女性の「社会的な」解放
私が若い頃、尊敬すべき(ちゃんとした)女性は,一般に,性交は大多数の女性にとって嫌なものであり、結婚生活では義務感から耐えているにすぎない,という考えを抱いていた。(そうして)そのような見解を抱いていたので、彼女たちは、もっと現実的な時代においても賢明とは思われないくらい(賢明と思われる以上の)大きな自由を、自分の娘たちに与えることにやぶさかではなかった(与えたくないわけではなかった)。その結果は、おそらく、彼女たちが予想したものとはいくらか異なったものであったであろう。また(しかも)、そうした違いは、人妻に関しても、未婚の女性に関しても、等しく存在していた(のである)。 ヴィクトリア朝時代の女性は -現在でも非常に多くの女性はそうであるが- 精神的な牢獄の中にいた。この牢獄は、はっきりと意識されることはなかった(人間の意識に明らかなものではなかった)。それは、潜在意識的な抑制(抑圧)から成り立っていたからである。今日の若い人びとの間では、この抑制(抑圧)は衰えてきており、その結果、山ほどの淑女ぶり(性的潔癖さ)の下に埋められていた本能的な欲望が再び意識のなかに現われてきている。このことは、現在、一つの国や一つの階級だけではなくて、あらゆる文明国とあらゆる階級の性道徳に、非常に革命的な影響を及ぼしつつある。 |
Chapter VII: The Liberation of womenThe political emancipation of women, however, concerns our theme only indirectly ; it is their social emancipation that is important in connection with marriage and morals. In early days, and in the East down to our time, the virtue of women was secured by segregating them. No attempt was made to give them inward self-control, but everything was done to take away all opportunity for sin. In the West this method was never adopted wholeheartedly, but respectable women were educated from their earliest years so as to have a horror of sexual intercourse outside marriage. As the methods of this education became more and more perfected, the outward barriers were more and more removed. Those who did most to remove the outward barriers were convinced that the inward barriers would be sufficient. It was thought, for example, that the chaperon was unnecessary, since a nice girl who had been well brought up would never yield to the advances of young men, whatever opportunities of yielding might be allowed her. It was generally held by respectable women when I was young that sexual intercourse was displeasing to the great majority of women, and was only endured within marriage from a sense of duty; holding this view, they were not unwilling to risk a greater degree of freedom for their daughters than had seemed wise in more realistic ages. The results have perhaps been somewhat different from what was anticipated, and the difference has existed equally as regards wives and as regards unmarried women. The women of the Victorian age were, and a great many women still are, in a mental prison. This prison was not obvious to consciousness, since it consisted of subconscious inhibitions. The decay of inhibitions, which has taken place among the young of our own time, has led to the reappearance in consciousness of instinctive desires which had been buried beneath mountains of prudery. This is having a very revolutionary effect upon sexual morality, not a only in one country or in one class, but in all civilized countries and in all classes. |