matter of stature is complicated by the curious double preference of the male, which is so strik-ingly demonstrated by theatrical studies, and to which I shall make brief reference later.
The primitive reason which leads woman to prefer a large man has no correspondence in the necessities of the male. The male has not the need for protection at certain periods which the woman has. While the addition of a husky female to the savage’s fighting force would seem to be a prime advantage, the advantage is largely lost because at the precise times when the aggressive resources of the family are most fully needed, the woman is not in condition to exert her strength, without serious injury to herself. The physical strength of the woman is not to be counted on, and hence the stronger woman is not a greater asset to the family, and hence no more desirable.
It is true, there have been and still are, races in which the physical strength of the women has been counted on, especially for agricultural duties (e. g., the American Indians); and among them, possibly (I am not certain on this point), stature has been a mark of beauty. But where female strength is counted on, it is necessarily utilized at times when grave damage is done to the woman, and those races which have counted on it have gone down. The races which have early developed chivalry, as we may well desig-
