To these writers I would express my warmest thanks for the help and
guidance I have gained from their work.

The opinions expressed are in all cases my own. I say this without any
apology of modesty. I hold that the one justification of writing a
book at all is to state those truths one has learnt from one's own
experience of life. For we can give to others only what we have
received ourselves; the vision rising in our own eyes, the passion
born in our own hearts.

C. GASQUOINE HARTLEY.

_7, Carlton Terrace,
Child's Hill, N.W.
March, 1913._

CONTENTS

_N.B.--A complete synopsis of contents will be found at the
beginning of each chapter_

CHAP. PAGE

I INTRODUCTION--THE STARTING-POINT OF THE INQUIRY 1

PART I--BIOLOGICAL SECTION

II THE ORIGIN OF THE SEXES 31

III GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION 45
I The Early Position of the Sexes.
II Two Examples--The Beehive and the Spider.

IV THE EARLY RELATIONSHIP OF THE SEXES 71

V COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE, AND THE FAMILY 85
I Among the Birds and Mammals.
II Further Examples of Courtship, Marriage, and the Family
among Birds.

PART II--HISTORICAL SECTION

VI THE MOTHER-AGE CIVILISATION 117
I Progress from Lower to Higher Forms of the Family
Relationship.
II The Matriarchal Family in America.
III Further Examples of the Matriarchal Family in
Australia, India, and other Countries.
IV The Transition in Father-right.

VII WOMAN'S POSITION IN THE GREAT CIVILISATIONS OF ANTIQUITY 177
I In Egypt.
II In Babylon.
III In Greece.
IV In Rome.

PART III--MODERN SECTION: PRESENT-DAY ASPECTS OF THE WOMAN PROBLEM

VIII SEX DIFFERENCES 245

IX APPLICATION OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER WITH SOME FURTHER
REMARKS ON SEX DIFFERENCE 271
I Women and Labour.
II Sexual Differences in Mind and the Artistic Impulse in
Women.
III The Affectability of Woman--Its Connection with the
Religious Impulse.

X THE SOCIAL FORMS OF THE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP 329
I Marriage.
II Divorce.
III