The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals
by
Charles Darwin
Part 3 out of 6
When this noise, which the keepers call a laugh, is uttered,
the lips are protruded; but so they are under various other emotions.
Nevertheless I could perceive that when they were pleased
the form of the lips differed a little from that assumed
when they were angered. If a young chimpanzee be tickled--
and the armpits are particularly sensitive to tickling, as in
the case of our children,--a more decided chuckling or laughing
sound is uttered; though the laughter is sometimes noiseless.
The corners of the mouth are then drawn backwards; and this
sometimes causes the lower eyelids to be slightly wrinkled.
But this wrinkling, which is so characteristic of our own laughter,
is more plainly seen in some other monkeys. The teeth in
the upper jaw in the chimpanzee are not exposed when they utter
their laughing noise, in which respect they differ from us.
But their eyes sparkle and grow brighter, as Mr. W. L. Martin,[10]
who has particularly attended to their expression, states.
[10] `Natural History of Mammalia,' 1841, vol. 1. pp. 383, 410.
Young Orangs, when tickled, likewise grin and make a chuckling sound;
and Mr. Martin says that their eyes grow brighter. As soon as their
laughter ceases, an expression may be detected passing over their faces,
which, as Mr. Wallace remarked to me, may be called a smile.
I have also noticed something of the same kind with the chimpanzee.
Dr. Duchenne--and I cannot quote a better authority--informs me
that he kept a very tame monkey in his house for a year;
and when he gave it during meal-times some choice delicacy,
he observed that the corners of its mouth were slightly raised;
thus an expression of satisfaction, partaking of the nature of an
incipient smile, and resembling that often seen on the face of main,
could be plainly perceived in this animal.
The _Cebus azarae_,[11] when rejoiced at again seeing a beloved person,
utters a peculiar tittering (_kichernden_) sound. It also expresses
agreeable sensations, by drawing back the corners of its mouth,
without producing any sound. Rengger calls this movement laughter,
but it would be more appropriately called a smile. The form
of the mouth is different when either pain or terror is expressed,
and high shrieks are uttered. Another species of _Cebus_ in the
Zoological Gardens (_C. hypoleucus_) when pleased, makes a reiterated
shrill note, and likewise draws back the corners of its mouth,
apparently through the contraction of the same muscles as with us.
So does the Barbary ape (_Inuus ecaudatus_) to an extraordinary degree;
and I observed in this monkey that the skin of the lower eyelids then
became much wrinkled. At the same time it rapidly moved its lower jaw
or lips in a spasmodic manner, the teeth being exposed; but the noise
produced was hardly more distinct than that which we sometimes call
silent laughter. Two of the keepers affirmed that this slight sound
was the animal's laughter, and when I expressed some doubt on this head
(being at the time quite inexperienced), they made it attack or rather
threaten a hated Entellus monkey, living in the same compartment.
Instantly the whole expression of the face of the Inuus changed;
the mouth was opened much more widely, the canine teeth were more
fully exposed, and a hoarse barking noise was uttered.
[11] Rengger (`Sagetheire von Paraquay', 1830, s. 46) kept these monkeys
in confinement for seven years in their native country of Paraguay.
The Anubis baboon (_Cynocephalus anubis_) was first insulted
and put into a furious rage, as was easily done, by his keeper,
who then made friends with him and shook hands. As the reconciliation
was effected the baboon rapidly moved up and down his jaws and lips,
and looked pleased. When we laugh heartily, a similar movement,
or quiver, may be observed more or less distinctly in our jaws;
but with man the muscles of the chest are more particularly acted on,
whilst with this baboon, and with some other monkeys, it is the muscles
of the jaws and lips which are spasmodically affected.
I have already had occasion to remark on the curious manner
in which two or three species of Alacacus and the _Cynopithecus
niger_ draw back their ears and utter a slight jabbering noise,
when they are pleased by being caressed. With the Cynopithecus
(fig. 17), the corners of the mouth are at the same time
drawn backwards and upwards, so that the teeth are exposed.
Hence this expression would never be recognized by a stranger as one
of pleasure. The crest of long hairs on the forehead is depressed,
and apparently the whole skin of the head drawn backwards.
