, and also attempted fellatio.
2. A drinker, aged sixty-six, suffering with folie cir-
culaire. His exhibition was first noticed in church durinsr
divine service. His brother was likewise an exhibitionist.
3. A drinker, predisposed, aged forty-nine. He was
always very excitable sexually ; in an asylum on account
of chronic alcoholism. He exhibited himself whenever he
saw a woman.
4. A man, aged sixty-four ; married ; father of fourteen
children. Great predisposition. Kachitic, microcephalic
head. For years he had been an exhibitionist, in spite of
repeated punishment.
Case 165. X., merchant, born in 1833; single. He
had repeatedly exhibited himself to children, or even
480 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
urinated at the same time ; once, under these circum-
stances, he had kissed a little girl. Twenty years pre-
viously X. had had a severe attack of mental disease,
lasting two years, in which he is said to have had an
apoplectic attack. Later, after loss of his fortune, he
gave himself to drink, and of late years had often appeared
absent-minded. His condition was that of alcoholism,
senium prcBcox and mental weakness Penis small ; phi-
mosis ; testicles atrophic. Proof of mental disease ; par-
doned (Dr. Schiochardt, op. cit.).
Such cases recall the lasciviousness of youthful, sexu-
ally excited persons that are still more or less boyish ;
but also that of man}' mature cynics of low morality, who
find pleasure in defiling the walls of public closets, etc.,
with drawings of male and female genitals, — a kind of
ideal exhibition which, however, is still widely separated
from actual exhibition.
Another category of exhibitionists is made up of epilep-
tics.^ This category is essentially to be distinguished from
the foregoing, because a conscious motive for the exhibition
is wanting ; and it appears much more like an impulsive
act which, without any consideration of external circum-
stances, is perform d as if it were an abnormal organic
necessity.
At the time of the act there is always a state of im-
perfect consciousness ; and thus is explained the fact that
the unfortunate individual, without consciousness of the
meaning of his act, or, at least, without cynicism, does it
in obedience to a blind impulse. On regaining conscious-
ness, he regrets and abhors it if there is not permanent
mental weakness.
The prime motive in this state of imperfect conscious-
ness, as with other impulsive acts, is a feehng of appre-
hensive oppression. If a sexual feeling become associated
1 Instructive case reported by i\Lyrselli, " Bolletiuo della R. Accademia
medica di Genova," vol. ix. (Ib9ij, fasc. 1.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 481
with it, then the ideas are given a certain direction in the
sense of a corresponding (sexual) act.
How sexual ideas very easily arise temporarily in epilep-
tics may be understood from the discussion on pp. 453-461.
If, however, such an association has once been formed ;
if a particular act has taken place in an attack — it is the
more easily repeated in every subsequent attack ; for, so
to speak, a known track has been estabhshed in the path
of motivity.
The feeling of anxiety, with the state of imperfect con-
sciousness, causes the associated sexual impulse to appear
as a command — an inner force, which is acted upon in
a purely impulsive manner and in a state of absolute
irresponsibihty.
Case 166. K., a subordinate official, aged twenty-
nine ; of neuropathic family ; living in happy marriage ;
father of one child. He has repeatedly, especially at dusk,
exhibited himself to servant-girls. K. is tall, slim, pale,
nervous and hasty in manner. There is imperfect memory
of the crimes. Since childhood there have been frequent
severe congestive attacks, with intense flushing of the
face, a rapid, tense pulse, and a fixed, absent stare. At
the same time there were, now and then, confusion and
vertigo. In this (epileptic) exceptional state K. would
answer only after repeated questioning, and then it was as
if he were waking from a dream. K. states that he has al-
ways felt excited and restless for some hours before his
criminal acts, and experienced a feeling of fear, with
oppression, and congestion of the head. In this condition
he had often been giddy, and experienced an indistinct
feehng of sexual excitement. At the height of such states
he had left the house, without any purpose in view, and
exposed his genitals anywhere. When he had reached
home again, he had had but a dreamy remembrance of
what had occurrred, and felt very weak and depressed.
It is also remarkable that, while exhibiting his genitals,
Ox
482 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
he had used Hghted matches to make them visible. The
opinion was to the effect that the criminal acts depended
upon epilepsy, and were imperative impulses ; but he was,
nevertheless, sentenced, wnth the assumption of extenuat-
ing circumstances (Dr. Schuchardt, op. cit.).
Case 167. L., aged thirty-nine; single; tailor. His
father was probably a drinker ; he had two epileptic
brothers, one of whom was insane. The patient himself
has slight epileptic attacks, and from time to time states
of imperfect consciousness, in which he runs about aim-
lessly, and thereafter does not know where he has been.
He was considered a moral man, but he is now accused
of having exhibited and played with his genitals in a
strange house five or six times. His remembrance of
these acts was very imperfect.
On account of repeated desertion from the army (pro-
bably likewise in epileptic states of imperfect conscious-
ness), L. had been severely punished. In imprisonment
he became insane with " epileptic insanity," was sent to
the Charite, and from there discharged " cured ". As far
as the criminal acts were concerned, cynicism and wanton-
ness could be excluded. That they were committed in a
state of imperfect consciousness is probable from the fact
among other things, that to the policeman who arrested
him, the " imbecile " appeared to be in a remarkably
cloudy state of mental consciousness (Liman, " Viertel-
jahrsschrift f. ger. Med.," N. F. xxxviii., Heft 2.).
Case 168. L., aged thirty-seven. From 15th October
to 2nd November, he had many times given offence by
exhibiting himself to girls in daylight in the open street,
and even in schools, into which he forced himself. It
happened occasionally that he wanted the girls to perform
manustupration or allow coitus, and, when refused, he
performed masturbation before them. In G., in a public-
house, he rapped with his exposed penis on the window
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 483
SO that the children and servant-girls in the kitchen were
forced to see it.
After his arrest it was ascertained that since 1876 L.
had very frequently caused trouble by exhibitions, but
had always escaped punishment, owing to the demonstra-
tion of mental disease by physicians. On the other hand,
he had been punished for desertion and theft in the army>
and, later, once, as a civilian, for stealing cigars. L. had
repeatedly been in asylums on account of insanity (at-
tacks of insanity ?). Besides, he was often remarkable on
account of his changeable, quarrelsome character, occa-
sional excitement and inconstancy.
L.'s brother died of paralysis. He himself presents
no degenerative signs; no epileptic antecedents. At the
time of observation he is neither insane nor mentally
weakened.
He behaves himself very well, and expresses great
regret for his sexual crimes, which he explains in this
wise : though not a drinker, he occasionally has an im-
pulse to drink. Soon after beginning, congestion of the
head, vertigo, restlessness, anxiety and oppression come
on. He then passes into a dreamy state. An irresistible
impulse now forces him to expose himself ; and he then
experiences a feeling of relief and breathes more easily.
"When he has once exposed himself, he knows nothing
more of what he does. As precursors of such attacks, he
had often, a short time before, had flames before the eyes
and vertigo. For the time of his clouded state of con-
sciousness he had but an obscure, dreamy memory.
It was only after a time that sexual ideas and impulses
had become associated with these apprehensive, cloudy
states of consciousness. Years ago, in such states, with-
out motive and with great danger, he had deserted ; once
he had jumped from a third-storey window ; on another
occasion he had left a, good position to wander about
aimlessly in a neighbouring country, where he was at
once arrested for exhibition.
484 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
When, outside of his abnormal periods;, L. once became
intoxicated, there was no exhibition. In the hicid state
his sexual feeling and intercourse are perfectly normal
(Dr. Hotzen, "Friedreich's Blatter," 1890, Heft 6). For
other instances, vide cases 149, 151.
A clinical group that very nearly approaches the epi-
leptic exhibitionists is made up of certain neurasthenic
individuals, in whom, likewise, there may occur attacks
(epileptoid ?) of imperfect consciousness ^ in connection
with a feeling of apprehensive oppression ; and with this
sexual impulses may be associated, resulting in acts of
exhibition having an impulsive character.
Case 169. Dr. S., academic teacher, had aroused
public indignation by being seen repeatedly running about
in the Zoological Garden at Berlin, before ladies and chil-
dren, with his genitals hanging out. S. admitted this,
but denied all thought or consciousness of causing public
offence, and excused himself by saying that his running
about with exposed genitals afforded him relief from
nervous excitement. Mother's father was insane, and
died by suicide ; his mother was constitutionally neuro-
pathic, a somnambulist, and had been temporarily insane.
The culprit was neuropathic, had been a somnambulist,
and had had continuous aversion to sexual intercourse
with females. In his youth he practised onanism. He
was a neurasthenic man, shy, torpid and easily became
embarrassed and confused. He was sexually always much
excited. Frequently he dreamed that he was running
about with exposed genitals, or that, dressed only in a
shirt, he hung from a horizontal bar with his head down-
ward, so that the shirt fell down, exposing his erected
penis. His dreams would induce pollution, and he would
then have rest for a few days or an entire week.
1 Gf. V. Krafft, " Ueber trarisitorisches Irresein bei Neurasthenischen,"
" Irrenfreund," 1883, No. 8; and " Wiener Kliu. Wocheuschr.," 1891, No. 50.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 485
In his waking state also the impulse would often
come upon him, just as in his dreams, to run about with
exposed genitals. As he was about to expose himself, he
would become very hot, and then he would run aimlessly
about. The member would become moist with secretion,
but pollution was never induced. Finally, when it had
become flaccid, he would put it up, and then come to
himself, glad if no one had seen him. In such conditions
of excitement he seemed to be in a dream ; as if intoxicated.
He bad never had the intention to offend women. S. was
not epileptic. His declarations had the impress of truth.
He had actually never followed or spoken to women while
in this condition. Frivolity and coarseness were excluded.
No doubt S.'s act was due to pathological sensation and
idea, and S. was in a condition of pathological disturbance
of mental action at the time of the commission of his acts
(Liman, " Vierteljahrsschrift fiir gerichtel. Med.," N. F.
XXX. viii., Heft 2).
Case 1 70. X., aged thirty-eight ; married ; father of
one child. Always sullen and silent. Suffers frequently
with headache. Very neurasthenic, though not insane.
He is troubled much at night by pollutions. He has
repeatedly followed shop-girls, for whom he had lain in
wait, exposing and handhng his genitals. In one case he
even followed a girlinto a shop (Trochon, "Arch, de I'an-
thropologie criminelle," iii., p. 256).
In the following case the exhibition seems subsidiary
to the impulsive desire to satisfy sudden, intense libido by
means of masturbation : —
Case 171. E., coachman, aged forty-nine; Vienna;
married since 1866; childless. Father neuropathic and
given to sexual excesses ; died of cerebral disease. He
presents no degenerative signs.
At the age of twenty-nine he suffered a severe concus-
486 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
sion by falling from a height. Up to that time the vita
sexualis had been normal. Since then, however, every
three or four months he has been seized with very painful
sexual excitement, accompanied by an intense desire to
masturbate. A feeling of weariness and discomfort, with
a desire for alcoholic indulgence, precedes this. In the
intervals he is sexually cold, and has but very infrequent
desire for his wife, who, moreover, for five years has been
sick and incapable of cohabitation.
He gives the assurance that, as a young man, he never
masturbated, and that, in the intervals between his attacks,
he has never thought of satisfying himself sexually in this
way.
The impulse to masturbate during the attack is always
excited by certain feminine charms — short cloak, pretty
foot and ankle, elegant appearance. Age makes no dif-
ference ; even little girls excite him. The impulse is
sudden and unconquerable. B. describes the situation and
act as characteristically impulsive. He had often tried to
resist it ; but then he would grow hot, terribly frightened,
his head would burn, and he would seem to be in a fog ;
but he never lost consciousness. At the same time he
would have violent, darting pain in the testicles and sper-
matic cords. He regretted it, but had to confess that the
impulse was stronger than his will. In such a situation
it forced him to masturbate, no matter where he might
be. After ejaculation he would become calm, and regain
his self-control. He regarded it as a terrible affliction.
Defence shows that E. has been punished six times for
similar offences — exhibition and masturbation in the open
street. Although an examination into his mental condi-
tion by experts was demanded by his counsel, the court
refused it on the ground that the proceedings had raised
no doubt as to his responsibility.
On 4th November, 1889, E., while in his worst condi-
tion, happened to be in the street as a crowd of school-
girls went by. This awakened his unconquerable impulse.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 487
There was not time to run to a closet, he was too excited.
There was immediate exhibition, masturbation in front of
a house — great scandal and immediate arrest. R. is not
weak-minded, and has no ethical defect. He bemoans
his fate, deeply regrets his act, and fears new attacks.
He regards his condition as abnormal — as a fate against
which he is powerless.
He thinks himself still virile. Penis abnormally large.
Cremasteric reflex present ; patellar reflex increased.
Weakness of the sphincter of the bladder, that has existed
for some years. Various neurasthenic difficulties.
The opinion showed that R. was subject to the influ-
ence of abnormal conditions, and had acted impulsively.
Patient was sent to an asylum, from which he was
discharged after a few months.
In the foregoing case the important point, clinically,
hes not in the neurosis that is present, but rather in the
impulsive character of the act (exhibition dependent on
masturbation).
With the enumeration of the categories of imbeciles,
of mentally weakened individuals, and of the exhibitionists
that are in a neurotic (epileptic or neurasthenic) state of
benumbed consciousness, apparently the clinical and for-
ensic side of this phenomenon is still uiiexhausted ; in
addition to these, there is another class, the represent-
atives of which, owing to deep hereditary taint {hereditary
degenerative neurosis ?), are impelled to periodical and very
impulsive exhibition.
With reference to these conditions of psychopathia
sexualis periodica (cf. " Periodical Insanity,") in which the
accidentally awakened impulse to exhibition is but a partial
manifestation of a clinical whole, like in dipsommia periodica
the craving for drink, Magnan,^ from whom I borrow the
following instructive cases, justly lays the greatest stress
" Recherchcs snr les Centres Ncvvcux," 2e sc'irie, Paris, 1893.
PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
upon the impulsive, periodical feature of these abnormal
impulses ; and no less upon the fact that they are often
accompanied by terrible anxiety, which, after the realisa-
tion of the impulse, gives place to a feeling of relief.
These facts, and, no less, the chnical picture of de-
generacy that, for the most part, is referable to injurious
conditions that are hereditary, or that exercise an in-
jurious effect on the development of brain in early years
(rachitis, etc.,) are, medico-legally, of decisive importance.
Case 172. G., aged twenty-nine, waiter in a cafe.
In 1888, while standing under a church-door, he exhibited
himself to several girls working opposite. He confessed
the act, and also that, many times, in the same place and
at the same time of day, he had been guilty of the same
crime, having been punished for it the year before with
imprisonment for one month.
G. has very nervous parents. His father is mentally
unstable and very irascible. His mother is at times in-
sane, and suffers with severe neurotic affection.
G. has always had nervous twitching of the face, and
constant alternation of causeless depression, with tadmm
vita, and periods of elation. At the ages of ten and fifteen,
for sHght cause, he wished to commit suicide. When ex-
cited, he has similar twitching of the extremities. He
presents constant general analgesia. In prison he was at
first beside himself with shame about the disgrace he had
brought on his family, and said he was the worst of men,
deserving the severest punishment.
Until his nineteenth year G. had satisfied himself with
solitary and mutual masturbation, and, on one occasion,
he had practised onanism with a girl. From that time,
working in a cafe, the female customers had excited him
so intensely that ejaculation was often induced. He suf-
fered with almost constant priapism, and, as his wife
stated, in spite of coitus, it often disturbed his rest at
night. For seven years he had repeatedly exhibited him-
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 489
self at his window, and also exposed himself naked to
female neighbours living opposite.
In 1883 he married for love. Marital intercourse did
not satisfy his needs. At times his sexual excitement was
so intense that he had headache, and seemed confused,
like one drunk, strange and incapable of work.
In one of these attacks he had recently exhibited him-
self before ladies in two streets of Paris (12th May, 1887).
Since then he was fighting a desperate battle against
these morbid impulses which had now become almost per-
manent, and when at their height made him morose and
confused, and caused him to weep all night. In spite of
all efforts he backslided again and again. Opinion : Proof
of hereditary degeneration with delusions and irresis-
tible impulses (" perversion dehrante du sens genital ")_
Pardon {Magnan, " Arch, de I'anthropologie criminelle,"
v.. No. 28).
Case 173. B., aged twenty-seven; of neuropathic
mother and alcoholic father. He has one brother who
is a drinker ; and a hysterical sister. Four blood rela-
tions on paternal side are drunkards, one female cousin
is hysterical.
After his eleventh year, onanism, solitary or mutual.
After his thirteenth year, impulses to exhibition. He at-
tempted it at a street urinal ; he felt pleasure in it, but
also immediately twinges of conscience. If he attempted
to oppose his impulse thereafter, he became apprehensive,
and had a feehng of oppression in his chest. When a
soldier, he was often impelled to expose himself, under
various pretexts, to his comrades.
After his seventeenth year he had sexual congress with
women. It gave him great pleasure to show himself
naked before them. He continued his exhibition on the
street. Since he could but infrequently count on female
spectators at urinals, he changed his place to churches.
In order to exhibit himself at such places, he always had
490 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
to strengthen his courage by drinking. Under the in-
fluence of spirits, the impulse, at other times controllable
with difficulty, became irresistible. He was not sentenced.
He lost his position, and then drank more. Not long
after, he was again arrested for exhibition and mastur-
bation in a church (Magnan, ibid}).
Case 1 74. X., aged thirty-five ; barber's assistant.
Repeatedly punished for offence against decency, he is
again arrested ; for, during three weeks he had been
hanging around girls' schools, trying to attract the at-
tention of the pupils, and, when he had succeeded in
this, had exhibited himself. Occasionally he had promised
them money, with the words, " Habeo mentulam pulcher-
rimam, venite ad me ut earn lambatis ".
At his examination X. confessed everything, but did
not know how it had come about. He was the most
reasonable of men in other respects, but had the impulse
to commit this crime, and could not overcome it.
In 1879, when in the army, he was once out on leave,
and had run around exhibiting himself to children : im-
prisonment for a year. The same crime in 1881. He
chased the crying children, and " stared " at them : im-
prisonment of one year and three months. Two days
after his discharge, he said to two little girls : " Si men-
tulam meam videre vultis mecum in banc tabernam veni-
atis ". He denied these words, and claimed drunkenness ;
imprisonment for three months.
In 1883 renewed exhibition ; during the act he said
nothing. At his examination he stated that, since a severe
illness, eight years previously, he had suffered with such
excitations : imprisonment for one month.
In 1884 exhibition before girls in a churchyard ; again
in 1885. He declared : " I understand my crime, but it
is like a disease. When it comes over me, I cannot keep
1 Analogous case: Boissicr et Lachaux, "Archives de Neurologie,"
1893, October.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 491
from such acts. It sometimes happens that, for quite a
long time, I am free from these inchnations." Imprison-
ment for six months.
Discharged on 12th August, 1885, he had a relapse on
15th August. The same excuse was given. This time he
underwent medical examination. The examination re-
vealed no mental disturbance. Sentenced to three years.
After discharge, a series of new exhibitions. On this
occasion, examination revealed the followingf : —
His father suffered with chronic alcoholism, and is
said to have been guilty of the same crime. Mother and
a sister nervously ill, and the whole family of excitable
temperament.
From his seventh to his eighteenth year X. suffered with
epileptic convulsions. First cohabitation at sixteen ; later,
gonorrhoea and, it is stated, syphilis. After that, normal
sexual intercourse until his twenty-first year. At that
time he often had to pass a playground, and at times
would urinate there ; and it happened that the children
watched him out of curiosity.
He noticed, occasionally, that being watched in this
manner caused him sexual excitement, induced erection
and even ejaculation. He now found more pleasure in
this kind of sexual gratification, and became indijfferent
about coitus ; satisfying himself only in this manner. He
felt that all his thought was ruled by this, and he dreamed
only of exhibitions, with pollutions. His attempts to con-
trol his impulse became more and more ineffectual. It
came over him with such force that he noticed nothinfr
around him, and saw and heard nothing, and was like one
" devoid of reason " — like " a bull trying to butt his head
through a wall ".
X. has an abnormally broad head ; small penis ; the
left testicle deformed. Patellar reflex absent. Symptoms
of neurasthenia, especially cerebral. Frequent pollutions.
For the most part, his dreams are about normal coitus,
only infrequently about exhibition before little girls.
492 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
With reference to his sexual acts, he states that the
impulse to seek and approach little girls is primary ; only
when he has succeeded earum intentionem in sua geni-
talia nudata transferre, erectionem et ejaculationem fieri.
He does not lose consciousness in the act. After it he is
troubled about his deed, and, if undiscovered, says to
himself, " Once more I have escaped the authorities ".
In prison he did not have the impulse; there, he was
troubled only with dreams and pollutions. In freedom he
had daily sought opportunity to satisfy himself with ex-
hibition. He would give ten years of his life to be free
from the thing ; " this life of constant anxiety, this alter-
nation between freedom and imprisonment,is unendurable".
The opinion assumed a congenital (?) perversity of the
sexual instinct, with unmistakable hereditary taint, neuro-
pathic constitution, asymmetry of cranium, and defective
development of the genitals.
It is also worthy of remark that the exhibition began
when the epilepsy ceased; so that one might think of a vicarious
phenomenon.
The sexual perversity developed, with predisposition,
through accidental association of ideas of sexual content
(children looking at him urinating) with an act that, in
itself, was purposeless.
The patient was not sentenced, but sent to an asylum
(Dr. Freyer, " Zeitschr. f. Medicinalbeamte," 3 Jahrg.,
No. 8).
Case 175. At nine o'clock at night, in the spring of
1891, a lady, in great trepidation, came to the policeman
in the city park of X., with the statement that a man,
absolutely naked in front, had approached her from the
bushes, and she had run away frightened. The officer
went at once to the place indicated, and found a man,
who exposed ventrem et genitalia nuda. He attempted to
escape, but was overtaken and arrested. He stated that
he had been sexually excited by alcohol, and had been on
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 493
the point of going to a prostitute. On his way through
the park, however, he recalled the fact that exhibition
gave him much greater pleasure than was afforded him
by coitus, in which he seldom, and only faute de mieux, in-
dulged. After drawing up his shirt, he posted himself in
the bushes, and when two women came up the path he
approached them with exposed genitals. In such exhibi-
tion he had a pleasurable feehng of warmth, and the blood
mounted to his head.
