may occur simultaneously, without the detumescence being associated with
the object of the contrectation impulse. Thus cases occur in which boys
experience organic sensations in the genital organs leading them to
masturbate, and at the same time love someone; and yet when in the
company of, and even when embracing the beloved, such a boy will not
experience any specific sensations in the genital organs, nor will any
impulse arise towards sexual contact with the beloved person.
When the two processes are associated in such a manner that proximity
to the object of the contrectation impulse arouses the phenomena of
detumescence, sexual acts between the two persons are very likely to
result--provided, of course, that the affection is reciprocal. In this
way many of the sexual acts effected between children originate; and the
same is true of those in which children at times very readily lend
themselves to the gratification of the sexual passion of adults. We
learn from experience that in such cases attempts at actual intercourse
may be made by children, usually accompanied by erection, but in most
cases without ejaculation. I append a brief report of one case which
came under my own observation.
CASE 4.--X., twenty-one years of age, apparently sprung from a healthy
family, and at least free from hereditary taint, declares that his first
experience of sexual sensations occurred at the early age of five or six
years; at this age he became enamoured of a servant girl, who caressed
him very frequently, and pressed her genital organs against his body.
Later, when eight or nine years old, he fell in love with a girl of
about the same age, and made attempts at coitus. He remembers quite
distinctly that he then had erections, and also a kind of voluptuous
sensation, but no ejaculation. After continuing this practice for a
considerable time, he became aware, being very religiously brought up,
that he was behaving very wrongly. He therefore gave up all attempts at
sexual congress, and lived quite chastely until he attained the age of
nineteen. Throughout this time he neither masturbated, nor endeavoured
to effect coitus, nor practised any kind of sexual act. At the age of
nineteen, however, the sexual impulse becoming very powerful, he began
to masturbate, and has continued to do so up to the present time---
once, twice, thrice, or even four times weekly. Once he did not
masturbate for as long as three months, but this was the only prolonged
continent interval. He experiences a normal impulse towards members of
the other sex. Prostitutes are repulsive to him; he is attracted chiefly
by girls of exceptional intelligence. He feels quite certain that to
kiss and embrace such a girl would be very pleasurable to him, although
he is not aware of any definite impulse towards coitus. Masturbation
has always been practised by him as a purely physical act,
unaccompanied, that is to say, by any imaginative ideas.
In most cases, the complete association of the processes of detumescence
and contrectation, such as occurs in the impulse towards coitus, first
takes place at a somewhat later age. This is so even when the sensory
element, which constitutes a part also of the contrectation impulse, has
been already clearly manifested. The contrectation impulse does not
consist solely in this, that the boy experiences a purely spiritual love
for the girl; it may rather happen that certain definite sexual bodily
peculiarities in a woman attract him. When such a boy one day
unexpectedly sees a girl's breasts, this may exercise on him a powerful
stimulus. Similarly, I have known instances in which, in the absence of
any evidence of definite seduction, a woman's genital organs have
excited a very young boy, without arousing any idea in his mind of
contact between _his own_ genitals and those of the woman. Conversely,
on many girls, masculine attributes, and especially the male genital
organs, sometimes exert a stimulating influence. But in these cases
also, the complete fusion of the processes of detumescence and
contrectation occurs very gradually. Sometimes the boy himself is
greatly astonished to discover that close contact with a person whom he
loves leads to erection and even ejaculation. At the outset the impulse
is much less definite than it is in adults. It is by gradual stages only
that the sense of indefinite longing develops into the impulse towards
sexual union in coitus; at first the imagination contemplates pictures
of a quite indefinite character.
Although, as we have seen, the processes both of detumescence and of
contrectation may manifest themselves primarily in childhood as
associated conscious sensations, by far the most common event is for the
processes of contrectation to appear separately, before those of
detumescence. From an inquiry relating to eighty-six heterosexual men,
who to the best of my belief were sexually normal, I ascertained that in
more than 75 per cent., the feelings of contrectation appeared first,
and not until after this had happened was the boy's consciousness
attracted by sensations in the genital organs. This appears rather
remarkable, inasmuch as we must assume that in the phylogeny of our
species the processes of detumescence appeared earlier. Originally, in
the earlier ancestral types, reproduction was effected by fission or
gemmation (simple division or budding), without any necessity for
conjugation with another individual of the species; and reproduction by
gemmation corresponds to the processes of detumescence, to the
ejaculation of the spermatozoa by the male. But although in most
individuals the processes of detumescence make their appearance in
consciousness only in a secondary manner, it does not follow that in the
actual course of development they are also secondary. They do not,
indeed, enter so early the sphere of conscious impulses, but there is a
considerable amount of evidence to show that important processes are
going on in the external genital organs long before consciousness is
directly affected by these processes--consider, for example, the
consequences of early castration.
CASE 5.--This is a typical example of the primary awakening of the
contrectation impulse, and the secondary superposition of the phenomena
of detumescence. The patient is a man thirty-two years of age, somewhat
neurasthenic, but, as far as I could ascertain, free from any other
morbid manifestations. "At the age of seven I went to school; at first
to a private school, in which little boys and girls were co-educated. In
our playtime also the sexes were not separated; the girls came as
friends to my house, and I visited them at theirs. Soon I became
especially intimate with one of the girls; we did our lessons together.
Thus it went on until I was nine years old, when I went to a school for
boys only. My friendship with the girl at the other school persisted,
however; we met from time to time, and all the more readily because a
friendship had sprung up between our respective parents; they used to
make holiday journeys together, and we children went with them. From the
time when we were first at school together, this girl had always been
more dear to me than the others, I do not know what it was in her by
which I was particularly charmed. Was it that her general appearance
seemed sympathetic to me; was it her abundant fair hair, her clear blue
eyes, or her frank and natural manner? I do not know. But I remember
quite distinctly that this same girl was a favourite with the other boys
also, that they preferred to play with her, to have her as their
companion. But it was to me that the girl, and perhaps her parents also,
gave the preference. There was never any impropriety in our mutual
relations; indeed, it is probable that I loved her too much for anything
of the kind to be possible. Every night, before I went to sleep, I
prayed to God to watch over this girl. As I have said before, my
fondness was reciprocated; we often spoke to one another about our love,
and of our dreams of the happy days to come, when we should be grown up,
and should become man and wife. This was quite a settled matter; we had
arranged every detail, how the wedding should be conducted, and whom we
should invite to the ceremony. With this girl I shared all my
possessions, although before I knew her I had been considered
close-fisted. I was often angry when in games with the other girls she
failed to win. In a word I can truthfully declare that I have hardly
ever since loved so fondly and so sincerely as I did then. When I went
to the boys' school, it was no longer possible for us to be together as
much as before. Thus it came to pass, that the less we saw of one
another, the less were my thoughts occupied with this girl. But I cannot
remember that my fondness for her was ever replaced by a similar passion
for a boy; nor, speaking generally, can I recall having ever at any time
had any kind of sexual inclination towards one of my own sex. I would
not venture absolutely to deny that this ever occurred; but, bearing in
mind what I have learned from you on several occasions, I have carefully
taxed my memory, and can only repeat what I told you at first, that I
remember nothing of the kind. Somewhat later, in my dreams, boys
occasionally played a part, but I cannot recall that these dreams about
boys had any sexual complexion. They were vague images of boys
sympathetic to me, but these dreams were not accompanied by any
excitement of the genital organs, or by any other sexual manifestation.
