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Arthur Conan Doyle - "Tales of Terror and Mystery"

Kate Douglas Wiggin - "The Flag Raising"

Henry van Dyke - "The Ruling Passion "

Edward Gibbon - "The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"

The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals

C >> Charles Darwin >> The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals






[9] Lieber, `On the Vocal Sounds of Laura Bridgman,'
Smithsonian Contributions, 1851, vol. ii. p. 7.

[10] `Wenderholme,' vol. ii. p. 91.

According to three other observers, the Australians often evince
astonishment by a clucking noise. Europeans also sometimes express
gentle surprise by a little clicking noise of nearly the same kind.
We have seen that when we are startled, the mouth is suddenly opened;
and if the tongue happens to be then pressed closely against the palate,
its sudden withdrawal will produce a sound of this kind, which might
thus come to express surprise.

Turning to gestures of the body. A surprised person often raises
his opened hands high above his head, or by bending his arms
only to the level of his face. The flat palms are directed
towards the person who causes this feeling, and the straightened
fingers are separated. This gesture is represented by
Mr. Rejlander in Plate VII. fig. 1. In the `Last Supper,'
by Leonardo da Vinci, two of the Apostles have their hands
half uplifted, clearly expressive of their astonishment.
A trustworthy observer told me that he had lately met his wife
under most unexpected circumstances: "She started, opened her mouth
and eyes very widely, and threw up both her arms above her head."
Several years ago I was surprised by seeing several of my young
children earnestly doing something together on the ground;
but the distance was too great for me to ask what they were about.
Therefore I threw up my open hands with extended fingers above my head;
and as soon as I had done this, I became conscious of the action.
I then waited, without saying a word, to see if my children
had understood this gesture; and as they came running to me
they cried out, "We saw that you were astonished at us."
I do not know whether this gesture is common to the various
races of man, as I neglected to make inquiries on this head.
That it is innate or natural may be inferred from the fact
that Laura Bridgman, when amazed, "spreads her arms and turns
her hands with extended fingers upwards;"[11] nor is it likely,
considering that the feeling of surprise is generally a brief one,
that she should have learnt this gesture through her keen
sense of touch.

Huschke describes[12] a somewhat different yet allied gesture, which he says
is exhibited by persons when astonished. They hold themselves erect,
with the features as before described, but with the straightened arms
extended backwards--the stretched fingers being separated from each other.
I have never myself seen this gesture; but Huschke is probably correct;
for a friend asked another man how he would express great astonishment,
and he at once threw himself into this attitude.

These gestures are, I believe, explicable on the principle of antithesis.
We have seen that an indignant man holds his head erect, squares his
shoulders, turns out his elbows, often clenches his fist, frowns, and closes
his mouth; whilst the attitude of a helpless man is in every one of
these details the reverse. Now, a man in an ordinary frame of mind,
doing nothing and thinking of nothing in particular, usually keeps his
two arms suspended laxly by his sides, with his hands somewhat flexed,
and the fingers near together. Therefore, to raise the arms suddenly,
either the whole arms or the fore-arms, to open the palms flat,
and to separate the fingers,--or, again, to straighten the arms,
extending them backwards with separated fingers,--are movements in complete
antithesis to those preserved under an indifferent frame of mind,
and they are, in consequence, unconsciously assumed by an astonished man.
There is, also, often a desire to display surprise in a conspicuous
manner, and the above attitudes are well fitted for this purpose.
It may be asked why should surprise, and only a few other states
of the mind, be exhibited by movements in antithesis to others.
But this principle will not be brought into play in the case
of those emotions, such as terror, great joy, suffering, or rage,
which naturally lead to certain lines of action and produce certain
effects on the body, for the whole system is thus preoccupied;
and these emotions are already thus expressed with the greatest plainness.


[11] Lieber, `On the Vocal Sounds,' &c., ibid. p. 7.

[12] Huschke, `Mimices et Physiognomices,' 1821, p. 18. Gratiolet (De
la Phys. p. 255) gives a figure of a man in this attitude, which,
however, seems to me expressive of fear combined with astonishment.
Le Brun also refers (Lavater, vol. ix. p. 299) to the hands of an
astonished man being opened.