The accused works in a factory, and his employer
states that he is faithful, saving, sober and intelligent.
In 1886 B. had been punished because he had twice
exhibited himself publicly,— once in broad daylight and
once at night, under a street lamp.
B., age 37, single, makes a pecuHar impression owing
to his dandified dress and affected manner. His eyes
have a neuropathic, languishing expression ; around his
mouth plays a smile of self-satisfaction. He is said to
come of healthy parents. A sister of his father and one
of his mother's were insane. Others of their relatives
were thought religiously eccentric.
B. has never had any severe illness. From childhood
he was eccentric and imaginative. He loved romances
about knights and others, was entirely absorbed by them,
and even went so far as to identify himself in fancy with
the heroes. He always thought himself a httle better
than others, and thought much of elegant dress and
ornament; and when he strutted about on Sundays he
imagined himself a high official.
B. has never shown epileptic symptoms. In youth,
moderate indulgence in masturbation ; later, moderate
indulgence in coitus. Previously, never any perverse
sexual feelings or impulses. Eetired manner of Hfe ; in
leisure hours, reading (popular novels, heroic tales, Dumas
and others). B. was not a drinker. Exceptionally Le
made himself a kind of punch, by which he was always
excited sexually.
494 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
For some years, with marked decrease of libido,
after such alcohohc indulgence, he had developed the
" accursedly silly thought" and the desire genitalia adspec-
hti fcminarum puhlice exhibere.
If he got into this state he felt warm, his heart beat
violently, blood rushed to his head, and he could then no
longer resist his impulse. He heard and saw nothing
more, and was absolutely absorbed in his lust. Afterward
he had often pounded his crazy head with his fists, and
firmly resolved never to do such a thing again ; but the
crazy ideas had always returned.
In his exhibition his penis became only half-erected,
and ejaculation never occurred ; even in coitus it was
always tardy. In exhibition he was satisfied with genitalia
sua adspicere, and he had the lustful thought that this
sight must be very pleasant to women, since he himself
liked so much to see genitalia feminarum. He was capable
of coitus only when the puella showed herself very partial
to him ; without this he preferred rather to pay and go
without doing anything. In his dreams he exhibited
himself to young, voluptuous women.
The medico-legal opinion recognised the hereditary
psychopathic character of the culprit, and the perverse,
impulsive desire to perform the incriminating acts ; and
pointed out, further, the remarkable fact that in B., who
was otherwise sober and saving, the impulses to indulge
in alcohol depended on abnormal conditions that recurred
periodically, and forced him to indulge. That, during his
attacks, B. was in an exceptional psychical state, in a
kind of mental confusion, and absolutely absorbed in his
perverse sexual fancy, is clearly shown by the species facti.
Thus is explained the fact that he became aware of the
approach of the police only when it was too late to try
to escape. In this hereditary and degenerate impulsive
exhibitionism, it is interesting to note how the perverse
sexual impulse is awakened from its latency by the in-
fluence of alcohol.
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 495
The foregoing cases seem to justify the assumption oi
a psycho-pathological meaning of "exhibition" in the
sense of sexual demonstration.
Dr. Hoche, however, counsels caution, quoting the
following case observed by himself and Prof. Furstner,
which was by the experts and the court not considered to
be of psychopathic import.
Case 176. Dr. X. has for several years scared the
women of Strassburg by exposing before them his genitalia
mcda. He would walk about in a long cloak and when
meeting ladies throw it back either under a street lamp
or igniting a red-fire match, and thus exhibit himself.
At other times he would early in the morning ring the
bells of houses and exhibit himself before the servants
who came to open the door or looked out of the window.
The result of psychiatric examination was : hereditary
taint was estabhshed but faint. From childhood strong
sexual instinct (onanism, later on normal sexual excesses
up to the present). Excuse : " irresistible impulse," but
never loss of the consciousness of infamous and criminal
behaviour. Epilepsy and mental disturbance in the
narrower sense of the word to be excluded. X. is of an
effeminate, weak nature, but not an imbecile.
The clinical observation offered, according to the pro-
secution, no ground for the claim of irresponsibility (§ 51
" Deutsch. Stgb."). Sentence : one year's imprisonment.
During confinement no abnormal " impulses ". Marriage
after release (Dr. Hoche, "Neurolog. Centralblatt," 1896, 2).
The report of this case is too aphoristic to allow of
the admission of Dr. Hoche's contention. The impartial
observer will gain the impression that the subject was
affected, even though "moderately yet directly, with
hereditary taint," and in consequence was a person of
abnormal psychical individuality, to whom the benefit of
" extenuating circumstances " should have been extended.
496 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
One year's imprisonment was much too severe a punish-
ment, and by no means an adequate protection for the
public against X.
A forensically important variety of exhibition, which,
chnically speaking, rests for certain upon a similar neu-
rotic and degenerate foundation, and which expresses
itself in a peculiar act, conditioned by violent libido
(hypercBsthesia sexualis), associated with diminished virility,
is made up of the so-called frottcurs.
The three following cases, borrowed from Magnan {op.
cit.), are typical : —
Case 177. C, age forty-four; hereditarily predis-
posed ; drinker, and suffering with lead poisoning. Until
the last year he had masturbated much, and often drawn
pornographic pictures and shown them to his acquaint-
ances. He had repeatedly dressed himself as a woman in
secret.
For two years, since becoming impotent, he had felt
desire, while in crowds at dusk, mentulam denudare
eamque ad nates mulieris crassissime terere. Once,
when discovered in the act, he had been sentenced to
imprisonment for four months.
His wife kept a milk-shop. Iterum iterumque sibi
temperare non potuit quin genitalia in ollam lacte com-
pletam mergeret. In the act he felt lustful pleasure, " as
if touched with velvet ". He was cynical enougli to use
this milk for himself and the customers. During im-
prisonment alcoholic persecutory insanity developed in
him.
Case 178. M., age thirty-one; married six years;
father of four children ; badly predisposed ; subject to
melancholia at times. Three years before, he was dis-
covered by his wife with a silk dress on, masturbating.
One day he was discovered, in a shop, in the act oi /rot-
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 497
tage on a lady. He was very repentant, and asked to be
severely punished for his irresistible impulse.
Case 1 79. G., age thirty-three ; badly predisposed
hereditarily. At an omnibus station he was discovered
in the act of frottage with his penis on a lady. Deep
repentance ; but he stated that at the sight of a noticeable
jjosteriora of a lady, he was irresistibly impelled to practise
frottage, and that he became confused and knew not what
he did. Sent to an asylum.
Case 180. Afrotteur. Z., born in 1850; of blame-
less life previously ; of good family ; private official. He is
well to do financially ; untainted. After a short married
life he became a widower, in 1873. For some time he
had attracted attention in churches, because he crowded
up behind women, both old and young indifferently, and
toyed with their " bustles ". He was watched, and one
day he was arrested in the act. Z. was terribly frightened,
and in despair about his situation ; and, in making a full
confession, he begged for pardon, for nothing but suicide
remained for him.
For two years he had been subject to the unhappy
impulse to go in crowds of people — in churches, at box-
offices of theatres, etc. — and press up behind females and
manipulate the prominent portion of their dresses, thus
producing orgasm and ejaculation.
Z. states that he was never given to masturbation,
and had never been in any way perverse sexually. Since
the early death of his wife, he had gratified his great
sexual desire in temporary love-affairs, having always had
an aversion for prostitutes and brothels. The impulse to
frottage had suddenly seized him, two years ago, while
he happened to be in church. Though he was conscious
that it was wrong, he could not help yielding to it
immediately. Since then he had been excitable to the
posteriora of females, and had been actually impelled to
32
498 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
seek opportunity for frottage. The only thing on women
that excited him was the " bustle " ; every other part of
the body and attire was a matter of indifference to him ;
neither did he mind whether the woman was old or young,
beautiful or ugly. Since this began, he had had no more
inclination for natural gratification. Of late frottage scenes
had appeared in his dreams.
During his acts he was fully conscious of his situation
and the act, and tried to perform it in such a way as to
attract as little attention as possible. After his act he
was always ashamed of what he had done.
The medical examination revealed no sign of mental
disease or mental weakness, but symptoms of neuras-
thenia sexualis — ex ahstinentia libidinosi (?) — which was
also proved by the circumstance that even the mere touch
of the fetich with the unexposed genitals sufficed to in-
duce ejaculation. Apparently Z., weakened sexually and
distrusting his virility, and yet libidinous, had come to
practise frottage by having the sight of posteriora femma
fall together accidentally with sexual excitement; and this
associative combination of a perception with a feeling per-
mitted the former to attain the significance of a fetich.
Whether these frotteurs (if considered as men who
in consequence of disturbed virility have become either
temporarily or permanently hypersexually degenerated)
should come under the category of exhibitionists, or
should be classified with the fetichists, as Gamier does
(" Les fetichistes," p. 73), can hardly be decided on
account of the limited number of cases thus far observed.
The point whether denudatio genitalium takes place or
not, cannot affect this decision, for it may depend in the
frotteur on the intensity of the orgasm which may lead
even to lustful ecstasy, or also from external circumstances
favourable to this loathsome impulse. The very fact that
up till now in pathological fetichism the fetich has never
had reference to partes gcnitnhs or the surrounding parts
OFFENCE AGAINST MORALITY. 499
seems to upset Gamier's theory as to fetichism of nates
femina (cf. p. 209).
The simplest explanation seems to be that " frottage "
is a masturbatorial act of a hypersexual individual who
is uncertain about his viriHty in corpore femince. This
would also explain the motive of the assault being made
not ad anteriora but ad posteriora {cf. case 177). That
fetichism may be involved seems to follow from case 178
which clearly proves silk-fetichism. Very hkely the lady
in question wore a silk gown, and the indecent attack was
directed upon the dress, not the nates. In case 180 the
act is evidently quahfied by the " bustle " and not by the
particular part of the body.
As an act which offends public morals, and which is,
therefore, punishable, the violation of statues — a whole
series of cases of which Moreau {op. cit.) has collected from
ancient and modern times — may be enumerated here.
They are, unfortunately, given too much hke anecdotes
to allow satisfactory judgment of them. They always
give the impression of being pathological — hke the story
of a young man (related by Lucianus and St. Clemens,
of Alexandria) who made use of a Venus of Praxiteles for
the gratification of his lust ; and the case of Clisyphus,
who violated the statue of a goddess in the Temple of
Samos, after having placed a piece of meat on a certain
part. In modern times, the " Journal L'evenement " of
4th March, 1877, relates the story of a gardener who fell
in love with a statue of the Venus of Milo, and was
discovered attempting coitus with it. At any rate, these
cases stand in etiological relation with abnormally intense
libido and defective virility or courage, or lack of oppor-
tunity for normal sexual gratification.
The same thing must be assumed in the case of the
so-called "voyeurs''^ — i.e., men who are so cynical that
1 Dr. Moll calls this perversion (?) mixoscopia (from fn^is, cohabit-
ation ; and (TKiirTnv, to look). His assumption that it is related to maso-
chism, in that there is a stimulus for the voyeur in sufTcring at seeing a,
600 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
they seek to get sight of coitus, in order to assist their
virility ; or who seek to have orgasm and ejaculation at
the sight of an excited woman. Concerning this moral
aberration, which, for various reasons, cannot be further
described here, it will suffice to refer to Coffigiwns book,
"La Corruption a Paris". The revelations, in the
domain of sexual perversity, and also perversion, which
this book makes, are horrible.
2. Rape and Lust-Murder.
(Austrian Statutes, §§ 125, 127; Austrian Abridgment, § 192; German
Statutes, § 177.)
By the term rape, the jurist understands coitus, out-
side of the marriage relation, with an adult, enforced by
means of threats or violence ; or with an adult in a condi-
tion of defencelessness or unconsciousness ; or with a girl
under the age of fourteen years. Immissio penis, or, at
least, conjunctio memhrorum (Schiltze) is necessary to estab-
lish the fact. To-day, rape on children is remarkably
frequent. Hofmann (" Ger. Med.," i., p. 155) and Tardieu
("Attentats") report horrible cases.
The latter establishes the fact that, from 1851 to 1875
inclusive, 22,017 cases of rape came before the courts in
France, and of these 17,657 were committed on children.
The crime of rape presumes a temporary, powerful
excitation of sexual desire, induced by excess in alcohol
or by some other condition. It is highly improbable that
a man morally intact would commit this most brutal
crime. Lombroso {Goltdammcr s " Arch.") considers the
majority of men who commit rape to be degenerate, par-
ticularly when the crime is done on children or old women.
He asserts that, in many such men, he has found actual
signs of degeneracy.
It is a fact that rape is very often the act of degenerate
woman in the possession of another, does not seem to me to be justified.
For further details, vide Moll " Die contriire Sexualempfindung," p. 137.
EAPE AND LUST-MURDER. 501
male imbeciles/ who, under some circumstances, do not
even respect the bond of blood.
Cases as a result of mania, satyriasis and epilepsy-
have occurred, and are to be kept in mind.
The crime of rape may be followed by the murder of
the victim.^ There may be unintentional murder, murder
to destroy the only witness of the crime, or murder out of
lust (v. supra). Only for cases of the latter kind should
the term lust-murder ^ be used.
The motives of lust-murder have been previously con-
sidered. The cases given in illustration are characteristic
of the manner of the deed. The presumption of a murder
out of lust is always given when injuries of the genitals
are found, the character and extent of which are such as
could not be explained by merely a brutal attempt at
coitus ; and, still more, when the body has been opened,
or parts (intestines, genitals) torn out and are wanting.*
Lust-murders dependent upon psychopathic conditions
are never committed with accompHces.
Case 181. Weak-mindedness ; epilepsy; attempt at
rape ; murder. On the evening of 27th May, 1888, a boy
eight years old, Blasius, was playing with other children
in the neighbourhood of the village of S. An unknown
man came along and enticed the boy into the woods.
The next day the boy's body was found in a ravine,
with the abdomen slit open, an incised wound in the
cardiac region and two stab-wounds in the neck.
Since, on 21st May, a man answering to the descrip-
tion given of the murderer of the boy had attempted to
treat a six-year-old girl in a similar manner, and had
only accidentally been prevented, it was presumed to be a
case of lust-murder.
1 "AnnaL medico-paychol.," 1849, p. 515; 1863, p. 57; 18G4, p. 215
1866, p. 253.
2 Cf. the cases of Tardieu, "Attentats," pp. 182-92.
^ Cf. Holtzendorff, " Psychologie des Mords ".
* Tardieu, "Attentats," case 51, p. 188.
502 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
It was proved that the body was found in a heap, with
only the shirt and jacket on ; also that there was a long
incision in the scrotum.
Suspicion fell upon a farm-hand, E. ; but, on con-
frontation with the children, it was not possible to
identify him with the stranger who had enticed the boy
into the woods. Besides, with the help of his sister, he
proved an alibi.
The untiring efforts of the officers brought new evi-
dence to light, and finally E. confessed. He had enticed
the girl into the woods, throvTn her down, exposed her
genitals, and was about to abuse her ; but, as she had an
eruption on her head and was crying loudly, his desire
cooled, and he fled.
After he had enticed the boy into the woods, under
the pretext of showing him a bird's nest, he was taken
with a desire to abuse him. Since the boy refused to take
off his trousers, he did it for him ; and when the boy began
to cry out he stabbed him twice in the neck. Then he
made an incision, just above the pubes, in imitation of
female genitals, in order to use it to satisfy his lust. But,
since the body grew cold immediately, he lost his desire,
and, cleaning his knife and hands near the body, he fled.
When he saw the boy dead, he was filled with fear, and
his member became flaccid.
During his examination E. toyed apathetically with a
rosary. He had acted in a state of mental weakness.
He could not understand how he came to do such a thing.
He must have been beside himself ; for he often became
so weak in his head that he would almost fall down.
Previous employers report that he had periods when he
was confused and stubborn, doing no work all day, and
avoiding others.
His father states that E. learned with difficulty, was
unskilful at work, and often so obstinate that one did
not dare to punish him. At such times he would not eat,
and occasionally ran away and remained from home for
RAPE AND LUST-MUEDER. 503
days. At such times he also seemed quite lost in thought,
screwed his face up, and said senseless things.
When a youth, he still sometimes wetted the bed, and
often came home from school with wet or soiled clothing.
He was very restless in sleep, so that no one could sleep
beside him. He had never had playmates. He had never
been cruel, bad, or immoral.
His mother gave similar testimony ; and further, that,
in his fifth year, E. had convulsions for the first time,
and once lost the power of speech for seven days. Some-
time about his seventh year he once had convulsions for
forty days, and was also dropsical. Later, too, he was
often seized in sleep, and he often then talked in his
sleep ; and mornings, after such nights, the bed was found
wet through.
At times it was impossible to do anything with him.
Since his mother did not know whether it was due to
viciousness or disease, she did not venture to punish him.
Since the convulsions in his seventh year, he had
failed so in mind that he could not learn even the common
prayers ; and he also became very irascible.
Neighbours, persons prominent in the community, and
teachers state that E. was peculiar, weak-minded, and
irascible ; that at times he was very strange, and ap-
parently in an exceptional mental state.
The examinations of the medical experts gave the
following results : —
E. is tall, slim, and poorly nourished. His head
measures 53 centimetres in circumference. The cranium
is rhombic, and in the occipital region flattened.
His expression is devoid of intelHgence ; his glance is
fixed, expressionless ; his attitude is careless, and his
body is bent forward. Movements are slow and heavy.
Genitals normally developed. E.'s whole appearance
points to torpidity and mental weakness.
There are no signs of degenerative marks, no ab-
normaHty of the vegetative organs, and no disturbances of
504 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
motility or sensibility. He comes of a perfectly healthy
family. He knows nothing of convulsions or of wetting
his bed at night, but he states that, of late years, he has
had attacks of vertigo and loss of mind.
At first, he denies the murder point blank. Later, in
great contrition, before the examining judge, he confessed
all, and gave a clear motive for his crime. He had never
had such a thought before.
He has been given to onanism for years; he even
practised it twice daily. He states that, for want of
courage, he had never ventured to ask coitus of a woman,
though in dreams such scenes exclusively passed before
him. Neither in dreams nor in the waking state had he
ever had perverse instincts ; particularly no sadistic or
antipathic sexual feelings. The sight of the slaughter of
animals had never interested him. When he enticed the
girl into the woods, his desire, of course, was to satisfy
his lust with her ; but how it happened that he tried such
a thing with a boy, he could not explain. He thought
he must have been out of his mind at that time. The
night after the murder he could not sleep on account of
fear ; he had twice confessed already, to ease his con-
science. He was only afraid of being hanged. This should
not be done, as he had done the deed in a weak-minded
condition.
He could not tell why he had cut open the boy's
abdomen. It had not occurred to him to grope among
the intestines, smell them, etc. He stated that, after the
attempt on the girl in the day time, and in the night,
after the murder of the boy, he had convulsions. At the
time of his crime he was indeed conscious, but he had
given no thought to what he was doing.
He suffered much with headache ; could not endure
heat, thirst, or alcohol ; there were times when he was
perfectly confused. The test of his intelligence showed a
high grade of weak-mindedness.
The opinion (Dr. Kautznar, of Graz) showed the im-
RAPE AND LUST-MURDER. 505
becility and neurosis of the accused, and made it probable
that his crime, for which he had only a general recollec-
tion, had been committed in an exceptional (pre-epileptic)
mental state, qualified by the neurosis. Under all circum-
stances, E. was considered dangerous, and probably would
require commitment to an asylum for life.
Case 182.^ Eape on a little girl by an idiot. Death of
the victim.
On the evening of the 3rd of September, 1889, Anna,
aged ten years, daughter of a labourer, went to the village
church, distant about two miles, but did not return. The
following day her body was found about fifty paces from
the main road, in a copse, The face was turned to the
ground ; the mouth was gagged with moss ; signs of a
criminal assault about the anus.
Suspicion fell upon a young labourer, K., nineteen
years of age, because he had on the 1st of September
attempted to entice the child in the wood when she was
returning from church.
K. was arrested. At first he denied the deed ; but
afterwards made a complete confession. He had strangled
the child, and when she stopped kicking and resisting,
actum sodomiticum in ana infantis perpetravit.
During the prehminary examination no one had raised
the question as to the mental condition of this monster ;
in consequence, when shortly before the trial counsel
defending him asked for an examination of the mental
condition of his client, his request was refused on the
ground "that the previous proceedings contained nothing
which could warrant the plea of insanity ".
By accident, counsel for the defence succeeded in
establishing the fact that the great grandfather and the
paternal aunt of the accused had been insane ; that the
father was an inveterate alcohoHst since earliest youth
1 Cf. the complete medico-legal opinion on this case reported in
"Friedreich's Blatter," 1891, Heft 6.
506 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
and a cripple on one side of the body. These facts were
verified during the trial.
But it made no impression. The defence finally pre-
vailed upon the medical adviser of the court to suggest
that K. be sent for observation to an insane asylum for a
period of six weeks.
The opinion of the physician at the institute estab-
lished K.'s idiocy, thus rendering him irresponsible for his
deed.
He appeared insipid, stolid, apathetic ; had forgotten
nearly all he had ever learned at school ; neither by voice
or mien he betrayed the slightest emotions of compassion,
contrition, shame, hope, or fear of the future. His face
was immovable as a mask.
Head quite abnormal ; bullet-shaped. Proof that the
brain was diseased already during the foetal period or
during the earhest years of development.
Upon this report K. was permanently interned at the
asylum.
Through the indefatigable efforts of a brave lawyer
the court was saved from committing a judiciary murder,
and the honour of society was sustained.
Case 1 83. Lust-murder ; moral imbecility. A man of
middle age ; born in Algeria ; said to be of Arabic descent.
Had served for several years in the colonial troops ; had
then shipped as a sailor between Algeria and Brazil,
and later on, in the hope of finding hghter emi)loyment,
had gone to North America. He was known among
his acquaintances as being lazy, cowardly and brutal.
