None who have seen their stout and brawny arms can doubt the
force with which they wield the hoe and axe. I once saw, in the
streets of Coblentz, a woman and a donkey yoked to the same cart,
while a man, with a whip in his hand, drove the team. The bystanders
did not seem to look upon the moving group as if it were an unusual
spectacle. The donkey appeared to be the most intelligent and refined
of the three. The sight symbolized the physical force and infamous
degradation of the lower classes of women in Europe. The urgent
problem of modern civilization is how to retain this force, and get
rid of the degradation. Physiology declares that the solution of it
will only be possible when the education of girls is made appropriate
to their organization. A German girl, yoked with a donkey and dragging
a cart, is an exhibition of monstrous muscular and aborted brain
development. An American girl, yoked with a dictionary, and laboring
with the catamenia, is an exhibition of monstrous brain and aborted
ovarian development.
The investigations incident to the preparation of this monograph have
suggested a number of subjects kindred to the one of which it treats,
that ought to be discussed from the physiological standpoint in the
interest of sound education.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154