age by capture based on the supposition that, capturing
a wife being a proof of bravery, such a method of obtaining a wife would
be practised by the strongest men and be admired, while, on the other
hand, he considered that "female coyness" was "an important factor" in
constituting the more formal kinds of marriage by capture ceremonial.[69]
Westermarck, while accepting true marriage by capture, considers that
Spencer's statement "can scarcely be disproved."[70] In his valuable study
of certain aspects of primitive marriage Crawley, developing the
explanation rejected by Fustel de Coulanges, regards the fundamental fact
to be the modesty of women, which has to be neutralized, and this is done
by "a ceremonial use of force, which is half real and half make-believe."
Thus the manifestations are not survivals, but "arising in a natural way
from normal human feelings. It is not the tribe from which the bride is
abducted, nor, primarily, her family and kindred, but her _sex_"; and her
"sexual characters of timidity, bashfulness, and passivity are
sympathetically overcome by make-believe representations of male
characteristic actions."[71]

It is not necessary for the present purpose that either of these two
opposing theories concerning the origin of the customs and feelings we are
here concerned with should be definitely rejected. Whichever theory is
adopted, the fundamental psychic element which here alone concerns us
still exists intact.[72] It may be pointed out, however, that we probably
have to accept two groups of such phenomena: one, seldom or never existing
as the sole form of marriage, in which the capture is real; and another in
which the "capture" is more or less ceremonial or playful. The two groups
coexist among the Turcomans, as described by Vambery, who are constantly
capturing and enslaving the Persians of both sexes, and, side by side with
this, have a marriage ceremonial of mock-capture of entirely playful
character. At the same time the two groups sometimes overlap, as is
indicated by cases in which, while the "capture" appears to be ceremonial,
the girl is still allowed to escape altogether if she wishes. The
difficulty of disentangling the two groups is shown by the fact that so
careful an investigator as Westermarck cites cases of real capture and
mock-capture together without attempting to distinguish between them. From
our present point of view it is quite unnecessary to attempt such a
distinction. Whe