Several times he had been sentenced for vagrancy; it
was said that he was a thief of the lowest kind ; that he
knocked about with women of the lowest class, and made
common cause with them. His perverse sexual relations
and acts were also well known. On several occasions he
had bitten and beaten women with whom he sexually
conversed. According to the description given of him,
TOETUEE OF ANIMALS DEPENDENT ON SADISM. 507
the authorities thought they had secured a certain un-
known party who had scared at night the women in the
streets by embracing and kissing them, and had the nick-
name of "Jack the Kisser ".
He was a tall man (over six feet), slightly bent for-
ward. Low forehead, very prominent cheek bones, massive
jawbones ; small, narrow, inflamed eyes, piercing look ;
big feet, hands hke birds' claws ; shambling gait. His
arms and hands were tattooed all over. Eemarkable was
the picture of a woman in colours, around which the
name " Fatima " was inscribed, because tattooing the
female form upon the body is considered to be disgraceful
among the Arabs of the Algerian army ; and prostitutes
generally have a cross tattooed in their skin. His general
appearance gave the impression of a low grade of intelli-
gence.
N. was convicted of the murder of an elderly female
with whom he had spent the night. The corpse bore
various wounds, some remarkable for their length ; the
abdomen was ripped open, pieces of the intestines were
cut out, so was one of the ovaries ; other parts were
strewn around about the corpse. Several of the wounds
were hke crosses ; one was in the shape of a crescent.
The murderer had strangled his victim. He denied the
deed, and every inclination to commit such an act (Dr.
MacDonald, Clark University, Mass.).
3. Bodily Injury, Injury to Property, Torture of Animals
Dependent on Sadism.
(Austrian, §§ 152, 411 ; German, § 223 [bodily injury]. Austrian, §§ 85,
468 ; German, § 303 [injury to property]. Austrian Police Eegula-
tions ; German Statutes, § 360 [torture of animals].)
Aside from lust-murder, described in the forecroingf
section, as milder expressions of sadistic desires, impulses
to stab, flagellate or defile females, to flagellate boys, to
maltreat animals, etc., also occur.
508 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The deep degenerative significance of such cases is
clearly demonstrated by the series of examples given under
" General Pathology ". Such mentally degenerate indi-
viduals, should they be unable to control their perverse
impulses, could only be objects of care in asylums.
Case 184. X , aged twenty-four. Parents healthy ;
two brothers died of tuberculosis ; one sister suffers from
periodical convulsions. X. at the age of eight experienced
a sensation of lust with erection when he pressed his
abdomen against the school-desk.
He often indulged in this pleasure. Later on mutual
masturbation with a school-fellow. First ejaculation at
the age of thirteen. Felt impotent in the first attempt at
coitus at eighteen. Continued auto-masturbation, heavy
neurasthenia consequent upon the reading of a popular
book graphically describing the sinister effects of onanism.
Improvement by hydropathic treatment. Upon a renewed
attempt at coitus again impotent. Recourse to mastur-
bation. This fails as time goes on, X. now resorts to
swinging around in the air living fowls by their bills.
The sight of torture in the animal produces erection. As
soon as the fowl's wing touches in transit X.'s glans
penis ejaculation takes place, accompanied by intense
feelings of lust (Dr. Wachholz, " Friedreicli s Blatter f. ger.
Med.," 1892, Heft 6, p. 336).
Case 185. Sadism on boys and girls committed by a
moral idiot.
K., fourteen years and five months old ; killed a small
boy in a cruel manner. The trial developed the following
details : Two cases of murder ; a long series of cases
(seven) in which K. had cruelly tortured little boys. All
these children ranged in age from seven to ten years. K.
would lure them into a hidden place, strip them naked,
bind them hand and foot, tie them against some object,
gag the moilth with a handkerchief and then beat them
TOKTURE OF ANIMALS DEPENDENT ON SADISM. 509
with a stick, a strap or a piece of rope, slowly, pausing
for minutes — grinning all the time without uttering a
word. One of the boys he forced under threat of death
to repeat the Lord's Prayer twice, to promise under oath
secrecy and to repeat curse words and oaths after him.
In another instance he pricked the boy's cheeks with a
needle, played with his genitals, and stabbed him in the
XDubic region ; he then ordered him to he on his stomach
when he would jump on his back dancing all over the
body ; finally he stabbed him in the nates and dug his
teeth into them. Another boy he bit in the nose and
stabbed him with a knife.
The eighth victim, a httle girl, he enticed into his
mother's shop, fell upon her from behind, and clapping
one hand over her mouth cut her throat with the other.
The body was found in a dark corner covered over with
ashes and manure. The head was severed from the body,
the flesh cut away from the bones, the whole body covered
with cuts and wounds. The largest cut was on the inner
side of the left thigh penetrating through the genitals
into the abdomen. Another cut extended from the fossa
iliaca obliquely across the abdomen. The clothes and
linen were torn and cut into shreds.
The corpse of the ninth victim was found with the
throat cut across, blood was flowing from the eyes, the
heart was pierced by innumerable stabs. A number of
thrusts were found in the abdomen. The scrotum was
ripped open, the testicles were hanging out, and the glans
penis was cut off.
K. had first lured the boy to him as he had done the
little girl, cut his throat and then stabbed him all over.
K, whose hereditary conditions are not known, had
been suffering from a severe illness during the whole of
his first year's existence, and thus had become very much
emaciated. He began to recover, and it is claimed that
since then he was not afflicted with bad health, exceptin<:^
frequent complaints about pain in the head and eyes and
510 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
vertigo, until he was eleven, when he went through a
" severe illness " which made him delirious. Headaches
would suddenly seize him, so that he would run away
from play, and return only after a considerable interval.
When asked on such occasions about his conduct, he
would slowly answer, " My head, my head ".
He was intractable, disobedient and beyond control.
Showed sudden, and extreme moods, desires and opinions.
When three years old he was one day seen to torture a
chicken with a knife. He lied with every appearance of
truth. At school he was a disturbing element, making
faces, constantly talking to himself ; was obstinate and dis-
respectful. Punishment to him is injustice ; he is renitent.
In the house of correction he is secluded, preoccupied
with himself, suspicious, disliked by his comrades — in
fact, without any chum. His intellectual powers are
good ; he possesses sagacity, reason and a good memory.
He shows great defect in the ethical direction. He
betrays not the slightest signs of sorrow or penitence for
his deeds, or the least consciousness of his responsibility.
Only for his mother he seems to have a sort of tender
feeling. He can assign no object for his actions. He
calmly discusses his chances : " they cannot condemn him
to death because he is only fourteen years of age ; hereto-
fore they have not been wont to hang boys of his age,
and surely they would not make a beginning with him ".
What motive he had in his deeds cannot be ascertained
from him. Once he said that reading a description of
the tortures visited upon their victims by the Ked Indians
had tempted him to imitate them. He had even once
thought of running away from home to join the Indians.
Whenever he espied a victim his imagination would be
filled with pictures of cruel actions.
On the morning of such days he would always wake
up with vertigo and pressure in the head, which condition
would last all day.
As physical anomalies only an exceptionally large penis
TORTURE OF ANIMALS DEPENDENT ON SADISM. 511
and very big testicles are mentioned. Mons veneris com-
pletely and thickly covered with hair ; in fact the genitals
were fully developed like those of an adult. No symptoms
of epilepsy (Dr. MacDonald, Clark University, Mass.).
Case 186. Sadism; bodily injury. B., seventeen
years of age, tinsmith, bought on the 4th January, 1893,
a long knife ; went to a prostitute, had repeatedly sexual
intercourse with her, gave her money, and made her sit
undressed on the edge of the bed. He now stabbed her
shghtly three times in the chest and abdomen whilst his
mcmbrum was erected. When the girl began to yell and
people came to her assistance B. fled, but immediately
gave himself up to the pohce. At first he said he had
stabbed the girl in a quarrel, but afterwards stated he had
had no motive for his deed. Several blood relations of
his father had been insane. B. is not tainted, not a
drunkard, has not gone through any severe illness, never
masturbated, but had practised coitus for two years.
Genitals normal. Seems, under observation, mentally
normal ; is ashamed of his action, to which the experts
properly ascribed a sexual motive. In spite of definite
proof of mental sanity, he was released {Coutagne, "Annal.
med. psych.," 1893, July, Aug.).
Case 187. Acts of violence emanating from sadism. M.,
sixty years of age, owner of several millions, happily
married, father of two daughters, one eighteen, the other
sixteen years of age, is convicted of seduction of minors
and acts of violence on females. He was accustomed to
go to the house of a procuress, where he was known
as Vhomme qui pique, and there, lying upon a sofa in
a pink silk dressing-gown lavishly trimmed with lace,
would await his victims — puellas tres nudas. They had to
approach him in single file, in silence and smiling. They
gave him needles, cambric handkerchiefs and a whip.
Kneehng before one of the girls, he would now stick
512 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
about a hundred needles in her body, and fasten with
twenty needles a handkerchief upon her bosom ; this
he would suddenly tear away, whip the girl, tear the hair
from her 7nons veneris and squeeze her mammcB, etc., whilst
the other two girls would wipe the perspiration from his
forehead and strike lascivious plastic attitudes. Now
excited to the highest pitch, he would have coitus with
his victim. Later on, for the sake of economy, he was
satisfied to perform his brutality with one girl alone.
This girl fell in consequence into a severe illness, and in
her distress asked him for help. He reported this " extor-
tion " to the police, who on their part made inquiries, and
brought a charge against him. At first he denied the
facts, but convicted, expressed his surprise that such a
fuss should be made about a mere trifle. M. was described
as a man of repulsive appearance, with receding forehead.
He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, a fine
of 200 francs, and 1000 francs damages to his victim
(" Journal Gil Bias," Aug. 14 and 16, 1891).
A less revolting case, that of a young man, is related
by Fcrrioni, "Archivio delle psicopatie sessuaH," i., p. 106,
1896. This young sadist would first wrestle with the girl in
order to bring about virility and would, inter actum, bite and
pinch her in order to produce satisfaction. But one daj^ he
bit the girl so hard that she brought an action against him.
Case 188. Murder through sadism. Married man, at
the time of this crime thirty years of age. He had lured
a girl to the bell tower of the church of which he was
the sexton and there killed her. Circumstantial evidence
forcing him to admit the deed, he confessed to another
similar murder. Both corpses showed numerous contu-
sions about the fleshy parts of the head, fractures of the
skull, extravasations under the dura mater and in the
brain. No other bodily injuries were found ; the genital
organs were intact.
MASOCHISM AND SEXUAL BONDAGE. 513
Spermal stains were found on the underwear of the
criminal, who was arrested soon after the deed was
committed. L. was described as of pleasing appearance,
of dark complexion, beardless. No details about his
hereditary relations, antecedents, vita sexioalis ante acta,
etc.
His motive according to his own admission was " lust
of the cruellest and most abominable kind " (Dr. MacDonald,
Clark University, Mass.).
4. Masochism and Sexual Bondage.
Masochism ^ may under certain circumstances attain
forensic importance, for modern criminal law no longer
recognises the principle volenti non fit injuria, and the
present Austrian statute in § 4 says expressly : " Crimes
may also be committed on persons who demand their
commission on themselves ".
Psychologically speaking, the facts of sexual bondage
are of greater criminal importance (c/. p. 193).
If sensuality is predominant, or in other words, if a
man is held in fetich-thraldom and his moral power of
resistance is but weak, he may by an avaricious or
vindictive woman into whose bondage his passion has led
him be goaded on to the very worst crimes. The follow-
ing case is a striking instance : —
1 As Ilcrbst (" Handb. d. osterr. Strafrcchts, Wien," 1878, p. 72)
remarks, there are, nevertheless, crimes conditioned by the absence of
assent on the part of the injured individual, which cease to be such as
soon as the injured individual has given consent — e.g., theft, rape.
But Herbst also enumerates here the limitation of personal freedom (?).
Of late a decided change of views on this point has taken place.
The German criminal law regards the consent of a man to his own death
of such importance that a very different and much milder punishment is
inflicted under such circumstances (§ 216) ; and it is the same in Austrian
law (Austrian Abridgment, § 222). The so-called double suicide of lovers
was the act considered. In bodily injury and deprivation of freedom,
the consent of the victim must also receive consideration at the hands
of the judge. Certainly a knowledge of masochism is of importance in
making a judgment of the probability of asserted consent.
33
514 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Case 189. Murder of a family through sexual bondage.
N., soap manufacturer in Catania ; thirty-four years
of age ; previously of good character ; stabbed his wife in
her sleep to death on the 21st of December, 1886, and
strangled his two daughters, one seven years and the
other six weeks old. At first he denied the deed, tried
to throw suspicion upon others, but finally confessed to
all the details and begged to be hanged.
N. came of a sound family, was healthy himself, a
good business man and highly respected ; married well, but
for several years was under the fascinating influence of a
mistress who had captivated and completely controlled him.
He had kept this matter a secret from the world and
his wife.
By playing on his jealousy and declaring that by
marriage alone he could for the future possess her, this
monster of a woman had brought the weak and infatuated
N. to become the murderer of his wife and children.
After the deed he had induced his young nephew to fetter
him as if he himself were the victim of the villains and
under the threat of death commanded him to silence.
When the neighbours came in he played the role of the
unhappy, maltreated father.
After a full confession he showed the deepest contri-
tion. During the two years of the subsequent trial, N.
never showed signs of mental derangement.
His mad love for the mistress he could only explain
as an infatuation. He never had cause to find fault with
his wife. There were no traces of abnormal or perverse
sexual instinct in this exceptional criminal. His sorrow
and contrition over the deed gave sufficient proof that
no moral defect was present. His mental condition was
declared to be sound. Exclusion of irresistible impulse
{Madalari, " II morgagni," 1890, Feb.).
Case 190. Sexual bondage in a lady.
Mrs. X., thirty-six years of age; mother of four
MASOCHISM AND SEXUAL BONDAGE. 515
children. Comes from a neuropathic and heavily-tainted
mother. Father psychopathic. She began to masturbate
at the age of five, had an attack of melancholia at the
age of ten, during which period she was troubled with the
delusion that she could not go to heaven on account of
her sins. This made her nervous, excitable, emotional,
neurasthenic. At the age of seventeen she fell in love
with a man who was denied her by her parents. She
now showed symptoms of hysteria. When twenty-one
she married a man by many years her senior who had
but little sexual appetite. Her conjugal relations with
him never satisfied her ; coitus produced severe ercthlsmus
genitalis which she could not satisfy with masturbation.
She suffered tortures from this libido insatiata, yielded
more and more to onanism, became heavily hystero-
neurasthenic, capricious and quarrelsome, so that marital
relations grew ever colder.
After nine years of mental and physical anguish, Mrs.
X. succumbed to the blandishments of another man in
whose arms she found that gratification for which she
had so long languished.
But now she was tormented with the consciousness
of having broken her marriage vow, often feared she
would become insane, and only the love for her children
prevented her from committing suicide.
She scarcely dared to appear before her husband whom
she highly esteemed on account of his noble character,
and felt dreadful qualms of conscience because she had
to conceal the awful secret from him.
Although she found full gratification and immense
sensual pleasure in the arms of the other man, she had
repeatedly made attempts to give up this liaison. Her
efforts were in vain. She got deeper and deeper into the
bondage of this man, who recognising and abusing his
power had merely to dissemble as if he would leave her
in order to possess her without restraint. He abused this
bondage of the miserable woman only to gratify his sexual
516 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
appetite, gradually even in a perverse manner. She was
unable to refuse him any demand.
When Mrs. X. in her despair came to me for pro-
fessional advice she declared that she could no longer
continue such a life of misery and anguish. An insuper-
able lihido, disgusting to herself, drevi^ her to this man,
whom she could not love but as little do without, whilst
on the other hand she was constantly tormented with the
danger of discovery, and with self-reproach on account
of her offence against the law of God and man.
The greatest mental pain was caused by the thought
of losing her paramour, who often threatened to leave her
if she did not yield to his wishes, and who controlled her
so thoroughly that she would do anything and everything
at his bidding.
The soundness of mind in the horrible case 189 and
in many other analogous cases cannot be called in question.
As matters stand now-a-days when the public cannot
comprehend the more refined analysis ' of the motives in
a tragedy and when the law profession eschews psychology
in favour of logical formahsm, it can hardly be expected
that judge and jury will regard the weight of sex^iol
bo7idage — especially as in this condition the incentive to
the crime is not a morbid one and the intensity of the
incentive itself cannot be dealt with.
Nevertheless in such cases it behoves to consider
whether the accused was possibly still susceptible to
counter-motives or whether these were excluded from an
effective presence. If the latter be the case it would be
equivalent to a disturbance of the psychical equilibrium.
No doubt in these cases a sort of acquired moral weak-
ness is produced which impairs the soundness of mind.
Sexual bondage should certainly constitute a cause for
leniency in crimes committed through its agency.
ROBBERY AND THEFT DEPENDENT ON FETICHISM. 517
5. Bodily Injury, Robbery and Theft Dependent on
Fetichism.
(Austrian, § 190; German, § 249 [robbery]. Austrian, §§ 171, 460;
German, § 242 [theft].)
It is seen from the section on fetichism, under " Gen-
eral Pathology," that pathological fetichism may become
the cause of crimes. There are now recognised, as such,
hair-despoiling (cases 81, 82, 83) ; robbery or theft of
female linen, handkercliiefs, aprons (cases 86, 87, 91, 93) ;
shoes (cases 66, 93, 94), and silks (case 99). It cannot
be doubted that such individuals are the subjects of deep
mental taint. But, for the assumption of an absence of
mental freedom and consequent irresponsibility, it must
be proved that there w&s an irresistible impulse, which,
either owing to the strength of the impulse itself or to
the existence of mental weakness, rendered control of the
criminal perverse impelling force impossible.
Such crimes and the peculiar manner in which they
are carried out — whereby they differ very much from
common robbery and theft — always demand a medico-
legal examination. But that the act per sc docs not by
any means necessarily arise from psycho -pathological
conditions is shown by the infrequent cases of hair-
despoiling^ simply for the purpose of gain.
Case 191. Handkerchief -fetichisin ; repeated thefts of
handkerchiefs belonging to women.
D., forty-two years of age, man-servant, single, was
sent on 11th March, 1892, by the pohce to the district
asylum of Deggendorf (Niederbayern) for observation of
his mental faculties.
He is 1.62 m. high, muscular and well fed. Head is
submicrocephalic ; expression of face blank. The eye is
1 According to Austrian law, this crime should fall under § 411, as
slight bodily injury; according to the German criminal law, it is bodily
injury (c/. Liszt, p. 325).
518 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
distinctly neuropathic. Genital organs normal. With
the exception of a moderate degree of neurasthenia and
increased patellar reflexes, there is nothing abnormal in
D.'s nervous system.
In 1878 D. received his first sentence of one and a
half years' imprisonment at Straubing for stealing hand-
kerchiefs.
In 1880 he stole a handkerchief from a tradeswoman
in the yard of an inn, and was sentenced to fourteen days.
In 1882 he made an attempt in the public road to
pull the handkerchief from the hand of a peasant girl.
Charged with attempted robbery, he was found not guilty
on the strength of medical opinion, which stated weak-
ness of mind and a morbid disturbance of the mental
faculties tempore delicti.
In 1884 he was tried before a jury for having com-
mitted, under similar circumstances, robbery of a woman's
handkerchief, found guilty, and sentenced to four years'
imprisonment.
In 1888 he took in the public market-place a hand-
kerchief from the pocket of a woman. Sentence, four
months.
In 1889, for a similar offence, nine months.
In 1891, ditto, ten months. Otherwise his record
shows only a few fines or detentions at the police station
for carrying a concealed weapon (a knife) and for vagrancy.
All the thefts of handkerchiefs were committed from
young females, chiefly in broad daylight, in the presence
of other people, and so clumsily and impudently that each
time he was arrested on the spot. In the proceedings not
the slightest traces of theft of other articles, never so
small, can be found.
On the 9th December, 1891, D. was once more released
from jail. On the 14th he was caught steahng the hand-
kerchief from a peasant girl in a crowd at the annual fair.
He was at once arrested, and upon searching him the police
found two more white handkerchiefs belonging to women.
ROBBERY AND THEFT DEPENDENT ON FETICHISM. 519
On former occasions also whole collections of women's
handkerchiefs had been found on his person (1880, thirty-
two pieces ; 1882, fourteen, nine of which he wore next
his skin ; on another occasion twenty-five. In 1891 seven
white handkerchiefs were found upon him).
When questioned as to the motive for stealing hand-
kerchiefs, he always said that he was drunk at the time,
and had taken the handkerchiefs for a joke.
The handkerchiefs found upon him he claimed to have
bought or swapped for something else, or he said women
with whom he had relations had given them to him.
Under observation D. shows weakness of mind, appears
run down through vagrancy, drink and masturbation, but
good-natured, obedient, and by no means afraid of work.
He knows nothing of his parents, grew up without
supervision ; when a child he made a living by begging ;
at thirteen he was a stable-boy, and was used at fourteen
by others for pederasty. He declares that at a very early
period he felt the sexual instinct very strongly; began
early to have coitus and to practise masturbation. When
he was fifteen, a coachman had told him that great
pleasure could be derived by applying the handkerchiefs
of young women ad genitalia. He tried it, found it to be
the case, and now sought to obtain in all manner possible
such handkerchiefs. This craving became so strong that
wherever he saw a pleasing young woman with a hand-
kerchief in her hand or visible in her pocket violent sexual
excitement would seize him, and he was impelled to make
his way to this woman and take the handkerchief away
from her.
When sober he generally contrived to resist this
impulse for fear of punishment. But when he had drink
in him he could not resist. When serving in the army
he had often induced young and pleasing girls to give
him their handkerchiefs that had already been in use,
and to exchange them for others after he had used them
for a while.
520 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
When lie slept with a girl he generally exchanged his
own handkerchief for the girl's. Often he had bought
handkerchiefs that he might exchange them with those
used by women.
New and unused handkerchiefs had no effect on him.
The girl must have carried it about and used it before it
excited him sexually.
In order to bring unused handkerchiefs into contact
with women, he would at times throw them in the road
in front of a woman coming towards him, that she might
step on it (this is taken from the proceedings). Once he
fell upon a girl, pressed a handkerchief against her neck,
and ran away.