When I was thirteen years of age, my parents and those of my girl-friend
had taken us to spend the summer at a seaside resort. The girl and I
played together on the seashore, and occasionally, though we were now
somewhat old for such an amusement, we dug sand-castles. As small
children we had from time to time embraced one another, but a kiss had
been the most intimate contact we had experienced. One day we were
playing on the shore--I remember it very distinctly--and were rolling
about together in the sand; thus occupied we came into close physical
contact, and thereupon I had an erection. I remember too that the
sensation of this was very agreeable. I cannot describe this agreeable
feeling with precision, but there was no sense of sexual gratification,
nor definite voluptuous sensation. From this time forward I always had
the desire for close bodily contact with the girl. Moreover she was
continually in my thoughts, and this to a much greater extent than
formerly. It was my desire to gain a harmless pleasure by being always
with her; it was impossible for me to imagine that we should ever be
separated. I had naturally heard a great deal about marriage. With these
and with similar thoughts I was occupied, but I cannot recall my
thoughts in a more detailed manner. But to this day I remember very
clearly my desire that the girl and I should never be separated from one
another. We returned home, and in the ensuing winter, as in previous
winters, we met at intervals. Naturally, physical contact was now much
more difficult. One night I had a dream with seminal emission. Then, as
for a long time before, I had been thinking a great deal about the girl;
I dreamed of one of the scenes on the seashore which I have just
described; it was in this dream that I had my first seminal emission. My
fondness for the girl persisted. Only when she left the day-school in
the town, and was sent away to a boarding-school, did my passion
gradually abate. At first when she went away, I felt very unhappy and
very lonely. My parents forced me to go out for walks with other boys
and to play with them; I did so only with the greatest reluctance.
Later, the girl did not disappear completely from my circle of
acquaintances, but I lost all interest in her. From school I went to the
university, having just before begun to masturbate. From the time I went
to the university until the present day I have occasionally had
intercourse with women, and my sexual development has been perfectly
normal."
In so far as in what has gone before I have described the individual
processes, there appear to be no important differences between the boy
and the girl, over and above those dependent upon the different
structure of the genital organs in the respective sexes. But one notable
difference must now be indicated. Just as in adult life in the female
sex sexual anæsthesia is very frequently observed, so that in coitus the
specific voluptuous sensation is wanting, and indeed often enough the
impulse to coitus itself is actually in abeyance (whereas in men the
sexual impulse and sexual pleasure are very rarely absent), so also in
the case of children a similar difference between the sexes is
conspicuous. In female children the peripheral processes of the sexual
impulse are, comparatively speaking, far less active than in the case of
males. Thus it happens that, although in the girl the phenomena of the
contrectation impulses are hardly, if at all, less conspicuous than they
are in the boy, and appear at as early an age in the former as they do
in the latter, yet in respect of detumescence there is an important
distinction between girls and boys. A girl who has fallen in love with a
boy will be greatly interested in all his doings, and will gladly
embrace and even kiss him; but she will be far less disposed to proceed
to actions in which the genital organs play a part than would a boy with
a like affection for a girl. The same rule holds good when, in the
undifferentiated stage of the sexual impulse, homosexual sentiments and
practices ensue. In such cases, when girls are concerned, caresses of
all kinds will follow, but the genital organs will in all probability
not be involved; whereas in the case of an analogous fondness between
two boys, manipulation of the genital organs is very likely to occur.
Homosexual intimacies between girls are far more often platonic than
similar intimacies between boys.
I have had occasion several times to allude to the practice of
masturbation[38] by children, and will now proceed to give a more
detailed description. I have previously alluded to masturbation as a
manifestation of the detumescence impulse. Much more frequently,
however, it occurs in those in whom the phenomena of the contrectation
impulse have also been previously manifested. Sometimes it is a purely
organic act, the individual masturbating in the entire absence of any
imaginative sexual ideas; but at other times the imagination plays a
notable part in the process, alike in children and in adults. When an
imaginative idea is concerned in the process of masturbation, it is the
idea of the object of the contrectation impulse; that is to say, the boy
when masturbating thinks now of a girl, now, again (and this especially
during the undifferentiated stage of the sexual impulse), of a boy, or
in many cases of an adult; in the cases of girls who masturbate similar
relationships obtain, Just as during youth masturbation is more commonly
practised in association with than without imaginative sexual ideas, so
also is it in the case of children; and even though imaginative activity
may often be in abeyance when the masturbatory act is begun, during the
progress of the act the imagination usually comes into operation. None
the less, masturbation of a purely mechanical kind, in which the
imagination plays no part, is comparatively more common during childhood
than it is during youth. The peripheral processes of the detumescence
impulse and the central processes of the contrectation impulse are not
at this early age so intimately associated as they are later in life.
Even when the contrectation impulse is already awakened, as usually
happens before the detumescence impulse becomes active, when the
detumescence impulse finally manifests itself, its gratification by
means of masturbation without any imaginative activity is comparatively
common in children. In such cases artificial stimulation of the genital
organs is effected quite independently of the longing for intimate
physical contact with and the embraces of another individual.
In an earlier chapter (pp. 31, 32) I have explained that in the adult
the voluptuous sensation is closely associated with the psychosexual
perceptions, associated, that is to say, with the mode of the
contrectation impulse; I stated that as a rule the voluptuous sensation
was experienced to the full in those cases only in which the sexual act
was one adequate to the contrectation impulse of the person concerned.
But when the association between the processes of detumescence and those
of contrectation has not yet occurred, the voluptuous sensation is
independent of the contrectation impulse. This explains the fact that in
the child both the peripheral voluptuous sensation, and also the
voluptuous acme and the sense of satisfaction, are more frequently
independent of the processes of contrectation than is the case in the
adult Gradually the two groups of processes become associated with one
another; and, as we have learned, this association frequently occurs
even in childhood. In the latter case, the voluptuous acme and the
subjective sense of satisfaction ensue only when the sexual act or the
sexual idea is adequate. But we must always remember that in the child
more often than in the adult the voluptuous acme and the sense of
satisfaction occur independently of the processes of contrectation.