There is another little gesture, expressive of astonishment
of which I can offer no explanation; namely, the hand being placed
over the mouth or on some part of the head. This has been observed
with so many races of man, that it must have some natural origin.
A wild Australian was taken into a large room full of official papers,
which surprised him greatly, and he cried out, _cluck, cluck, cluck_,
putting the back of his hand towards his lips. Mrs. Barber says
that the Kafirs and Fingoes express astonishment by a serious look
and by placing the right hand upon the mouth, Littering the word _mawo_,
which means `wonderful.' The Bushmen are said[13] to put their
right hands to their necks, bending their heads backwards.
Mr. Winwood Reade has observed that the negroes on the West Coast
of Africa, when surprised, clap their hands to their mouths,
saying at the same time, "My mouth cleaves to me," i. e. to my hands;
and he has heard that this is their usual gesture on such occasions.
Captain Speedy informs me that the Abyssinians place their right hand
to the forehead, with the palm outside. Lastly, Mr. Washington Matthews
states that the conventional sign of astonishment with the wild
tribes of the western parts of the United States "is made by placing
the half-closed hand over the mouth; in doing this, the head is often
bent forwards, and words or low groans are sometimes uttered."
Catlin[14] makes the same remark about the hand being pressed over
the mouth by the Mandans and other Indian tribes.


[13] Huschke, ibid. p. 18.


_Admiration_.--Little need be said on this head. Admiration apparently
consists of surprise associated with some pleasure and a sense of approval.
When vividly felt, the eyes are opened and the eyebrows raised; the eyes
become bright, instead of remaining blank, as under simple astonishment;
and the mouth, instead of gaping open, expands into a smile.


_Fear, Terror_.--The word `fear' seems to be derived from what is
sudden and dangerous;[15] and that of terror from the trembling
of the vocal organs and body. I use the word `terror' for
extreme fear; but some writers think it ought to be confined
to cases in which the imagination is more particularly concerned.
Fear is often preceded by astonishment, and is so far akin to it,
that both lead to the senses of sight and hearing being instantly aroused.
In both cases the eyes and mouth are widely opened, and the eyebrows raised.
The frightened man at first stands like a statue motionless and breathless,
or crouches down as if instinctively to escape observation.


[14] `North American Indians,' 3rd edit. 1842, vol. i. p. 105.

[15] H. Wedgwood, Dict. of English Etymology, vol. ii. 1862, p.
35. See, also, Gratiolet (`De la Physionomie,' p. 135) on the sources
of such words as `terror, horror, rigidus, frigidus,' &c.

The heart beats quickly and violently, so that it palpitates
or knocks against the ribs; but it is very doubtful whether it
then works more efficiently than usual, so as to send a greater
supply of blood to all parts of the body; for the skin instantly
becomes pale, as during incipient faintness. This paleness of
the surface, however, is probably in large part, or exclusively,
due to the vasomotor centre being affected in such a manner
as to cause the contraction of the small arteries of the skin.
That the skin is much affected under the sense of great fear,
we see in the marvellous and inexplicable manner in which
perspiration immediately exudes from it. This exudation
is all the more remarkable, as the surface is then cold,
and hence the term a cold sweat; whereas, the sudorific glands
are properly excited into action when the surface is heated.
The hairs also on the skin stand erect; and the superficial
muscles shiver. In connection with the disturbed action of the heart,
the breathing is hurried. The salivary glands act imperfectly;
the mouth becomes dry,[16] and is often opened and shut.
I have also noticed that under slight fear there is a strong
tendency to yawn. One of the best-marked symptoms is the trembling
of all the muscles of the body; and this is often first seen
in the lips. From this cause, and from the dryness of the mouth,
the voice becomes husky or indistinct, or may altogether fail.
"Obstupui, steteruntque comae, et vox faucibus haesit."


[16] Mr. Bain (`The Emotions and the Will,' 1865, p. 54) explains in
the following manner the origin of the custom "of subjecting criminals
in India to the ordeal of the morsel of rice. The accused is made
to take a mouthful of rice, and after a little time to throw it out.
If the morsel is quite dry, the party is believed to be guilty,--
his own evil conscience operating to paralyse the salivating organs."