As soon as he came into possession of a handkerchief
that had been touched by a woman, bet would have
erection and orgasm. He would then put Iho bandker-
chicf ad corpus nudum, or preferablj' ad genitalia, and thus
produce a pleasurable ejaculation.
He never asked such women to have coitus with him,
partly because he feared a refusal, chiefly, however, be-
cause he preferred the handkerchief to the girl.
D. made all these confessions with great reserve, and
piecemeal. Repeatedly he broke into tears and refused to
say more because "he was so ashamed of himself". "I
am not a thief, and have never stolen a penny's worth
even when I was in dire distress. I never could have
brought myself to sell one of these handkerchiefs. I am
not a bad man. Only when I do these stupid things I am
beside myself."
Tlic favourable opinion given b}^ the authorities of the
asylum attributed his misdeeds to an abnormal mental
condition producing a morbid, irresistible impulse to com-
mit these acts, coupled with weakness of intellect in a
moderate degree. Free pardon from theft.
Case 192. Violation of ladies' toilets emanating from
stuff-fetichism.
VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER AGE OF FOURTEEN. 521
X., heavily tainted (great uncle insane, father a
drunkard, sister an idiot), was arrested in an office whilst
pushing up against ladies, he was catting with a pair of
scissors pieces of fur, velvet or cloth from their apparel.
In his pockets and in his room a big lot of sucli cuttings
was found.
X. had shown since his tenth year a weakness for
woolly and fluffy materials. Even the very sight, but
especially the touch, of them would bring on orgasm and
ejaculation. Fur particularly had this effect on him, and
after that satin. The latter accounted for the fact that in
his collection a number of cuttings of satin ribbons were
found.
He induced lustful emotions by placing the stolen
pieces of stuff next to his skin. If ejaculation was not
spontaneous he assisted with masturbation. Woman in
her capacity as woman, or sexual intercourse with her,
had no charm for him {Gamier, " Les Fetichistes per-
vertes," p. 49, Paris, 1896).
6. Violation of Individuals Under the Age of Fourteen.
(Austrian Statutes, §§ 128, 132 ; Austrian Abridgment, §§ 139, igi''^ ; German
Statutes, §§ 174, 176^.)
By violation of sexually immature individuals, tbe
jurist undei stands all the possible immoral acts with
persons under fourteen years of age that are not com-
prehended in the term rape. The term violation, in the
legal sense of the word, comprehends the most horrible
perversions and acts, which are possible only to a man
who is a slave to lust and morally weak, and, as is usually
the case, lacking in sexual power.
A common feature of these crimes, committed on
persons that really still belong more or less to childhood,
is that they are unmanly, knavish, and often silly. It
is a fact that such acts, excepting pathological cases, like
those of imbeciles, paretics, and senile dements, are almost
522 PSYCnOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
exclusively committed by young men who lack courage
or have no faith in their virility ; or by roues who have,
to some extent, lost their power. It is psychologically
incomprehensible that an adult of full virility and mentally
sound should indulge in sexual abuses with children.
The imagination of debauchees, in actively or pas-
sively picturing immoral acts, is exceedingly lively ; and
that the following enumeration of the sexual acts of
this kind known to law exhausts all the possibilities is
questionable.
Most frequently the abuse consists of sexual handling
(under some circumstances, flagellation,^) active manus-
tupration, or seducing children to immorality by making
them perform onanism on the seducer, or lustfully touch
him. Less frequent acts are cunnilmgus, irrumare on boys
or girls, pcBdicatio puellarum, coitus inter femora, and exhibi-
tion.
In a case reported by Maschka ("Handb.," iii., p. 174),
a young man had naked girls, from eight to twelve years
old, dance about in his room, and urinate before him,
until he ejaculated. Not infrequently boys are abused by
sensual women, who undertake to bring about conjunctio
membrorum with them, in order to satisfy themselves by
means of friction or onanism.^
Tardieu saw one of the most disgusting examples. A
servant, in company with her lover, masturbated children
intrusted to them, performed cunnilingus with a girl of
seven and introduced carrots and potatoes into her vagina,
and put similar things into the rectum of a baby of two
years !
Case 193. Z., aged sixty-two ; deeply tainted, mas-
turbator. He states he has never had coitus, but has
1 Cases, vide " Friedreich'' s Blatter f. ger. Anthropologie," iii., p. 77.
2 Cases, Maschka, " Handb.," iii., p. 175 ; Casper, " Vieiteljahrsschr.,"
1852, Bd. i. ; TardicM, " Attentats aux moeurs ".
VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER AGE OF FOURTEEN. 523
frequently practised fellatio. He is in an asylum, on
account of paranoia. It had been his greatest pleasure
to entice girls, from ten to fourteen years of age and
practise cwmilingus and other vile acts with them. In
these acts he had orgasm and ejaculation.
Masturbation did not give him the same satisfaction,
and induced ejaculation only with difficulty. Fautc de
mieux he also practised /eZZaiio with men. Occasionally an
exhibitionist. Phimosis. Asymmetrical cranium (Pelanda,
" Arch, di Psichiatria," x., fascic. 3, 4).
Case 194. X., priest, aged forty. He was accused
of enticing girls, aged from ten to thirteen, undressing
and fondling them lustfully, and finally masturbating.
He is tainted, and has been an onanist from childhood ;
morally imbecile ; always very excitable sexually. Head
somewhat small. Penis unusually large ; indications of
hypospadiasis {Pelanda, loc cit.).
Case 195. K., aged twenty-three; labourer. He
was accused and convicted of repeatedly enticing boys,
and now and then girls, to an out-of-the-way place,
and practising abuses with them (mutual masturbation,
fellatio puerorum, fondling of the genitals of the girls).
K. is an imbecile, and physically deformed, being
scarcely 1"5 metres tall ; cranium rachitic and hydro-
cephalic ; teeth bad — furrowed, defective, and irregular.
Large hps, idiotic expression, stuttering speech, and an
awkward attitude complete the picture of psychophysical
degeneration. K. behaves like a child discovered in some
mischievous act. Scarcely any growth of beard. Genitals
well and normally developed. He has a superficial con-
sciousness of having done something improper, but he
is unconscious of the moral, social, and legal significance
of his crimes.
K. comes of a drunken father, and a mother who
became insane from the abuse of her husband and died
624 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
in an asylum. In his babyhood the boy was ahxiost
blinded by corneal ulcers, and, after his sixth year, he
grew up with an almoner, and later with difficulty earned
his living as an organ-grinder. His brother is good for
nothing, and the culprit himself was considered a surly,
quarrelsome, vicious, moody, irrital)le man. The opinion
emphasised the intellectual, moral and physical defect
of the culprit.
Unfortunately it must be admitted that the most
revolting of these crimes are done by sane individuals
who, by reason of overindulgence in normal sexual acts,
lasciviousness and brutahty, and not seldom whilst intoxi-
cated, forget that they are human beings.
A great number of these cases, however, certainly
depend upon pathological states.
A review of the psycho-pathological cases of immorahty
with children shows that the largest number may be
reduced to conditions of acquired mental weakness. First
of all we must mention dementia senilis ^ {Kirn, " Allg.
Zeitschr. f. Psychiatrie," 39, p. 217), then chronic alcohol-
ism," paralysis,^ mental debihty due to epilepsy,* injuries
to the head and apoplexy,^ lues cerebri.^ Then follow the
original mental defects," and states of degeneration.^
The cause for these offences may also be found in
states of morbid unconsciousness.
Not infrequently these outrages on morality are due
1 Cases, No. 163, IGd, 165 quoted in this book.
"^ Lcppmann, "Die Sachverstandigentlaiitigkeit," p. 96; Lovihroso,
" Archivio di psichiatria," viii., p. 519.
* Cf. supra, page 451.
* Cases 152, 153, supra ; Liman, " Zweifelhafto Geisteszustiinde," case 6.
5 Cases 145, 146, supra.
^ Case 147, supra.
"> Casper's, " Klin. Novellen," p. 161, 193, 272 ; Leppmann, op. ciL,
p. 115 ; Henke's, " Zeitschr.," xxiii., " Erganzungsh.," p. 147 ; cf. supra,
pp. 445, etc. ; 501, etc.
« Vide supra, cases 174, 193, 194 ; " Vierteljahrsschr. f. gcr. Med.,"
N.F. xlix., 2.
VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUALS UNDEE AGE OF FOURTEEN. 525
to overindulgence in alcoholic stimulants or epilepto-
psychical conditions of an exceptional character, at times
also to error sexus aut persona. They may be explained on
the ground of the sexual excitement concomitant with
these conditions, especially in epileptic subjects.^ Eape
and pederasty are of frequent occurrences under these
circumstances. In the states of psychical weakness the
point whether viriHty is at command decides as to the
quality of the sexual act.
In addition to the aforesaid categories of moral rene-
gades, and those afflicted with psychico-moral weakness —
be this congenital or superinduced by cerebral disease or
episodical mental aberration — there are cases m which
the sexually needy subject is drawn to children not in
consequence of degenerated morality or psychical or
physical impotence, but rather by a morbid disposition,
a psycho-sexual perversion, which may at present be named
pcedophilia erotica.^
In my own experience I have come across four cases
only. They all refer to men. The first case is of more
value than the others for it appears iuthe form of platonic
love ; but it manifests its sexual character in the fact that
this (paranoic) lover of children is only stimulated by
little girls. He is quite callous towards the grown-up
woman and, as it appears, a hair-fetichist. (In the other
cases it came to libidinous acts.)
Observation No. 2. represents a man tainted by here-
dity. Since the time of puberty (which came very late at
the age of twenty-four) sensual emotions towards little
girls of five to ten years of age. The very sight of such
a girl brought on ejaculation ; a touch from her absolute
sexual paroxism with only a succinct recollection as to
its duration. The marital act gave a slight gratification,
1 Vide sup-a, cases 149, 150, 154, 155, 156.
- Cf. author's original article in Friedreich's " Blatter f. ger. Med."
1896.
\
526 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
thus enabling him to control his desire for little girls for
a time. But a heavy neurasthenia supervened (chiefly
due to coitus interntptus) when he became a criminal either
because his moral powers of resistance slackened, or his
sexual appetite increased in volume.
The third case is a man tainted by heredity and
constitutionally neurasthenic ; cranium abnormal, never
had a normal inclination to the adult woman ; but in
coitus was like an animal at rutting time. To immorally
touch little girls gave this man the highest possible plea-
sure. He became paedophilic only at the age of twenty-
five.
My fourth case is a man, tainted, who has ever found
sexual charm only in immature girls. Mature women
had but little attraction for him. When impotence (e
tabe ?) and dementia paralytica set in he could no longer
resist the morbid impulse.
The cases quoted here under the head of " pcedophilia
erotica " in the sense of sexual perversion have the follow-
ing traits in common :—
(1) The individual afflicted is tainted.
(2) The affection for immature persons of the opposite
sex is of a primary nature (quite in opposition to the
debauchee) ; the imaginary representations are in an ab-
normal manner and very strongly indeed marked by
lustful feelings.
(3) The libidinous acts — if you exclude the one case
in which virihty was present — consist only in immodest
touches or manustupration of the victim. Nevertheless
they adduce the gratification of the subject, even though
ejaculation be not attained.
The following cases taken from Magnan (" Lectures
on Psychiatry ") show clearly that this pcedophilia erotica
occurs also in women.
Magnan s first case is a lady twenty-nine years of age,
tainted by heredity ; has delusions and phobias.
VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUALS UNDEE AGE OF FOURTEEN, 527
Since eight years strong desire for sexual union with
one of her (five) nephews. First her desire is directed
towards the oldest when he was five years of age. She
transferred this desire to each of them in turn as they
grew up. The sight of the child in question was sufficient
to produce orgasm and even pollution. She was able to
resist her inclination, which she cannot explain. She had
no inclination for mature men.
The second case is a women thirty-two years of age,
mother of two children ; heavily tainted by heredity ;
separated from her husband on account of brutal treat-
ment.
For several months she had neglected her children,
had visited a friend's house every day, and always at the
time when the son of the house was returnincr from
school. She hugged and kissed the child, and at times
said that she was in love with him and wanted to marry
him.
One day she told his mother that the boy was ill and
unhappy. She wanted to cohabit with him in order to
cure him.
She was forbidden the house, but laid siege to it.
One day she tried to force her way in, when she was
sent to an asylum, where she continued to rave about the
boy.
That padophilia erotica may occur periodically is de-
monstrated by Anjel's observation (vide sjipra, cases 158
and 159).
In the sphere of antipathic sexual instinct this perver-
sion is by no means rare. In the same measure in which
the former is an equivalent of the heterosexual instinct,
so in this instance the predilection for the immature is
equally abnormal and exceptional. Practically speaking,
acts of immorality committed on boys by men sexually
inverted are of the greatest rarity.
I have already laid stress upon this fact in my
pamphlet " Der contrar Sexuale vor dem Strafrichter,"
528 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
second edition, p. 9. I have pointed out there that the
real seducer of youth is the weak-minded man, though
born sexually normal ; the roue who is impotent or at
least sexually perverted and morally depraved ; the senile
man who is morally enfeebled but sexually excited.
Under such accidental conditions, the sexually in-
verted individual may also eventually become a danger to
boys (c/. case 106 of the present and 109 of the ninth
edition of this book) ; but this has nothing to do with
padophilia, for the very reason that in these cases the
boys were puhertati proximi, whilst in cases of genuine
pcEclophilia the subject is drawn only to the sexually quite
immature. The second case of Macjnan seems to be the
most instructive in this regard, for in it the desire turned
in each instance from the older boy to the younger one as
he grew to the age of three to five years.
The following case, reported by Pacotte and Raynaud
("Archives d'Anthropologie criminelle," x., p. 435), may
be looked upon as a proof that pcedophilia erotica may also
occur in cases of antipathic sexuality.
Case 196. X., thirty-six years of age, journalist;
heavily tainted by heredity ; ethically and intellectually
defective; since early youth afflicted with epileptoid spells;
intolerant of alcohol ; face asymmetrical ; never cared
for woman ; masturbated since he was eighteen ; attempts
at coitus found him cold and impotent.
But boys of ten to fifteen years of age excited him
very much. Although he was conscious of the criminality
of the act, he could not resist the impulse to poBdicate
with them. Oftentimes he was sated with their "enchant-
ing looks and their sweet smiles ".
Neither the adult nor little girls possessed any charms
for him. Only at the age of twenty-two, when a boy of
twelve years old forced sexual intercourse upon him, he
became psedophific. At that time he refused his seducer,
but soon he could resist no longer the desire awakened in
VIOLATION OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER AGE OF FOURTEEN. 529
him by that incident, although he was repeatedly sen-
tenced and imprisoned for this offence. His life was
blighted by this unfortunate weakness, and he made
several attempts at suicide.
Expert opinion established congenital sexual inver-
sion, and, within the limits of homosexuality, a special
anomaly, viz., exclusive love for boys of a certain age and
of delicate constitution.
It was claimed that degenerative mental disturbance
affected the soundness of his mind and rendered him a
danger to the community.
X. was inconsolable over the result of his trial, for he
was sent to an insane asylum. He had anticipated a free
pardon.
It is impossible to deduce from the real facts of a
'pcedoj)hilia erotica the claim of impunity for offences
resulting from it ; for in all cases thus far observed the
absolute control over the psedophilic impulse succeeded
in every instance until a pathological condition either
weakened or completely suspended the moral power of
resistance.
Very instructive in this regard are the cases observed
by myself, in which, despite of taint and sexual perver-
sion, the morbid impulse remained under control until a
third factor was added to these.
In the second and third case this happened through
an attack of neicrasthenia gravis, in the fourth through
dementia paralytica.
At any rate, the proof that a current of morbid sexual
impulse in the sense of pcedophilia erotica is present and
constitutes an ex parte symptom of taint should always be
considered on the ground of ameliorating circumstances.
34
530 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
7. Unnatural Abuse (Sodomy). ^
(Austrian Statutes, § 129 ; Abridgment, § 190 ; German Statutes, § 175.)
(a) Violation of Animals (Bestiality).^
Violation of animals, monstrous and revolting as it
seems to mankind, is by no means always due to psycho-
pathological conditions. Low morality and great sexual
desire, with lack of opportunity for natural indulgence,
are the principal motives of this unnatural means of
sexual satisfaction, which is resorted to by women as well
as by men.
To Polak we owe the knowledge that in Persia bestial-
ity is frequently practised because of the delusion that
it cures gonorrhoea ; just as in Europe an idea is still
prevalent that intercourse with children heals venereal
disease.
Experience teaches that bestiality with cows and
horses is none too infrequent. Occasionally the acts may
be undertaken with goats, bitches, and, as a case of
Tardictis and one by Schauenstein show (" Lehrb.," p.
125), with hens.
The action of Frederick the Great, in the case of a
1 1 follow the usual terminology in describing bestiality and pederasty
under the general term of sodomy. In Genesis (chap, xix.), whence this
word comes, it signifies exclusively the vice of pederasty. Later, sodomy
was often used synonymously with bestiality. The moral theologians, like
St. Alphons of Ligouri, Gury, and others, have always distinguished
correctly, i.e., in the sense of Genesis, between sodomia, i.e., concubitus
cum persona ejusdem sexus, and bestialitas, i.e., concubitus cum bestia
(cf. Olfers, " Pastoralmedicin," p. 78).
The jurists brought confusion into the terminology by establishing a
" Sodomia ratione sexus " and a " S. ratione generis ". Science, however,
should here assert itself as ancilla tJieologics, and return to the correct
usage of words.
2 For interesting histories, vide Krauss, " Psychol, d. Verbrechens,"
p. 180 ; Maschka, " Hdb. iii., p. 188 ; Hofmann, " T;ehrb. d. ger. Med.," p.
180; Rosenhaum, " Die Lustseuche," 5th edition, 1892.
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 531
cavalryman who had committed bestiality with a mare,
is well-known : " The fellow is a pig, and shall be reduced
to the infantry ".
The intercourse of females with beasts is limited to
dogs. A monstrous example of the moral depravity in
large cities is related by Maschka (" Handb.," iii.,) it is
the case of a Parisian female who showed herself in the
sexual act with a trained bull- dog, to a secret circle of
roues, at ten francs a head.
Case 197. In a provincial town a man was caught
in intercourse with a hen. He was thirty years old, and
of high social position. The chickens had been dying one
after another, and the man causing it had been " wanted "
for a long time. To the question of the judge, as to the
reason for such an act, the accused said that his genitals
were so small that coitus with women was impossible.
Medical examination showed that actually the genitals
were extremely small. The man was mentally quite soimd.
There were no statements concerning any abnormali-
ties at the time of puberty, etc. {Gyurkovechky, " Mannl.
Impotenz," 1889, p. 82).
Case 198. On the afternoon of 23rd September,
1889, W., aged sixteen, shoemaker's apprentice, caught
a goose in a neighbour's garden, and committed bestiality
on the fowl until the neighbour approached. On being
accused by the neighbour, W. said, "Well! Is there
anything wrong with the goose ? " and then went away.
At his examination he confessed the act, but excused
himself on the ground of temporary loss of mind. Since
a severe illness in his twelfth year, he several times a
month had attacks, with heat in his head, in which he
was intensely excited sexually, could not help himself,
and did not know what he was doing. He had done the
act during such an attack, He answered for himself
in the same way at the trial, and stated that he knew
532 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
nothing of the sj)ecies facti except from the statements
of the neighbour. His father states that W., who comes
of a healthy family, had always been sickly since an attack
of scarlatina in his fifth year, and that, at the age of
twelve, he had a febrile cerebral disease. W. had a good
reputation, learned well in school, and later helped his
father in his work. He was not given to masturbation.
The medical examination revealed no intellectual or
moral defect. The physical examination revealed nor-
mal genitals ; penis relatively greatly developed ; marked
exaggeration of the patellar reflexes. In other respects,
negative result.
The history of the condition at the time of the deed
was not to be depended upon. There was no proof of
previous attacks of mental disturbance, and there were
none during the six weeks of observation. There was
no perversion of the vita sexualis. The medical opinion
allowed the possibility that some organic cause (cerebral
congestion), dependent upon cerebral disease, may have
exercised an influence at the time of the commission of
the criminal act (from the opinion of Dr. Fritsch, of
Vienna).
But there is another group of cases falling well within
the category of bestiality, in which decidedly a patho-
logical basis exists, indicated by heavy taint, constitutional
neuroses, impotence for the normal act, impulsive manner
of performing the unnatural act. Perhaps it would serve
a purpose to put such cases under the heading of a special
appellation; for instance, to use the term "bestiahty" for
those cases which are not of a pathological character, and
the term " Zooerasty " for those of a pathological nature.
Case 199. Impulsive sodomy. A., aged sixteen ;
gardener's boy; born out of wedlock; father unknown ;
mother deeply tainted, hystero-epileptic. A. has a de-
formed, asymmetrical cranium, and deformity and asym-
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 533
metry of the bones of the face ; the whole skeleton is also
deformed, asymmetrical and small. From childhood he
was a mastm'bator ; always morose, apathetic, and fond
of solitude; very irritable, and pathological in his emotional
reaction. He is an imbecile, probably much reduced
physically by masturbation, and neurasthenic. Besides,
he presents hysteropathic symptoms (limitation of the
visual field, dyschromatopsia ; diminution of the senses of
smell, taste and hearing on the right side ; anaesthesia of
the right testicle, clavus, etc.).
A. is convicted of having committed masturbation and
sodomy on dogs and rabbits. When twelve years old he
saw how boys masturbated a dog. He imitated it, and
thereafter he could not keep from abusing dogs, cats and
rabbits in this vile manner. Much more frequently, how-
ever, he committed sodomy on female rabbits, — the only
animals that had a charm for him. At dusk he was
accustomed to repair to his master's rabbit-pen in order
to gratify his vile desire. Babbits with torn rectums were
repeatedly found. The act of bestiality was always done
in the same manner. There were actual attacks which
came on every eight weeks, always in the evening, and
always in the same way. A. would become very uncom-
fortable, and have a feeling as if some one were pounding
his head. He felt as if losing his reason. He struggled
against the imperative idea of committing sodomy with
the rabbits, and thus had an increasing feehng of fear and
intensification of headache until it became unbearable. At
the height of the attack there were sounds of bells, cold
perspiration, trembhng of the knees, and, finally, loss of
resi&tive power, and impulsive performance of the perverse
act. As soon as this was done he lost all anxiety ; the
nervous cycle was completed, and he was again master of
himself, deeply ashamed of the deed, and fearful of the
return of an attack. A. states that, in such a condition, if
called upon to choose between a woman and n female
rabbit, he could make choice only of the latter. In the
534 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
intervals, also, of all domestic animals he is partial only
to rabbits. In his exceptional states simple caressing or
kissing, etc., of the rabbit suffices, as a rule, to afford him
sexual satisfaction ; but sometimes he has, when doing
this, such furor sexualis that he is forced to wildly perform
sodomy on the animal.
