The Single Woman by Robert Latou Dickinson; Lura Beam

The Single Woman

A Medical Study in Sex Education

Robert Latou Dickinson; Lura Beam

The most important general point about the book to this reviewer is the nature of the source material, which was originally gathered as a means of helping the individual patient, with no idea of developing a theory or establishing a thesis. It has, therefore, the validity of life stuff. Historically considered, the book constitutes the fullest revelation of the gynecologist that has yet been made. It shows the relation of social mores to the general health of the woman and one wonders, for example, what would have been left for the gynecologist of those days if woman had had a sound grasp of the facts of her own life? It is important that nothing was established to indicate a specific relationship between any type of pelvic disorder and any psychological state. This was true not only from the point of view of the observer but also in the woman’s own mind. Even menstrual difficulties apparently did not have an important relation in the patient’s view to her own general condition.

On the other hand, the association between the gastro-intestinal and the nervous systems was quite marked. In view of the present trends of health education and general therapy, it is significant that almost no case was found in which occupation was not prescribed. This was as constant a factor as pulse taking. The preface, the introduction, the whole of Part I, on health, and Part IV, on interpretation, would probably be the ones of most interest to the nurse. Chapter 4, on therapy, corresponds to Chapter 1 on the sources in A Thousand Marriages in developing the presentation of the doctor and his methods. The nurse will also be interested in Chapter 14, entitled ‘Work.’ Attention might be called to the form of the book. At the head of each chapter there is an abstract of the contents, rather than the conventional list of topics by headings.

The summary chapter, restates the con- tents of the whole book, but not in the form of a mechanical recapitulation. It is perhaps also significant that this book has not ‘taken’ to any- thing like the degree of the Thousand Marriages, although the subject matter and treatment are more novel and it was confidently expected to become a ‘best seller’ (relatively). ~ The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 35, No. 7 (Jul., 1935)

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Details

Genre	LGBT Studies/Social Sciences
Copyright Date	1934
Publication Date	1956
Publisher	Williams & Wilkins Company
Format	Hardcover
No. of Pages	469
Language	English
Rating	NotRated
Subject	Sex (Psychology)
BookID	11917