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Show THE ENIGMA OF WOMAN. In the Atlantic Monthly for December, Decem-ber, Professor Munstorborg makoa a pleasant excursion into the highways and byways of literature, to discover how much psychological analysis may be obtained outsldo of text books. Tho article which in entitled "Naive Psychology," Psy-chology," is intended to be suggestive rather than exhaustive. Professor Munstorborg concludes that It Is impossible impos-sible to construct anything approaching a scientific Bystom out of man's comment com-ment on man in literature. In conclusion the professor discusses the ono topic to which porhaps more "naivo psychology" has been devoted than to any other psychological problem, the mental difference betweon man and woman. He says that volumes could be filled with quotations about this eternal source of happiness and grief, but ho wisely addo, "almost all is metaphor or comparison, or is practical advico or warning, or Is enthusiastic praise, or Is maliciousness." He is forced to the decision that no psychological system can bo orectod from the remnants that are the result of honest observation and bear the stamp of truth. Tho mental differenco botwoon man and woman has been a fascinating subject sub-ject slnco man and woman wroto their lovo letters in hieroglyphics on stone. One of tho most persistent observations Is that man can nover understand woman, wom-an, and founding thoir othor maxims on this baf-'Is, tho observers of all ages havo mado many extravagant contrasts. They forget that the primal fact is one Of identity rather than of differenco. By nature man and woman are the same, and whatever mental varlences exist, therefore, are the result of different dif-ferent environments and physical capabilities. ca-pabilities. Tho reason that no systematic syste-matic psychology on this subject has boon evolved may bo duo to tho fact that tho mental differences botwoeu man and woman aro so slight instead of being so great as the generality have imagined. WTion wo come to distinguishing be-twoen be-twoen beings of a different naturo In tho animal kingdom it Is easy to pick out notable points of diTcrslty. For oxample, whon we contrast a man with a dog, wo say that a man thinks and a dog docs not, a man laughs and a dog does not, a man talks and a dog does not, a man can see a joke and a dog cannot. On tho othor hand, whon we contrast a man and a woman, wo are apt to mako distinctions that do not exist. For oxample. it has boon said that women havo littlo sense of humor, but whon wo repeat this old fallacy, we do not believe it. It is customary for a man in exasporatlon or in contempt to say, "that is just like a woman," whereas it may be equally just liko a man. It is always nnsafo to 'stato general propositions without long thought and investigation, but wo shall venture one here on the spur of tho moment. Every sin that is believed to bo peculiar to man, a woman can commit, but she does it Infrequently: and every sin that a womnn can commit, a man can commit, but ho d ocs it Infrequently. I3 there any greater difference between a man and a woman than betweon a man and anothor man or a woman and another woman? Wo frequently say that a characteristic char-acteristic is peculiar to a woman, when it is also peculiar to certain classes of mon, aud we say that certain characteristics charac-teristics aro peculiar to men when they aro also peculiar to certain classes of women. Women have- no monopoly on hysteria or unreasoning emotionalism. Professor Mnnstcrbcrg quotes Schiller as saying that "women constantly ro-turn ro-turn to their first word, even if roason has spoken for hours," and yet this quotation immediately suggests to tho mind Goldsmith's description of tho villago schoolmaster, who "even though vanquished- could argue still." From Rousseau he selects this maxim: "Woman has more esprit and man more genius; tho woman observes and a man reasons." but this stntement brings no conviction to the mind. .TjiBtcad of accepting ac-cepting it as truo wo begin to pick flaws in it. Bruycro seems to como ncar-or ncar-or tho truth when ho 6tatos a proposition proposi-tion that has become a commonplace, lie says: "Women are extreme; they aro bettor or worso than men." Professor Pro-fessor Mnnstcrbcrg quotes Karl Julius Webber as follows: "Women are greater great-er in misfortune than men on account of tho chief fomalo virtuo, patiouce; but they aro smaller in good fortuno than men, on account of tho chief fe-malo fe-malo fault, vanity." At first glance this appears to be a very wiso and bril: linnt comment, but Professor Munstcr-berg Munstcr-berg finds a Gorman writer, Ohristopho Lohmann, who says: "Obcdienco and patience do not ltlto to grow In. tho garden gar-den of the women." Most of these statomonta, although thoy contain a grain or two of truth, are based on very incompleto obeorva-tlon. obeorva-tlon. 8omo men are moro patient than somo womon, and some mon aro moro vain than somo women, but tho truth is that both mon and women are sometimes some-times vain, somotimos patient, somo-tlmos somo-tlmos modest and somotimos impatient. This is to repeat in anothor way tho proposition that mon and women are tho Bame by naturo and that their mental men-tal differences aro accidental. It is customary to ask the question, "Why does a woman got off a street car tho wrong way?" It is probably duo to tho fact that women have not been so accustomed throughout the ages to tako care of thenisolves amid war and perils. Thoy havo been homo-bodies, whilo men havo gone out to fight in rough-and-tumblo fashion battles with the world. The man's understanding understand-ing of dangor, therefore, is moro acuto than tho woman 's. Moreover, woman has relied for centuries on man to care for hor in the presence of danger. As a result of these conditions, which aro duo to environment nnd "not to naturo, ovolution has givon to man and to woman wom-an In different degrees tho ability to ward off danger, and when a woman gets off a car tho wrong way, sho is guided by a loss dovelopcd sense of dangor than that which io possessed by tho man. A similar analysis might bo made of the difforont degrees of truthfulness among mon and women, but at length wo should be forced to tho conclusion, con-clusion, which we havo attempted to sot forth above, that no mental state, no sin, no virtuo can bo attributed exclusively ex-clusively , to man or to woman. |