An ejaculation of fluid secretions does not invariably occur when
masturbation is practised. Whereas in the adult masturbation ordinarily
culminates in ejaculation, in the child this is not usually the case; at
any rate, as regards many children the occurrence of ejaculation is not
demonstrable. I refer in this connexion to what I have already stated on
page 54 _et seq._ It is self-evident from what has been previously said
that during the second period of childhood masturbation is more likely
than during the first period to culminate in ejaculation.
The methods by which the artificial stimulation of the genital organs is
effected are extremely variable. The commonest way to masturbate is with
the hands, but this is by no means the invariable practice. All kinds of
little artifices are employed, partly to render it possible to
masturbate unobserved in the presence of others, and partly in order to
increase the intensity of the stimulus. Boys sometimes manipulate their
genital organs through their trouser pockets; some even make a hole in
the pocket to enable them to masturbate more effectually. In other
cases, children, especially girls, lean against some article of
furniture--a chair or a table--apparently in a harmless manner, but
really in such a way that pressure is exercised upon the genital
organs, which are stimulated by pressure or friction. In some, strong
mechanical stimulation is required; in others, weaker stimuli suffice,
because the way has previously been sufficiently prepared by psychical
processes. In female children frequently, but less often in males,
masturbation is effected by rubbing the crossed thighs one against the
other. We learn from many girls that they tie a knot in the nightgown or
chemise, and masturbate by rubbing this against the genital organs. I
must allude also to horseback riding, working the treadle of a sewing
machine, cycling, the vibration of a carriage or railway train in
motion; we must, however, be careful not to attach undue importance to
these factors of masturbation, for in such cases much depends upon the
individuality, and much also upon the external mechanical conditions---
as, for instance, on the construction of the saddle used in cycling and
the like. In the case of the male genital organs, the glans penis is the
most sensitive portion, and mechanical stimulation of this structure in
especial is likely to induce the practice of masturbation; in the case
of the female genital organs, on the other hand, it is the clitoris
which is most sensitive, and of which, therefore, we have especially to
think in this connexion. But there is a tendency to overestimate the
proportion of cases in which stimulation of the glans penis, in the
male, or the clitoris, in the female, is the exciting cause of
masturbation. In a very large number of cases of masturbation, it is not
the glans, but some other portion of the penis, which is the focus of
stimulation. In girls, also, in numerous instances, masturbation is
effected by stimulation of the labia minora, and I am inclined to
believe that the importance of the labia minora is in this respect not
inferior to that of the clitoris. In solitude, and above all in bed,
masturbation can naturally be effected much more readily. Some little
girls grasp a pillow between their legs in such a way as to give rise to
a masturbatory stimulus. Others introduce cylindrical objects into the
vagina, a practice much commoner among fully-grown girls than among
children. Still, physicians are sometimes called on to remove such
articles from the vaginæ of quite little girls. But it is an error to
suppose that the hymen is frequently ruptured by practices of this kind;
the rupture of the hymen is far too painful for it to be likely to be
effected during masturbation.
Erogenic zones, that is to say, areas of the surface of the body whose
stimulation gives rise, directly or indirectly, to voluptuous
sensations, are met with often in early childhood. First of all we have
those parts of the genital organs mentioned in the last paragraph;
secondly, other regions of the body. Thus, in some individuals,
stimulation of the anal and gluteal regions gives rise to voluptuous
sensations. Freud[39] maintains that voluntary retention of the fæces is
utilised for this purpose, but this appears to me very doubtful. In many
children, however, gentle scratching of the anal region or the buttocks,
and also more powerful stimulation of the gluteal region, such as occurs
in flagellation, are associated with sexual excitement. Some children,
with this end in view, stimulate the anal region with the finger or with
some instrument. Other erogenic zones are also at times found in
children, but not often; whereas in adults such erogenic zones are
numerous, but differ greatly in different individuals. In this
connexion, I need merely allude to the production of voluptuous
sensations by tickling the nape of the neck.
Attempts have often been made to determine the comparative frequency of
masturbation in the two sexes. On one point at least all writers are
agreed, viz., that of boys an overwhelming majority masturbate
occasionally. The only point in dispute is whether there are any
exceptions. For my own part, I am confident that exceptions exist. I
have received direct information on the point from leading men of
science, and from others whose absolute veracity I have never had any
reason to doubt. Healthy men, endowed with a normal sexual impulse, are
occasionally to be found who have never masturbated at all. I go
further, and believe that such persons are by no means so rare as many
authorities maintain. Nevertheless, as regards the male sex, differences
of opinion are, after all, not very extensive, since it is only in
relation to a minority that these differences exist. But when we pass
to the question of the extent of masturbation among girls, the
differences become more acute. On this point also I have endeavoured to
obtain exact information by means of numerous inquiries, with the
following results. Among girls, masturbation is less general than it is
among boys. Among those who have never masturbated during girlhood, we
find women who as adults have powerful sexual impulse. On the other
hand, many girls who masturbate do so very often. I believe, indeed,
that cases in which masturbation is performed twice or thrice in brief
succession are _relatively_ commoner among girls than they are among
boys. As regards this point my own experience harmonises with that of
Guttceit.[40] On the other hand, Guttceit's assumption that almost all
girls who attain the age of eighteen or twenty years without any
opportunity for sexual intercourse practise masturbation conflicts with
my own experience. I am acquainted with a number of women of a fairly
ardent temperament who do not masturbate, although they have no
opportunity for sexual intercourse. Moreover, this view is confirmed by
the common experience regarding the relative sexual anæsthesia of women;
it is an admitted fact that complete sexuality is in women far less
readily awakened than it is in men.
I must take this opportunity of referring at some length to a matter
which, though somewhat obscure, is none the less profoundly interesting.
In many instances sexual excitement occurs in children as the result of
a feeling of anxiety; in boys such anxiety may lead to ejaculation, with
or without erection, and with more or less voluptuous sensation. A
schoolboy informed me that he had had a seminal emission with a slight
sense of voluptuous pleasure when in class he was in difficulties with a
passage of unseen translation, and he was afraid he would be unable to
finish the passage before the end of the lesson. Another reported to me
a precisely similar experience; he was overcome with anxiety during a
written examination, and had a seminal emission. A third had an
ejaculation when, being detected in some offence against school
discipline, he was sent for by the headmaster, and was afraid he would
be expelled. Quite a number of similar cases have been reported to me of
sexual excitement occurring in childhood as a sequel to anxiety. I have
recorded the facts, and do not propose to discuss exhaustively the
theoretical aspect of the matter. Perhaps the phenomenon is allied to
masochism, since anxiety is to a certain extent painful. We may also, in
this connexion, think of the seminal emissions sometimes observed in
cases of suicidal hanging. Freud's theory may also be mentioned, that
the anxiety-neurosis is referable to certain sexual processes; but we
must not forget that Freud makes a similar assumption in the case of
other neuroses as well. Stekel,[41] one of Freud's pupils, in an
elaborate monograph, also lays stress on the sexual factor of the
anxiety-neurosis. In my own view, however, Freud's generalisation is too
comprehensive; inasmuch as he symbolises all things in accordance with
his own peculiar preconceptions, the concept sexual receives, in his
hands, an undue extension. But I do not deny the occasional association
of sexual excitement with a sense of anxiety. Certain boys would appear
to have a peculiar predisposition to the occurrence of such processes;
at any rate, several persons have told me that during childhood they had
frequently had ejaculations as a result of feelings of anxiety. As a
rule, however, each of these persons has had such an experience either
once only, or but very few times. Two identical instances have been
reported to me as occurring in girls--ejaculation with an indefinite
voluptuous sensation as a sequel of anxiety. These girls were from
thirteen to fourteen years of age. In one of the two, the phenomenon
recurred several times; and even at the present day, when she is a
fully-grown woman, she occasionally experiences ejaculation in connexion
with a feeling of anxiety.