The acts of bestiahty mentioned are the only acts
which afford him sexual satisfaction, and they constitute
the only manner in which he is capable of sexual indul-
gence. A. declares that, in the act, he never had a lustful
feeling, but satisfaction only, inasmuch as he was thus
freed from the painful condition into which he was brought
by the imperative impulse.
The medical evidence easily proved that this human
monster was a psychically degenerate, irresponsible in-
valid, and not a criminal {Boeteau, " La France medicale,"
38th year, No. 38).
Case 200. X., peasant, aged forty ; Greek-Catholic.
Father aijd mother were hard drinkers. Since his fifth
year patient has had epileptic convulsions — i.e., he falls
down unconscious, lies still two or three minutes, and
then gets up and runs aimlessly about with staring eyes.
Sexuahty was first manifested at seventeen. The patient
had inclinations neither for women nor for men, but for
animals (birds, horses, etc.). He had intercourse with
hens and ducks, and later with horses and cows. Never
any onanism.
The patient paints pictures of saints ; is of very Hmited
intelligence. For years, religious paranoia, with states of
ecstasy. He has an "inexplicable" love for the Virgin,
for whom he would sacrifice his life. Taken to hospital, he
proves to be free from infirmity and signs of anatomical
degeneration.
He always had an aversion for women. In a single
attempt at coitus with a woman he was impotent, but
with animals he was always potent. He is bashful before
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 535
women ; coitus with women he regards ahnost as a sin
{KowalciDsky , " Jahrb. f. Psychiatrie," vii., Heft 3).
Case 201. T., thirty-five years of age. Father an
inebriate ; mother psychopathic. Never had a severe
illness ; never showed special peculiarities. At the age of
nine immorality with a hen ; later on with other domestic
animals. When he began to have sexual relations with
women his bestial desires disappeared. Married when
twenty, and found sexual satisfaction.
When twenty-seven he began to drink. Then his
former perverse inclinations were awakened. One day he
took a she-goat to a neighbouring village to have her
covered. He felt a strong desire to commit sodomy with
her, but he at first overcame the impulse. Palpitation of
the heart, pain in the chest, and a violent orgasm made
him succumb. T. declares that these bestial acts gave
him greater lustful gratification than coitus cum femina.
His acts of bestiality remained unnoticed. He was
finally sent to an insane asylum on account of delirium
tremens, when, during his examination upon admission,
he made the above revelations {Boissier et Lachaux, "Annal.
medico-psychol.," July- August, 1893, p. 381).
In the explanation of zooerasty great difficulties are
encountered. The attempt to reduce it to fetichism, as is
possible in zoophilia erotica {cf. p. 267), has utterly failed.
It is questionable whether zoophilia can ever lead to
sexual acts with beasts (eventually bestiahty). If it be in
reality a fetichistic manifestation, this possibility cannot
be based upon the present knowledge of fetichism.
Even in the case of zoophilia erotica fetischistica (p.
267), acts of bestiality were never committed; in fact, the
sex of the animals there in question was never considered.
The only thing that at present can be done is to consider
zooerasty as an original perversion of the vita sexualis,
and place it on the same level with antipathic sexuality.
536 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
The following case, although it is only rudimentary
and abortive, seems to support this theory and to establish
complete unconsciousness of the motive of the impulse.
Case 202. Y., tv^enty years of age, intelligent,
well educated ; claims to be free from taint by heredity ;
physically sound except evidences of neurasthenia and
hypercBstlicsia urethroi; says he never masturbated. Always
fond of animals, especially dogs and horses. Since the
age of puberty increased love for animals, but sexual
ideas in connection with sport seem to have been absent.
One day when he mounted a mare for the first time
he experienced a sensation of lust ; two weeks later, on a
similar occasion, the same sensation with erection.
During his first ride he had ejaculation. A month
after the same thing happened. Patient feels disgusted
at the occurrence, and is angry with himself. He gave
up the saddle. But from now on pollutions almost daily.
When he sees men on horseback, or dogs, he has
erections. Almost every night he has pollutions accom-
panied by dreams in which he rides on horseback or is
training dogs. Patient comes for medical advice.
Treatment with sounds removed the hypcrcesthesia
urethra and diminished pollutions. The patient followed
reluctantly the advice of the physician to have coitus,
partly on account of dislike for women, partly on account
of diffidence in his virihty.
He made abortive attempts at coitus, but could not
even bring about an erection, which, however, took
place the moment he saw a man on horseback. This
depressed him ; he considered his condition abnormal
beyond remedy.
Continued medical treatment. A further attempt at
coitus was successful with the assistance of fancied images
of riders and dogs, which stimulated erection.
Patient grew more virile ; his love for animals waned ;
erections at the sight of riders and dogs disappeared,
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 537
nocturnal pollutions with dreams of animals became less
frequent ; he dreamed now of girls. Erection, which at
first did not support ejaculatio 2)rcccox, and pathological
coitus grew normal under treatment with sounds Patient
now finds sexual gratification, and is freed from his ab-
normal sexual impulse (Dr. Hanc, " Wien. med. Blatter,"
1887, No. 5).
The preceding case justifies the assumption of an
original perversion, for instead of the idea of the normal
object (woman), it is the idea of animals (dogs and horses)
frequently seen which awalvens sexual feelings and desires.
There may have been a latent sadistic element in the
case, for, at least in the vita sexualis of the dreams, the
riding of horses and the training of dogs played a prom-
inent part.
The following case, that of a stiqvator hestiarum, is of
pathological interest.
Case 203. Mr. X., forty-seven years of age, of high
social position, came to me for advice on account of a
troublesome anomaly of his vita sexualis. He is about
to be married and in his present condition considers it
morally impossible to enter upon matrimony.
X. is evidently heavily tainted — his father, two of his
sisters and one brother are highly neurotic. The mother
is presumed to have been a healthy woman.
The sexual instinct awoke early in X. ; he began to
masturbate spontaneously at the age of eleven.
He is decidedly hypersexual, practised masturbation
with passion, and at the age of fourteen he forgot him-
self so far as to sodomise bitches, mares and other fe-
male animals. He ascribed these acts to excessive sexual
desire and to want of opportunity to satisfy his cravin^^s
in the normal way — he spent his childhood and boyhood
in a lonely part of the country and later on he visited
a boarding school.
538 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
X. admits that he was quite conscious of the abomin-
ation of his acts, and says that he fought with all his
will power against these bestial impulses. But the greed,
the lust, the pleasure which they gave always over-
powered him. When grown up to manhood he never
had homosexual desires, nor did he feel an inclination
for woman.
Up to this part of his confession the opinion seems
justified that his bestiality was not a perversion, but only
a perversity which found root in his habits.
But it strikes one as peculiar that his erotic dreams
were always about bestial intercourse, and that when at
the age of twenty-five he sought to improve bis condition
by coitus cum muliere, he derived not the slightest gratifi-
cation from it, although he was quite potent and the
puella pleasing and sympathetic.
He had the same experience at other attempts which
he repeatedly made during the subsequent twenty-two
years. He describes coitus as a mere mechanical act
devoid of lustful excitement. He might as well have
coitus with a piece of wood. It simply disgusted him,
whilst cum bestia he experienced the height of pleasure.
The mere sight of animals excited him wildly. The
society of ladies caused him ennui. When he went with
a girl she had to resort to all kinds of manipulations to
prepare him for the act.
For two months previous to his first visit to me X.
had exerted all his will power to resist the impulses to
masturbation and bestiality.
He is physically a pecuhar being, evidently a degdnere
sttpdriaur. There are no symptoms of anatomical degener-
ation, no traces of neurasthenia.
I made strong suggestions to be on his guard against
masturbation and bestiality, to seek more the society of
ladies, prescribed antaphrodisiacs, advised frugality, slight
hydrotherapy, plenty of open-air exercise, steady occupa-
tion, and had the satisfaction to learn that the patient at
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 539
the end of ten months experienced a sHght gratification
in repeated sexual intercourse cum femina and that he was
ahxiost free from his former perverse desires.
An analogous case is reported by Moll, " Libido
sexualis," p. 421.
Another remarkable case of zooerasty is published by
Howard (" Ahenist and Neurologist," 1896, vol. xvii., 1.).
It refers to a young man of sixteen years of age who
found sexual gratification only with pigs.
The rarity of cases of real zooerasty seems to be
remarkable. But this may be explained by the ease with
which they are kept secret.
The forensically important distinction between bestial-
ity and zooerasty can never be difficult in coiicreto.
Whoever seeks and finds sexual gratification exclusively
with animals, although the opportunities for the normal
act are at hand, must at once be suspected of a patho-
logical condition of the sexual instinct. At any rate more
so than the sexually inverted person, for in sexual acts
with animals the psychical infection is wanting, i.e., the
possil)ility of the perversion of one part leading to the
perversity of the other.
It may be assumed, however, that the number of cases
of zooerasty as compared with those of sexual inversion
is unequally smaller. This follows a 'priori from the
character of both these perversions. The zooerast as
compared with the sexual invert is much farther removed
from the normal object. This would qualify the perver-
sion of the former as a much graver condition — because
more degenerative — than that of the latter.
^fci"-
(b) With Persons of the Same Sex (Pederasty ; Sodomy
in its Strict Sense).
German law takes cognizance of unnatural sexual
relations only between men ; Austrian, between those of
540 PSTCnOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
the same sex ; and therefore, unnatural relations between
women are punishable.
Among the immoralities between men, pederasty
(immissio penis in anum) claims the principal interest. In-
deed, the jurist thought only of this perversity of sexual
activity ; and, according to the opinions of distinguished
interpreters of the law {Oppenhoff, " Stgsb.," Berlin, 1872
p. 324, and Budolf and Stenglein, " D. Strafgesb. f. d.
Deutsche Keich," 1881, p. 423), immissio penis in corpus
vivum must take place to establish the criminal act covered
by §175.
According to this interpretation, legal punishment
would not follow other improper acts between male per-
sons, so long as they were not complicated with offence to public
decency, with force, or undertaken with boys under the age of
fourteen. Of late this interpretation has again been aban-
doned, and the crime of unnatural abuse between men
is assumed to have been committed when merely acts
similar to cohabitation are performed.^
The study of antipathic sexual instinct has placed male
love for males in a very different light from that in which
it, and particularly pederasty, stood at the time the
statutes were framed. The fact that there is no doubt
about the pathological basis of many cases of inverted
sexual instinct shows that pederasty may also be the act
of an irresponsible person, and makes it necessary, in
court, to examine not merely the deed, but also the
mental condition of the perpetrator.
The principles laid down previously must also here be
1 How difficult, unpleasant, and dangerous it may be for the judge to
form a proper judgment of these " coitus-like " acts for the establish-
ment of the objective fact of the crime is well shown by an article on the
punishableness of male intercourse, in the " Zeitschr. f. d. gesammte
Strafrechtswissenschaft.," Bd. vii., Heft 1, as well as by a similar one in
Friedreich's " Blatter f. ger. Medicin, 1891, Heft 6. Vide, further, Moll,
" Contrare Sexualempfindung, p. 22.3 ct seq., and Bernliardi, " Der Uranis-
mus," Berlin, 1895; van Erkelens, " Strafgesetz u. widernatiirl. Unzucht,"
Berlin, 1895
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 541
adhered to. Not the deed, but only an anthropological
and clinical judgment of the perpetrator can permit a
decision as to whether we have to do with a perversity
deserving punishment, or with an abnormal perversion of
the mental and sexual life, which, under certain circum-
stances, excludes punishment.
The next legal question to settle is whether the anti-
pathic sexual feeling is congenital or acquired ; and, in
the latter case, whether it is a pathological perversion or
a moral perversity.
Congenital sexual inversion occurs only in predisposed
(tainted) individuals, as a partial manifestation of a defect
evidenced by anatomical or functional abnormalities, or by
both. The case becomes clearer and the diagnosis more
certain if the individual, in character and disposition,
seems to correspond entirely with his sexual peculiarity ;
if the inclination toward persor^ of the opposite sex is
entirely wanting, or horror of sexual intercourse with
them is felt ; and if the individual, in the impulses to
satisfy the antipathic sexual instinct, shows other anomalies
of the sexual sphere, such as more pronounced degenera-
tion in the form of periodicity of the impulse and impul-
sive conduct, and is a neuropathic and psychopathic
person.
Another question concerns the mental condition of
the urning. If this be such as to remove the possibility
of moral responsibility, then the pederast is not a criminal,
but an irresponsible insane person.
This condition is apparently less frequent in congenital
urnings. As a rule, these cases present elementary psy-
chical disturbances which do not remove responsibility.
But this does not settle the question of responsibility
in the urning. The sexual instinct is one of the most
powerful organic needs. There is no law that looks upon
its satisfaction outside of marriage as punishable in itself;
if the urning feels perversely, it is not his fault, but the
fault of an abnormal condition natural to him. His
542 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
sexual instinct may be aesthetically very repugnant, but,
from his morbid standpoint, it is natural. And again, in
the majority of these unfortunates the perverse sexual
instinct is abnormally intense, and their consciousness
recognises it as nothing unnatural. Thus moral and
aesthetic ideas fail to assist them in resisting the instinct.
Innumerable normally constituted men are in a posi-
tion to renounce the gratification of their libido w^ithout
suffering from it in health. Many neuropathic indi-
viduals,— and urnings are almost always neuropathic, —
on the contrary, become nervously ill when they do not
satisfy the sexual desire, either as Nature prompts or in a
way that to them is perverse.
The majority of urnings are in a painful situation.
On the one hand, there is an impulse toward persons of
their own sex that is abnormally intense, the gratification
of which has a good effect, and is natural to them ; on the
other hand, there is public sentiment, which stigmatises
their acts, and the law which threatens them with dis-
graceful punishment. Before them lies mental despair, —
even insanity and suicide, — at the very least, nervous
disease ; behind them, shame, loss of position, etc. It
cannot be doubted that, under these circumstances, states
of stress and compulsion may be created by an unfortu-
nate natural disposition and constitution. Society and
the law should understand and appreciate these facts.
The former should pity, and not despise, these unfortu-
nates ; the latter must cease to punish them, — at least
while they remain within the limits which are set for the
activity of their sexual instinct.
As a confirmation of the opinions and demands con-
cerning these step-children of Nature, it is permissible to
reproduce here the memorial of an urning to the author.
The writer of the following lines is a man of high position
in London : —
"You have no idea what a constant struggle we all —
UNNATUEAL ABUSE — SODOMY. . 543
particularly those of us who have the most mind and
finest feelings — must endure, and how we suffer under
the prevailing false ideas about us and our so-called
' immorality '.
" Your opinion that the phenomenon under considera-
tion is primarily due to a congenital ' pathological ' dis-
position will, perhaps, make it possible to overcome
existing prejudices, and awaken pity for poor, ' abnormal '
men, instead of the present repugnance and contempt.
" Much as I beheve that the opinion expressed by you
is exceedingly beneficial to us, I am still compelled, in the
interest of science, to repudiate the word ' pathological ' ;
and you will permit me to express a few thoughts with
respect to it.
" Under all circumstances the phenomenon is anom-
alous ; but the word ' pathological ' conveys another
meaning, which I cannot think suits this phenomenon ; at
least, as I have had occasion to observe it in very many
cases. I will allow, a priori, that, among urnings, a far
higher proportion of cases of insanity, of nervous exhaus-
tion, etc., may be observed than in other normal men.
Does this increased nervousness necessarily depend upon
the character of urningism, or is it not, in the majority of
cases, to be ascribed to the effect of the laws and the pre-
judices of society, which prohibit the indulgence of their
sexual desires, depending on a congenital peculiarity,
while others are not thus restrained?
" The youthful urning, when he feels the first sexual
promptings and naively expresses them to his comrades,
soon finds that he is not understood ; he shrinks into
himself. If he tells his parents or teacher what moves
him, that which is as natural to him as swimming is to
a fish is described as wrong and sinful, and he is told
it must be fought a.nd overcome at any price. Then an
inner conflict begins, a powerful repression of sexual in-
clinations ; and the more the natural satisfaction of desire
is repressed, the more lively the fancy becomes, and paints
544 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
the very pictures that the wish is to banish. The more
energetic the character that carries on this inner conflict,
the more the whole nervous system must suffer. Such
a powerful repression of an instinct so deeply implanted
in us, in my opinion, develops the abnormal symptoms
which are observed in many urnings ; but this does not
necessarily follow from the urning's disposition.
" Some continue the conflict for a longer or shorter
time, and thus injure themselves ; others at last come
to the knowledge that the powerful instinct born in them
cannot possibly be sinful, and, therefore, they cease to
try to do the impossible — -the repression of the instinct.
Then, however, begin constant suffering and excitement.
When a normal man seeks satisfaction of sexual inclina-
tion, he knows how to find it easily ; it is not so with
the urning. He sees men that attract him, but he dares
not say — nay, not even betray by a look — what his feel-
ings are. He thinks that he alone of all the world has
such abnormal feelings. Naturally he seeks the society
of young men ; but he does not venture to confide in
them. Thus he comes to provide himself with a satis-
faction that he cannot otherwise obtain. Onanism is
practised inordinately, and followed by all the evil results
of that vice. When, after a time, the nervous system has
been ii)jured, the abnormality is again not the result of
urningism, but it is produced by the onanism to which
the urning resorts, as a result of the public sentiment
that denies him opportunity to satisfy the sexual instinct
that is natural to him.
" Or let us suppose the urning has had the rare for-
tune to soon find a person like himself ; or that he has
been introduced by an experienced friend to the events
of the world of urnings. Then he is spared much of the
inner conflict ; but, at the same time, fearful cares and
anxieties follow his footsteps. Now he knows that he is
not the only one in the world that has such abnornjal
feelings ; he opens his eyes and wonders that he meets so
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 545
many of his kind in all social circles and in all callings ;
he also learns that, in the world of urnings, as in the
other, there is prostitution, and that men as well as women
can be bought. Thus there is no longer any want of
opportunity for sexual satisfaction. But here how differ-
ently the experience is gained from that obtained in the
normal manner of sexual indulgence !
" Let us consider the happiest case. After longing all
one's life, the friend of like feeling is found. But he can-
not be approached openly, as a lover approaches the girl
he loves. In constant fear, both must conceal their rela-
tions ; nay, even intimacy that might easily excite sus-
picion— especially should they not be of like age, or should
they belong to different classes — must be kept from the
world. Thus, even in this relation, is forged a chain
of anxiety and fear that the secret will be betrayed or
discovered, which leaves them no joy in the indulgence.
The slightest thing that would not affect others makes
them tremble with fear that suspicion might be excited
and the secret discovered, and destroy social position
and business. Could this constant anxiety and care be
endured without leaving a trace, without exerting an
influence on the entire nervous system?
" Another less fortunate man does not find a friend of
like feeling, but falls into the hands of a handsome man,
who sought him until the secret was discovered. Now
the most refined blackmail is extorted. The unfortunate,
persecuted man, brought to the alternative of paying or
of losing his social position, and bringing disgrace on
himself and his family, pays ; and the more he gives, the
more voracious the vampire becomes ; until at last there
remains nothing but absolute financial ruin or dishonour.
"Who can wonder that nerves are not equal to such a
terrible struggle !
" They give way ; insanity comes on, and the miser-
able man at last finds the rest in an asylum that he could
not find in the world. Another, in the same situation,
35
546 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
driven to despair, finds relief in suicide. It cannot be
known how many of the suicides of young men are to
be attributed to this combination of circumstances.
" I do not think that I am in error when I declare
that at least one half of the suicides of young men are
due to such conditions. Even in those cases where urn-
ings are not persecuted by a heartless villain, but where
a happy relation between two men exists, discovery, or
even the fear of it, very often leads to suicide. How
many officers, how many soldiers, having such relations
with their subordinates or companions, in the moment
when they have beheved themselves discovered, have
sought to escape the threatened disgrace by means of a
bullet ! And it is the same in all callings.
" Therefore, if it must be admitted that, among urn-
ings, more mental abnormafities and more insanity are
actually observed than among other men, yet this does
not prove that the mental disturbance is a necessary ac-
companiment of the urning's condition, and that the
latter induces the former.
"According to my firm conviction, hy far the greater
number of cases of mental disturbance or abnormal dis-
position observed in urnings are not to be attributed to
the sexual anomaly ; but they are caused by the existing
notions concerning urnings, and the resulting laws, and
dominant pubhc sentiment concerning the anomaly. Any
one with an adequate idea of the mental and moral suffer-
ing, of the anxiety and care that the urning must endure ;
of the constant hypocrisy and secrecy he must practise in
order to conceal his inner instinct ; of the difficulties that
meet him in satisfying his natural desire,— can only be
surprised that more insanity and nervous disturbance does
not occur in urnings. The greater part of these abnormal
states would not be developed if the urning, fike another,
could find a simple and easy way in which to satisfy his
sexual desire,— if he were not for ever troubled by these
anxieties !"
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 547
De lege lata, as far as the urning is concerned, the
paragraph with reference to pederasty should not be
apphed ivithout the jjroof of actual pederasty; and psychical
and somatic abnormalities should be examined by experts
with respect to an estimate in the individual of the ques-
tion of guilt.
De lege ferenda, the urnings wish a repeal of the para-
graph. The jurist could not consent to this, if he is
to remember that pederasty is much more frequently a
disgusting vice than the result of a physical and mental
infirmity ; and that, moreover, many urnings, though
driven to sexual acts with their own sex, are yet in
nowise compelled to indulge in pederasty, — a sexual act
which, under all circumstances, must stand as cynical,
disgusting, and, when passive, as decidedly injurious.
