Studies in the psychology of sex. Vol. 1, Sexual inversion / by Havelock Ellis. / by Havelock Ellis.

  • Ellis, Havelock, 1859-1939.
Date:
1897
    No text description is available for this image
    published), for which I am indebted to the kindness of Prof. G. Frank Lydston, of Chicago. They seem to me to illustrate the only kind of suggestion which does play a common part in the evolution of inversion. I give them in Dr. Lydston's words : Case I.—A man 45 years of age, attracted by the allusion to ray essay on Social Perversion contained in the English transla- tion -of Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, consulted me re- garding the possible cure of his condition. This individual was a finely-educated, very intelligent man, who was an excellent linguist, had considerable musical ability, and was in the employ of a firm whose business was such as to demand on the part of its employees considerable legal acumen, clerical ability, and knowledge of real estate transactions. This man stated that at the age of puberty, without any knowledge of perversity of sexual feeling, he was thrown intimately in contact with males of more advanced years, who took various means to excite his sexual passions, the result being that perverted sexual practices were developed, which were continued for a number of years. He thereafter noticed an aversion to women. At the solicitations of his family he finally married, without any very intelligent idea as to what, if anything, might be expected of him in the marital relation. Absolute impotence— indeed, repugnance for association with his wife—was the lamentable sequence. A divorce was in contemplation when, fortunately for all parties concerned, the wife suddenly died. Being a man of more than ordinary intelligence, this individual, prior to seeking my aid, had sought vainly for some remedy for his unfortunate condition. He stated that he believed that there was an element of heredity in his case, his father having been a dipsomaniac and one brother having died insane. He nevertheless stated it to be his opinion that, not- withstanding the hereditary taint, he would have been perfectly uormal from a sexual standpoint, had it not been for acquired impressions at or about the period of puberty. This man presented a typically neurotic type of physique, complained of being intensely nervous, was prematurely grey, of only fair stature, and had an uncontrollable nystagmus, which, he said, had existed for some fifteen years. As might be expected, treatment in this case was of no avail. I began the use of hypnotic suggestion at the hands of an expert professional hypnotist. The patient, being called out of the State, finally gave up treatment, and I have no means of knowing what his present condition is. Case II.—A lady patient of mine who happened to be an actress, and consequently a woman of the world, brought to me for an
    opinion some correspondence which had passed between her younger brother and a man living in another State, with whom he was on quite intimate terms. In one of these letters various flying trips to Chicago for the purpose of meeting the lad, who, by the way, was only seventeen years of age, were alluded to. It transpired also, as evidenced by the letters, that on several occasions the young lad had been taken on trips in Pullman cars by his friend, who was a prominent railroad official. The character of the correspondence was such as the average healthy man would address to a woman with whom he was enamoured. It seemed that the author of the correspondence had applied to his boy affinity the name Cinderella, and the protestations of passionate affection that were made towards Cinderella certainly would have satisfied the most exacting woman. The young lad subsequently made a confession to me, and I put myself in correspondence with his male friend, with the result that he called upon me and I obtained a full history of the case. The method of indulgence in this case was the usual one of oral masturbation, in which the lad was the passive party. I was unable to obtain any definite data regarding the family history of the elder individual in this case, but understand that there was a taint of insanity in his family. He himself was a robust, fine-look- ing man, above middle age, who was well educated and very intelli- gent, as he necessarily must have been, because of the prominent position he held with an important railway company. I will state, as a matter of interest, that the lad in this case, who is now twenty- three years of age, has recently consulted me for impotentia coeundi, manifesting a frigidity for women, and, from the young man's state- ments, I am convinced that he is well on the road to confirmed sexual perversion. An interesting point in this connection is that the young man's sister, the actress already alluded to, has recently had an attack of acute mania. I have had other unpublished cases that might be of interest, but these two are somewhat classical, and typify to a greater or less degree the majority of other cases. I will, however, mention one other case, occurring in a woman. Case III.—A married woman, 40 years of age. Has been deserted by her husband because of her perverted sexuality. Neurotic history on both sides of the family, and several cases of insanity on mother's side. In this case affinity for the same sex and perverted desire for the opposite sex existed, a combination by no means infrequent. Hypnotic suggestion tried, but without success. Cause was evidently suggestion and example on the part of another female pervert with whom she associated before marriage. Marriage was late—at age of 35.
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image