But the
hymen is a barrier to fertilization. It has, however, always to be
remembered that as we rise in the zooelogical scale, and as the period of
gestation lengthens and the possible number of offspring is fewer, it
becomes constantly more essential that fertilization shall be effective
rather than easy; the fewer the progeny the more necessary it is that they
shall be vigorous enough to survive. There can be little doubt that, as
one or two writers have already suggested, the hymen owes its development
to the fact that its influence is on the side of effective fertilization.
It is an obstacle to the impregnation of the young female by immature,
aged, or feeble males. The hymen is thus an anatomical expression of that
admiration of force which marks the female in her choice of a mate. So
regarded, it is an interesting example of the intimate manner in which
sexual selection is really based on natural selection. Sexual selection is
but the translation into psychic terms of a process which has already
found expression in the physical texture of the body.
It may be added that this interpretation of the biological
function of the hymen is supported by the facts of its evolution.
It is unknown among the lower mammals, with whom fertilization is
easy, gestation short and offspring numerous.
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