CASE 6.--A student, twenty years of age, described his experiences to me
in the following terms:--As regards his sexual development, he remembers
that he was sixteen years of age when he first experienced sexual
sensations. Before this time he had been told by other boys about sexual
intercourse, masturbation, and many other things. He had, however,
never masturbated, though he had once or twice attempted to do so. One
day, when he was in the Upper Second Class, a mathematical problem was
given out, and as he found a difficulty in solving it, he became
anxious, all the more because his chances of promotion to a higher class
were largely dependent on his success. When he had barely finished half
the necessary calculations, the master announced that there were only
ten minutes left, at the end of which time the exercise books would be
collected. Thereupon his anxiety became extreme, and simultaneously he
experienced his first seminal emission. He is unable to give a more
detailed description of what occurred, and does not remember having had
an erection; but, as he expresses it, the sensation was extremely
pleasant. Subsequently, when in the First Class, the same experience
recurred several times, that is to say, he had a seminal emission as a
result of a similar feeling of anxiety. In other respects his sexual
development was normal. Seminal dreams were accompanied by the idea of
contact with a woman. On one occasion, however, he had a seminal
emission during the night in association with a feeling of anxiety. He
dreamed that he was being pursued by a mad dog, when suddenly he became,
as it were, paralysed and unable to run a single step further. The
consequent acute anxiety culminated in emission.
During sleep, sexually mature men and many sexually mature women have
from time to time involuntary sexual orgasms;[42] these occur chiefly in
persons without opportunities for sexual intercourse, who do not
practise masturbation. In such involuntary orgasms the male ejaculates
semen, the female indifferent glandular secretions. As a rule, the
ejaculation is accompanied not merely by a voluptuous sensation, but
also by a psychical process corresponding with the mode of sexual
sensibility of the person concerned. A normal man during the orgasm
dreams that he is embracing a woman; a normal woman that she is
embracing a man; a homosexual man dreams of the embraces of another man.
The dream-ejaculation is distinguished from the waking act of
intercourse to this extent, that in the former the ejaculation usually
takes place during the preparatory stages to the act of
intercourse--during kissing, physical contact, or the embrace--so that
the dream stops short of complete sexual intercourse. But in other
respects the dream ordinarily corresponds to the psychical processes of
the waking state. The same correspondence exists as regards sexual
dreams that do not culminate in ejaculation. Children also experience
sexual dreams either with or without orgasm. In those who have never
masturbated in the waking state, a sexual dream is commonly the cause of
the first experience of ejaculation; and this occurs more often than is
generally believed. More especially in the female sex I have come across
many cases in which the orgasm made a primary appearance during sleep.
In both sexes alike it is usual for psychosexual phenomena to manifest
themselves before the erotic dream makes its appearance; a boy, for
instance, will during his waking life have felt an attraction towards
members of the other sex before he has begun to dream of embracing a
girl. We must not, however, forget that, apart from those cases in which
a dream beyond question first unveils to consciousness the psychosexual
life, dreams are forgotten very rapidly indeed, especially when the
memory is not stimulated by so vivid an occurrence as the sexual orgasm.
Hence, even though it is true that the psychosexual life commonly
appears to begin during the waking state, we must admit that it is quite
likely that psychosexual dreams may have previously occurred and have
been forgotten. Thus, in many individuals, sexual perversions make their
first appearance in dreams. It has even been suggested that dreams may
exercise a similar influence to that of post-hypnotic suggestion; that
is to say, that a dream may be the actual originating cause of sexual
perversion. This is a matter which I cannot discuss further, more
especially in view of the fact that the whole idea is too hypothetical.
The earlier the age at which the child begins to ripen sexually, the
earlier do sexual dreams and nocturnal ejaculations make their
appearance. I have known of numerous instances in which children ten or
eleven years of age have had sexual dreams; occasionally, even, I have
been informed of the occurrence of such dreams in children of seven or
eight years of age. In children, as in adults, the object which is
sexually exciting in the waking state plays a leading part in the sexual
dream. But in the sexual dreams of children the imagination is even more
active than it is in the sexual dreams of adults. All kinds of perverse
dreams may, in children, accompany the emission, even when the
corresponding ideas have no erotic association in the waking state.
Things of which the child has learned from fairy tales, stories of
robbers, of imprisoned or enchanted princesses, princes, fettered
slaves--all may play a part in the psychosexual processes of the
dream-life. Anyone unaware of the fact that in the great majority of
children this tendency disappears spontaneously in the course of the
further development of the sexual life might too readily infer the
existence of some morbid perversion. In such instances we must, indeed,
bear in mind the possibility of sexual perversion, especially in view of
the fact that sexually perverse adults are often able to trace back into
childhood the memory of sexual dreams characteristic of their peculiar
type of perversion. Occasionally the feelings of anxiety of which we
have spoken above may, even in dreams, lead to the occurrence of
involuntary ejaculations. Thus we are told of dreams of pursuit by
robbers or by wild animals, or of dreams of missing a train the dreamer
has been running to catch, in which ejaculations occur. In isolated
cases the dreams of children which are associated with ejaculations may
be quite indistinct; in such cases, just as sometimes in the sexual
dreams of adults, it is impossible to recognise any definite
relationship to the psychosexual feelings of the waking state. In this
connexion no difference between the sexes can be shown to exist, except
this, that, at any rate as far as my own experience goes, nocturnal
ejaculations are much more often absent in girls than in boys.
Occasionally, manual or other artificial stimulation of the genital
organs is effected during sleep; I have myself known several instances
of this, both in boys and in girls. In several cases, at least, there
were satisfactory grounds for believing that we were not concerned with
masturbation practised at night in the waking state, but all the
indications pointed to the fact that the processes wore carried on
unconsciously during sleep. In isolated cases I have had children
watched throughout the night, in order to clear up this point, and my
conclusion was thus confirmed that children do at times play with the
genital organs during sleep.
