Beautiful Indian Woman Nude
Malka Crickenberger
Is there such a thing as playful application of the sexual impulse? Views of this subjectdiffer widely, and the remarks on it of animal observers show that many hesitate to usethe term "play" in this connection.
On the other hand, we must avoid the older and more common error of speaking about the" sweet sportiveness of love " without distinguishing between what is reallyplayful and what is quite seriously meant. It is true that such popular usages of speechhave not become general without some foundation in fact, and it may prove interesting toinquire how this one arose. We find the element of truth in the popular feeling bycomparing the subject under discussion with eating and drinking, which are also sensuouspleasures. Why do we not hear so much of play in their exercise? Evidently there is adifference. While in eating and drinking, so far as directed by hunger, the real end, thepreservation of life, is always in view, while the real end of lovers' dalliance, namely,the preservation of the species, is far in the background. It is true that we sometimeseat and drink for the enjoyment it gives, as well as to satisfy hunger and renew ourstrength, yet the practical bearing of the act is so closely
Still, while there is analogy there is not perfect identity with play, and we mustcarefully inspect various aspects of the subject to select those which are unmistakably ofthis character. The subjoined examples are therefore selected advisedly and with care, inview of possibly unexpected readers of this chapter. A glance over the field discloses thefollowing suitable divisions: 1, Natural courtship play; 2, sex and art; 3, sex and thecomic.
It is generally known that children are frequently very early susceptible to sexualexcitement, and show a desire for contact with others as well as enjoyment of it, withouthaving the least suspicion of its meaning. Keller gives a beautiful and touching exampleof this in his Romeo and Julia auf dem Dorfe : " On a tiny plot of ground all coveredwith green herbs the little lass lay down upon her back, for she was tired, and began tocroon some words in a monotonous way, while the boy sat near her and joined in the song,almost wishing to follow her example, so weary and languid he felt. The sun shone into theopen mouth of the singing girl, gleaming on her teeth so dazzlingly white and shiningthrough the full red lips. The boy noticed this, and taking her head in his hands heexamined the little teeth curiously and cried, 'Guess how many teeth you have?' Shereflected for a moment, as though making a careful calculation, and then said withconviction, 'A hundred.' ` No ; thirty-two,' he answered; `but wait till I count again'Then he counted aloud, but as he did not make thirty-two he had to begin over severaltimes. The little girl kept still for some time, but as the zealous enumerator seemednever to get any nearer the end of his task she shook him off at last and cried, 'I willcount yours.' So the boy stretched himself on the grass with the girl above him, throwinghis head back while she counted 1, 2, 7, 5, 2; but the task was too hard for the littlebeauty, and the boy had to teach and correct her, so she too had to begin over and overagain. This play seemed to please them better than any they had had that day. But at lastthe little girl slid down by the side of her small instructor, and the children slepttogether in the bright sunshine." From such tender, unconscious premonitions we passto more strongly marked love plays, for which the services of a special instructor areusually necessary, as in the somewhat peculiar relation of the boy Rousseau to the littleGoton who played the part of teacher in their private interviews: " Elle sepermettait avec moi les plus grandes privauts, sans jamais m'en permettre aucune
Often, too, children show the same sort of preference, all unconscious of its import,toward particular favourites among their grown-up friends, enjoying the pleasure ofcontact for its own sake. " The pretty girl," says Mantegazza, " whomNature has endowed with the power to awaken longings and sighs at her every step, oftendoes not realize that in the swarm of her admirers there are boys scarcely yet past theirchildhood, who secretly kiss any flower on which she may chance to look, who are happy ifthey may steal like a thief into the room where the beauty has slept and may kiss thecarpet that her foot has pressed; . . . and how seldom does she suspect, as her fingersplay with the locks of the little fellow whose head rests on her knee, that his heart isbeating audibly under her caressing touch ! "[2] Perez cites Valle'saccount of a ten-year-old boy who was in love with his older cousin. "Elle vientquelquefois m'agacer le cou, me mnacer les ctes de ses doigts longs. Elle rit, mecaresse, m'embrasse; je la serre en me dfendant et je l'ai mordue une fois. Elle m'acri : Petit mchant ! en me donnant une tape sur la joue un pea fort, etc." [3]
This feeling may be involved in some of the positions and movements of tussling boys.Schaeffer has remarked in a short paper that in the belligerent plays of boys, especiallyring fighting,[4] " the fundamental impulse of sexual life for theutmost extensive and intensive contact, with a more or less clearly defined idea ofconquest underlying it," plays a most conspicuous part. I do not believe that this isthe rule, yet I am convinced that Schaeffer's view is more often correct than would appearat a first glance, and especially so when the contestants arc on the ground and laughinglystruggle together.
