A History of Matrimonial Institutions (Vol. 1-3). George Elliott Howard
far outweighs the alleged relative structural advantages of polygyny, which besides have not been conclusively established.
But, as a rule, neither polygyny nor polyandry is favored by woman, in whom the passion of jealousy is very strongly developed. "Polygyny is an offence against the feelings of women, not only among highly civilized peoples, but even among the rudest savages." It is a noteworthy fact that "among monogamous savage or barbarous races the position of women is comparatively good;"[462] while, on the other hand, polygyny is in almost every way degrading to the female sex.[463] Accordingly, under influence of ideas and sentiments favoring the freedom and dignity of woman, both polygyny and polyandry must yield to individual marriage. With woman in its favor monogamy could never be entirely superseded as the type of human marriage. "Polygamy must disappear as soon as a growing development brings into play permanent motives and fundamental forces."[464] Among these forces is the "idea of procreative conditions" entering into the conception of fatherhood. From this follow chastity on the part of the wife, and consequently a limit to the sexual liberty of the husband. Out of this also sprang ancestor-worship, a powerful force in differentiating the monogamic household. "Even in primitive times, the character, or soul—the inward, mysterious being—of the father was supposed to decide the character of the child.... The joy excited by the excellent qualities of a child was first aroused in the breast of a primitive man when that child owed its being to himself, and its excellence was a proof of the excellence of its begetter, that is, of himself. I venture to assert that even now this idea plays the strongest part in what we call the voice of blood.... Vanity, a sentiment which is often condemned, yet not always blameworthy, finds sustenance in the most trivial occurrences of everyday life from the thought, 'Here I trace myself; the child has inherited that tendency from me.'"[465] With advancing culture and the growth of altruism it is inevitable that monogamy should assert its right to prevail over all other forms of the family which have yet appeared among mankind.
So we come back to the starting-point. The complex phenomena of human sexual relations have been examined in the light of scientific criticism and recent research. The result seems unmistakably to show that pairing has always been the typical form of human marriage. Early monogamy takes its rise beyond the border-line separating man from the lower animals. But, considering the aberrations from the type, development has been in a circle.[466] At the dawn of human history individual marriage prevails, though the union is not always lasting. In later stages of advancement, under the influence of property, social organization, social distinctions, and the motives to which they gave rise, various forms of polyandry and polygyny make their appearance, though monogamy as the type is never superseded. "Nothing, indeed, is more favourable to polygyny," says Westermarck, "than social differentiation."[467] In its "highest and regulated form," declares Morgan, "it presupposes a considerable advance of society, together with the development of superior and inferior classes, and of some kinds of wealth."[468] Furthermore there is direct evidence in some cases that a transition from monogamy has actually occurred.[469] At a still more advanced stage of culture, under pressure of those influences which have led to the social elevation of woman, polygyny yields in turn to monogamy. "When the feelings of women are held in due respect, monogamy will necessarily be the only recognized form of marriage. In no way does the progress of mankind show itself more clearly than in the increased acknowledgment of women's rights, and the causes which, at lower stages of development, may make polygyny desired by women themselves, do not exist in highly civilized societies. The refined feeling of love, depending chiefly upon mutual sympathy and upon appreciation of mental qualities, is scarcely compatible with polygynous habits; and the passion for one has gradually become more absorbing."[470] But the later monogamy differs from the earlier in one important characteristic. The primitive monogamy "is not a form of marriage which can be regarded as the expression of a marriage law; that is, it is not a form of marriage which is striving for the mastery, and which cannot tolerate other co-existent forms of marriage. On the other hand the later monogamy, which arises from a distinct condemnation of polygamy, or from a secret aversion to it, is characterized by self-assertion, and seeks to exclude other forms of marriage."[471]
For a full understanding of the evolution, which has here been sketched in outline, there remains, however, a fact of primary importance to which but casual reference has thus far been made: the element of contract in the marriage relation. This fact will receive some consideration in the next chapter.