A classical description of her first nocturnal orgasm is given by Madame
Roland in her _Mémoires Particuliers_,[43] written during the last
months of her life in prison in Paris at the time of the Terror. She
menstruated for the first time, she informs us, soon after she had been
partially enlightened regarding sexual matters by her grandmother. Even
before menstruation began, she had experienced sexual excitement in
dreams. "I had sometimes been awakened from a deep sleep in a most
remarkable manner. My imagination played no part in what occurred; it
was occupied with far more serious matters, and my tender conscience was
far too strictly on guard against the deliberate pursuit of pleasure for
me to make any attempt to dwell in imagination on what I regarded as a
forbidden province of thought. But an extraordinary outbreak awakened my
senses from their quiet slumber, and, my constitution being a very
vigorous one, a process whose nature and cause were equally unknown to
me made its appearance spontaneously. The first result of this
experience was the onset of great mental anguish; I had learned from my
'Philothea'[44] that it was forbidden to enjoy any bodily pleasure,
except in lawful wedlock; this teaching recurred to my mind; the
sensations I had experienced could certainly be described as
pleasurable; I had, therefore, committed a sin, and, indeed, a sin of
the most shameful and grievous character, because it was the sin most of
all displeasing to the Lamb without blemish and without spot. Great
disturbance of mind, prayers and penances; how could I avoid a
repetition of the offence? for I had not foreseen it in any way, but in
the moment of the experience I had taken no trouble to prevent it. My
watchfulness became extreme; I noticed that when lying in certain
positions I was more exposed to the danger, and I avoided these
positions with anxious conscientiousness. My uneasiness became so great
that ultimately I came to wake up before the catastrophe. When unable to
prevent it, I would jump out of bed, and, notwithstanding the cold of
winter, stand bare-footed on the polished floor, crossing my arms, and
praying earnestly to God to guard me from the snares of Satan." She goes
on to describe her subsequent attempts to mortify the flesh by means of
fasting.
I have hitherto described the individual sexual processes which are
observed during childhood, I have already explained that in some, one
process, in some, another process, is alone present, or, at any rate,
preponderates. For instance, a girl may be sexually attracted towards a
boy without the genital organs playing any conscious part in the
attraction. But the converse may also occur. Moreover, the strength of
the sexual feeling is subject to extensive individual variations. In
some children the sexual impulse is so powerful that scandalous
misconduct can hardly be avoided; on the other hand, we see cases in
which the sexual impulse manifests itself at the normal age, but is so
weak that it can scarcely be said to play any important part in the
consciousness of the child. This is true of both components of the
sexual impulse, of the phenomena of contrectation, no less than of those
of detumescence. Formerly it was very generally believed that in
sexually perverse persons the sexual sensations awakened unusually early
in life. There is no foundation for this view. Normal sexual sensations
can be detected very early in childhood. The existence of these was
ignored, simply because the study of the normal was neglected for the
study of the perverse. Moreover, the strength of the sexual sensations
has no necessary association with the existence of perversions; these
latter sometimes occur without being particularly strong. On the other
hand, qualitatively normal sexual sensations may be associated with
sexual hyperæsthesia, and they may attain a notable strength even during
childhood.
In the third chapter I showed that in childhood the sexes are
differentiated both physically and mentally, altogether apart from the
genital organs and the sexual impulse; and I pointed out that games in
particular afforded indications of mental sexual differentiation. Many
games, indeed, may even be regarded as direct manifestations of the
sexual impulse, and I must therefore now return to the consideration of
this topic; but I shall confine myself to certain phenomena observable
in the animal world, since the games of animals are, in this connexion,
so much simpler than those of children. Play constitutes a major part of
the activities of young animals; think, for instance, of a kitten
playing with a hanging tassel or with a ball, of puppies chasing one
another, and of young birds playing with fluttering wings. The games of
young animals often exhibit the character of love-games, and are in that
case sexually differentiated. Various authors, and especially Brehm,
have recorded numerous examples of this; I give here a few instances,
quoted from Groos.[45] The young male, even before its testicles have
developed, woos the female by movements, song, or other characteristic
sounds. The female, also sexually immature, responds coquettishly to
these advances of the male. Song, which Brehm regards as a sign of the
awakening of love, makes its appearance at an age when the animal is
still unfitted for the reproductive act.
"Young magpies (_Corvus pica_) address one another in September, and
often in August and in October, in consecutive clucking notes, and in
this way make exactly the same kind of noise that they are always heard
making in early spring just before the pairing season. The young male
green woodpecker (_Picus viridicanus_) sings in September as beautifully
as in April, as I have myself heard more than once; the young great
spotted woodpecker (_Picus major_) may even be heard at times in autumn,
just as in spring, making his characteristic tapping sound as he
explores hard branches in search of insects. Both varieties of creeper
begin to sing before they have changed their youthful plumage; their
song closely resembles that of the adult birds in spring, but the note
is somewhat shorter and weaker. Similarly, both the German varieties of
crossbill commonly begin to sing before losing the plumage
characteristic of youth. Young house-sparrows and hedge-sparrows not
only chatter and swear at one another like the full-grown birds at
pairing time, but also like the latter the young birds distend their
throats, let their wings droop, peck at one another, and in fact behave
as exactly as they will next spring when fully grown. Young linnets also
begin to sing before losing their youthful plumage, learn to sing well
during the moulting season, and often continue to warble right on into
the winter; in a mild winter young linnets will sing just as well as old
ones. The young woodlark begins to sing as soon as its first moulting is
nearly over, and not only does this when perching, but flies aloft like
the adult bird in the spring-time, and soars for a long time, singing
continually. Titmice all sing when still quite young, but more
especially the large crested titmouse and the marsh titmouse; the notes
of the young marsh titmouse are precisely similar to those with which in
spring the adult bird sings to his mate; and as regards the crested
titmouse, in October 1821, I observed a young male bird making advances
of a most marked character to a young hen, whilst the hen drooped its
wings and spread out its tail--in short, these two young birds were
behaving exactly as do the full-grown birds before pairing in the
spring. The young cock starling conducts itself precisely as if it
wished to pair. At the beginning of September, as soon as moulting is
completed, this bird returns to its birthplace, apparently in order to
take possession of the nest. It perches on the tree-top, just like the
full-grown bird in March, and sings almost for the whole morning. While
still perching, it flaps its wings, quarrels with and chases other young
starlings; sometimes it even creeps into the hollow tree or other
hiding-place containing the nest in which it was hatched. The yellow
wagtail sings while still in its youthful plumage, and the young birds
chase one another about while in this condition; during and immediately
after the first moulting, these birds produce peculiar trilling notes,
identical with those with which in April the cock bird salutes his mate,
and they may also be seen in the remarkable fluttering flight
characteristic of many birds in the pairing season. The grey wood wren
begins to sing before the first moulting, but sings more powerfully
during and after moulting, right on into the month of October, singing
like a full-grown bird. At the same time this bird twists the body from
side to side, and moves the tail to and fro; it quarrels also with birds
of its own species, and quarrels, too, with other birds, sometimes with
birds as much as four times its own size. In August and September young
mountain fowl and heath fowl utter love calls to each other, not,
indeed, so loudly as those of the adult birds, nor in association with
the characteristic movements of the body made by these latter in the
spring-time, but still unmistakable love calls.... According to Hudson,
many kinds of American woodpecker carry on a kind of duet, and they
practise this artistic performance from the very earliest youth. On
meeting, the male and female, standing close together, and facing each
other, utter their clear ringing concert, one emitting loud single
measured notes, while the notes of its fellow are rapid, rhythmical
triplets; their voices have a joyous character, and seem to accord, thus
producing a kind of harmony. This manner of singing is perhaps most
perfect in the oven-bird (_Furnarius_), and it is very curious that the
_young birds, when only partially fledged_, are constantly heard in the
nest or oven apparently practising these duets in the intervals when the
parents are absent; single measured notes, triplets, and long concluding
trills are all repeated with wonderful fidelity, and in character these
notes are utterly unlike the hunger cry, which is like that of other
fledglings."
