Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/435

Rh stationary life and practice agriculture. Indeed, the general theory that women are more oppressed in proportion as they are less useful is open to doubt. Commonly they are said to be oppressed by their savage husbands just by being compelled to work too hard; and that work does not necessarily give authority is obvious from the institution of slavery. But, at the same time, the notion, prevalent in early civilization, that the one sex must not in any way interfere with the pursuits of the other sex, may certainly, especially when applied to an occupation of such importance as agriculture, increase the influence of those who are engaged in it. Considering, further, that the cultivated soil is not infrequently regarded as the property of the women who till it, it is probable that, in certain cases at least, the agricultural habits of a people have had a favorable effect upon the general condition of the female sex.

It is often said that a people's civilization may be measured by the position held by its women. But at least so far as the earlier stages of culture are concerned, this opinion is not supported by facts. Among several of the lower races, including peoples like the Veddahs of Ceylon, the Andaman Islanders, and others of a very backward type, the females are treated with far greater consideration than among many of the higher savages or barbarians. Travelers have often noticed that of two neighboring tribes the less cultured one sets an example in this respect to the other. "Among the Bushmans," says Dr. Fritsch, "the women are life-companions; among the Kaffirs they are beasts of burden." Lewis and Clark even affirm that the status of women in a savage tribe has no necessary relation to its moral qualities in general:

That the condition of women, or their relative independence, is no safe gauge of the general culture of a nation also appears from a comparison between many of the lower races and peoples of a higher civilization, like the Chinese, Hindus, Hebrews, and