The eyebrows are thus raised a little, and the eyes assume a
staring appearance. The lower eyelids also become slightly wrinkled;
but this wrinkling is not conspicuous, owing to the permanent
transverse furrows on the face.
_Painful emotions and sensations_.--With monkeys the expression of
slight pain, or of any painful emotion, such as grief, vexation, jealousy,
&c., is not easily distinguished from that of moderate anger;
and these states of mind readily and quickly pass into each other.
Grief, however, with some species is certainly exhibited by weeping.
A woman, who sold a monkey to the Zoological Society, believed to have
come from Borneo (_Macacus maurus_ or _M. inornatus_ of Gray), said
that it often cried; and Mr. Bartlett, as well as the keeper Mr. Sutton,
have repeatedly seen it, when grieved, or even when much pitied,
weeping so copiously that the tears rolled down its cheeks.
There is, however, something strange about this case, for two specimens
subsequently kept in the Gardens, and believed to be the same species,
have never been seen to weep, though they were carefully observed
by the keeper and myself when much distressed and loudly screaming.
Rengger states[12] that the eyes of the _Cebus azarae_ fill
with tears, but not sufficiently to overflow, when it is prevented
getting some much desired object, or is much frightened.
Humboldt also asserts that the eyes of the _Callithrix sciureus_
"instantly fill with tears when it is seized with fear;"
but when this pretty little monkey in the Zoological Gardens
was teased, so as to cry out loudly, this did not occur.
I do not, however, wish to throw the least doubt on the accuracy
of Humboldt's statement.
The appearance of dejection in young orangs and chimpanzees, when out
of health, is as plain and almost as pathetic as in the case of our children.
This state of mind and body is shown by their listless movements,
fallen countenances, dull eyes, and changed complexion.
[12] Rengger, ibid. s. 46. Humboldt, `Personal Narrative, Eng. translat.
vol. iv. p. 527. {Illust. caption = FIG. 16.--_Cynopithecus niger_,
in a placid condition.
Drawn from life by Mr. Wolf. FIG. 17.--The same, when pleased
by being caressed.}
_Anger_.--This emotion is often exhibited by many kinds of monkeys,
and is expressed, as Mr. Martin remarks,[13] in many different ways.
"Some species, when irritated, pout the lips, gaze with a fixed and
savage glare on their foe, and make repeated short starts as if about
to spring forward, uttering at the same time inward guttural sounds.
Many display their anger by suddenly advancing, making abrupt starts,
at the same time opening the mouth and pursing up the lips,
so as to conceal the teeth, while the eyes are daringly fixed on
the enemy, as if in savage defiance. Some again, and principally
the long-tailed monkeys, or Guenons, display their teeth, and accompany
their malicious grins with a sharp, abrupt, reiterated cry."
Mr. Sutton confirms the statement that some species uncover
their teeth when enraged, whilst others conceal them by the
protrusion of their lips; and some kinds draw back their ears.
The _Cynopithecus niger_, lately referred to, acts in this manner,
at the same time depressing the crest of hair on its forehead,
and showing its teeth; so that the movements of the features from anger
are nearly the same as those from pleasure; and the two expressions
can be distinguished only by those familiar with the animal.
Baboons often show their passion and threaten their enemies
in a very odd manner, namely, by opening their mouths widely
as in the act of yawning. Mr. Bartlett has often seen two baboons,
when first placed in the same compartment, sitting opposite
to each other and thus alternately opening their mouths;
and this action seems frequently to end in a real yawn.
Mr. Bartlett believes that both animals wish to show to each
other that they are provided with a formidable set of teeth,
as is undoubtedly the case. As I could hardly credit the reality
of this yawning gesture, Mr. Bartlett insulted an old baboon and put
him into a violent passion; and he almost immediately thus acted.
Some species of Macacus and of Cereopithecus[14] behave
in the same manner. Baboons likewise show their anger, as was
observed by Brehin with those which he kept alive in Abyssinia,
in another manner, namely, by striking the ground with one hand,
"like an angry man striking the table with his fist."
I have seen this movement with the baboons in the Zoological Gardens;
but sometimes the action seems rather to represent the searching
for a stone or other object in their beds of straw.
[13] Nat. Hist. of Mammalia, 1841, p. 351.