CHAPTER IV
RISE OF THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT
[Bibliographical Note IV.—The literature for this chapter may be more briefly indicated, since it is largely identical with the authorities mentioned in Bibliographical notes I, II, and III. The researches of Starcke, Westermarck, Darwin, Letourneau, and Wake are of primary importance, and marriage by capture and purchase are of course essential parts of McLennan's Studies I and II, and the Patriarchal Theory. Particularly valuable are the monographs of Dargun, Mutterrecht und Raubehe and his Mutterrecht und Vaterrecht; Kulischer, "Intercommunale Ehe durch Raub und Kauf," in ZFE., VIII; Kohler, "Studien über Frauengemeinschaft, Frauenraub, und Frauenkauf," ibid., V; Kautsky, "Entstehung der Ehe und der Familie," in Kosmos, XII; and Schroeder, Hochzeitsbräuche der Esten (Berlin, 1888), containing a description of many curious "survivals." A mass of miscellaneous information relating to marriage customs may also be found in Schmidt, Hochzeiten in Thüringen (Weimar, 1863); Wood, The Wedding Day (New York, 1869); and especially in the Hochzeitsbuch of Düringsfeld (Leipzig, 1871).
For a full and systematic treatment of the matrimonial law and usage of many low races see the various books by Post, especially his Entwicklungsgeschichte des Familienrechts, Anfänge des Staats- und Rechtsleben, and the Afrikanische Jurisprudenz.
Illustrations of matrimonial law and usage may be found in Henrici, "Das Volksrecht der Epheneger," in ZVR., XI; Kohler, "Das Recht der Papuas auf Neu-Guinea," ibid., VII; his "Das Recht der Birmanen," and "Das Recht der Chins," both ibid., VI; Farrer, "Early Wedding Customs," in his Primitive Manners (London, 1879); Volkov, "Rites et usages nuptiaux en Ukräine," in L'anthropologie, II, III (Paris, 1891-92); Ellis, "Survivals from Marriage by Capture," in Pop. Sci. Monthly, June, 1891 (New York, 1891); Loring, "Marriage," in his A Confederate Soldier in Egypt (New York, 1884); Blumentritt, Ethnographie der Philippinen (Gotha, 1882); and Wessely, "Ein griechischer Heiratscontract vom Jahre 136 n. Ch.," in Xenia Austriaca, I (Vienna, 1893). Useful material will likewise be found in Weinhold, Deutsche Frauen (Vienna, 1882); Harrison, "Religion and Family among the Haidas" (Queen Charlotte Islands), in Jour. Anth. Inst., XXI (London, 1891); Crawley, "Sexual Taboo," ibid., XXIV (London, 1894-95); his Mystic Rose (London and New York, 1902); and Floessel, Die Schwiegermutter (Dresden, 1890).
For the question of sexual selection with Darwin compare Wallace, Darwinism (London, 1891); Poulton, Colours of Animals (New York, 1890); and Weismann, Studies in the Theory of Descent (London, 1880-82).
Hebrew marriage is treated by Michaelis, Abhandlung von den Ehegesetzen Mosis (Göttingen, 1768); his Commentaries on the Laws of Moses (London, 1814); Lichtschein, Die Ehe nach mosaisch-talmudischer Auffassung (Leipzig, 1879); Mielziner, The Jewish Law of Marriage and Divorce (Cincinnati, 1884); Weill, La femme juive (1874); Kurtz, Die Ehe der Söhne Gottes mit den Töchtern der Menschen (Berlin, New York, and Adelaide, 1857); his Die Ehe des Propheten Hosea (Dorpat, 1859); Stubbe, Die Ehe im Alten Testament (Jena, 1886); Ellis, "Marriage and Kinship among the ancient Israelites," in Pop. Sci. Monthly, XLII (New York, 1892-93), 325-37; Bergel, Die Eheverhältnisse der alten Juden (Leipzig, 1881); Duschak, Das mosaisch-talmudische Eherecht (Vienna, 1864); especially Döllinger's rare book, Heidenthum und Judenthum (Regensburg, 1857), containing a comparison of Grecian, Roman, and Hebrew laws and social customs. For Babylon see the works of Simcox, Sayce, Kohler, and Haupt mentioned in the Bibliographical Index, I.
For the matrimonial institutions of China, see Parker, "Comparative Chinese Law," in China Review, VIII (Hong-Kong, 1879-80); Möllendorff, Das chinesische Familienrecht (Shanghai, 1895); Katscher, Bilder aus dem chinesischen Leben (Leipzig and Heidelberg, 1881); idem, Aus China (Leipzig, 1887); Tscheng-ki-Tong, Chinese Painted by Themselves (London, 1885); Arène,