I am inclined to believe that the experiences of the foregoing group are fairly typical of the social class to which they belong.  I may, however, bring forward another series of 35 women, varying in age from 18 to 40 (with 2 exceptions all over 25), and in every respect comparable with the smaller group, but concerning whom my knowledge, though reliable, is usually less precise and detailed.  In this group 5 state that they have never experienced sexual emotion, these being all unmarried and leading strictly chaste lives; in 18 cases the sexual impulse may be described as strong, or is so considered by the subject herself; in 9 cases it is only moderate; in 3 it is very slight when evoked, and with difficulty evoked, in 1 of these only appearing two years after marriage, in another the exhaustion and worry of household cares being assigned for its comparative absence.  It is noteworthy that all the more highly intelligent, energetic women in the series appear in the group of those with strong sexual emotions, and also that severe mental and physical labor, even when cultivated for this purpose, has usually had little or no influence in relieving sexual emotion.

An American physician in the State of Connecticut sends me the following notes concerning a series of 13 married women, taken, as they occurred, in obstetric practice.  They are in every way respectable and moral women:—­

“Mrs. A. says that her husband does not give her sufficient sexual attention, as he fears they will have more children than he can properly care for.  Mrs. B. always enjoys intercourse; so does Mrs. C. Mrs. D. is easily excited and very fond of sexual attention.  Mrs. E. likes intercourse if her husband is careful not to hurt her.  Mrs. F. never had any sexual desire until after second marriage, but it is now very urgent at times.  Mrs. G. is not easily excited, but has never objected to her husband’s attention.  Mrs. H. would prefer to have her husband exhibit more attention.  Mrs. I. never refused her husband, but he does not trouble her much.  Mrs. J. thinks that three or four times a week is satisfactory, but would not object to nightly intercourse.  Mrs. K. does not think that her husband could give her more than she would like.  Mrs. L. would prefer to live with a woman if it were not for sexual intercourse.  Mrs. M., aged 40, says that her husband, aged 65, insists upon intercourse three times every night, and that he keeps her tired and disgusted.  She each time has at least one orgasm, and would not object to reasonable attention.”

It may be remarked that, while these results in English women of the middle class are in fair agreement with the German and Austrian observations I have quoted, they differ from Campbell’s results among women of the working class in London.  This discrepancy is, perhaps, not difficult to explain.  While the conditions of upper-class life may possibly be peculiarly favorable to the development of the sexual emotions, among the working classes in London, where the stress of the struggle for existence under bad hygienic conditions is so severe, they may be peculiarly unfavorable.  It is thus possible that there really are a smaller number of women experiencing sexual emotion among the class dealt with by Campbell than among the class to which my series belong.[168]