The Position of Woman in Primitive Society: A Study of the Matriarchy — Reading Notes

Bachofen's Theory as a Starting Point

Hartley devotes an entire chapter to expounding Johann Jakob Bachofen's theory of the matriarchate, treating it as a foundational framework. She summarizes his argument that primitive society passed through a stage of mother-right before patriarchy, linking it to religious worship of goddesses. However, she does not accept Bachofen uncritically. In Chapter III, she attempts to 'reconcile mother-right with the patriarchal theory,' acknowledging objections and seeking a synthesis. This dialectical approach—presenting a thesis, then complications—shapes the book's argumentative rhythm. Hartley's language when discussing Bachofen is respectful but not deferential; she refers to 'what was said by Bachofen' and uses his insights as a springboard rather than a final authority.

Courtship Customs and Female Agency

A striking section examines courtship among the Tarahumari of Northern Mexico and in New Guinea. Hartley cites Lumboltz on Tarahumari maidens as 'persistent wooers' employing 'love songs,' and notes that in New Guinea 'the girl is always regarded as the seducer.' She uses these examples to challenge 'the long-held belief in the passivity of the female as a natural law of the sex.' Her argument is precise: such openness 'is impossible except where women hold an entirely independent position.' The evidence is drawn from specific ethnographic reports, and Hartley frames it as a corrective to assumptions about universal female behavior. She does not generalize beyond the cases presented, but her tone is confident, even triumphant, as she claims this demonstrates 'the woman's right of selection in love.'

The Maternal Clan as Social Organism

Hartley's analysis of the Pelew Islanders, based on Kubary's observations, emphasizes the clan's dependence on women. She quotes Kubary at length: 'The existence of the clan depends entirely on the life of the women, and not at all on the life of the men.' This passage illustrates her method of letting ethnographic sources speak directly. She connects this social structure to religious beliefs, noting that 'goddesses are older than the gods' and that some women are considered 'wives of the gods.' The link between maternal descent and divinity is a recurring theme, drawn from Bachofen's idea that 'wherever gynæcocracy meets us the mystery of religion is bound up with it.' Hartley uses these details to argue that matriarchy was not merely a domestic arrangement but a comprehensive system.

Transition to Father-Right and Survivals

Later chapters trace how mother-right customs gave way to father-right, and how traces persist in folklore, heroic legends, and fairy stories. Hartley examines 'traces of mother-right customs in ancient and modern civilisation,' suggesting that remnants of matriarchal thinking survive in cultural narratives. Her evidence includes legal customs, inheritance patterns, and mythological motifs. She is careful to note that these are survivals, not proof of a continuous matriarchal age. The tone here is more speculative, as she acknowledges the difficulty of interpreting fragmentary evidence. Nonetheless, she insists that these traces 'show the error' of assuming patriarchy is natural or universal. The chapter on folklore is particularly inventive, reading fairy tales as encoded memories of maternal power.

Hartley's study is best approached as a work of its time—1914—that blends advocacy with anthropology. Readers should note her reliance on secondary sources like Bachofen and Kubary, and her tendency to extrapolate from limited cases. The book's value lies less in its conclusions than in its method: a sustained argument for re-examining women's historical agency through the lens of kinship and religion. For those interested in early feminist scholarship or the history of anthropology, it offers a vivid example of how evolutionary theory was used to challenge Victorian gender norms.

That rainy afternoon, The Position of Woman in Primitive Society made me wonder how easily we mistake inherited customs for timeless truths. Closing it, I glanced at another old volume on the shelf, one about the Kallikak family, and felt the same quiet unease—how casually we assign fate to bloodlines. The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness — Themes and Context lingers now, much like the rain did.