I suppose the general playfulness of the foregoing instances might be called inquestion on the ground that there is no consciousness that it is all a play, no shamactivity. Yet we refer complacently enough to other things which display quite as littleof such subconsciousness as play. Indeed, the rule is that it is absent from mental play,and, moreover, this is a case that more closely concerns the emotions. The plays whichinvolve subjective sham activity overlap to a great extent the sphere of the objectiveones where the man or animal takes pleasure in action which has no necessary actual aim,yet without being conscious of having turned aside from the life of cause and effect. Ifwe admit that the boy careering aimlessly about is playing because he enjoys the movementfor its own sake, or that gourmands who eat without hunger, and merely to tickle theirpalates, are playing, then we must also call it play when the child takes pleasure in thesexual sensations arising from touch stimuli without knowing that his activity, on accountof the exclusion of their proper end, is all a sham. From a purely biological standpointthe conception of play goes much deeper, as we shall see later on. I have purposelyselected such examples as (with the exception of the last citation) exhibit the sexualimpulse in conjunction with other activity that is unmistakably playful, believing thatthis conjunction would strengthen the probability of its being playful in those caseswhich if given alone might appear doubtful.
With adults the subjective side of play is more prominent, especially when the properend of the instinctive impulse for contact is held in abeyance by the will of theparticipants. Here belongs the dalliance of engaged couples. t is no play, of course,when the lovers, on the first revelation of their common feeling or after a longseparation, indulge in a passionate embrace. But when in their daily intercourse thatmanifold trifling begins which is too familiar to need description, I see no reason why itshould not be called play with touch stimuli. The more
Self-exhibition will occupy us only so far as it does not relate to art. Every loverdesires to present himself in the most favourable light to the object of his affections,and to this end he plays a part, to a certain extent; he "does as though" hewere braver, stronger, more skilful, handsomer, of finer feeling, and more intelligencethan he actually and habitually is. Fliegende Blatter said once, " A lover alwaystries to be as lovable as he can, and is therefore always ridiculous." Suchself-display is not necessarily playful, but it becomes so as soon as the lover's vanityis involved, and he aims not only at the desired effect on his mistress, but also enjoysfor its own sake the exploitation of his charms. Here, as in so many psychic phenomena,the complexity of the field is important. We are able to see ourselves over our ownshoulders, and behind the wooing I stands a higher consciousness which looks on withsatisfaction at the display of its own attractions. Hence arise the frequent cases where asort of tacit understanding between a man and woman prohibits all serious intercourse, sothat they can have only such relations as depend on the sexual stimulus (flirting).
As the first form of courtship by self-exhibition I mention those fighting plays inwhich the combatants engage in the ladies' presence. I have noticed incidentally thathuman combat, as well as that between animals, is often connected with the sexual life,but now we will consider the subject from its proper standpoint. That a martial bearing isa means not only of terrifying enemies, but also of delighting females, all experiencegoes to show, and war paint and feathers become adornments as well. Here as with animals,says Colin A. Scott, the terrible approaches the beautiful, and as modesty in women has apeculiar charm to the other sex, so does a warlike spirit appeal to the feminine nature." In some tribes a man dare not marry, and indeed no woman would have him, until hehas slain a certain number of foes."[6] The conquest of rivals thenbecomes a means of self-exhibition before the loved one. Westermarck, in his history of
We should further note the display of physical charms so far as it can be separatedfrom art, which, indeed, is no easy task, as the boundary line is sometimes almostindistinguishable. Yet it does exist, and we may be able to detect it most readily in theconduct of our budding youths. As a rule, when the other sex begins to interest them theyare impelled to make the most of every gutward advantage. The boy begins to be neat, tocare for his teeth and nails, arrange his hair more carefully, to consider the fit of hisclothes, and to indulge in boots and gloves which are too small for him; he puts on highcollars and makes a great display of his cuffs, and impatiently awaits the premonitions ofa mustache. It is
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