Part 43

We are indebted to Roubaud for a classical description of the phenomena of copulation, and this description is here appended. It runs as follows: “As soon as the penis enters the vaginal vestibule, it first of all pushes against the glans clitoridis, which yields and bends before it. After this preliminary stimulation of the two chief centres of sexual sensibility, the glans penis glides over the inner surfaces of the two vaginal bulbs; the collum and the body of the penis are then grasped between the projecting surfaces of the vaginal bulbs, but the glans penis itself, which has passed further onward, is now in contact with the fine and delicate surface of the vaginal mucous membrane, which membrane itself, owing to the presence of erectile tissue between its layers, is now in an elastic, resilient condition. This elasticity, which enables the vagina to adapt itself to the size of the penis, increases at once the turgescence and the sensibility of the clitoris, inasmuch as the blood that is driven out of the vessels of the vaginal wall passes thence to those of the vaginal bulbs and the clitoris. On the other hand, the turgescence and the sensitiveness of the glans penis itself are heightened by compression of that organ, in consequence of the ever increasing fulness of the vessels of the vaginal mucous membrane and the two vaginal bulbs.

“At the same time the clitoris is pressed downward by the anterior portion of the compressor muscle, so that it is brought into contact with the dorsal surface of the glans and of the body of the penis; in this way a reciprocal friction between these two organs takes place, repeated at each copulatory movement made by the two parties to the action, until at length the voluptuous sensation rises to its highest intensity and culminates in the sexual orgasm, marked in the male by the ejaculation of the seminal fluid, and in the female by the aspiration of that fluid into the gaping external orifice of the cervical canal; so true, indeed, is this, that it is a difficult matter to give a picture at once accurate and complete of the phenomena attending the normal act of copulation. Whilst in one individual the sense of sexual pleasure amounts to no more than a barely perceptible titillation, in another that sense reaches the acme of both mental and physical exaltation.

“Between these two extremes we meet with innumerable states of transition. In cases of intense exaltation, various pathological symptoms make themselves manifest, such as quickening of the general circulation, and violent pulsation of the arteries; the venous blood, being retained in the larger vessels by general muscular contractions, leads to an increased warmth of the body; and further, this venous stagnation, which is still more marked in the brain in consequence of the contraction of the cervical muscles and the backward flexion of the neck, may cause cerebral congestion, during which the consciousness and all mental manifestations are momentarily in abeyance. The eyes, reddened by injection of the conjunctiva, become fixed, and the expression becomes vacant; lids close conclusively, to exclude the light. In some, the breathing becomes panting and labouring; but in others, it is temporarily suspended, in consequence of laryngeal spasm, and the air, after being pent up for a time in the lungs, is finally forcibly expelled, and they utter incoherent and incomprehensible words.”

The impulses proceeding from the congested nerve-centres are confused. There is an indescribable disorder both of motion and of sensation, the extremities are affected with convulsive twitchings, and may be either moved in various directions or extended straight and stiff; the jaws are pressed together so that the teeth grind against each other; and certain individuals are affected by erotic delirium to such as an extent that they will seize the unguarded shoulder, for instance, of their partner in the sexual act, and bite it till the blood flows.

A period of exhaustion follows, which is the more intense in proportion to the intensity of the preceding excitement. The sudden fatigue, the general sense of weakness, and the inclination to sleep, which habitually affect the male after the act of intercourse, are in part to be ascribed to the loss of semen; for in the female, however energetic the part she may have played in the sexual act, a mere transient fatigue is observed, much less in degree than that which affects the male, and permitting far sooner of a repetition of the act. “Triste est omne animal post coitum, praeter mulierem gallumque,” wrote Galen, and the axiom is essentially true, at any rate so far as the human species is concerned.

The question has been mooted, and many earnest inquirers have devoted much thought thereto, whether in this moment of most intense sexual gratification it is the male or the female that experiences the greatest amount of pleasure. As in the case of all questions the data for the solution of which are at once very various and very variable, so in this case also, very different opinions have been put forward. “In fact,” writes Roubaud, “when we take into consideration all the circumstances by which the intensity of sexual sensation is influenced, it may well be doubted if it is at all possible to find an a priori solution for the problem. When we take into consideration the influence exercised by temperament, constitution, and a large number of conditions both general and special, on sexual sensibility, we cannot fail to be convinced that this problem, in consequence of all the complicated characteristics it presents, is actually insoluble.”