Mr. Sutton has often observed the face of the _Macacus rhesus_,
when much enraged, growing red. As he was mentioning this to me,
another monkey attacked a _rhesus_, and I saw its face redden as plainly
as that of a man in a violent passion. In the course of a few minutes,
after the battle, the face of this monkey recovered its natural tint.
At the same time that the face reddened, the naked posterior part
of the body, which is always red, seemed to grow still redder;
but I cannot positively assert that this was the case.
When the Mandrill is in any way excited, the brilliantly coloured,
naked parts of the skin are said to become still more vividly coloured.
With several species of baboons the ridge of the forehead projects
much over the eyes, and is studded with a few long hairs,
representing our eyebrows. These animals are always looking
about them, and in order to look upwards they raise their eyebrows.
They have thus, as it would appear, acquired the habit of frequently
moving their eyebrows. However this may be, many kinds of monkeys,
especially the baboons, when angered or in any way excited,
rapidly and incessantly move their eyebrows up and down,
as well as the hairy skin of their foreheads.[15] As we associate
in the case of man the raising and lowering of the eyebrows
with definite states of the mind, the almost incessant movement
of the eyebrows by monkeys gives them a senseless expression.
I once observed a man who had a trick of continually raising
his eyebrows without any corresponding emotion, and this gave
to him a foolish appearance; so it is with some persons who keep
the corners of their mouths a little drawn backwards and upwards,
as if by an incipient smile, though at the time they are not
amused or pleased.
[14] Brehm, `Thierleben,' B. i. s. 84. On baboons striking
the ground, s. 61.
A young orang, made jealous by her keeper attending to another monkey,
slightly uncovered her teeth, and, uttering a peevish noise like _tish-shist_,
turned her back on him. Both orangs and chimpanzees, when a little
more angered, protrude their lips greatly, and make a harsh barking noise.
A young female chimpanzee, in a violent passion, presented a curious
resemblance to a child in the same state. She screamed loudly with widely
open mouth, the lips being retracted so that the teeth were fully exposed.
She threw her arms wildly about, sometimes clasping them over her head.
She rolled on the ground, sometimes on her back, sometimes on her belly,
and bit everything within reach. A young gibbon (_Hylobates syndactylus_)
in a passion has been described[16] as behaving in almost exactly
the same manner.
The lips of young orangs and chimpanzees are protruded,
sometimes to a wonderful degree, under various circumstances.
They act thus, not only when slightly angered, sulky,
or disappointed, but when alarmed at anything--in one instance,
at the sight of a turtle,[17]--and likewise when pleased.
But neither the degree of protrusion nor the shape of
the mouth is exactly the same, as I believe, in all cases;
and the sounds which are then uttered are different.
The accompanying drawing represents a chimpanzee made sulky
by an orange having been offered him, and then taken away.
A similar protrusion or pouting of the lips, though to a much
slighter degree, may be seen in sulky children.
[15] Brehm remarks (`Thierleben,' s. 68) that the eyebrows of the _Inuus
ecaudatus_ are frequently moved up and down when the animal is angered.
[16] G. Bennett, `Wanderings in New South Wales,' &c. vol.
ii. 1834, p. 153. FIG. 18.-Chimpanzee disappointed and sulky.
Drawn from life by Mr. Wood.
Many years ago, in the Zoological Gardens, I placed a looking-glass
on the floor before two young orangs, who, as far as it was known,
had never before seen one. At first they gazed at their own images
with the most steady surprise, and often changed their point of view.
They then approached close and protruded their lips towards the image,
as if to kiss it, in exactly the same manner as they had previously done
towards each other, when first placed, a few days before, in the same room.
They next made all sorts of grimaces, and put themselves in various
attitudes before the mirror; they pressed and rubbed the surface;
they placed their hands at different distances behind it; looked behind it;
and finally seemed almost frightened, started a little, became cross,
and refused to look any longer.
When we try to perform some little action which is difficult
and requires precision, for instance, to thread a needle,
we generally close our lips firmly, for the sake, I presume,
of not disturbing our movements by breathing; and I noticed
the same action in a young Orang. The poor little creature
was sick, and was amusing itself by trying to kill the flies
on the window-panes with its knuckles; this was difficult
as the flies buzzed about, and at each attempt the lips were
firmly compressed, and at the same time slightly protruded.
