Manipulation by Means of Self-Abasement
A CRITICAL MAN might well say that women have no self-respect. If they had, they would never admit the incredible extent of their ignorance as happily as they do. How easily man forgets that his own standards of honor, pride, and dignity are all instilled in him by women and that the very masculinity of which he is so proud is but a sign of successful manipulation! No credit goes to him at all. Any psychology textbook will tell us that a child's ability to achieve something is best enhanced by giving that child self-confidence. This, however, is not something he can acquire by himself. He is born into a society on which he is dependent for everything, a society in which his own powers are insufficient to get what he wants unaided. So, as a woman's first interest lies in creating an adult capable not only of providing for himself, but for others as well, it is of utmost importance to instill self-confidence in this youth. She starts by minimizing the dangers of life – insofar as she herself is aware of them. She closes his eyes to the possibility of death, or promises him eternal life as a reward for being good – good, that is, by her standards. She tries as hard as she can to give him a sense of imbecile optimism that will best prepare him for her manipulation – and for life in general. As we have already seen, praise is one of the best ways of inducing self-confidence – and of enhancing productivity. There is another method which is as effective: self-abasement on the part of a woman. If a woman were not superior to her child, at least in the early stages of his development, the human race would cease to exist. A good mother will take the greatest care, however, never to let this fact impede her child's development. She does not want to turn the tables on herself and keep the boy tied to her apron strings for longer than necessary. As soon as possible she will try to give a male child a sense of superiority toward herself – a kind of advance against achievements to come. This gives him his first experience of confidence. She may even go one step further and deliberately pretend to be less intelligent than she is, giving him a head start he will never lose. This, of course, is providing he grows up to be a proper man – and she will take care of that. As the value of woman in society is not measured by intelligence but by completely different standards (in fact, there are no standards: man needs 33