At any rate, however the genius of our descendants may shape matters on this head, one thing is certain: Woman--the race's mothers, wives, sisters, daughters--long sinned against through unnumbered generations--is about to be atoned to. All the moral and intellectual forces of the age are seen obviously converging to that point. It will be the crowning work of Militant Socialism, like a mightier Perseus, to strike the shackles from the chained Andromeda of modern society, Woman, and raise her to the dignity of her sex. DANIEL DE LEON. New York, June 21, 1903. INDEX TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE iii INTRODUCTION 1 WOMAN IN THE PAST-- Chapter I--Before Christianity 9 Chapter II--Under Christianity 47 WOMAN IN THE PRESENT-- Chapter I--Sexual Instinct, Wedlock, Checks and Obstructions to Marriage 79 Chapter II--Further Checks and Obstructions to Marriage, Numerical Proportion of the Sexes, Its Causes and Effects 118 Chapter III--Prostitution a Necessary Social Institution of the Capitalist World 146 Chapter IV--Woman's Position as a Breadwinner, Her Intellectual Faculties, Darwinism and the Condition of Society 167 Chapter V--Woman's Civic and Political Status 216 Chapter VI--The State and Society 235 Chapter VII--The Socialization of Society 272 WOMAN IN THE FUTURE 343 INTERNATIONALITY 350 POPULATION AND OVER-POPULATION 355 CONCLUSION 372 INTRODUCTION. We live in the age of a great social Revolution, that every day makes further progress. A growingly powerful intellectual stir and unrest is noticeable in all the layers of society; and the movement pushes towards deep-reaching changes. All feel that the ground they stand on shakes. A number of questions have risen; they occupy the attention of ever widening circles; and discussion runs high on their solution. One of the most important of these, one that pushes itself ever more to the fore, is the so-called "Woman Question."