646 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



are possible, then, on one side the line. Fatherhood may pass through 

 many stages, from a light flitting from one polyandric household to 

 another, on to that form in which the several husbands of the female 

 head of such households must be distinctly related to each other, but, 

 through all the varieties of polyandry, the fixed stake of classification 

 and localization of offspring defines the family outline. This type of 

 marriage affords sometimes to women, " as in Thibetan polyandry, free- 

 dom and equality of companionship with men." It everywhere gives 

 her such measure of power as her physical strength can command ; and 

 by interesting many men, although ever so slightly, in the welfare of 

 some one household, it offers the beginning of protection to oft'spring, 

 in supplies of food and defense in war. 



The next step up in marriage types is to what we call polygyny, 

 or the union of several wives with one husband. This establishes the 

 descent of the 'child on both male and female sides of the marriage 

 union ; but it destroys every vestige of freedom and equality in the 

 condition of the wife. With polygyny begins the legal, recognized 

 slavery of woman to man in the domestic relation. Remember, how- 

 ever, that nature is securing first the family order, and only after that 

 is attained can look out for personal rights ; and let us note, without 

 prejudice, the advance of this type of marriage, in family structure, 

 above polyandry. Descent, reckoned on the father's side, not only 

 secures double ancestry, but, on account of the greater brute strength 

 of men, is more likely to keep the inhei'itance intact. Again, although 

 women enjoy a nominal freedom before this point, it is only that gained 

 by personal qualities it has no bulwark of law. Hence the average 

 woman, physically weaker than man, is his prey. Polygyny places 

 her person in the custody of her husband, and thus enlists for its 

 defense, against lawless raids of masculine lust, the selfish instinct of 

 preservation of one's own property. And this protection of woman is 

 absolutely indispensable, under barbarous conditions, not only for the 

 growth of chastity on her part, but for the nourishment of offspring. 

 We have this great gain in the family order in this type, that the 

 father is brought into the household, and placed beside the mother and 

 children. But, in order to get him there, we have to bring in with him 

 facilities for the indulgence of his passions icithin the home, equal, or 

 nearly so, to those he has before enjoyed outside the home. Repres- 

 sion of sexual passion to certain recognized limits was one of the con- 

 ditions of family order we noted above. Polygyny marks the point 

 at which the chastity of the mother was made the limit on one side, 

 and the indulgence of the father, only inside the household, the limit 

 on the other. This was a great gain in the line of repression, even 

 although it gave man absolute power over as many wives as he could 

 secure. 



The next step up in marriage development we may call rudimen- 

 tary monogamy. The last essential of family unity we noted was 



