Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Virgin

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Virgin by C. Brovan & L. Brovan, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: C. Brovan & L. Brovan ISBN: 9781465612960
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: C. Brovan & L. Brovan
ISBN: 9781465612960
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English
In devoting a volume to the romance and folk-lore of Virginity, it may not be inappropriate first to examine the psychology of a word and a quality as magical as they are misused. What is virginity? Is it the possession intact of that delicate piece of membrane, the poets’ ‘flos virginitatis,’ or is it some indescribable, intangible attribute in no sense dependent on physical perfection? Does it imply abstention from and ignorance of all sexual pleasures, or must it be a chastity which falls little short of stupid, even criminal, innocence? To us moderns, blessed (or cursed) with a smattering of science, woman is virginal just as long as we know or believe her to be, physical qualities notwithstanding. By the poet of the past, the romanticist, the mediæval lover, and the ignorant, physical as well as spiritual proofs were probably required or expected. To them, virginity was something tangible; to us it is not. Nor is the reason far to seek. For while Havelock Ellis, the greatest authority on sexual psychology the world has known, describes the hymen as having acquired in human estimation a spiritual value which has made it far more than a part of the feminine body, ... “something that gives woman all her worth and dignity, ... her market value,” he goes on to point out that the presence or absence of the hymen is no real test of virginity.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
In devoting a volume to the romance and folk-lore of Virginity, it may not be inappropriate first to examine the psychology of a word and a quality as magical as they are misused. What is virginity? Is it the possession intact of that delicate piece of membrane, the poets’ ‘flos virginitatis,’ or is it some indescribable, intangible attribute in no sense dependent on physical perfection? Does it imply abstention from and ignorance of all sexual pleasures, or must it be a chastity which falls little short of stupid, even criminal, innocence? To us moderns, blessed (or cursed) with a smattering of science, woman is virginal just as long as we know or believe her to be, physical qualities notwithstanding. By the poet of the past, the romanticist, the mediæval lover, and the ignorant, physical as well as spiritual proofs were probably required or expected. To them, virginity was something tangible; to us it is not. Nor is the reason far to seek. For while Havelock Ellis, the greatest authority on sexual psychology the world has known, describes the hymen as having acquired in human estimation a spiritual value which has made it far more than a part of the feminine body, ... “something that gives woman all her worth and dignity, ... her market value,” he goes on to point out that the presence or absence of the hymen is no real test of virginity.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book Bygone Cumberland and Westmorland by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Eugene Field: A Study in Heredity and Contradictions (Complete) by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Minstrelsy of The Scottish border (3rd ed), v1 by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book The History of Painting in Italy, From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century (Complete) by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Number 70, Berlin: A Story of Britain's Peril by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book The Heatherford Fortune: A Sequel to the Magic Cameo by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Bones by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book The House of Whispers by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Army of The Cumberland and The Battle of Stone's River by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Doing and Daring: A New Zealand Story by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book Denounced: A Romance by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book A Treatise on Wood Engraving: Historical and Practical by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
Cover of the book John Caldigate by C. Brovan & L. Brovan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy