The Sexual Life of the Child. Albert Moll
or as ordinary tactile and other similar sensations. In the second place, we have those higher psychical processes by means of which man is attracted to woman, and woman to man. In our actual experience of the normal sexual life, both these groups of processes do, as a matter of fact, work in unison; but not only is it possible for us to distinguish them analytically; it is, in addition, possible in many instances to observe them in action clinically isolated each from the other. A long while ago I utilised this distinction for the analysis of the sexual impulse, describing the impulse in so far as it was confined to the peripheral organs as the detumescence-impulse (from detumescere, to decrease in size), and in so far as it takes the form of processes tending towards bodily and mental approximation to another individual, as the contrectation-impulse (from contrectare to touch, or to think about). The distinction will become clearer to our minds if we familiarise ourselves first with cases in which either process occurs independently of the other. The detumescence-impulse is sometimes the sole manifestation of the sexual impulse. Certain idiots practise masturbation as a physical act, because sensations proceeding from the genital organs impel them to do so, precisely as itching of an area of the skin impels us to scratch. They masturbate without thinking of another person, and they feel no impulsion whatever towards sexual contact with another person. Analogous phenomena may be witnessed in the animal world also, in connexion with the masturbatory acts of monkeys, bulls, and stallions. When a stallion kicks its genital organs again and again with its hind-foot, and repeats the action until ejaculation ensues, we are hardly justified in assuming that the animal has the idea of a mare before its mind. We must rather suppose that we have to do with a local physical stimulus, to which the stallion reacts in the manner above described. The other component, also, of the sexual impulse, the contrectation-impulse, manifests itself, occasionally, at any rate, in isolation. Certain boys, long before the appearance of any signs of the puberal development, are impelled towards physical contact with members of the other sex, to kiss them, to think of them, although these boys may exhibit no tendency whatever to masturbate, or to manipulate their genital organs. It often happens, indeed, that such a boy is himself greatly astonished to find, some day, that these ideas are reflected to the genital organs, giving rise to erection; or, when he is embracing a girl, to experience erection and ejaculation. In the sexually mature normal man, the detumescence-impulse and the contrectation-impulse act in unison, and hence he is impelled towards intimate contact with the woman, and is ultimately driven to effect detumescence by the practice of coitus. Nevertheless, we must hold fast to the idea that in the normal adult man the sexual processes may also be theoretically analysed into these two components.
This is true also of woman, in whom the processes in the genital organs are equally separable from those which impel to contact with a member of the other sex. But in woman, the processes in the genital organs do not culminate in the ejection of the reproductive cells, that is, of the ovum, but, as we have seen, in the ejaculation of indifferent secretions. In the woman, also, the detumescence impulse is occasionally met with in isolation—for example, in many female idiots. In the animal world, too, we encounter it as an isolated phenomenon. Certain mares, when rutting, rub their hind quarters against some object in their stalls. The contrectation-impulse may also manifest itself in isolation in woman. It is then directed towards the male, but is not in any way associated with the wish for a definite sexual act. Most commonly, however, in woman also the two components of the sexual impulse are united, and from this union results the impulsion towards coitus. But to this extent the conditions in woman are apt to differ from those in man, inasmuch as, in the former, voluptuous sensations are more often in abeyance; or in woman voluptuous pleasure may not arise during coitus, but may be produced in some other way, as, for instance, by a masturbatory act.
The sexual impulse, and indeed either of its components, may be excited either by bodily or by mental stimuli; but we must always bear in mind the fact that in normal adults, both male and female, the two components are so intimately associated that they can as a rule be separated only by artificial analysis. The nature and mode of operation of the stimuli need not be further discussed, since enough has been said about the matter in our description of erection. Nor is it necessary in this place to deal with such differences as may exist between the psychosexual life of the child and that of the adult, since this matter will be fully considered in the fourth chapter. In this chapter my aim has merely been to give a general description of the sexual impulse.
Here I need allude to one more point only, a knowledge of which is indispensable for the understanding of the sexual life of the child, namely, the connexion between the central processes and the peripheral voluptuous sensation. Let us ask, in the first place, by what means the voluptuous sensation, the voluptuous acme, and the sense of satisfaction, are produced. Various factors are here operative. A homosexual man, in heterosexual coitus, by keeping present to his imagination the idea of coitus with a man, may succeed in obtaining erection and ejaculation; but he does not experience the voluptuous acme, nor does he feel the sense of satisfaction. Notwithstanding the fact that the peripheral processes occur in normal fashion, the sense of satisfaction remains in abeyance; because the act is in his case inadequate, the sexual act in which he is engaged lacks harmonious relationship to his sexual impulse. But the same homosexual man, embracing a man with whom he is in full sympathy, will experience alike the voluptuous acme and the sense of satisfaction. Mutatis mutandis, the like is true of woman. Many cases which have been regarded as instances of sexual anæsthesia would appear in quite another light if the woman concerned were to have intercourse with a sexually sympathetic man. I have myself known cases in which women were able to experience the voluptuous acme in intercourse with men whom they earnestly loved, whilst in intercourse with men to whom they were indifferent, the voluptuous sensation and the sense of satisfaction were wanting, even though in some of these cases the peripheral processes culminated in ejaculation. Such a physically complete sexual act, without voluptuous acme or sense of satisfaction, may occur when the woman, having intercourse with a man whom she does not love, pictures in imagination that she is having intercourse with her lover. Unquestionably, the psychical processes are of the greatest importance in contributing to the occurrence of the voluptuous sensation and the sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, of course, certain peripheral conditions must also be fulfilled if the voluptuous acme is to ensue. Among these conditions may be mentioned a certain anatomical state of the skin and the nerves concerned. Experience also shows that in the adult the voluptuous acme coincides with the act of ejaculation. Ejaculation is effected by the rhythmical contraction of certain definite muscles, and Otto Adler believes that it is these contractions which are principally effective in producing the voluptuous acme, and that actual ejaculation is not indispensable. He believes, that is, that the voluptuous acme may occur in the absence of any discharge of actual secretion.
In any case, let us hold fast to the fact that in the adult, for the occurrence of the voluptuous acme and of the sense of full satisfaction, certain central processes are, in general, indispensable.
CHAPTER III
SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN CHILDHOOD
In the previous chapter, I have described the differences between the reproductive organs of men and women, and between those of adults and children, respectively. Man and woman are, however, distinguished one from the other, not only by differences in their reproductive organs, but by other qualities as well, some of these being bodily, others mental. Such distinctive characters are spoken of as secondary sexual characters, in contradistinction to the primary sexual characters, the reproductive organs. Our terminology would, perhaps, be more exact if we were to regard the reproductive glands alone, the testicles and the ovaries, as primary sexual characters; including the rest of the genital organs among the secondary sexual characters. Havelock Ellis11 distinguishes, in addition to the primary and secondary sexual characters (as commonly defined), tertiary sexual characters, by which he denotes those differences between the sexes which do not attract our attention when we compare individual members of the two sexes, but which become noticeable when we compare the average male with the average female type. Among such tertiary sexual characters may be mentioned the comparatively flatter skull, the greater