In such cases as those just enumerated, actual copulation is not
effected; but animals still sexually immature may perform coitus-like
acts, and Groos's work contains observations of these made by Seitz and
others. Seitz saw an antelope six weeks old making copulatory movements.
In young dogs such movements may often be observed, also in young
stallions and young bulls.
The view that in such cases the movements are imitative merely is
untenable, for young animals which have never had any opportunity of
watching the physical manifestations of love in older ones, will
nevertheless themselves exhibit such manifestations. At most it remains
open to dispute whether in these cases it is still permissible to speak
of love-games, as do Groos and others, or whether we should not rather
speak simply of manifestations of the activity of the sexual impulse.
But the dispute does not involve differences of opinion regarding
matters of fact; it is purely terminological. For, in the first place,
Groos himself, who regards the games of childhood as a form of training,
suitable to the nature of the individual, for its subsequent activities,
recognises that games are sexually differentiated. He believes that we
have to do, not, as some think, with imitative processes, but with
preliminary practice, subserving the purposes of self-development; and
he considers that girls naturally turn to games adapted to train them
for their subsequent profession of motherhood, whilst boys incline to
games corresponding to their predestined activity as men. Even if we
accept this theory of Groos, we are compelled to recognise a sexual
element in the games of youthful animals. In addition, however, we must
note the fact that Groos gives a wider extension to the concept of play
than other writers, and that he regards as love-games processes which
others might perhaps describe as sexual manifestations. According to
Groos, caressing contact is to be regarded as playful when, in the
serious intercourse between the sexes, such contact appears to be merely
a preliminary activity rather than an end in itself. Here two cases are
possible: in one the carrying out of the instinctive activity to its
real end is prevented by incapacity or by ignorance; in the other, it is
prevented by a deliberate exercise of will. The former occurs in
children; the latter, often enough in adults. Whatever view we hold
regarding this matter, the sexually differentiated love-games of young
animals must be regarded as a manifestation of the sexual life. None the
less, in sexually immature animals, just as in the case of children,
sexual differentiation is not always so marked as it is in adults; and
it may happen that the sexes may exchange their rôles. Cases observed by
Seitz have been published by Groos and also by myself.[46] I have myself
watched a young cow which repeatedly attempted to mount another young
cow; I have also on several occasions seen young bitches attempt to
cover dogs. To this part of our subject belongs the observation of
Exner, that when dogs are playing wildly with one another one hardly
ever sees a bitch among them. But if an exception should occur, the
bitch is usually a young one. In animals, sexual differentiation is not
complete until sexual maturity is attained, and the same is true of the
human species, although, as I have shown above, children already
manifest sexual differentiation in their games, their inclinations, and
their general conduct.
I have thought it desirable to refer to the play of animals in this
place, as well as to treat of the subject in its direct relationship to
the sexual impulse. What is true of play is true also of the other
interests and inclinations of the child, many of which are also
associated with the sexual life; these have been described earlier, so
that here I need merely allude to the matter in passing.
Hitherto I have described the sexual life of the child in so far as it
is the subject of direct observation or can be recalled to memory. But
it was explained at the outset that there is still another way of
gaining clear knowledge of the subject, namely, by experiment; and it
was shown that castration may be regarded as such an experiment.
Although the reproductive capacity of the male is not developed prior to
the formation of spermatozoa in the testicles, nevertheless we learn
from the effects of castration that the testicles exhibit important
functional activity much earlier in life. This fact was long overlooked,
and its importance is even to-day largely underestimated, because we
have been accustomed to regard the provision of an external secretion as
the only function of the testicle. But it is now firmly established that
these glands exercise influence in other ways. We know that bodily and
mental development are affected by the removal of the testicles; and
that the influence is greater the earlier in life the castration takes
place. A number of secondary sexual characters remain undeveloped. The
beard does not grow; in many instances a thick _panniculus adiposus_ is
formed; there are changes in the growth of the bones; the voice remains
a soprano; and the other reproductive organs are imperfectly developed,
the penis and the prostate remaining comparatively small An early
castration does not, of course, result in the obliteration of all
differences between the male and the female; we must rather say that a
part only of the typical differential characters of sex remain
undeveloped. The earlier assumption, that the secretion of semen
competent to effect fertilisation influenced the development of the
secondary sexual characters, has of late been more and more generally
abandoned. Many considerations tell against such a theory, more
especially a comparison of the three following facts. First, if
castration is not effected until after the formation of spermatozoa has
already begun, the familiar results of this operation are either
entirely wanting, or else appear to a small extent only, and are limited
to a small number of the secondary sexual characters. Secondly, the
results of castration are most marked when the operation is performed in
early childhood. Thirdly, when castration is effected in the later years
of childhood, but before the secretion of fertilising semen has taken
place, the results are intermediate in degree, being much less marked
than in the second class of cases, but more extensive than in the first.
If the secretion of a fertilising semen were the principal factor in the
development of the secondary sexual characters, we should expect the
results of castration to be the same whether the operation were
performed early in childhood or late so long as it was done before any
spermatozoa had been formed.