Whether for reasons of expediency (difficulty of fixing the
guilt, encouragement of blackmail, etc.), it would not be
op)portune to strike from the statutes the legal punishment of
the male-loving man is a question for the jurists of the future}
My reasons for abolishing the laws above referred to
are the following : —
(1) The offences referred to in these laws generally
spring from an abnormal psychical condition.
(2) Only a most careful medical examination can dis-
tinguish cases of sheer perversity from those of patholo-
gical perversion. As soon as the individual is charged
with the offence he is socially ruined.
(3) The majority of urnings are the victims of a perverse
instinct of abnormal quality. In quahfying the sexual
instinct they are irresistibly forced by physical compul-
sion.
(4) Many urnings are incapable of considering their
sexual instinct as unnatural ; on the contrary, their own
appears to them the natural act, and that permitted by
law as contra naturam. The moral means of correction
1 Cf. the author's pamphlet "Der contrar Sexuale vor dem Straf-
richter". Leipzig and Vienna (Deutiko), 2 Aufl., 1895.
518 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
which might prevent the sexual transgression are there-
fore wanting.
(5) The definition as to what constitutes an immoral
offence is defective, and allows the judge too much latitude
In Germany, for instance, the interpretation of § 175,
growing more subtle and ingenious every day, gives
direct proof of the uncertainty of its proper legal under-
standing.
The deed in itself ought to be decisive in this matter.
and the verdict should be in accordance with it. (As a
rule, the motive is scarcely ever scrutinised.) But how
is this to be estabhshed ? For the deed is, as a rule,
committed in secret and in the absence of witnesses.
(6) Theoretical criminal reasons for the retention of
the paragraph are never advanced. It does not deter
from crime and has no corrective influence, for patho-
logical manifestations are not removed by penal remedies.
Decidedly it is not an atonement for a criminal act which
can only under certain and mostly false presumptions be
considered as criminal, and thus may lead to acts of gross
injustice. It must be remembered that in many civilised
countries this paragraph no longer is in vogue, that in
Germany it only exists as a concession to pubhc morality,
whilst the latter is based on false principles, and frequently
mixes up perversion with perversity.
(7) In my opinion, public morality and youth are suffi-
ciently protected, in Germany at any rate, by other
paragraphs of the statutes ; and I incline to the belief
that paragraph 175 does more harm than good, in so far
as it favours and abets blackmail — one of the basest and
vilest vices.
Of course, the blackmailer may be punished, but he
has always the one chance in his favour, that his victim
will never resort to the extreme measure of appeahng to
the law. If it comes to the worst the scoundrel is con-
fined to prison for a short time without running the risk
of losing the honour which he never possessed, whilst his
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 549
victim has lost all, i.e., his good name and the respect of
others, is thus ruined and often brought to self-destruction.
(8) If the German law-maker should deem public
morality endangered by the abrogation of § 175, surely the
extension of § 176, 1, to male persons as well should be
sufficient (at present this paragraph deals only with im-
moral acts committed on females either with force or under
threats). The "Code penal frangais " has such a paragraph.
Eventually the age of fourteen years mentioned in this
paragraph 176, 3, and beyond which immoral actions
committed on youthful persons go unpunished, might be
raised to a higher figure. This would also benefit the
female portion of society, who scarcely possess at the
age of fifteen sufficient maturity of mind and judgment
to protect themselves against the evil. Moreover by this
act a more efficient protection would be given to youn^
people in general (say up to the end of the sixteenth
year) than is now granted by § 175, which after all is
only directed against pederasty (and according to more
recent interpretation against other actions of a coitus-hke
nature) whilst it regards onanism and other immoral acts
with impunity. Perverse people but seldom endanger the
morality of the young by pederasty, but much more fre-
quently by other acts of immorahty. Beyond a certain
age, say eighteen, when a sufficient degree of moral and
intellectual ripeness has been attained, the law has neither
the right nor the duty to impugn immoral act^ which are
committed inter mares, portis clausis and consenm mutuo.
The individual himself is responsible for such acts, for
they do not violate either public or private interests.
What has been said de lege lata concerning congenital
sexual inversion and its relation to the law is also appli-
cable to the acquired abnoraiality. The accompanying
neurosis or psychosis should have much diagnostic and
forensic weight with reference to the question of guilt.
It is of high psychopathological and, under circum-
stances, also of criminal intei'ost that individuals of anti-
550 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
pathic sexuality when unfortunate in their love affairs,
or when meeting with deception on the part of the be-
loved, are subject to all those psychical reactions in the
shape of jealousy and vindictiveness which occur in the
love affairs between man and woman ; nay, often ever
lead to deeds of violence to revenge the affront or to
punish the robber of happiness.
Nothing else could prove more clearly the constitu-
tionality of these inverted sexual feelings ; their dominat-
ing power over sense, thought and aspiration, and their
complete substitution for hetero-sexual normal feeling and
development. A case of such unrequited and betrayed
love is the following taken from recent American criminal
acts, the report of which was sent to me by Dr. Bocch of
Troppau.
Case 204i A sexually inverted girl kills the girl she
loves because she was rejected.
In January, 1892, Alice M., a young girl belonging to
one of the best famihes of Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.A.,
killed in the public street of that town her girl friend,
Freda W., also of the best society. She made several
deep gashes in the neck of the girl with a razor.
The trial ehcited the following facts : —
Alice inherited taint from her mother — an uncle and
several cousins in the first degree were insane — the mother
herself was psychopathic, had jjuerijeral dementia after each
confinement, the worst attack following the birth of the
seventh child, i.e., Alice, now a prisoner — afterwards she
declined mentally suffering from dementia persecutoria.
A brother of the accused suffered from mental derange-
ment for some time after an alleged sunstroke.
Alice is nineteen years of age, of medium height, not
pretty. The face is childHke and " almost too small for
her size," and asymmetrical, the right facial side is more
developed than the left, the nose " of striking irregular-
ity," the eye piercing. She is left-handed.
UNNATURAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 551
With the beoinning of puberty, severe and continued
headaches were of frequent occurrence ; once a month
she suffered from epistaxis, often up to within the very
latest period from attacks of tremor. On one occasion
she lost consciousness during one of these attacks.
Alice was a nervous, irritable child, and very slow in
physical development. She never enjoyed children's or
girls' games. When she was four to five years old she
took much pleasure in tormenting cats, suspending them
by one leg.
She preferred her younger brother and his games to
her sisters ; she vied with him in spinning tops, playing
baseball and football, or shooting at targets, and in many
silly pranks. She loved to climb trees and roofs, and was
very clever in this sport. Above all things she loved to
amuse herself in the stable among the mules. When she
was six to seven her father had bought a horse, and she
took great delight in feeding and tending it, and rode
about the paddock astraddle on its back hke a boy, with-
out a saddle. Later on she would also groom the horse
and wash his hoofs. She would lead him along the street
by the halter, gear him up in the buggy, and became quite
an expert in harnessing him up when required.
At school she was slow and faulty, incapable of con-
tinued occupation with the same subject, did not grasp
things easily, and had no memory. For music and
drawing she had not the slightest talent, and hated
feminine occupations. She never cared for reading, and
could bear neither books or newspapers. She was stub-
born and capricious, and was considered by her teachers
and friends as an abnormal being.
When a child she did not care for boys, and had no
companions among them ; later on she never cared for
men, and had no lovers. She was quite indifferent towards
the young men, even abrupt, and they looked upon her as
being " cracked ".
But " as far as she can remember" she had an extra-
552 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ordinary love for Freda W., a girl of her own age, daughter
of a friend of the family. Freda was a tender and sweet
girl ; the love was mutual, but more violent on the part
of Alice. It increased from year to year until it became
a passion. A year previous to the catastrophe Freda's
family moved away to another town. Alice was steeped
in sorrow ; a very tender love correspondence now ensued.
Twice Alice went to visit Freda's family, during which
time the two girls, as witnesses attest, showed " disgust-
ing tenderness " for each other. They were seen to swing
together in a hammock by the hour, hugging and kissing
each other — " they hugged and kissed ad 7iaiiseam'\ Alice
was ashamed of doing this in public, but Freda upbraided
her for this.
When Freda paid a visit in return, Alice made an
attempt at killing her ; she tried to pour laudanum down
her throat 'whilst asleep. The attempt failed because
Freda woke up in time.
Alice then took the poison herself before Freda, and
was taken violently ill. The reason for the attempted
murder and suicide was that Freda had shown some
interest in two young men, and Alice declared she could
not live without Freda's love, and again " she wanted to
kill herself in order to find release from her tortures and make
Freda free ". After recovery they both resumed the amorous
correspondence, even with more fervour than before.
Soon after this Alice proposed marriage to Freda. She
sent her an engagement ring, and threatened death if she
proved disloyal. They were to assume a false name and
fly to St. Louis, Alice would wear men's clothes and
earn a living for both ; she would also grow a moustache,
if Freda were to insist upon it, as she felt confident that
by shaving frequently she could succeed in this.
Just before the attempted elopement the plot was
discovered and prevented ; the " engagement ring " was
returned together with other love tokens to Alice's mother,
and all intercourse between the two girls was stopped.
UNNATUEAL ABUSE — SODOMY. 558
Alice was completely broken up. She lost her sleep,
refused food, became listless and confused (at the shops
had the purchased goods put down to the name of her
beloved). The ring and other love tokens — among them
a thimble of Freda's filled with the latter's blood — she
concealed in a corner of the kitchen, where she spent
hours in contemplating these objects, now bursting into
peals of laughter, now into floods of tears. "
She became emaciated, the face assumed an anxious
expression, the eyes showed " a peculiar strange lustre ".
When she learned of an intended visit by Freda to
Memphis she firmly resolved to kill her if she cannot
possess her. She stole a razor from her father and care-
fully concealed it.
In the meantime she started a correspondence with
Freda's admirer, simulating friendship for him in order
to find out his relations to Freda, and kept herself informed
about them.
All attempts to see her or hear from her made by Alice
during Freda's sojourn in Memphis failed. She waylaid
Freda in the street and once almost succeeded in carrvino-
out her purpose had not an accident prevented her. On
the very day, however, when Freda was leaving town and
on her way to the steamboat Alice overtook her.
She felt mortally hurt because Freda, although walk-
ing alongside of the buggy in which she herself was riding,
never spoke a word to her, but only gave her a glance
now and then. She jumped from the vehicle and cut
Freda with the razor. When Freda's sister tried to beat
her off she became frantic and blindly cut deep gashes
into the poor girl's neck, one reaching almost from ear to
ear. Whilst everybody was busy about Freda she drove
off furiously through the streets. When reaching home
she immediately told her mother what had happened.
She could not comprehend the awfulness of the deed ;
she was cold and unmoved at the consequences pointed
out to her. But when she heard of the death and the
554 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
funeral of her beloved Freda and realised her loss she
burst into tears and passionate wailings, kissed the picture
of the dead girl and spoke as if she were not dead but
still alive-
During the trial her callous behaviour struck every
one ; the deep sorrow of her own people did not affect
her in the least ; she showed absolute indifference to the
ethical points of her deed.
At moments, however, when her passionate love for
Freda and her jealousy woke up, she yielded to boundless
grief and emotion. ''Freda has broken her faith ! " "1
have killed her because I loved her so ! " The experts
called in the case found her mental development on a
level with that of a girl of thirteen to fourteen years. She
comprehended that no children could have sprung from
her " union " with Freda— but that a " marriage " be-
tween them would have been an absurdity she would not
admit. She absolutely denied that sexual intercourse be-
tween the two (even mutual masturbation) ever took
place. But nothing definite about this point or about her
vita sexualis per acta could be learned. A gynascological
examination of her person was not made.
The verdict was insanity (" Memphis Medical Monthly,
1892).
Cultivated Pederasty. *
This is one of the saddest pages in the history of human
delinquencies.
The motives that bring to pederasty a man originally
sexually normal and of sound mind are various. It is
1 For interesting histories and notes, v. Krauss, " Psychol, des Ver-
brechens," p. 174 ; Tardic2i, " Attentats " ; Maschka, " Handb.," iii., p. 174.
This vice seems to have come through Crete from Asia to Greece, and, in
the times of classic Hellas, to have been widespread. Thence it spread
to Rome, where it flourished luxuriantly. In Persia and China (where it
is actually tolerated) it is widespread, as it also is in Europe (c/. Tar-
dieu, Tarnowsky, et al.).
CULTIVATED PEDEEASTT. 655
used temporarily as a means of sexual satisfaction faute de
mieux — as in infrequent cases of bestiality — where absti-
nence from normal sexual indulgence is enforced.^ It thus
occurs on shipboard during long voyages, in prisons, in
watering-places, etc. It is highly probable that, among
men subjected to such conditions, there are single indi-
viduals of low morals and great sensuality, or actual urn-
ings, who seduce the others. Lust, imitation, and desire
further their purpose.
The strength of the sexual instinct is most markedly
shown by the fact that such circumstances are sufficient
to overcome repugnance for the unnatural act.
Another category of pederasts is made up of old rou^s
that have become supersatiated in normal sexual indulg-
ence, and who find in pederasty a means of exciting
sensual pleasure, the act being a new method of stimula-
tion. Thus they temporarily renew their power, that
has been psychically and physically reduced to so low
a state. The new sexual situation makes them, so to
speak, relatively potent, and renders pleasure possible that
it is no longer found in the normal intercourse with
women. In time power to indulge in pederasty also
flickers out. The individual may thus finally be reduced
to passive pederasty as a stimulus to make possible tem-
poral}^ active pederasty ; just as, occasionally, flagellation
or looking on at obscene acts {Maschka's case of mutilation
of animals) is resorted to for the same purpose.
The termination of sexual activity expresses itself in
all kinds of abuse of children — cunnilingtis , fellare, and
other enormities.
This kind of pederasts is the most dangerous, since
they deal mostly with boys, and ruin them in body and
soul.
In reference to this, the experiences of Tamoiosky {op.
^ Lombroso (" Der Verbrecher, p. 20 et seq.) shows that also, in case of
animals, intercourse with the same sex occurs where normal indulgence
is impossible.
556 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
cit., p. 53 et seq.), gathered from society in St. Petersburg,
are terrible. The places where pederasty is cultivated are
institutes. Old roues and urnings play the role of seducers.
At first it is difficult for the person to carry out the dis-
gusting act. Fancy is made to assist by calHng up the
image of a woman. Gradually, with practice, the un-
natural act becomes easy, and at last the individual, like
one debased by masturbation, becomes relatively impotent
for women, and lustful enough to find pleasure in the
perverse act. Such individuals, under circumstances, give
themselves for money.
As Tardieu, Hofmann, Simon and Taylor show, such
fiends are not infrequently found in large cities. From
numerous statements made to me by urnings, it is learned
that actual prostitution and houses of prostitution for
male-loving men exist in large cities. The arts of coquetry
used by these male prostitutes are noteworthy — ornament,
perfumes, feminine styles of dress, etc., to attract pederasts
and urnings. This imitation of feminine peculiarities is
spontaneous and unconscious in congenital and in some
acquired cases of (abnormal) antipathic sexual instinct
The following lines are of interest to the psychologist,
and may give the officers of the law important clues con-
cerning the social life and practice of pederasts : —
Goffignon, " La Corruption a Paris," p. 327, divides
active pederasts into " amateurs,'' " cntreteiieurs'' and " sou-
tencurs ' ' .
The "amateurs" {"rivcttes") are debauched persons,
frequently of congenital sexual inversion, of position and
fortune, who are forced to guard themselves against detec-
tion in the gratification of their homosexual desires. For
this purpose they visit brothels, lodging-houses, or the
private houses of female prostitutes, who are usually on
good terms with male prostitutes. Thus they escape
blackmail.
Some of these " amateurs " arc bold enough to indulge
CULTIVATED PEDEEASTY. 557
their vile desires in public places. They thus run the
risk of arrest, but in a large city little risk of blackmail.
Danger is said to add to their secret pleasure.
The " entreteneiirs " are old sinners who, even with the
danger of falling into the hands of blackmailers, cannot
deny themselves the pleasure of keeping a (male) mistress.
The "souteneurs" are pederasts that have been punished,
who keep their "jesus," whom they send out to entice
customers {"/aire chanter lea rivettes "), and who then, at
the right moment if possible, appear for the purpose of
plucking the victim.
Not infrequently they live together in bands, the mem-
bers, in accordance with individual desire, living together
as husbands and wives. In such bands there are formal
marriages, betrothals, banquets and introductions of brides
and grooms into their apartments.
These " souteneiirs " train up their " jcszts ".
The passive pederasts are " petits jesus," " jestts," or
" aunts ".
The "petits jesus" are lost, depraved children, placed
by accident in the hands of active pederasts, who seduce
them, and reveal to them the horrible means of earning a
livelihood, either as " entretenus" or as male street-walkers,
with or without " souteneurs ".
The slyest and choicest "petits jesus'' are those trained
by persons who instruct these children in the art of female
dress and manner.
Gradually they emancipate themselves from teacher
and master, in order to become "fcmnies entrctemces," not
infrequently by means of anonymous denunciation of
their " soziteneurs " to the police.
It is the object of the "souteneur" and the "petit
jesus " to make the latter appear young as long as possible
by means of all the arts of the toilet.
The limit of age is about twenty-five years ; when
they all become "jesus " and " femvics entretemtes ," and are
then often sustained by several "souteneurs". The "jesus"
558 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
fall into three categories : " filles galantes," i.e., those that
have fallen again into the hands of a "souteneur"; "pier-
reuses " (ordinary street- walkers, hke their female col-
leagues) ; and " domestiques ".
The " domestiques " hire themselves out to active
pederasts, either to gratify their desires or to obtain
" petits jesus" for them.
A sub-group of these " domestiques " is formed by such
of them as enter the service of " petit s jesus" as " fcmmes
de chamhre ". The principal object of these "domestiques"
is to use their positions to obtain compromising know-
ledge, with which they later practise blackmail, and thus
assure themselves ease in their old age.
The most horrible class of active pederasts is made up
of the " aufits," — i.e., the " soutenetirs " of (male) prosti-
tutes,— who, though normal sexually, are morally de-
praved, and practise pederasty (passive) only for gain or
for the purpose of blackmail.
The wealthy "amateurs" have their reunions and
places of meeting, where the passive ones appear in
female attire, and horrible orgies take place. The waiters,
musicians, etc., at such gatherings are all pederasts.
The " filles galantes" do not venture, except during the
carnival, to show themselves in the street in female attire;
but they know how to lend to their appearance something
indicative of their calling by means of style of dress, etc.
They entice by means of gesture, peculiar movements of
the hands, etc., and lead their victims to hotels, baths, or
brothels.
What the author says of blackmail is generally known.
There are cases where pederasts have allowed their entire
fortune to be wrung from them.
That these monstrosities of large cities in the shape
of " petits jesus" are not only the productions of profes-
sional training, but rather of a degenerated mental condi-
tion is apparent from the researches made by Laurent
(" Les bisexues," Paris, 1894). He describes on page 175
CULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 559
of bis book under tbe title of " Hermapbroclitisme artifi-
ciel " manifestations of " effemination " and " infantilisme ".
Tbey refer to boys who with incipient puberty show no
further development of the frame and the genital organs,
have no growth of hair about the face or pubes, do not
change the voice and are retrograde in their mental
faculties. Often it happens that in such cases secondary
physical and psychical female characteristics of sexuality
are developed. A post mortem of such " petits garroches "
(Brouardel) reveals a small bladder, mere rudiments of
the prostate, absence of the ischio and bulbo cavernosi
muscles, infantile penis, and a very narrow pelvis.
They are beyond doubt heavily tainted individuals who
have experienced at the time of puberty a sort of rudi-
mentary sexual change.
Laurent (p. 181) makes the interesting remark, that
from the ranks of these " Infantiles " and "Effeminates " the
professional passive pederasts (" petits jesus") are recruited.
It is evident, therefore, that these human monstrosities
are predestmed for and trained, so to speak, in their abomi-
nable career by degenerative and anthropological factors.
The following notice from a Berlin (National ?) news-
paper, of February, 1884, which fell into my hands by
accident, seems suited to show something of the life and
customs of pederasts and urnings : —
" The Woman-haters' Ball. — Almost every social element
of Berhn has its social reunions — the fat, the bald-headed,
the bachelors, the widowers — and why not the woman-
haters ? This species of men, so interesting psychologi-
cally and none too edifying, had a great ball a few days
ago. ' Grand Vienna Fancy Dress Ball,' — ran the notice.
The sale of tickets is very rigorous ; they wish to be very
exclusive. Their rendezvous is a well-known dancing-hall.
We enter the hall about midnight. The merry dancing
is to the strains of a fine orchestra. Thick tobacco- smoke,
veiling the gashghts, does not allow the details of the
560 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
moving mass to become obvious ; only during the pause
betv\^een the dances can we obtain a closer viev7. The
masks are by far in the majority ; black dress-coats and
ball-gowns are seen only now and then.
" But what is that ? The lady in rose-tarletan, that
just now passed us, has a lighted cigar in the corner of
her mouth, and puffs like a trooper ; and she also wears
a small, blonde beard, lightly painted out. And yet she
is talking with a very decollete ' angel ' in tricots, who
stands there, with bare arms folded behind him, likewise
smoking. The two voices are masculine, and the conver-
sation is likewise very masculine ; it is about the ' d
tobacco smoke, that permits no air '. Two men in female
attire ! A conventional clown stands there, against a
pillar, in soft conversation with a ballet-dancer, with his
arm around her faultless waist. She has a blonde ' Titus-
head ' sharp-cut profile, and apparently a voluptuous form.
The brilliant ear-rings, the necklace vnth a medallion, the
full, round shoulders and arms, do not permit a doubt of
her ' genuineness,' until, with a sudden movement, she
disengages herself from the embracing arm, and, yawning,
moves away, saying, in a deep bass, ' Emile, you are too
tiresome to-day ! ' The ballet-dancer is also a male !