In regard to the pleasure experienced in the act of intercourse, a remarkable distinction is drawn by Gutceit. The male, in every case and with every woman, experiences the full degree of pleasure; and even though from the mental point of view this pleasure may be enhanced by inclination, attraction, and mutual love, from the physical point of view there is no difference between different acts of intercourse, so that the cynical old Roman was right when he wrote. “Sublata lucerna nullum discrimen inter foeminas.” But in the case of the female it is very different. Her first experience of sexual relations is a very painful one, and this pain prevents all enjoyment as long as it continues, as it does in many women for one, two, or even four weeks. And when this period is once over, not more than two women in every ten experience the pleasure of sexual intercourse in its full intensity. Of the remaining eight, four have indeed an agreeable sensation during the rubbing movements of the sexual act, but it is a long time before they experience a sensation analogous in its intensity to that which in man accompanies the act of ejaculation. In some women it may be six months after marriage before the true sexual orgasm is experienced, in others it may be a year, or even several years; in a considerable number this does not happen until after they have given birth to several children. As a result of numerous observations on this point, Gutceit asserts that in women sexual pleasure is experienced only in intercourse with a man who is beloved, or against whom, at least, no repulsion is felt; and that no pleasure is felt by a woman in intercourse with a man towards whom she feels an actual dislike. Further, he maintains, that a woman, loving another man, and feeling pleasure in intercourse with him, has on the other hand no voluptuous sensations during intercourse with her husband, whose embraces she permits only from a sense of duty. Thus in the male, intercourse is always pleasurable, while in the female, pleasure is experienced only when certain conditions are fulfilled.

Contact with the male genital organs stimulates in the female the sensory nerves of the vulva, the vestibule, and the vagina; the nervous stimulus is transmitted to the cerebral cortex, where it gives rise to the sensation of sexual pleasure, and causes, through the intermediation of the genito-spinal centre, a number of reflex actions. As sensory nerve terminals of such reflex arcs, the final ramifications of the pudic branch of the sciatic plexus play the most important part; in the clitoris these nerves are beset with a peculiar kind of end-bulbs, the genital corpuscles discovered by W. Krause; from their structure these corpuscles seem admirably adapted to respond to the very slightest stimulation, producing voluptuous sensations and perceptions, and giving rise to various reflex manifestations. The first part of the path of the afferent impulses by which sexual pleasure is aroused is constituted by the dorsal nerves of the clitoris. The reflex changes consequent upon sexual excitement begin already in the vestibule, inasmuch as the secretion of Bartholin’s glands, which are compressed by the action of the constrictor cunni muscle, is expelled during coitus, the secretion, owing to the situation of the orifices of Bartholin’s ducts, passing over the external genitals. The clitoris becomes erect; the blood in the bulbs of the vestibule, the venous plexus situated around the margin of the vestibule along the boundary between the labia majora and the labia minora, is pressed into the glans clitoridis, the erection and sensibility of this structure being proportionately heightened. By the action of the constrictor cunni and ischiocavernosus muscles, the clitoris, the distal extremity of which is bent downwards at a right angle, is drawn down and pressed against the penis.

At the entrance of the vagina is the sphincter vaginæ muscle, whose action is reinforced by muscular fibres running in the middle coat of the vagina itself. It is probable that the muscular activity of the vagina and the uterus facilitates the entrance of the semen into the cavity of the uterus.

Dorsal decubitus is rightly regarded as the most correct position, physiologically speaking, for the woman to assume during coitus. That from the earliest times and in the most diverse races, this position has been customary, is shown by numerous antique paintings and statues, and by the reports of those who have studied the customs of savage races. Various other positions are, however, occasionally assumed; thus, Ploss and Bartels report, that among the Soudanese, coitus is practiced in the erect posture, with the man standing behind the woman; that among the Inuits (Eskimo), the act is performed in the manner usual among quadrupeds; that among the Swahelis in Zanzibar, and among the indigens of Kamschatka, the lateral posture is customary; and that among the Australian blacks, coitus is usually effected in the crouching posture, both parties squatting on their hams. The same writers remind us, that in the old calendars of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, definite commands and prohibitions for the conduct of marital intercourse are to be found, and that lucky and unlucky days, respectively, are specified for the performance of the act. These recommendations would appear to be relics of antiquity, for in the Sanscrit work Kokkogam, under the heading “Sexual Intercourse According to the Days of the Month,” exact instructions are given for the proper performance of coitus.