The secondary sexual characters are, therefore, independent of the
formation of spermatozoa, and the appearance of these characters must
depend upon other processes, occurring much earlier in life. Thus, in
persons who were castrated in the eighth or ninth year of life, we note
the presence of definite secondary sexual characters, which are, indeed,
less strongly developed than in normal persons, but which do not appear
at all when the castration has been effected at a still earlier age. The
varying views of different authors regarding the influence of castration
in early life upon the development of the secondary sexual characters
may readily be explained with reference to the individual differences
that may be observed in the functional activity of the testicles in
different males before the power of reproduction has been acquired. Just
as in boys the capacity for reproduction, and in girls the function of
menstruation, does not appear at a fixed and definite age, so also in
the case of the other processes that come into being under the influence
of the activity of the reproductive glands, we have to reckon with such
individual differences. For this reason, in persons who have been
castrated at the same age, the subsequent course of development may vary
to some degree, notwithstanding the apparent identity of the determining
factor in each case. In some, the pelvis, the beard, the voice, and the
mental qualities, develop in normal fashion; in others, there is
interference with the development of one or all of these characters. In
certain cases, the bodily structure is influenced by castration at an
age when the mental development is no longer affected. This explains the
fact that many oriental eunuchs, in whom castration is commonly effected
shortly before the seventh or eighth year of life, while they exhibit
the bodily configuration characteristic of the eunuch, are nevertheless
capable of experiencing heterosexual feelings, and even passionate love.
In Western countries we rarely have an opportunity of studying the full
consequences of castration, for with us the operation is hardly ever
performed so early in life as it is in the East; and the reports that
are available concerning oriental and other foreign eunuchs are to a
large extent untrustworthy. None the less, from such reports, and from
accounts that have come down to us from earlier days in the West (more
especially in the case of the boys who were formerly castrated in Italy
for the preservation of the soprano voice), we obtain evidence amply
sufficient to justify the statements made above. Even more convincing
are observations made on the lower animals. For example, in horses which
have been castrated at a very early age the sexual impulse remains
undeveloped; but we have to contrast with this the fact that a certain
number of geldings possess a well-marked sexual impulse, because in
these animals, though they were gelded while still immature, the
operation was performed too late. All these observations combine to
justify the inference that long before spermatozoa capable of effecting
fertilisation are formed in the testicles, changes occur in these
glands which are of great importance in relation to the sexual life,
both in the human species and in the lower animals.
We cannot speak so positively as to the truth of this in the case of the
reproductive glands in women, the ovaries, because alike in the human
female and in the females of the lower animals oöphorectomy is less
commonly performed than is castration in the male. The literature of our
subject contains few references to this matter. What little information
we do possess, derived in part from travellers who have had
opportunities for observation in extra-European countries, and in part
from students of animal life, leads to the same conclusion as in the
case of males, namely, that long before the age commonly regarded as the
commencement of sexual maturity, important changes are going on in the
reproductive glands.
No detailed discussion can be attempted here of the other observations
there may be on record to show the existence of such sexual processes
during childhood. We may merely refer, for example, to the results of
the removal of one testicle before the commencement of puberty; this is
followed by a compensatory hypertrophy of the other testicle--whereas
removal of one testicle after the attainment of sexual maturity does not
lead to any such hypertrophy of the remaining testicle, or if so, only
in comparatively slight degree.
Although from the facts just stated it appears that, alike in human
beings and in the lower animals, before the formation of the specific
germ-cells and sperm-cells has begun in the reproductive glands of the
respective sexes important processes take place in these glands, it
still remains obscure what is the nature of these processes, and in what
manner they influence the organism. One question complicating this
problem, and one which is to-day frequently discussed, is the extent of
the influence exercised by the reproductive glands on the development of
the secondary sexual characters. I can here do little more than state
the difficulty. Whereas it was formerly assumed that the reproductive
glands exercised a direct determining influence in this direction, more
recently another view has been put forward, among others by Halban.[47]
According to this theory, the stimulus proceeding from the glands is
protective merely, not formative, nor directly stimulating the growth of
organs. In the fertilised ovum, it is supposed, the rudiment of sex
already exists, likewise the rudiment of the reproductive gland, and the
rudiments of the appropriate sexual characters. That is to say, the
development of the secondary sexual characters is not determined by the
presence of the reproductive gland; but the sex of the reproductive
gland and the associated sexual characters are already determined by
some common cause at the moment of fertilisation. But this theoretical
controversy has no very important bearing on the problem with which we
are especially concerned; and the influence of the reproductive gland
upon the development of the secondary sexual characters is admitted as
fully by Halban as it is by other writers, the only difference between
the two views lying in the dispute whether the influence of the glands
is of a formative or a protective nature. The influence exercised by the
reproductive glands on the development of the secondary sexual
characters can be adequately discussed, even though the precise way in
which that influence is exerted remains in dispute.
As to the general nature of the influence, two chief theories have to be
considered, viz., the nervous theory and the chemical theory. According
to the former, we must assume that a stimulus originates in the
reproductive glands, the testicles in the male, and the ovaries in the
female, and that these glands excite a kind of reflex action--that is,
that the stimulus passes to the central nervous system, and thence is
"reflected" to the periphery, where it promotes, either the growth of
particular parts of the body, _e.g._ the beard, or the development of
definite properties in certain organs, _e.g._ the characteristics of the
male larynx or of the female mamma. It is possible that the reflected
impulse stimulates trophic nerves. But it may be that in cases of early
castration the state of affairs is similar to that which obtains when
from earliest infancy one of the sense organs is wanting, as a result of
which the corresponding portions of the central nervous system are
found to undergo atrophy.[48] On this assumption, the manifest arrest of
the development of certain organs which results from castration is to be
regarded as the sequel of a partial atrophy of certain portions of the
brain. Of late, however, the chemical theory, that the results of
castration are dependent on the lack of the internal secretion of the
excised glands, has gained ground at the expense of the nervous theory.
The reason for this change of view is that much which was unsuspected in
former years has recently been learned about the chemical activities of
other glands. It suffices to allude to the function of the thyroid body.
According to this chemical theory, chemical substances are prepared in
the reproductive glands, and these substances exert a specific influence
in promoting the development of the secondary sexual characters. The
same theory has been invoked to account for the alleged ill effects of
sexual abstinence, it being suggested that the reabsorption of glandular
products properly destined for excretion may give rise to toxic
effects.[49] If it be assumed that the testicles can secrete substances
upon the influence of which the development of the secondary sexual
characters depends, it is obvious that these substances have nothing to
do with the spermatozoa, inasmuch as the testicles exert the influence
under consideration at an age at which the formation of spermatozoa has
not yet begun. The substances that act in this way must be of a
different kind. As was pointed out earlier in this book (p. 19), recent
researches have shown that the testicles possess a twofold activity; and
some French physicians even go so far as to say that the testicle is not
a single gland, but two glands. They distinguish between the gland that
prepares the spermatozoa and the interstitial gland.[50] Whilst the
formation of spermatozoa subserves the generative act, the function of
the interstitial gland is to prepare substances which pass into the
lymph or blood-stream, and give rise to the development of the secondary
sexual characters. Thus, the effects of castration are due, on this
theory, not to the absence of the formation of spermatozoa, but to the
absence of the products of the interstitial glands. French investigators
consider that the assumption that such an interstitial gland exists is
justified by the results of experimental work.