" Suspicious now, we look about further. We almost
suspect that here the world is topsy-turvy ; for there goes,
or, rather, trips, a man — no, no man at all, even though
he wears a carefully trained moustache. The well-curled
hair ; the powdered and painted face with the blackened
eyebrows ; the golden ear-rings ; the bouquet of flowers
reaching froan the left shoulder to the breast, ornament-
ing the elegant black gown ; the golden bracelets on the
wrists ; the elegant fan in the white-gloved hand — all
these things are anything but masculine. And how he
toys with the fan ! How he dances and turns and trips
and lisps ! And yet kindly Nature made this doll a man.
He is a salesman in a large sweet shop, and the ballet-
dancer mentioned is his ' colleague '.
CULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 561
" At a little corner-table there seems to be a great
social circle. Several elderly gentlemen press around a
group of decollete ladies, who sit over a glass of wine and —
in the spirit of fun — make jokes that are none too deli-
cate. AVho are these three ladies ? ' Ladies ! ' lausrbs
my knowing friend. ' Well, the one on the right, with
the brown hair and the short, fancy dress, is called
" Butterrieke," he is a hairdresser ; the second one — the
blonde in a singer's costume, with the necklace of pearls
— is known here by the name of " Miss Ella of the tight-
rope," and he is a ladies' tailor , and the third — that is
the widely celebrated " Lottie ".'
" But that person cannot possibly be a man ? That
waist, that bust, those classic arms, the whole air and
person are markedly feminine !
" I am told that ' Lottie ' was once a bookkeeper.
To-day she, or, rather, he, is exclusively ' Lottie,' and
takes pleasure in deceiving men about his sex as long as
possible. * Lottie ' is singing a song that would hardly
do for a drawing-room, in a high voice, acquired by years
of practice, which many a soprano might envy. ' Lottie '
has also ' worked ' as a female comedian. Now the quon-
dam bookkeeper has so entered into the female role that
he appears on the street in female attire almost exclu-
sively, and, as the people with whom he lodges state, uses
an embroidered night-dress.
" On closer examination of the assembly, to my as-
tonishment, I discover acquaintances on all hands : my
shoemaker, whom I should have taken for anything but a
woman-hater — he is a ' troubadour,' with sword and plume ;
and his 'Leonora,' in the costume of a bride, is accus-
tomed to place my favourite brand of cigars before me
in a certain cigar-store. ' Leonora,' who, during an inter-
mission, removes her gloves, I recognise with certainty
by her large, blue hands. Eight ! There is my haber-
dasher, also ; he moves about in a questionable costume
as Bacchus, and is the swain of a repugnantly bedecked
36
562 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
Diana, who works as a waiter in a beer-restaurant. The
real ' ladies ' of the ball cannot be described here. They
associate only with one another, and avoid the woman-
hating men ; and the latter are exclusive, and amuse
themselves, absolutely ignoring the charms of the women."
These facts deserve the careful attention of the police,
who should be placed in a position to cope with male prosti-
tution, as they 7iow do with that of women.
Male prostitution is certainly much more dangerous to
society than that of females ; it is the darkest stain on
the history of humanity.
From the statements of a high police official of Berlin,
I learn that the police are conversant with the male demi-
mofule of the German capital, and do all they can to sup-
press blackmail among pederasts — a practice which often
does not stop short of murder.
The foregoing facts justify the wish that the law-maker
(»/ the future 7nay, for reasons of utility, at least, abandon the
prosecution of pederasty.
With reference to this point, it is worthy of note that
the French Code does not punish it so long as it does
not become an offence to public decency. Probably for
politico-legal reasons, the new Italian Penal Code passes
over the crime of unnatural abuse m silence, as do the
statutes of Holland and, as far as I know, Belgium and Spain.
In how far such cultivated pederasts are to be regarded
as mentally and morally sound may remain an open ques-
tion. The majority of them suffer with genital neuroses.
At least in these cases there are the stages of transition to
acquired pathological antipathic sexual instinct (see p. 273),
The responsibility of these individuals, who are certainly
much lower than the women who prostitute themselves,
cannot, generally speaking, be questioned.
The various categories of male-loving men, with respect
to the manner of sexual indulgence, may be thus char-
acterised in general : —
CULTIVATED PEDEEASTT. 563
The congenital urning becomes a pederast only excejj-
tionally, and eventually resorts to it after having practised
and exhausted all the possible immoral acts with males.
Passive pederasty is to him the ideally and practically
adequate form of the sexual act. He practises active
pederasty only to please another. The most important
point here is the congenital and unchangeable perversion
of the sexual instinct.
It is otherw^ise v^^ith the pederast by cultivation. He
has once acted normally sexually, or at least had normal
inclinations, and occasionally has intercourse with, the
opposite sex. His sexual perversity is neither congenital
nor unchangeable. He begins with pederasty and ends in
other perverse sexual acts, induced by weakness of the
centres for erection and ejaculation. At the height of his
power, his sexual desire is not for passive, but for active
pederasty. He yields to passive pederasty only to please
another; for money, in the role of a male prostitute; or
as a means, when virility is declining, to make active
pederasty still occasionally possible.
A horrible act, that must be alluded to, in conclusion,
is pcedicatio rmdierum} and even uxorum. Sensual indi-
viduals sometimes do it with hardened prostitutes, or
even with their wives. Tardieu gives examples where
men, usually practising coitus, sometimes indulged in
pederasty with their wives. Occasionally fear of a repeti-
tion of pregnancy may induce the man to perform and the
woman to tolerate the act.
Case 205. Imp^itation of pederasty that tvas not proved.
Resume from the legal proceedings : —
1 Cf. Tardieu, " Attentats," p. 198 ; Martineau, " Deutsche Med.
Zeitung," '1882, p. 9; Virchoiu's "Jahrb.," 1881, i., p. 533; Coutagne,
"Lyon Medical," Nos. 35, 36. Eulenhxirg in '' Zillzer's Klin. Plandb. d.
Ham- u. Sexual-organe," iv. Abtheil. p. 45, relates cases of his own
experience, in which women brought actions for divorce on the ground
that the husband, in order to avoid ofTspring, practised pcedicatio only.
564 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
On 30tb May, 1888, Dr. S., chemist, of H., in an
anonymous letter, was accused by his stepfather of liavjng
immoral relations with G., aged nineteen, the son of a
butcher. Dr. S. received the letter, and, astounded by its
contents, hastened to his master, who promised to proceed
discreetly in the matter, and to ascertain from the authori-
ties what was being said about this matter by the public.
On the next morning, G.. who lived in the house of
Dr. S., was arrested. At the time he was sick with
gonorrhoea and orchitis. Dr. S. tried to induce the authori-
ties to release G., and advised caution, but he was refused.
In his statement to the judge, S. said that he became
acquainted with G. on the street, three years previously,
and then saw no more of him until the fall of 1887,
when he met him m his father's shop. After November
G. supplied Dr. S.'s kitchen with meat — commg in the
evening to get the order, and bringing the meat the next
morning. Thus S. gradually got well acquainted with G.,
and came to have a very friendly feehng for him. When
S. fell ill and was, for the most part, confined to his bed
until the middle of May, 1888, G gave him so much atten-
tion that S.' and his wife were much attracted to him on
account of his harmless, child-hke and happy disposition.
Dr. S. showed and explained to him his collection of curi-
osities, and they spent the evenings pleasantly together,
the wife also being usually present ; besides, S. and G.
experimented in making sausages, jelly, etc. In February,
1888, G. fell ill with gonorrhoea. Dr. S., being his friend,
and having studied medicine for several terms, took care
of G., procured medicine for him, etc. In May, G. being
still sick, and, for several reasons, inclined to leave home,
S. and his wife took him into their own home to care for
him. S denied the truth of all the suspicions that had
been raised by this relation, and defended himself by
pointing to his hfe of previous respectability, his educa-
tion, and to the fact that G , at the time, was suffering
with a disgusting, contagious disease, and that he himself
CULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 565
had a painful affection (nephritic calculus, with occasional
attacks of colic).
Opposed to this statement of Dr. S.'s must be men-
tioned the facts that were brought out in court, and which
led to conviction in the first trial.
The relation of S. to G. had, by reason of its obvious-
ness, given cause for remark by private individuals, as
well as by those in public houses. G. spent almost all his
evenings with S/s family, and, finally, came to be quite
at home there. They took walks together. Once, while
out on such a walk, S. said to G. that he was a pretty
fellow, and that he (S.) was very fond of him. On the
same occasion, there was also talk of sexual matters, and
also of pederasty. S. said he touched on these subjects
only to warn G. With reference to the intercourse at
home, it was proved that occasionally S., while sitting on
a sofa, euibraced G., and kissed him. This happened in
the presence of the wife, as well as of the servant-girls.
When G. was ill with gonorrhoea, S. instructed him in
the method of using a syringe, and, at the time, took the
penis in his hand. G. testified that S., in answer to his
question why he was so fond of him, said, " I don't know
myself". When, one day, G. remained away, S., with
tears in his eyes, complained of it to him when he re-
turned. S. also told him that his marriage was unhappy,
and, in tears, begged G. not to leave him ; that he must
take the place of his wife.
From all this resulted the just accusation, that the
relation between the culprits had a sexual direction. The
fact that all was open and known to everybody, accord-
ing to the complaint, did not speak for the harmlessness
of the relation, but more for the intensity of the passion
of S. The spotless life of the accused was allowed, as
well a* his honesty and gentleness. The probability of
an unhappy marriage, and that S. was of a very sensual
nature, was shown.
During the course of the trial, G. was repeatedly ex-
566 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
amined by the medical experts. He is scarcely of medium
size, pale, and of powerful frame ; pen' • and testicles are
very perfectly developed (large).
In consonance with the accusation, it was found that
the anus was pathologically changed, in that there were
no wrinkles in the skin about it and the sphincter was
relaxed ; and it was presumed that these changes pointed
to the probability of passive pederasty.
The conviction was based on these facts. The judg-
ment passed recognised that the relation existing between
the culprits did not necessarily point to unnatural abuses,
any more than did the physical conditions found on the
person of G.
However, by reason of the combination of the two
facts, the court was convinced of the guilt of both culprits,
and held it proved : " That the abnormal condition of
G.'s anus had been caused by the frequently repeated
introduction of the penis of S. and that G. voluntarily
permitted the performance of this immoral act on him-
self ".
Thus the conditions of § 175, E. St. G. B., seemed to
be covered. In passing sentence there was considera-
tion of S.'s education, which made him appear to be G.'s
seducer ; in G.'s case, this fact and his youth were given
weight ; and the previous respectability of both was held
in view. Thus Dr. S. was sentenced to imprisonment for
eight months, and G. for four months.
The culprits appealed to the Supreme Court at Leip-
zic^, and prepared themselves, in case the appeal should
be denied, to collect evidence sufficient to call for a new
trial.
They subjected themselves to examination and ob-
servation by distinguished experts. The latter declared
that G.'s anus presented no signs of indulgence in passive
pederasty.
Since it seemed of importance to those interested to
make clear the psychological aspect of the case, which
CTLTIVATED PEDERASTY. 567
was not touched on at the trial the author was intrusted
with the examination and observation of Dr. S. and G.
Results of the Personal Examination, from 1 1th to loth
December, 1SS8, in Graz. — Dr. S., aged thirty-seven ; two
years married, without children. Ex-director of the
City Laboratory of H. He comes of a father who is said
to have been nervous, owing to great activity ; who had
an apoplectic attack in his fifty-seventh year, and died,
at the age of sixty-seven, of another attack of apoplexy.
His mother is hving, and is described as a strong person,
who has been nervous for years. Her mother reached
quite an old age, and is said to have died of a cerebellar
tumour. A brother of the mother's father is said to have
been a drinker. The paternal grandfather died early, of
softening of the bram.
Dr. S. has two brothers, who are in perfect health.
He states that he is of nervous temperament, and has
been of strong constitution. After articular rheumatism,
which he had in his fourteenth year, he suffered with
great nervousness for some months. Thereafter he often
suffered with rheumatic pams, palpitation, and short-
ness of breath. These symptoms gradually disappeared
with sea-bathing. Seven years ago he had gonorrhoea.
This disease became chronic, and for a long time caused
bladder difficulty.
In 1887 he had his first attack of renal cohc, and he
had such attacks repeatedly during the winter of 1887
and 1888, until 16th May, 1888, when quite a large renal
calculus was passed. Since then his condition had been
quite satisfactory. While suffering with stone, during
coitus, at the moment of ejaculation, he felt severe pain
in the urethra and the same pain when urinating.
With reference to his life, S. states that he attended
the Gymnasium until he was fourteen, but after that,
owing to the results of his severe illness, he studied
privately. He then spent four years in a chemist's shop,
and then studied medicine for six semesters at the Uni-
568 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
versity, serving, in the war of 1870, as a voluntary hos-
pital assistant. Since he had no certificate of graduation
from the Gymnasium, he gave up the study of medicine,
and obtained the degree of doctor of philosophy. Ther.
he served in the Museum of Minerals in K., and later as
assistant in the Mineralogical Institute of H. Thereafter
he made special studies in the chemistry of food-stuffs, and
five years ago became director of the City Laboratory.
He makes all these statements in a prompt, precise
manner, and does not think long about his ansv^ers ; so
that one is more and more led to think that he is a man
who loves and speaks the truth — the more, since, on the
following day, his statements are identical. With reference
to his vita scxualis, Dr. S., in a modest, delicate and open
way, states that in his eleventh year he began to have a
knowledge of the difference of the sexes, and for some
time, until his fourteenth year, was given to onanism.
He first had coitus at eighteen, and thereafter indulged
moderately. His sensual desire had never been very great,
but, until lately, the sexual act had been normal in every
way, and accompanied by gratifying pleasurable feeling
and full virility. Since his marriage, two years ago, he
had cohabited with his wife exclusively. He had married
his wife out of love, and still loved her, having coitus with
her at least several times a week. The wife, who was
also at hand, confirmed these statements.
All cross-questioning with reference to a perversion of
sexual feeling toward men Dr. S. answered repeatedly in
the negative, to repeated examination, and that without
contradiction or any thought of the answers. Even when,
in order to trap him, he is told that the proof of a perverse
sexual instinct would be of avail in the trial, he sticks
to his statements. One gains the important impression
that S. has not the slightest knowledge of the facts of
male-love. Thus it is learned that his lascivious dreams
have never been about men ; that he is interested only in
female nudity ; that he liked to dance with ladies, etc.
CULTIVATED PEDEEASTY. 569
No traces of any kind of sexual inclination for his own
sex can be discovered in S. With reference to his rela-
tions with G., Dr. S. expresses himsalf exactly as he did at
his examination before the court. In explanation of his
partiality for G., he can only say that he is nervous, and a
man of feeling and great sensibility, and very sensitive to
friendliness. During his illness he had felt very lonesome
and depressed ; his wife had frequently been with her
parents ; and thus it had happened that he had become
friendly with G., who was so gentle and kind. He still
had a weakness for him, and felt remarkably quiet and
contented while in his society.
He had had two such close friendships previously :
when he was yet a student, with a corps-brother, a Dr.
A., whom he also embraced and kissed ; later, with a
Baron M. When it happened that he could not see him
for a few days, he became depressed, and even cried.
He also had a similar feeling and attachment for
animals. Thus he had mourned the loss of a poodle that
died a short time ago, as if it had been a member of the
family ; he had often kissed the animal. (On relating
this, the tears came to his eyes.) His brother confirmed
these statements, with the remark, with reference to his
brother's remarkable friendship for A. and M., that in
these instances there was not the slightest suspicion of
sexual colouring or relation. The most careful and detailed
examination of Dr. S. gave not the slightest reason for
such a presumption.
He states that he never had the slightest sexual
feeling for G., to say nothing of erection or sexual desire.
His partiality for G., which bordered on jealousy, S. ex-
plained as due merely to his sentimental temperament
and his inordinate friendship. G. was still as dear to him
as if he were his son.
It is worthy of note that S. stated that when G. told
him about his love adventures with girls, it had hurt him
only because G. was in danger of injuring himself and
570 PSTCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ruining his health by dissipation. He had never felt hurt
himself by this. If he knew a good girl for G., he would
be glad to rejoice with him and do all he could to promote
their marriage.
S. states that it was first in the course of his legal
examination that he saw how he had been careless in his
intercourse with G., by causing gossip. His openness he
explained as due to the innocence of the friendship.
It is worthy of note that S.'s wife never noticed any-
thing suspicious in the intercourse between her husband
and G., though the most simple wife would instinctively
notice anything of that nature. Mrs. S. had also made
no opposition to receiving G. into the house. On this
point she remarked that the spare-room in which G. lay
ill was on the second floor, while the living apartments
were on the fourth ; and, further, that S. never associated
alone with G. as long as he was in the house. She states
that she is convinced of her husband's innocence, and that
she loves him as before.
Dr. S. states freely that formerly he had often kissed
G., and talked with him about sexual matters. G. was
much given to women, and in friendship he had often
warned him about sexual dissipation, particularly when
G., as often happened, did not look well He had once
said that G. was a handsome fellow ; it was in a perfectly
harmless relation.
The kissing of G. had been due to inordinate friend-
ship, when G. had shown him some particular attention,
or pleased him especially. In the act he had never had
any sexual feeling. When he had now and then dreamed
of G., it was in a perfectly harmless way.
It appeared of great importance to the author to form
also an opinion of G 's personality. On 12th December
the desired opportunity was given, and G. was carefully
examined.
G. is a young man, aged twenty, of delicate build,
whose development corresponds with his years ; and he
CULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 571
appears to be neuropathic and sensual. The genitals are
normal and well developed. The author thinks he may-
be permitted to pass over the condition of the anus, as he
does not feel called upon to pass judgment upon it. Pro-
longed association with G. gives one the impression that
he is a harmless, kind, and artless man, who is light-
minded, but not morally depraved. Nothing in his dress
or manner indicates perverse sexual feeling. There cannot
be the slightest suspicion that he is a male courtesan.
When G. is introduced in medias res, he states that S.
and he, feehng their innocence, had told the matter as it
actually was, and on this the whole trial had been based.
At first, S.'s friendship, and especially the kissing,
had seemed remarkable, even to him. Later he had con-
vinced himself that it was merely friendship, and had
then thought no more about it.
G. had looked upon S. as a father-like friend ; for he
was so unselfish, and loved him so.
The expression " handsome fellow " was made when
G. had a love-affair, and when S. expressed his fears
about a happy future for G. At that time S. had com-
forted him, and said that his (G.'s) appearance was pleas-
ing, and that he would make an eligible match.
Once S. had complained to him (G.) that his wife was
inchned to drink, and burst into tears. G. was touched
by his friend's unhappiness. On this occasion S. had
kissed him, and begged for his friendship^ and asked him
to visit him frequently.
S. had never spontaneously directed the conversation
to sexual matters. G. once asked what pederasty was, of
which he had heard much while in England ; and S. had
explained it to him.
G. acknowledges that he is sensual. At the age of
twelve he had l)een made acquainted with sexnal matters
by schoolmates. He had never masturbated, had first
had coitus at the age ot eighteen, and had since visited
brothels frequently. He had never felt any inchnation
572 PSYCHOPATTTIA SEXUALIS.
for his own sex, and had never experienced any sexual
excitement when S. kissed him. He had always had
pleasure in coitus normally performed. His lascivious
dreams had always been of women. With indignation,
and pointing to his descent from a healthy and respectable
family, he repels the insinuation of having been given to
passive pederasty. Until the gossip about them came to
his ears, he had been innocent and devoid of suspicion.
The anal anomalies he tries to explain in the same way
that he did at the trial. Auto-masturbation in another
denies.
It should be noted that Mr. J. S. claims to be no less
astonished by the charge against his brother of male-love
than those more closely associated with him. Yet he
could not understand what attached his brother to G. ;
and all the explanations which S. made to him concerning
his relation to G. were vain.
The author took the trouble to observe Dr. S. and G.,
in a natural way, while they were dining, in company
with S.'s brother and Mrs. S., in Graz. This observation
revealed not the slightest sign of improper friendship.
The general impression which Dr. S. made on me was
that of a nervous, sanguine, somewhat overstrained in-
dividual, but, at the same time, kind, open-hearted, and
very emotional.
Dr. S. is physically strong, somewhat corpulent, with
a symmetrical, brachycephahc cranium. The genitals are
well developed ; the penis somewhat beUied ; the prepuce
shghtly hypertrophied.
Opinion. — Pederasty is, unfortunately, not infrequent
among mankind to-day ; but still, occurring among the
peoples of Europe, it is an unusual, perverse, and even
monstrous manner of sexual gratification. It presumes
a congenital or acquired perversion of the sexual instinct,
and, at the same time, defect of moral sense that is either
original or acquired, as a result of pathological influences.
Medico-legal science is thoroughly conversant with
C^ULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 573
the physical and psychical conditions from which this
aberration of the sexual instinct arises; and in the
concrete and doubtful case it seems requisite to ascertain
whether these empirical, subjective conditions necessary
for pederasty are present. It is essential to distinguish
between active and passive pederasty.
Active pederasty occurs : —
I. As a non-jyathological phenomenon : —
1. As a means of sexual gratification, in case of great
sexual desire, with enforced abstinence from natural sexual
intercourse.
2. In old debauchees, who have become satiated with
normal sexual intercourse, and more or less impotent, and
also morally depraved ; and who resort to pederasty in
order to excite their lust with this new stimulus, and aid
their virility that has sunk so low psychically and physi-
cally.
3. Traditionally, among certain barbarous races that
are devoid of morality.
II. As a pathological phenomenon : —
1. Upon the basis of congenital sexual inversion, with
repugnance for sexual intercourse with women, or even
absolute incapability of it. But, as even Casper knew,
pederasty, under such conditions, is very infrequent. The
so-called urning satisfies himself with a man by means
of passive or mutual onanism, or by means of coitus-Hke
acts {e.g., coitus inter femora) ; and he resorts to pederasty
only very exceptionally, as a result of intense sexual de-
sire, or with a low or lowered moral sense, out of desire
to please another.
2. On the basis of acquired pathological sexual inver-
sion : —
(a) As a result of onanism practised through many
years, which finally causes impotence for women with
continuance of intense sexual desire.
(i) As a result of severe mental disease (senile dementia,
brain-softening in the insane, etc.) in which, as expeii-
574 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
ence teaches, an inversion of the sexual instinct may take
place.
