also.

The moment the field of the known is abandoned, and one launches out
into pictures of future forms, a wide field is opened for speculation.
Differences of opinion start over that which is probable or not
probable. That which in that direction is set forth in this book can,
accordingly, be taken only as the personal opinion of the author
himself; possible attacks must be directed against him only; only he is
responsible.

Attacks that are objective, and are honestly meant, will be welcome to
us. Attacks that violate truth in the presentation of the contents of
this book, or that rest upon false premises we shall ignore. For the
rest, in the following pages all conclusions, even the extremest, will
be drawn, which, the facts being verified, the results attained may
warrant. Freedom from prejudice is the first condition for the
recognition of truth. Only the unrestricted utterance of that which is,
and must be, leads to the goal.

PART I

WOMAN IN THE PAST

CHAPTER I.

BEFORE CHRISTIANITY.

Woman and the workingman have, since old, had this in
common--_oppression_. The forms of oppression have suffered changes in
the course of time, and in various countries. But the oppression always
remained. Many a time and oft, in the course of the ages, did the
oppressed become conscious of their oppression; and such conscious
knowledge of their condition did bring on changes and reliefs.
Nevertheless, a knowledge, that grasped the actual feature of the
oppression by grasping its causes, is, with woman as with the
workingman, the fruit of our own days. The actual feature of society,
and of the laws that lie at the bottom of its development, had first to
be known, before a general movement could take place for the removal of
conditions, recognized as oppressive and unjust. The breadth and
intensity of such a movement depends, however, upon the measure of the
understanding prevalent among the suffering social layers and circles,
and upon the measure of freedom of motion that they enjoy. In both
respects, woman stands, through custom and education, as well as the
freedom allowed her by law, behind the workingman. To this, another
circumstance is added. Conditions, lasting through a long series of
generations, finally grow into custom; heredity and education then cause
such conditions to appear on both sides as "natural." Hence it comes
that, even to-day, woman in particular, accepts her subordinate position