THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMAN. 209 



THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMAN. 



By Peof. G. T. W. PATRICK, 



UNIVERSITY OF IOWA. 



EVERY thoughtful observer of both the popular and the 

 scientific movements of the day must have noticed the fre- 

 quent lack of harmony or co-operation between them. Such lack 

 of co-operation, if not of harmony, is well illustrated in the woman 

 question. Two vigorous movements are now in progress. The 

 first is a popular movement, whose end, apparently being very 

 rapidly realized, is the advancement of woman to a position of 

 complete political, legal, educational, and social parity with man 

 a position which means much more than mere equality of rights 

 for woman ; it means for her a changed sphere of activity, with 

 new duties and new burdens, and may in the end involve radical 

 changes in the state and in the family. The second is a scientific 

 movement in anthropology, conducted by laborious and painstak- 

 ing research, whose end is to ascertain the constitutional differ- 

 ences, both physical and psychical, between man and woman. It 

 may be that these two movements will be found to support each 

 other ; but, if so, it is to be feared that it will be by happy chance 

 rather than by intelligent co-operation. 



It is the purpose of this article to bring together some of the 

 results of these anthropological studies relating especially to the 

 psychology of woman, in order that we may see what bearing, if 

 any, they may have upon the above-mentioned popular move- 

 ment. The most devoted patron of woman's political and edu- 

 cational advancement would hardly deny that the success and 

 permanence of the reform will depend in the end upon the fact 

 that there shall be no inherent contradiction between her new 

 duties and her natural physical and mental constitution. It 

 should be borne in mind, however, that the mere fact of woman's 

 present intellectual or physical weakness, should such be shown, 

 would not be a justifiable ground for denying to her full political 

 and educational privileges. It might be quite the reverse, if it 

 should appear that such weakness were itself the result of the 

 subordinate position which she has been compelled to hold. It 

 would, however, be a justifiable ground for advising woman to 

 assume her new duties gradually, in order that disaster to her 

 cause might not follow the overtaxing of her strength. 



In outlining some of the psychological peculiarities of woman 

 as revealed by modern anthropological researches, I shall endeavor 

 to confine myself to those points upon which investigators gen- 

 erally agree, simply omitting those still in dispute, or mentioning 

 them only as questioned. 



VOL. XLVII. 18 