Whichever theory we accept, the chemical or the nervous, both theories
harmonise equally with the fact that in boys, before the formation of
spermatozoa begins, processes occur in the testicles which powerfully
influence the organism. Thus, we learn also from a study of the results
of castration how active is the sexual life even in childhood, since
thus early in life influences proceed from the reproductive glands
whereby the development of the secondary sexual characters is markedly
affected.
The principal sexual processes occurring in childhood have now been
described. Although we have been forced to admit the fact that in the
child sexual processes are much more extensive than has commonly been
believed, we must, on the other hand, guard ourselves against the
exaggerations of those who interpret everything in sexual terms. In the
chapter on diagnosis it will be necessary to refer to these
exaggerations once again.
As a rule, of course, the manifestations of the sexual life of the child
increase from year to year, although not always by continuous
gradations. Thus, in consequence of misdirection, sexual manifestations
may arise in the child, and then, if these evil communications are cut
off, such manifestations may cease. But, altogether apart from
deliberate seduction, we may observe periods of more rapid and periods
of less rapid sexual development, the causes of which may remain
obscure. Individual cases vary to such an extent, that it is impossible
to lay down a rule to which there are no exceptions. This applies
equally to both components of the sexual impulse, to the phenomena of
detumescence as well as to those of contrectation.
But although as we have seen, the development of the sexual life is not
always by regular progression, yet on the whole the increasing intensity
of sexual manifestations from the years of childhood to the termination
of the period of the puberal development cannot be denied. Especially
extensive are the changes occurring at the end of the second period of
childhood. At this period we note more particularly the development of
the outward signs of sexual maturity. In the boy, we observe the growth
of the beard and the pubic hair, and a more rapid enlargement of the
testicles and the other organs of reproduction. In the girl, the breasts
and the pelvis assume the adult female type, and ovulation and
menstruation begin. During this period, also, the mental changes are
extremely marked, even though in many cases these changes may have begun
considerably earlier. The internal organic changes make themselves felt
also in the sphere of action. The years of adolescence in the male are
characterised by an impulse to travel, to adventures, but in addition to
all kinds of ideal efforts and to religious activity. The loftiest
ethical ideas alternate with a self-conscious bumptiousness. A change of
disposition manifests itself which is sharply contrasted with the
behaviour at an earlier and a subsequent age. This is no less true of
the girl. That which formerly was no more than a vague indication, now
becomes a manifest quality. More and more does the feminine mode of
feeling display itself. The "tom-boyishness" so often seen in girls
during the second period of childhood disappears. The former tomboy has
become one[51]--
"In whose orbs a shadow lies
Like the dusk in evening skies,"
and we see her--
"Standing, with reluctant feet,
Where the brook and river meet,
Womanhood and childhood fleet!
"Gazing, with a timid glance,
On the brooklet's swift advance,
On the river's broad expanse!"
The considerations put forward in this chapter show us how necessary it
was to explain the conception of puberty at the very outset of this
work. If the period of the puberal development be understood to
correspond to the development and ripening of the sexual life, we see
that this development begins much earlier than is commonly assumed in
books on the subject. Writers have been too ready to identify with this
developmental period the appearance of certain _external_
manifestations, more especially the growth of the pubic hair in both
sexes, the development of the breasts in the female, and the breaking of
the voice in the male; and the appearance of certain definite outward
signs--in the girl, the first menstruation, and in the boy, the first
ejaculation--has usually been regarded as marking a turning-point in
this development. But neither in the boy is the occurrence of the first
ejaculation a proof of capacity for reproduction, or a proof that the
period of the puberal development is completed; nor in the girl is the
occurrence of the first menstruation, which may long precede the
establishment of the far more important function of ovulation,
characteristic in either of these respects. Observations made on
children, accounts given by children and memories of childhood, and the
results of castration (and oöphorectomy),[52] all combine to prove the
occurrence of sexual processes during childhood, at least as early as
the beginning of the second period of childhood. At this time of life,
the psychosexual in especial often plays a great part. If,
notwithstanding all these facts, anyone desires to associate the
beginning or the end of the puberal development, as was formerly done,
with the appearance of "the external signs of puberty," no one can
prevent this usage. But the scientific investigator, the physician, the
schoolmaster, and the parents, should all alike fully understand that
such external processes comprise but a small part of all that
constitutes pubescence. A straining of terminology may at times be
permissible; but on no account must we allow currency to so disastrous
an error as the belief that the sexual life of the child either begins
or is completed with the appearance of these external signs. The sexual
life of the child begins long before, and the puberal development is not
completed till many years after, the appearance of these external signs,
which by most people are erroneously regarded as typical of pubescence.
Although I have detailed a number of phenomena characteristic of the
sexual life of the child, it must not be assumed that these phenomena
are common to all cases, or that every individual symptom is invariably
observed. As I have previously explained, numerous exceptions occur. In
some instances, only one symptom is discernible; in others, another
only. The commonest early manifestations of the sexual life in childhood
are, as was said before, the psychosexual phenomena. _Frequently, the
individual symptoms are so faintly marked that they can be detected only
by a very thorough and careful examination._ I wish merely to insist
upon the fact that during the years of childhood which are commonly
regarded as asexual, manifestations of the sexual life can with care
almost always be detected, although at times their detection is by no
means easy.
In conclusion, however, it is necessary to point out that there are a
certain number of children in whom up to the fourteenth year of life,
and even later, manifestations of the sexual life are hardly
discernible; but we have to remember that the results of castration
prove, as has been shown above, that even when, in early life, the
occurrence of sexual processes cannot be demonstrated, such processes
are nevertheless going on. We meet with individuals in whom, even during
the first years of youth, the development of the sexual life is
extremely backward. There are boys of fifteen or sixteen who from time
to time have an involuntary seminal emission, but who exhibit no other
indications whatever of an active sexual life--neither masturbation, nor
any discernible psychosexual processes. Nevertheless, in most cases of
this kind, more careful observation will bring to light much, besides
the occurrence of the involuntary seminal emissions, which points to an
awakening of sexuality. Still, in some individuals, it is remarkable how
long entire sexual innocence may persist. This is doubtless due in such
cases, not to any specially rigorous natural virtue, but simply to the
fact that in these cases sexual development is much slower than the
average. Those concerned are thus devoid of all understanding of the
sexual, just in the same way as persons born blind lack all
understanding of colour. In most of the cases in which such retardation
occurs, the sexual life subsequently becomes entirely normal, showing
that the only abnormality was the exceptional delay in the occurrence of
the various processes. I have myself seen a number of cases in which the
development of the sexual life was delayed to such an extent that
ejaculation during coitus was not effected until towards the end of the
third decade of life, although erections, and even occasional nocturnal
emissions, had occurred long before. I believe that cases of this kind
are to a small extent only, if at all, the result of educational
influences, and they are in no way dependent upon the so-called sexual
neurasthenia; we are concerned simply with a retardation of development,
dependent upon congenital predisposition.