Van Evrie praised the "blush of maiden modesty" found in the white woman, and asked "Can anyone suppose such a thing possible to a black face?" He also specifically argued that black women were naturally promiscuous and unscrupulous with regard to sex and relationships, and commented on black people's familial relations. Black mothers, Van Evrie claimed, tended to leave their children at a younger age than white mothers, and, unlike white mothers, were unable to kill their children in order to save them from imminent disasters, because the black woman's "maternal instincts are more imperative, more closely approximate to the animal". He also claimed that black mothers were liable to become indifferent to their children by the age of 15, and no longer recognize them by age 40.