[17] W. L. Martin, Nat. Hist. of Mamm. Animals, 1841, p. 405.
Although the countenances, and more especially the gestures, of orangs
and chimpanzees are in some respects highly expressive, I doubt whether on
the whole they are so expressive as those of some other kinds of monkeys.
This may be attributed in part to their ears being immovable,
and in part to the nakedness of their eyebrows, of which the movements
are thus rendered less conspicuous. When, however, they raise their
eyebrows their foreheads become, as with us, transversely wrinkled.
In comparison with man, their faces are inexpressive, chiefly owing
to their not frowning under any emotion of the mind--that is, as far
as I have been able to observe, and I carefully attended to this point.
Frowning, which is one of the most important of all the expressions in man,
is due to the contraction of the corrugators by which the eyebrows are lowered
and brought together, so that vertical furrows are formed on the forehead.
Both the orang and chimpanzee are said[18] to possess this muscle,
but it seems rarely brought into action, at least in a conspicuous manner.
I made my hands into a sort of cage, and placing some tempting fruit within,
allowed both a young orang and chimpanzee to try their utmost to get it out;
but although they grew rather cross, they showed not a trace of a frown.
Nor was there any frown when they were enraged. Twice I took two chimpanzees
from their rather dark room suddenly into bright sunshine, which would
certainly have caused us to frown; they blinked and winked their eyes,
but only once did I see a very slight frown. On another occasion,
I tickled the nose of a chimpanzee with a straw, and as it crumpled
up its face, slight vertical furrows appeared between the eyebrows.
I have never seen a frown on the forehead of the orang.
[18] Prof. Owen on the Orang, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1830, p. 28.
On the Chimpanzee, see Prof. Macalister, in Annals and Mag.
of Nat. Hist. vol. vii. 1871, p. 342, who states that the _corrugator
supercilii_ is inseparable from the _orbicularis palpebrarum_.
The gorilla, when enraged, is described as erecting its crest
of hair, throwing down its under lip, dilating its nostrils,
and uttering terrific yells. Messrs. Savage and Wyman[19]
state that the scalp can be freely moved backwards and forwards,
and that when the animal is excited it is strongly contracted;
but I presume that they mean by this latter expression that the scalp
is lowered; for they likewise speak of the young chimpanzee,
when crying out, as having the eyebrows strongly contracted."
The great power of movement in the scalp of the gorilla,
of many baboons and other monkeys, deserves notice in relation
to the power possessed by some few men, either through reversion
or persistence, of voluntarily moving their scalps.[20]
_Astonishment, Terror_--A living fresh-water turtle was placed at my request
in the same compartment in the Zoological Gardens with many monkeys;
and they showed unbounded astonishment, as well as some fear.
This was displayed by their remaining motionless, staring intently
with widely opened eyes, their eyebrows being often moved up and down.
Their faces seemed somewhat lengthened. They occasionally raised themselves
on their hind-legs to get abetter view. They often retreated a few feet,
and then turning their heads over one shoulder, again stared intently.
It was curious to observe how much less afraid they were of the turtle
than of a living snake which I had formerly placed in their compartment;[21]
for in the course of a few minutes some of the monkeys ventured to approach
and touch the turtle. On the other hand, some of the larger baboons
were greatly terrified, and grinned as if on the point of screaming out.
When I showed a little dressed-up doll to the _Cynopithecus niger_,
it stood motionless, stared intently with widely opened eyes, and advanced its
ears a little forwards. But when the turtle was placed in its compartment,
this monkey also moved its lips in an odd, rapid, jabbering manner,
which the keeper declared was meant to conciliate or please the turtle.
[19] Boston Journal of Nat. Hist. 1845---47, vol. v. p. 423. On the
Chimpanzee, ibid. 1843-44, vol. iv. p. 365.
[20] See on this subject, `Descent of Man,' vol. i. p. 20.
I was never able clearly to perceive that the eyebrows of astonished
monkeys were kept permanently raised, though they were frequently
moved up and down. Attention, which precedes astonishment,
is expressed by man by a slight raising of the eyebrows;
and Dr. Duchenne informs me that when he gave to the monkey
formerly mentioned some quite new article of food, it elevated its
eyebrows a little, thus assuming an appearance of close attention.