Passive pederasty occurs : —
I. As a non-pathological phenomenon : —
1. In individuals of the lowest class, who, having had
the misfortune to be seduced in boyhood by debauchees,
endured pain and disgust for the sake of money, and be-
came depraved morally, so that, in more mature years,
they have fallen so low that they take pleasure in being
male prostitutes.
2. Under circumstances analogous to those of I., 1 —
as a remuneration to another for having allowed active
pederasty.
II. As a patJiological phenomenon : —
1. In individuals affected with sexual inversion, with
endurance of pain and disgust, as a return to men for the
bestowal of sexual favours
2. In urnings who feel toward men like women, out
of desire and lust. In such female-men there is horror
femina and absolute incapability for sexual intercourse
with women. Character and inclinations are feminine.
The empirical facts that have been gathered by legal
medicine and psychiatry are all included in this classifi-
cation. Before the court of medical science, it would be
necessary to prove that a man belonged to one of the
above categories in order to carry the conviction that he
was a pederast.
In the life and character of Dr. S., one searches in vain
for signs which place him in one of the categories of
active pederasts which science has established. He is
neither one forced to sexual abstinence, nor one made
impotent for women by debauchery ; neither is he con-
genitally male-loving, nor alienated from women by mas-
turbation, and attracted to men through continuance of
sexual desire ; and, finally, he is not sexuahy perverse
as a result of severe mental disease.
In fact, the general conditions necessary for the occur-
CULTIVATED PEDERASTY. 575
rence of pederasty are wanting in him — moral imbecility
or moral depravity, on the one hand, and inordinate sexual
desire on the other.
It is likewise impossible to classify the accomplice, G.,
in any of the empirical categories of passive pederasty ;
for he possesses neither the peculiarities of the male pros-
titute nor the clinical marks of effemination ; and he
has not the anthropological and clinical stigmata of the
female-man. He is, in fact, the very opposite of all this.
In order to make a pederastic relation between the
two plausible medico-scientifically, it would be requisite
for Dr. S. to present the antecedents and marks of the
active pederasts of I., 2, and G., those of the passive
pederasts of II., 1 or 2.
The assumption lying at the basis of the verdict is,
from a psychological standpoint, legally untenable.
With the same right, every man might be considered
a pederast. It remains to consider whether the explana-
tions given by Dr. S. and G. of their remarkable friend-
ship are psychologically valid.
Psychologically it is not without parallel that so senti-
mental and eccentric a man as S. — without any sexual
excitement whatever — should entertain a transcendental
friendship. It suffices to recall the friendship of school-
girls, the self-sacrificing friendship of sentimental young
persons in general, and the partiality which this sensitive
man sometimes showed even for domestic animals — where
no one would think of sodomy. With S.'s mental char-
acter his extraordinary friendship for the youth G. may
be easily comprehended. The openness of this friendship
permits the conclusion that it was innocent, much rather
than that it depended upon sensual passion.
The defendants succeeded in obtaining a new trial.
The new trial took place on 7th March, 1890. There was
much evidence presented in favour of the accused.
The previous moral life of S. was generally acknow-
ledged. The Sister of Charity who cared for G. in S.'s
576 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
house, never noticed anything suspicious in the inter-
course between S. and G. S.'s former friends testified to
his morahty, his deep friendship, and his habit of kissing
them on meeting or leaving them. The anal abnor-
malities previously found on G. were no longer present.
Experts called by the court allowed the possibihty that
they had been due simply to digital manipulations ; their
diagnostic value in any case was contested by the experts
called by the defence.
The court recognised that the imputed crime had not
been proved, and exonerated the defendants.
Lesbian Love.^
"Where the sexual intercourse is between adults, its
legal importance is very slight. It could conje into con-
sideration only in Austria. In connection with urningism,
tliis phenomenon is of anthropological and clinical value.
The relation is the same, mutatis mutandis, as between
men. Lesbian love does not seem to approach urningism
in frequency. The majority of female urnings do not act
in obedience to an innate impulse, but they are developed
under conditions analogous to those which produce the
urning by cultivation.
These " forbidden friendships " flourish especially in
penal institutions for females. ,
Kraussold {oj). cit.) reports : " The female prisoners
often have such friendships, which, when possible, extend
to mutual manustupration.
" But temporary manual gratification is not the only
purpose of such friendships. They are made to be endur-
ing— entered into systematically, so to speak — and intense
1 C/. Mayer, '' Friedreich s Blatter," 1875, p. 41; Krausold, " MelaD-
cliolie und Sclmld," 1884, p. 20 ; Andronico, " Archiv di psich. scienze
penali ed antliropol. crim.," vol. iii., p. 145; Chevalier, " L'inversion
sexuellc," Paris, 1SU3, p. 217 (searching description of " sapphic love " in
modern Paris).
LESBIAN LOVE. 577
jealousy and a passion for love are developed v^hich could
scarcely be surpassed between persons of opposite sex.
When the friend of one prisoner is merely smiled at
by another, there are often the most violent scenes of
jealousy, and even beatings.
" When the violent prisoner has been put in irons, in
accordance with the prison regulations, she says ' she
has had a child by her friend '."
We are indebted to Parent- Duchatelet (" De la prosti-
tution," 1857, vol. i., p. 159), for interesting communica-
tions concerning Lesbian love
According to this experienced author, repugnance for
the most disgusting and perverse acts (coitus in axilla,
ore, inter mammas, etc.) which men perform on prostitutes
is not infrequently responsible for driving these unfortu-
nate creatures to Lesbian love. From his statements it
is seen that it is essentially prostitutes of great sensuality
who, unsatisfied with intercourse with impotent or per-
verse men, and impelled by their disgusting practices,
come to indulge in it.
Besides these, there are prostitutes who let themselves
be known as given to tribadism ; persons who have been
in prisons for years, and in these hot-beds of Lesbian
love, ex abstmentia, acquired this vice.
It is interesting to know that prostitutes hate those
who practice tribadism,— just as men abhor pederasts ;
but female prisoners do not regard the vice as indecent.
Parent mentions the case of a prostitute who, while
intoxicated, tried to force another to Lesbian love. The
latter became so enraged that she denounced the indecent
woman to the police. Taxil (op. cit., pp. 166, 170) reports
similar instances.
Maiitefjazza ("Anthropol. culturhistorische Studien," p.
97) also finds that sexual intercourse between women has
especially the significance of a vice which arises on the
basis of unsatisfied hypercesthesia sexualis.
o/
578 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
In many cases of this kind, however, aside from con-
genital sexual inversion, one gains the impression that,
just as iu men {vide supra)^ the cultivated vice gradually
leads to acquired antipathic sexual instinct, with repugnance
for sexual intercourse with the opposite sex.
At least Parent's cases were probably of this nature.
The correspondence with the lover was quite as sen-
timental and exaggerated in tone as it is between lovers
of the opposite sex ; unfaithfulness and separation broke
the heart of the one abandoned ; jealousy was unbridled,
and led to bloody revenge. The following cases of Lesbian
love, by Mantegazza, are certainly pathological, and pos-
sibly examples of congenital antipathic sexual instinct : —
(1) On 5th July, 1777, a woman was brought before a
court in London, who, dressed as a man, had been married
to three different women. She was recognised as a woman,
and sentenced to imprisonment for six months.
(2) In 1773, another woman, dressed as a man, courted
a girl and asked for her hand ; but the trick did not
succeed.
(3) Two women lived together as man and wife for
thirty years. On her death -bed the " husband " confessed
her secret to those about her.
Coffiijnon {op. cit., p. 301) makes later statements worthy
of notice.
He reports that this vice is, of late, quite the fashion,
partly owing to novels on the subject, and partly as a
result of excessive work on sewing-machines, the sleeping
of female servants in the same bed, seduction in schools
by depraved pupils, or seduction of daughters by perverse
servants.
The author declares that this vice ("saphism") is
met more frequently among ladies of the aristocracy and
prostitutes.
He does not differentiate physiological and pathological
cases, nor, among the latter, the acquired and congenital
cases. The details of a few cases, which are certainly
LESBIAN LOVE. 579
pathological, correspond exactly with the facts that are
known about men of inverted sexuality.
The saphists have their places of meeting, recognise
each other by peculiar glances, carriage, etc. Sapliistic
pairs like to dress and ornament themselves alike, etc.
They are then called " petites scetirs".
Chevalier very drastically characterises the perversity
and distinguishes it from the perversion in the following
words (cf. " L'inversion sexuelle," p, 268, Paris, 1895): —
"... que Ton soit pederaste ou lesbienne par surexci-
tation des sens epuises, par avilissement mercantile, par
besoin d'mie •' trompe la faim,' par faiblesse d'esprit ou
dilettantisme ; il ressort de cette analyse que I'anomalie
ne nait pas avec I'individu, que I'enfance I'ignore, qu'elle
ne se montre guere d'un seul coup, mais peu a peu, gradu-
ellement, a un certain age, apres des pratiques sexuelles
normales, qu'elle n'est ni permanente, ni absolue, qu'elle
se concilia avec la pleine conscience et I'integrite de
I'intelligence, qu'elle peut s'amender et disparaitre, qu'elle
ne s'accompagne primitivement d'aucune tare physique
ou psychique saillante, qu'elle n'a pas d'autre criterium
objectif que le fait lui-meme, qu'elle n'est ni fatale ni
irresistible dans ses impulsions, qu'elle constitue enfin un
etat particulier d'origine plus sociale qu'individuelle.
" Defaut d'instinctivite, de spoutaneite, d'incoercibilite,
J'imutabilite, absence ou posteriorite des defectuosites
organiques et mentales correlatives, acquisition tardive et
artificielle, premeditation des actes, conscience ; genese
d'ordre mesologique, necessite d'une initiation prealable,
et surtout nulle trace d'heredite, ce sont bien la les carac-
teres de la passion pure, du vice sans alliage. Somme
toute : rien de pathologique ; ou doit done prevenir, ou
peut dene reprimer."
580 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
8. Necrophilia,^
(Austrian Statutes, § 306.)
This horrible kind of sexual indulgence is so monstrous
that the presumption of a psychopathic state is, under all
circumstances, justified ; and Maschkas recommendation,
that the mental condition of the perpetrator should always
be investigated, is well founded. In any case, an abnormal
and decidedly perverse sensuality is required to overcome
the natural repugnance which man has for a corpse, and
permit a feeling of pleasure to be experienced in sexual
congress with a cadaver.
Unfortunately, in the majority of the cases reported,
the mental condition was not examined ; so' that the
question whether necrophilia is compatible with mental
soundness must remain open. But any one having know-
ledge of the horrible aberrations of the sexual instinct
would not venture, without further consideration, to answer
the question in the negative.
9. Incest.
(Austrian Statutes, § 132 ; Abridgment, § 189 ; German Statutes, § 174.)
The preservation of the moral purity of family life is
a product of civihsation ; and feehngs of intense dis-
pleasure arise in an ethically intact man at thought of
lustful feeling toward a member of the same family. Only
great sensuality and defective ideas of laws and morals
can lead to incest.
Both conditions may, in tainted families, be opera-
tive. Drinking and a state of intoxication in men ; weak-
mindedness which does not allow the development of the
feeling of shame, and which, under certain circumstances,
is associated with eroticism in females — these facilitate
the occurrence of incestuous acts. External conditions
1 Cf. Maschka, " Hdb.," iii., p. 191 (good historical notes) ; Lcgrand,
"La folie," p. 521.
INCEST. 581
which facilitate their occurrence are due to defective
separation of the sexes among the lower classes.
As a decidedly pathological phenomenon, the author
has found incest in states of congenital and acquired
mental weakness, and infrequently in cases of epilepsy
and paranoia.
In many of the cases, probably a majority, it is not
possible, however, to find a pathological basis for the act
which so deeply wounds not only the tie of blood, but
also the feeling of a civilised people. But in many of the
cases reported in Hterature, to the honour of humanity,
the presumption of a psychopathic basis is possible.
In the Feldtmann case {Marc-Ideler, vol. i., p. 18),
where a father constantly made immoral attacks on his
adult daughter, and finally killed her, the unnatural
father was weak-minded and, besides, probably subject
to periodical mental disease. In another case of incest
between father and daughter {loc. cit., p. 247), the latter,
at least, was weak-minded. Lombroso {" Archiv. di Psi-
chiatria, viii., p. 519) reports the case of a peasant, aged
forty-two, who practised incest with his daughters, aged,
respectively, twenty-two, nineteen, and eleven ; he even
forced the youngest to prostitute herself, and then visited
her in a brothel. The medico-legal examination showed
predisposition, intellectual and moral imbeciUty, and
alcoholism.
There was no mental examination in the case reported
by Schilrmeyer (" Deutsche Zeitschr. fiir Staatsarznei-
kunde," xxii , Heft 1.), in which a mother laid her son of
five and a half years on herself, and practised abuse with
him ; and in that given by Lafarque (" Journ. Med. de
Bordeaux," 1874), where a girl, aged seventeen, laid her
brother, aged thirteen, upon herself, brought about 7ne7n-
broriim conjunctionem, and performed masturbation on him.
The following cases are those of tainted individuals : —
Legrand (" Ann. med. -psych.," May, 1876) mentions a
582 PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS.
girl, aged fifteen, who seduced her brother into all manner
of sexual excesses on her person ; and when, after two
years of this incestuous practice, her brother died, she
attempted to murder a relative. In the same article there
is the case of a married woman, aged thirty-six, who hung
her open breast out of a window, and indulged in abuse
with her brother, aged eighteen ; and also the case of a
mother, aged thirty-nine, who practised incest with her
son, with whom she was madly in love, became pregnant
by him, and induced abortion.
A second case published by Kolle and taken from a
criminal psychiatric opinion of the psychiatric clinic of
Zurich refers to incest committed by a father on his im-
becile adult daughter. This man suffered from chronic
alcoholism.
Through Casper we know that depraved mothers in
large cities sometimes treat their little daughters in a
most horrible fashion, in order to prepare them for the
sexual use of debauchees. This crime belongs elsewhere.
10. Immoral Acts with Persons in the Care of Others as
Wards ; Seduction (Austrian).
(Austrian Statutes, § 131 ; Abridgment, § 188 ; German Statutes, § 173).
Allied to incest, but still less repugnant to moral sen-
sibility, are those cases in which persons seduce those
entrusted to them for care or education, and who are
more or less dependent upon them, to commit or suffer
vicious practices. Such acts, which especially deserve
legal punishment, seem only exceptionally to have psycho-
pathic significance..
INDEX.
Adultery, 16.
Amor leshicus, 476, 576.
— acquired 576.
Anaesthesia sexualis, 54.
— congenital, 54.
— acquired, 61.
Androgyny, 325, 384.
Anthropophagy, 82.
Aphrodisia, 31.
Antipathic sexual instinct, 269.
— acquired, 272.
— congenital, 339.
— treatment of, 431.
— complications with other perver-
sions, 428.
— diagnosis of acquired, 431.
— — of congenital, 433.
— explanation of, 330.
— in the male, 339.
— in the female, 390.
— prognosis of, 431.
— prophylaxis of, 433.
— therapy by suggestion, 435.
— symptoms of neuropathic taint, 326.
Animals, violation of, 539.
Beast fetichism, 267.
Bestiality, 539.
— difference between zooerasty and,
539.
Blackmailing, 548.
Body, violation of, caused by fetichism,
517.
by sadism, 507.
Bondage, 193, 513.
Boys, love for, 375.
Celibacy, 15.
Christianity, position of woman in, 5.
Climacteiium, 15.
Coitus, 41.
Coquetry, 16.
Corpses, violation of, 90, 476.
Crimes, sexual, 472.
— character pathological, 476.
— responsibility in, 475.
Cruelty and lust, 76, 82.
— endured and lust, 115.
Cunnilingus, 476.
Defemination, 284.
Levicittia paralitica, 450.
— periodical, 461.
— mental due to apoplexy, 449.
— due to injuries to the head, 450.
— due to lues cerebralis, 451.
— consecutive to psychoses, 449.
— paretic, 451.
Despoilers of hair, 229.
Development, psychical impediments of
445.
Effemination, 373.
Ejaculation, centre of, 46.
— affections of, 46.
Epilepsy, 453.
Erection, 29.
Erection centre, affections of, 46.
Erogenous zones, 40.
Eviration, 284.
Exhibitionists, 477.
— Epileptics, 481.
— hereditary degenerates, 487.
— neurasthenics, 484.
— acquired, mental debility of, 478.
Fanaticism, religious, 9.
Fellare, 476.
Fetich, 18.
— animals, 267.
— apron, 241.
— costume, 235.
— ear, 223.
— eye, 22, 223.
— foot, 21, 221.
— fur, 255.
— gloves, 21.
— hair, 228.
despoilers, 229.
— hand, 21, 214.
— handkerchiefs, 243.
— in vi'oman, 25.
— kid gloves, 264.
— material, 255.
— mouth, 223.
— odour, 22.
— physical defects, 223.
— relations of otlier sexual perversion
21.5.
(583)
584
INDEX.
Feticli shoe and foot fetiehism as latent
masocliisiii, 1,'')9.
— shoes. '21, 222, 248.
— silk, 255.
— skin, 226.
— skirts, 253.
— soul, 21.
— velvet, 255.
— voice, 21
Feticliism, 18, 207.
— as an acquired perver.sion, 211.
— of beasts, 267.
— erotic, 18.
— explanation of, 207.
— essence of, 209.
— of the hair, 228.
— of things and clothes, 235.
— of parts of the body, 209.
— physiological, 18.
— religious, 18.
— robbery, theft, 517.
— violation of the body, 517.
Flagellation as aphrodisia, 35.
• — caused by masochism, 132.
sadism, 95.
Flagellants, 35.
Fondness of dress, 16.
Frottage, explanation of, 496.
Frotteurs, 496.
Friendship, 13.
Gynandry, 325, 393.
Hair duspoilers, 229.
Hermaphrodism, psychical, 342.
— psycho-sexual, 324.
Homosexuality (vide Antipathic sexual-
ity), 357.
llyperfB.sthesia sexual, 69.
Hypersesthetic zones, 40.
Hy.steria, 467.
Impotence, 13.
— psychical due to fetiehism, 21Z
Immorality, 521.
Inp.est, 580.
Insanity among the Scythians, 290.
Instinct, sexual, 1, 27.
— — control of, 40.
— — in children, 48
■ — — in old age, 50.
Inversion, sexual, 276.
koprolagnia, 178.
Love, 15.
— lor boys, 375.
— for dress and finery, 17.
— passionate, 2.
— platonic, 13.
— sappliic, 391, .576.
Lust, murder, 82, 476, 500.
— passive, 148.
— in the sexual act, 42.
Maltreatment of women, 95.
Mania, 465.
Masochism, 115, 513.
— and antipathic sexuality, 206.
— as original abnormality, 202.
— of Baudelaire, 157.
— desire for maltreatment and huniili
ation, 117.
— essence of, 115.
— explanation of, 191.
— — by Binet, 156.
— flagellation, 132.
! — I'oot and shoe fetiehism, 159.
— ideal, 150.
— Koprolagnia, 178.
— latent, 159, 178.
— ol Jean Jacques Rousseau, 154.
— symbolical, 148.
— and sadism, analogy, 202.
— — in the same individual, 205.
— relation to sexual bondage, 195.
— in woman, 187.
Masturl)ation, consequences of, 273.
— impulsive, 484.
■ — mutual, 476.
Matrimony, 16.
Maturity, sexual, 26.
Melancholia, 467.
Menopause, 15.
Mental debility consequent upon psy-
chosis, 449.
due to specific disease, 451.
Menstruation, 27.
Metammyhosis sezualis 2>a'{i/)oia, 292
316.
Modesty, 3, 16.
Monogamy, 5.
Morality, temporary decline of, 7.
Mujerados, 291.
Necrophilia, 580.
Neurasthenia, 484.
Neurosis, sexual, 44.
— cerebral, 46.
— peripheral, spinal, 45.
Nose, relation to sexual spheres, 31.
Nymphomania, 465.
Olfactory sense and sexual spheres, 31
PcBdicatio mulieruin, 563.
Pagism, 126.
Paradoxia, sexual, 48.
Paraesthesia of sexual in.stinct, 75.
Paranoia, 469.
Pederasty, 475, 539.
— ■ active, 573.
— not pathological, 554.
— passive, 574.
Perfumes, 31.
Perversion, 75.
Perversity, 75.
Physiology of .sexual life, 26.
Polygamy, 4.
INDEX.
585
Polygamy of Christian princes, 4.
Prostitution of men, 562.
Psychology of sexual lilu, 1.
— dilference between man and woman,
15.
Psychopathia sexualis periodica, 463.
Puberty, 26.
Rape, 500.
Pieligion and sensuality, 10.
Robbery due to fetichism, 517.
Sadism, 76.
- and antipathic sexuality, 206.
— of any object, 106.
— boy whipping, 107.
— corpse delilers, 90.
— defilement of female persons, 152.
— essence of, 115.
— maltreatment orwomen, 95, 5C7.
— and masochism, analogy, 202.
in the same individual, 206.
— lust murder, 82.
— symbolical, 105.
— in woman, 187.
Sadistic acts perpetrated on animals,
109.
.Satyriasis, 465.
Scythians, dementia, 290.
Sexual instinct, absence of, 269.
— — perversions of, 445.
basis of sesthetio sentiment, 12.
in childhood, 48.
in old age, 50.
as pliysiological process, 40.
psychical inhibitory, 446.
Sexual instinct, elements in development
of, 446.
— — social, 1.
— life, pathological in hy.steria, 467.
periodical dementia, 461,
— — mania, 465.
melancholia, 467.
— — paranoia, 469.
Seduction, 582.
Skopzi, 14.
Sodomy, 539, 540.
Statues, defilement of, 499.
Sweat, 31.
Theft, caused by fetichism, 517.
Unnatural abuse, 539.
Urnings, 325, 357.
— forensic, 541, 547.
— sexual acts of, 341.
Violation, 530
— of statues, 499.
— of animals, 539.
— of wards, 582.
Virginity, 324, 391.
Vita sexualis, morality, 2.
Voyeurs, 499.
Woman, 4.
— position in Christian Church, 4.
— — in I.slam, 5.
Zones, erogenous (hyperaestatic), 40
Zooerasty, 539.
— definition of, 539,
Zoophilia erotica, 267.
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