Havelock Ellis undertakes a comprehensive investigation into the psychology of sex, beginning with the evolutionary and social origins of modesty. He deconstructs modesty into an agglomeration of fears, separating it from mere clothing and rooting it in animal behaviors, the fear of causing disgust, and the deep-seated taboos of ceremonial uncleanness. The analysis then shifts to the physiological rhythms of sex, tracing the universal phenomena of sexual periodicity in animals and humans. Ellis examines the biological nature of menstruation, its close analogy to animal heat, and its accompanying psychological fluctuations, including the heightening of sexual desire.
Furthermore, he explores the controversial question of a corresponding monthly physiological cycle in men, analyzing nocturnal emissions and nervous periodicities. The work further investigates auto-erotic phenomena, moving beyond the narrow confines of masturbation to examine the broader spontaneous manifestations of the sexual impulse, including dreams and hysteria. Throughout the text, Ellis confronts the massive weight of social tradition and prudery, arguing that these phenomena must be approached with scientific sincerity and freedom from ascetic prejudice. He concludes that true modesty is not a rigid social law, but a vital grace and the necessary foundation for all the subtle audacities of love.
