Page:The rights of women and the sexual relations.djvu/96

80 the boundary of virginity, as well as that feminine reserve which strives to hide or to guard her charms. This "shame" is either a natural consequence of an emotional affection upon entering a new life, or it is the expression of an unconscious policy in love that is chary with its charms in order not to depreciate or to profane them. Or it may also be the unconscious expression of a feeling which tells a woman that nature has not given her the initiative of love. Finally, it may be the expression of modesty which fears that she cannot come up to the high expectations which the enthusiastic man has of the charms of his beloved.

This "shame," which has nothing to do with the consciousness or the fear of seeing something improper disclosed, is an ornament to every woman, and its absence is a proof of dulness and coarseness.