Of vague fear there is a well-known and grand description in Job:--"In
thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof:
an image was before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice,
saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more
pure than his Maker?" (Job iv. 13)

As fear increases into an agony of terror, we behold,
as under all violent emotions, diversified results.
The heart beats wildly, or may fail to act and faintness ensue;
there is a death-like pallor; the breathing is laboured;
the wings of the nostrils are wildly dilated; "there is a gasping
and convulsive motion of the lips, a tremor on the hollow cheek,
a gulping and catching of the throat;"[17] the uncovered
and protruding eyeballs are fixed on the object of terror;
or they may roll restlessly from side to side, _huc illuc
volvens oculos totumque pererrat_.[18] The pupils are said to be
enormously dilated. All the muscles of the body may become rigid,
or may be thrown into convulsive movements. The hands are
alternately clenched and opened, often with a twitching movement.
The arms may be protruded, as if to avert some dreadful danger,
or may be thrown wildly over the head. The Rev. Mr. Hagenauer has
seen this latter action in a terrified Australian. In other cases
there is a sudden and uncontrollable tendency to headlong flight;
and so strong is this, that the boldest soldiers may be seized
with a sudden panic.


[17] Sir C. Bell, Transactions of Royal Phil. Soc. 1822, p. 308.
`Anatomy of Expression,' p. 88 and pp. 164-469.

[18] See Moreau on the rolling of the eyes, in the edit. of 1820 of Lavater,
tome iv. p. 263. Also, Gratiolet, De la Phys. p. 17.

As fear rises to an extreme pitch, the dreadful scream of terror is heard.
Great beads of sweat stand on the skin. All the muscles of the body
are relaxed. Utter prostration soon follows, and the mental powers fail.
The intestines are affected. The sphincter muscles cease to act,
and no longer retain the contents of the body.

Dr. J. Crichton Browne has given me so striking an account
of intense fear in an insane woman, aged thirty-five, that
the description though painful ought not to be omitted.
When a paroxysm seizes her, she screams out, "This is hell!"
"There is a black woman!" "I can't get out!"--and other
such exclamations. When thus screaming, her movements are
those of alternate tension and tremor. For one instant she
clenches her hands, holds her arms out before her in a stiff
semi-flexed position; then suddenly bends her body forwards,
sways rapidly to and fro, draws her fingers through her hair,
clutches at her neck, and tries to tear off her clothes.
The sterno-cleido-mastoid muscles (which serve to bend the head
on the chest) stand out prominently, as if swollen, and the skin
in front of them is much wrinkled. Her hair, which is cut
short at the back of her head, and is smooth when she is calm,
now stands on end; that in front being dishevelled by the movements
of her hands. The countenance expresses great mental agony.
The skin is flushed over the face and neck, down to the clavicles,
and the veins of the forehead and neck stand out like
thick cords. The lower lip drops, and is somewhat everted.
The mouth is kept half open, with the lower jaw projecting.
The cheeks are hollow and deeply furrowed in curved lines running
from the wings of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth.
The nostrils themselves are raised and extended. The eyes
are widely opened, and beneath them the skin appears swollen;
the pupils are large. The forehead is wrinkled transversely
in many folds, and at the inner extremities of the eyebrows it
is strongly furrowed in diverging lines, produced by the powerful
and persistent contraction of the corrugators.

Mr. Bell has also described[19] an agony of terror and of despair,
which he witnessed in a murderer, whilst carried to the place of execution
in Turin. "On each side of the car the officiating priests were seated;
and in the centre sat the criminal himself. It was impossible
to witness the condition of this unhappy wretch without terror;
and yet, as if impelled by some strange infatuation, it was equally
impossible not to gaze upon an object so wild, so full of horror.
He seemed about thirty-five years of age; of large and muscular form;
his countenance marked by strong and savage features; half naked,
pale as death, agonized with terror, every limb strained in anguish,
his hands clenched convulsively, the sweat breaking out on his bent
and contracted brow, he kissed incessantly the figure of our Saviour,
painted on the flag which was suspended before him; but with an agony
of wildness and despair, of which nothing ever exhibited on the stage
can give the slightest conception."

I will add only one other case, illustrative of a man utterly prostrated
by terror. An atrocious murderer of two persons was brought into
a hospital, under the mistaken impression that he had poisoned himself;
and Dr. W. Ogle carefully watched him the next morning, while he was
being handcuffed and taken away by the police. His pallor was extreme,
and his prostration so great that he was hardly able to dress himself.
His skin perspired; and his eyelids and head drooped so much that it was
impossible to catch even a glimpse of his eyes. His lower jaw hung down.
There was no contraction of any facial muscle, and Dr. Ogle is almost
certain that the hair did not stand on end, for he observed it narrowly,
as it had been dyed for the sake of concealment.


[19] `Observations on Italy,' 1825, p. 48, as quoted in 'The Anatomy
of Expression,' p. 168.