In the Kamasutra (the Indian ars amatoria, a work only in recent days rendered accessible to European readers in the translation of R. Schmidt), several chapters are devoted to the detailed description of the various methods of copulation, and rules are given for the carnal union of man and wife. But, as the Indian author justly remarks, “Rules are of value only for the control of moderate desire; when the wheel of passion has once begun to roll, to prescribe a course is no longer of any avail.” In this work, sixty-four varieties of erotic enjoyment are enumerated, and we find an explicatio coitus secundum mensuram, tempus, naturam, de modis inter coitum procumbendi, de minis coitibus, de coitu inverso, de viri inter coitum consuetudinibus.

At times, in order that coitus may be effective, some other position than the natural one is indispensable. Such a necessity has been recognized even by theologians, by whom any divergence from nature in this matter has usually been regarded as sinful. For instance, in the work of Craisson, De Rebus Venereis ad Usum Confessariorum, we read: “Situs naturalis est ut mulier sit succuba et vir incubus, hic enim modus aptior est effusionis seminis virilis et receptioni in vas femineum ad prolem procreandum. Unde si coitus aliter fiat, nempe sedendo, stando, de latere, vel praepostere (more pecudum), vel si vir sit succubus et mulier incuba, innaturalis est.... Sed tamen minime peccant conjuges si ex justa causa situm mutent, nempe ob aegritudinem, vel viri pinquetudinem, vel ob periculum abortus; quandoque ait St. Thomas, sine peccato esse potest quando dispositio corporis alium modum non patitur.”

In certain pathological states, as for the prevention of sterility, an abnormal posture during coitus may advantageously be recommended, in order to favour the entrance of the semen into the cervical canal, and to allow the semen to stay longer in the vagina before it flows out. An old and often efficacious means for this purpose is the performance of coitus with the woman in the knee-elbow posture. In order to favour the entrance of the semen into the deeper portion of the genital tract, Hegar and Kaltenbach recommend that after coitus the woman should remain for some time in the knee-elbow posture, while the man from time to time gently presses up the anterior abdominal wall, and then abruptly relaxes the pressure.—In the Talmud, coitus was regarded as unfruitful if performed when the woman was in the erect posture.

Casper reports the case of a woman with severe scoliosis, who had long remained sterile, and who only conceived (and was subsequently happily delivered) after performing coitus in the abdominal decubitus.

Guéneau de Mussy suggests the following, very characteristic, method of ensuring fertilization, one which also certainly dates from great antiquity: “Sed haud illicitum mihi visum est, si post diversa tentamina diutius uxor infecunda manserit, ipsum maritum digitum post coitum in vaginam immittere, et ita receptum semen uteri osteo admovere. Et cum ostiolo uteri haeret, ut in pervium canalem spermatozoidum motibus faventibus, prodeat, sperare non absurdum.” Eustache reports a case, the wife of a physician, in which this manoeuvre was effective in ensuring conception.

A similar procedure has been employed with success by Kehrer, in a case of enfeebled potency on the part of the male, leading to premature ejaculation. A speculum was introduced into the vagina, and through this instrument the semen, ejaculated in consequence of sexual excitement, was introduced into the vaginal fornix; conception ensued. In an analogous manner, A. Peyer recommended, in a case of partial impotence, in which special manipulations were needed to bring about ejaculation, that conception should be favoured in the following manner: Erection having been effected by ordinary sexual contact, the manipulations needed to produce ejaculation were carried out, and the penis was intromitted into the vagina the moment before ejaculation occurred. This has been done with fruitful results. Englisch reports the case of a hypospadiac who, in order to render coitus effective, used a condom in the anterior extremity of which he made an aperture. In this way he became the father of three children.

In very obese men with extremely protuberant abdomens, we may recommend for the furtherance of conception that they should have intercourse with their wives a parte posteriori; and the same recommendation may be made in cases in which the wife herself is extremely obese. In Australia, it is said that among the indigens, coitus is usually practiced a posteriori; and there is a saying in the Talmud to the effect that sexual intercourse performed in the ordinary manner does not lead to the conception of infants so good, wise, talented, and promising as those whose conception is the result of coitus a posteriori. Mohammed, on the other hand, declares, “Your wives are your tillage, go therefore unto it in whatsoever manner ye will.”

