The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin (adult books to read TXT) 📕

With the Arabs on the Nile, Professor and Mrs. Asa Gray concluded that nodding in affirmation was rare, whilst shaking the head in negation was never used, and was not even understood by them.

With the Esquimaux[24] a nod means yes and a wink no.

The New Zealanders “elevate the head and chin in place of nodding acquiescence.”[25]

[18] `On the Origin of Language,’ 1866, p. 91.

[19] `On the Vocal Sounds of L. Bridgman;’ Smithsonian Contributions, 1851, vol. ii. p. 11.

[20] `Memoire sur les Microcephales,’ 1867, p. 27.

[21] Quoted by Tylor, `Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit.

1870, p. 38.

[22] Mr. J. B. Jukes, `Letters and Extracts,’ &c. 1871, p. 248.

[23] F. Lieber, `On the Vocal Sounds,’ &c. p. 11. Tylor, ibid. p. 53.

With the Hindoos Mr. H. Erskine concludes from inquiries made from experienced Europeans, and from native gentlemen, that the signs of affirmation and negation vary—a nod and a lateral shake being sometimes used as we do; but a negative is more commonly expressed by the head being thrown suddenly backwards and a little to one side, with a cluck of the tongue.

What the meaning may be of this cluck of the tongue, which has been observed with various people, I cannot imagine.

A native gentleman stated that affirmation is frequently shown by the head being thrown to the left. I asked Mr. Scott to attend particularly to this point, and, after repeated observations, he believes that a vertical nod is not commonly used by the natives in affirmation, but that the head is first thrown backwards either to the left or right, and then jerked obliquely forwards only once. This movement would perhaps have been described by a less careful observer as a lateral shake.

He also states that in negation the head is usually held nearly upright, and shaken several times.

Mr. Bridges informs me that the Fuegians nod their heads vertically in affirmation, and shake them laterally in denial.

With the wild Indians of North America, according to Mr. Washington Matthews, nodding and shaking the head have been learnt from Europeans, and are not naturally employed.

They express affirmation by describing with the hand (all the fingers except the index being flexed) a curve downwards and outwards from the body, whilst negation is expressed by moving the open hand outwards, with the palm facing inwards.”

Other observers state that the sign of affirmation with these Indians is the forefinger being raised, and then lowered and pointed to the ground, or the hand is waved straight forward from the face; and that the sign of negation is the finger or whole hand shaken from side to side.[26] This latter movement probably represents in all cases the lateral shaking of the head.

The Italians are said in like manner to move the lifted finger from right to left in negation, as indeed we English sometimes do.

[24] Dr. King, Edinburgh Phil. Journal, 1845, p. 313.

[25] Tylor, `Early History of Mankind,’ 2nd edit. 1870, p. 53.

On the whole we find considerable diversity in the signs of affirmation and negation in the different races of man.

With respect to negation, if we admit that the shaking of the finger or hand from side to side is symbolic of the lateral movement of the head; and if we admit that the sudden backward movement of the head represents one of the actions often practised by young children in refusing food, then there is much uniformity throughout the world in the signs of negation, and we can see how they originated. The most marked exceptions are presented by the Arabs, Esquimaux, some Australian tribes, and Dyaks. With the latter a frown is the sign of negation, and with us frowning often accompanies a lateral shake of the head.

With respect to nodding in affirmation, the exceptions are rather more numerous, namely with some of the Hindoos, with the Turks, Abyssinians, Dyaks, Tagals, and New Zealanders.

The eyebrows are sometimes raised in affirmation, and as a person in bending his head forwards and downwards naturally looks up to the person whom he addresses, he will be apt to raise his eyebrows, and this sign may thus have arisen as an abbreviation.

So again with the New Zealanders, the lifting up the chin and head in affirmation may perhaps represent in an abbreviated form the upward movement of the head after it has been nodded forwards and downwards.

[26] Lubbock, `The Origin of Civilization,’ 1870, p. 277.

Tylor, ibid. p. 38. Lieber (ibid. p. 11) remarks on the negative of the Italians. CHAPTER XII.

SURPRISE—ASTONISHMENT—FEAR—HORROR.

Surprise, astonishment—Elevation of the eyebrows—Opening the mouth—

Protrusion of the lips—Gestures accompanying surprise—

Admiration—Fear—Terror—Erection of the hair—Contraction of the platysma muscle—Dilatation of the pupils—Horror—Conclusion.

ATTENTION, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement.

The latter frame of mind is closely akin to terror.

Attention is shown by the eyebrows being slightly raised; and as this state increases into surprise, they are raised to a much greater extent, with the eyes and mouth widely open.

The raising of the eyebrows is necessary in order that the eyes should be opened quickly and widely; and this movement produces transverse wrinkles across the forehead.

The degree to which the eyes and mouth are opened corresponds with the degree of surprise felt; but these movements must be coordinated; for a widely opened mouth with eyebrows only slightly raised results in a meaningless grimace, as Dr. Duchenne has shown in one of his photographs.[1] On the other hand, a person may often be seen to pretend surprise by merely raising his eyebrows.