With respect to fear, as exhibited by the various races of man, my informants
agree that the signs are the same as with Europeans. They are displayed
in an exaggerated degree with the Hindoos and natives of Ceylon. Mr. Geach
has seen Malays when terrified turn pale and shake; and Mr. Brough Smyth
states that a native Australian "being on one occasion much frightened,
showed a complexion as nearly approaching to what we call paleness,
as can well be conceived in the case of a very black man." Mr. Dyson Lacy
has seen extreme fear shown in an Australian, by a nervous twitching of
the hands, feet, and lips; and by the perspiration standing on the skin.
Many savages do not repress the signs of fear so much as Europeans;
and they often tremble greatly. With the Kafir, Gaika says, in his
rather quaint English, the shaking "of the body is much experienced,
and the eyes are widely open." With savages, the sphincter muscles
are often relaxed, just as may be observed in much frightened dogs,
and as I have seen with monkeys when terrified by being caught.


_The erection of the hair_.--Some of the signs of fear
deserve a little further consideration. Poets continually
speak of the hair standing on end; Brutus says to the ghost
of Caesar, "that mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to stare."
And Cardinal Beaufort, after the murder of Gloucester exclaims,
"Comb down his hair; look, look, it stands upright."
As I did not feel sure whether writers of fiction might not have
applied to man what they had often observed in animals, I begged
for information from Dr. Crichton Browne with respect to the insane.
He states in answer that he has repeatedly seen their hair
erected under the influence of sudden and extreme terror.
For instance, it is occasionally necessary to inject morphia,
under the skin of an insane woman, who dreads the operation
extremely, though it causes very little pain; for she believes
that poison is being introduced into her system, and that her
bones will be softened, and her flesh turned into dust.
She becomes deadly pale; her limbs are stiffened by a sort
of tetanic spasm, and her hair is partially erected on the front
of the head.

Dr. Browne further remarks that the bristling of the hair which is
so common in the insane, is not always associated with terror.
It is perhaps most frequently seen in chronic maniacs, who rave
incoherently and have destructive impulses; but it is during
their paroxysms of violence that the bristling is most observable.
The fact of the hair becoming erect under the influence both of rage
and fear agrees perfectly with what we have seen in the lower animals.
Dr. Browne adduces several cases in evidence. Thus with a man
now in the Asylum, before the recurrence of each maniacal paroxysm,
"the hair rises up from his forehead like the mane of a Shetland pony."
He has sent me photographs of two women, taken in the intervals between
their paroxysms, and he adds with respect to one of these women,
"that the state of her hair is a sure and convenient criterion of
her mental condition." I have had one of these photographs copied,
and the engraving gives, if viewed from a little distance,
a faithful representation of the original, with the exception
that the hair appears rather too coarse and too much curled.
The extraordinary condition of the hair in the insane is due,
not only to its erection, but to its dryness and harshness,
consequent on the subcutaneous glands failing to act.
Dr. Bucknill has said[20] that a lunatic "is a lunatic to his
finger's ends;" he might have added, and often to the extremity
of each particular hair.

Dr. Browne mentions as an empirical confirmation of the relation which exists
in the insane between the state of their hair and minds, that the wife
of a medical man, who has charge of a lady suffering from acute melancholia,
with a strong fear of death, for herself, her husband and children,
reported verbally to him the day before receiving my letter as follows,
"I think Mrs. ---- will soon improve, for her hair is getting smooth;
and I always notice that our patients get better whenever their hair
ceases to be rough and unmanageable."

Dr. Browne attributes the persistently rough condition of the hair in many
insane patients, in part to their minds being always somewhat disturbed,
and in part to the effects of habit,--that is, to the hair being
frequently and strongly erected during their many recurrent paroxysms.
In patients in whom the bristling of the hair is extreme, the disease
is generally permanent and mortal; but in others, in whom the bristling
is moderate, as soon as they recover their health of mind the hair
recovers its smoothness.


[20] Quoted by Dr. Maudsley, `Body and Mind,' 1870, p. 41.

In a previous chapter we have seen that with animals the hairs are
erected by the contraction of minute, unstriped, and involuntary muscles,
which run to each separate follicle. In addition to this action,
Mr. J. Wood has clearly ascertained by experiment, as he informs me,
that with man the hairs on the front of the head which slope forwards,
and those on the back which slope backwards, are raised in opposite
directions by the contraction of the occipito-frontalis or scalp muscle.
So that this muscle seems to aid in the erection of the hairs on the head
of man. in the same manner as the homologous _panniculus carnosus_ aids,
or takes the greater part, in the erection of the spines on the backs
of some of the lower animals.