In cases of retroflexion of the uterus, with a markedly forward direction of the vaginal portion of the cervix, I have recommended to the husband that he should perform coitus with his wife in the upright sitting posture. In this posture the fundus uteri passes downwards and forwards, whilst the vaginal portion of the cervix passes upwards and backwards.

In cases of retroversion of the uterus with the formation of a cul-de-sac in the posterior vaginal fornix, Pajot recommends, with the aim of temporarily restoring the uterus to a position in which the occurrence of conception is favored, that for three or four days prior to coitus the patient should retain the fæces, eating the while freely of eggs and rice, and taking a small opium pill every evening; in cases of anteversion, the patient should retain her urine for a considerable time—five or six hours—before coitus; and in cases of lateral version he recommends that the patient should have intercourse while lying on that side towards which the vaginal portion of the cervix is directed.

Edis recommends that in cases in which there is sterility dependent upon backward displacements of the uterus, that the organ should be replaced while the patient is in the genu-pectoral posture, and a pessary inserted; coitus should then be effected without the patient’s changing her posture.

In the human species as compared with the lower animals, there has been a notable diminution in the frequency of the separate acts of intercourse, a diminution dependent upon the higher vital aims of the former. Burdach formulates as a physiological law that the frequency of sexual intercourse is inversely related to the duration of the act.

Amongst all civilized races, sexual intercourse ceases during menstruation, since in the normal man there is aversion to intercourse with a menstruating female.

By the Mosaic law, intercourse with a woman during menstruation and for seven days after the cessation of the flow, was forbidden under pain of death. The Talmud further ordains that a purifying bath shall be taken by the woman a week after menstruation. By intercourse itself, moreover, both man and woman were rendered unclean to the evening; and, according to the Mosaic law, both must bathe after the act of coitus. In the Koran, also, intercourse is forbidden during menstruation, and until the woman has been purified with water. The law’s of Islam demand from a man who marries a virgin that he shall have intercourse with her the first seven nights in succession; whilst he who marries a wife no longer virgin, needs to visit her only the first three nights in succession. Subsequently, during married life, the Mohammedan shall have intercourse with his wife regularly once a week. Amongst many savage races, intercourse is forbidden with a woman during pregnancy, the puerperium, and lactation.

The first act of intercourse is difficult and painful to the virgin. At times the rupture of the hymen is exceedingly difficult. Even after this, it is some time before genuine pleasure is experienced in sexual intercourse.

To the female, intercourse is harmful when performed with undue frequency, or during menstruation, or indiscriminately throughout pregnancy, or during the puerperium, or incompletely or in an unnatural manner, or finally when performed in an unsuitable bodily attitude.

“Unduly frequent performance of the act of coitus,” writes Hegar, “which is liable to occur either in marital or in illicit intercourse, gives rise to anæmia, defective nutrition, muscular weakness, intellectual and nervous exhaustion. Young and healthy individuals recuperate rapidly after excesses of brief duration, as is often seen in young married pairs. Sickly and elderly persons, on the other hand, are much more severely affected by sexual excess, and recover therefrom but slowly if at all. Long continued sexual excesses ultimately wear out even the strongest.”

Intercourse effected by force, or with a girl of immature age, is distinguished as rape, a punishable offence both in Germany and in Austria. The offence is defined as extra-marital intercourse with a female under the age of fourteen years, with or without the latter’s consent; or extra-marital intercourse with a female of any age against her will or deprived of the power of resistance—either by the use of actual force, by the employment of threats, or by loss of consciousness. With regard to the last specification, the law regards as rape intercourse with a woman unable to resist through loss of consciousness, whether that loss of consciousness is or is not produced by the direct action of the violator.

In the female, the act of intercourse, alike physically, in its natural consequences, and mentally, is at once more difficult and of more enduring results than in the male. A writer of the new school, who according to his own admission has no other interest than the study of the sexual life, writes of himself: “I have often enough had intercourse with members of the other sex, in a few cases, indeed, out of pure inclination; but in all cases alike the aim and the result were the same—as soon as I had gained my end, the affair was finished. Passion, a bestial act, exhaustion, commonly a feeling of loathing; in the best possible case a fugitive but not an agreeable memory; voilà tout.” To women, such a description, happily, is applicable only in the most exceptional cases.