Dr. Duchenne has given a photograph of an old man with his eyebrows well elevated and arched by the galvanization of the frontal muscle; and with his mouth voluntarily opened.

This figure expresses surprise with much truth.

I showed it to twenty-four persons without a word of explanation, and one alone did not at all understand what was intended.

A second person answered terror, which is not far wrong; some of the others, however, added to the words surprise or astonishment, the epithets horrified, woful, painful, or disgusted.

[1] `Mecanisme de la Physionomie,’ Album, 1862, p. 42.

The eyes and mouth being widely open is an expression universally recognized as one of surprise or astonishment. Thus Shakespeare says, “I saw a smith stand with open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news.”

(`King John,’ act iv. scene ii.) And again, “They seemed almost, with staring on one another, to tear the cases of their eyes; there was speech in the dumbness, language in their very gesture; they looked as they had heard of a world destroyed.”

(`Winter’s Tale,’ act v. scene ii.)

My informants answer with remarkable uniformity to the same effect, with respect to the various races of man; the above movements of the features being often accompanied by certain gestures and sounds, presently to be described. Twelve observers in different parts of Australia agree on this head. Mr. Winwood Reade has observed this expression with the negroes on the Guinea coast.

The chief Gaika and others answer yes to my query with respect to the Kafirs of South Africa; and so do others emphatically with reference to the Abyssinians, Ceylonese, Chinese, Fuegians, various tribes of North America, and New Zealanders. With the latter, Mr. Stack states that the expression is more plainly shown by certain individuals than by others, though all endeavour as much as possible to conceal their feelings. The Dyaks of Borneo are said by the Rajah Brooke to open their eyes widely, when astonished, often swinging their heads to and fro, and beating their breasts.

Mr. Scott informs me that the workmen in the Botanic Gardens at Calcutta are strictly ordered not to smoke; but they often disobey this order, and when suddenly surprised in the act, they first open their eyes and mouths widely. They then often slightly shrug their shoulders, as they perceive that discovery is inevitable, or frown and stamp on the ground from vexation.

Soon they recover from their surprise, and abject fear is exhibited by the relaxation of all their muscles; their heads seem to sink between their shoulders; their fallen eyes wander to and fro; and they supplicate forgiveness.

The well-known Australian explorer, Mr. Stuart, has given[2]

a striking account of stupefied amazement together with terror in a native who had never before seen a man on horseback.

Mr. Stuart approached unseen and called to him from a little distance.

“He turned round and saw me. What he imagined I was I do not know; but a finer picture of fear and astonishment I never saw.

He stood incapable of moving a limb, riveted to the spot, mouth open and eyes staring… . He remained motionless until our black got within a few yards of him, when suddenly throwing down his waddies, he jumped into a mulga bush as high as he could get.”

He could not speak, and answered not a word to the inquiries made by the black, but, trembling from head to foot, “waved with his hand for us to be off.”

That the eyebrows are raised by an innate or instinctive impulse may be inferred from the fact that Laura Bridgman invariably acts thus when astonished, as I have been assured by the lady who has lately had charge of her. As surprise is excited by something unexpected or unknown, we naturally desire, when startled, to perceive the cause as quickly as possible; and we consequently open our eyes fully, so that the field of vision may be increased, and the eyeballs moved easily in any direction.

But this hardly accounts for the eyebrows being so greatly raised as is the case, and for the wild staring of the open eyes.

The explanation lies, I believe, in the impossibility of opening the eyes with great rapidity by merely raising the upper lids.

To effect this the eyebrows must be lifted energetically.

Any one who will try to open his eyes as quickly as possible before a mirror will find that he acts thus; and the energetic lifting up of the eyebrows opens the eyes so widely that they stare, the white being exposed all round the iris. Moreover, the elevation of the eyebrows is an advantage in looking upwards; for as long as they are lowered they impede our vision in this direction.

Sir C. Bell gives[3] a curious little proof of the part which the eyebrows play in opening the eyelids. In a stupidly drunken man all the muscles are relaxed, and the eyelids consequently droop, in the same manner as when we are falling asleep.

To counteract this tendency the drunkard raises his eyebrows; and this gives to him a puzzled, foolish look, as is well represented in one of Hogarth’s drawings. The habit of raising the eyebrows having once been gained in order to see as quickly as possible all around us, the movement would follow from the force of association whenever astonishment was felt from any cause, even from a sudden sound or an idea.

[2] `The Polyglot News Letter,’ Melbourne, Dec. 1858, p. 2.

With adult persons, when the eyebrows are raised, the whole forehead becomes much wrinkled in transverse lines; but with children this occurs only to a slight degree.

The wrinkles run in lines concentric with each eyebrow, and are partially confluent in the middle. They are highly characteristic of the expression of surprise or astonishment.

Each eyebrow, when raised, becomes also, as Duchenne remarks,[4]

more arched than it was before.

[3] `The Anatomy of Expression,’ p. 106.

The cause of the mouth being opened when astonishment is felt, is a much more complex affair; and several causes apparently