_Contraction of the platysma myoides muscle_.--This muscle is spread
over the sides of the neck, extending downwards to a little beneath
the collar-bones, and upwards to the lower part of the cheeks.
A portion, called the risorius, is represented in the woodcut
(M) fig. 2. The contraction of this muscle draws the corners of
the mouth and the lower parts of the checks downwards and backwards.
It produces at the same time divergent, longitudinal, prominent ridges
on the sides of the neck in the young; and, in old thin persons,
fine transverse wrinkles. This muscle is sometimes said not to be
under the control of the will; but almost every one, if told to draw
the corners of his mouth backwards and downwards with great force,
brings it into action. I have, however, heard of a man who can
voluntarily act on it only on one side of his neck.

Sir C. Bell[21] and others have stated that this muscle is strongly
contracted under the influence of fear; and Duchenne insists so strongly
on its importance in the expression of this emotion, that he calls it
the _muscle of fright_.[22] He admits, however, that its contraction
is quite inexpressive unless associated with widely open eyes and mouth.
He has given a photograph (copied and reduced in the accompanying woodcut)
of the same old man as on former occasions, with his eyebrows strongly raised,
his mouth opened, and the platysma contracted, all by means of galvanism.
The original photograph was shown to twenty-four persons, and they were
separately asked, without any explanation being given, what expression
was intended: twenty instantly answered, "intense fright" or "horror;"
three said pain, and one extreme discomfort. Dr. Duchenne has given
another photograph of the same old man, with the platysma contracted,
the eyes and mouth opened, and the eyebrows rendered oblique,
by means of galvanism. The expression thus induced is very striking
(see Plate VII. fig. 2); the obliquity of the eyebrows adding the appearance
of great mental distress. The original was shown to fifteen persons;
twelve answered terror or horror, and three agony or great suffering.
From these cases, and from an examination of the other photographs given
by Dr. Duchenne, together with his remarks thereon, I think there can
be little doubt that the contraction of the platysma does add greatly
to the expression of fear. Nevertheless this muscle ought hardly to be
called that of fright, for its contraction is certainly not a necessary
concomitant of this state of mind.


[21] `Anatomy of Expression,' p. 168.

[22] Mecanisme de la Phys. Humaine, Album, Legende xi. A man may
exhibit extreme terror in the plainest manner by death-like pallor,
by drops of perspiration on his skin, and by utter prostration,
with all the muscles of his body, including the platysma,
completely relaxed. Although Dr. Browne has often seen this
muscle quivering and contracting in the insane, he has not been
able to connect its action with any emotional condition in them,
though he carefully attended to patients suffering from great fear.
Mr. Nicol, on the other hand, has observed three cases in which
this muscle appeared to be more or less permanently contracted
under the influence of melancholia, associated with much dread;
but in one of these cases, various other muscles about the neck
and head were subject to spasmodic contractions.

Dr. W. Ogle observed for me in one of the London hospitals about
twenty patients, just before they were put under the influence of chloroform
for operations. They exhibited some trepidation, but no great terror.
In only four of the cases was the platysma visibly contracted;
and it did not begin to contract until the patients began to cry.
The muscle seemed to contract at the moment of each deep-drawn inspiration;
so that it is very doubtful whether the contraction depended
at all on the emotion of fear. In a fifth case, the patient,
who was not chloroformed, was much terrified; and his platysma was
more forcibly and persistently contracted than in the other cases.
But even here there is room for doubt, for the muscle which appeared
to be unusually developed, was seen by Dr. Ogle to contract as the man
moved his head from the pillow, after the operation was over.

As I felt much perplexed why, in any case, a superficial
muscle on the neck should be especially affected by fear,
I applied to my many obliging correspondents for information
about the contraction of this muscle under other circumstances.
It would be superfluous to give all the answers which I have received.
They show that this muscle acts, often in a variable manner
and degree, under many different conditions. It is violently
contracted in hydrophobia, and in a somewhat less degree in lockjaw;
sometimes in a marked manner during the insensibility from chloroform.
Dr. W. Ogle observed two male patients, suffering from such
difficulty in breathing, that the trachea had to be opened,
and in both the platysma was strongly contracted. One of these men
overheard the conversation of the surgeons surrounding him, and when
he was able to speak, declared that he had not been frightened.
In some other cases of extreme difficulty of respiration, though not
requiring tracheotomy, observed by Drs. Ogle and Langstaff,
the platysma was not contracted.

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