It then took the food in its fingers, and, with lowered
or rectilinear eyebrows, scratched, smelt, and examined it,--
an expression of reflection being thus exhibited. Sometimes it
would throw back its head a little, and again with suddenly
raised eyebrows re-examine and finally taste the food.
In no case did any monkey keep its mouth open when it was astonished.
Mr. Sutton observed for me a young orang and chimpanzee during a considerable
length of time; and however much they were astonished, or whilst listening
intently to some strange sound, they did not keep their mouths open.
This fact is surprising, as with mankind hardly any expression is more
general than a widely open mouth under the sense of astonishment.
As far as I have been able to observe, monkeys breathe more freely
through their nostrils than men do; and this may account for their not
opening their mouths when they are astonished; for, as we shall see
in a future chapter, man apparently acts in this manner when startled,
at first for the sake of quickly drawing a full inspiration, and afterwards
for the sake of breathing as quietly as possible.
[21] `Descent of Man,' vol, i. p, 43.
Terror is expressed by many kinds of monkeys by the utterance of
shrill screams; the lips being drawn back, so that the teeth are exposed.
The hair becomes erect, especially when some anger is likewise felt.
Mr. Sutton has distinctly seen the face of the _Macacus rhesus_
grow pale from fear. Monkeys also tremble from fear; and sometimes
they void their excretions. I have seen one which, when caught,
almost fainted from an excess of terror.
Sufficient facts have now been given with respect to the expressions of
various animals. It is impossible to agree with Sir C. Bell when he says[22]
that "the faces of animals seem chiefly capable of expressing rage and fear;"
and again, when he says that all their expressions "may be referred,
more or less plainly, to their acts of volition or necessary instincts."
He who will look at a dog preparing to attack another dog or a man, and at
the same animal when caressing his master, or will watch the countenance
of a monkey when insulted, and when fondled by his keeper, will be forced
to admit that the movements of their features and their gestures are almost
as expressive as those of man. Although no explanation can be given
of some of the expressions in the lower animals, the greater number are
explicable in accordance with the three principles given at the commencement
of the first chapter.
[22] `Anatomy of Expression,' 3rd edit. 1844, pp. 138, 121. CHAPTER VI.
SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN: SUFFERING AND WEEPING.
The screaming and weeping Of infants--Forms of features--
Age at which weeping commences--The effects of habitual restraint
on weeping--Sobbing--Cause of the contraction of the muscles round
the eyes during screaming--Cause of the secretion of tears.
IN this and the following chapters the expressions exhibited by Man
under various states of the mind will be described and explained,
as far as lies in my power. My observations will be arranged
according to the order which I have found the most convenient;
and this will generally lead to opposite emotions and sensations
succeeding each other.
_Suffering of the body and mind: weeping_.--I have already
described in sufficient detail, in the third chapter, the signs
of extreme pain, as shown by screams or groans, with the writhing
of the whole body and the teeth clenched or ground together.
These signs are often accompanied or followed by profuse
sweating, pallor, trembling, utter prostration, or faintness.
No suffering is greater than that from extreme fear or horror,
but here a distinct emotion comes into play, and will be
elsewhere considered. Prolonged suffering, especially of the mind,
passes into low spirits, grief, dejection, and despair,
and these states will be the subject of the following chapter.
Here I shall almost confine myself to weeping or crying,
more especially in children.
Infants, when suffering even slight pain, moderate hunger,
or discomfort, utter violent and prolonged screams.
Whilst thus screaming their eyes are firmly closed, so that the skin
round them is wrinkled, and the forehead contracted into a frown.
The mouth is widely opened with the lips retracted in a
peculiar manner, which causes it to assume a squarish form;
the gums or teeth being more or less exposed. The breath is inhaled
almost spasmodically. It is easy to observe infants whilst screaming;
but I have found photographs made by the instantaneous process
the best means for observation, as allowing more deliberation.
I have collected twelve, most of them made purposely for me;
and they all exhibit the same general characteristics.
I have, therefore, had six of them[1] (Plate I.) reproduced by
the heliotype process.
The firm closing of the eyelids and consequent compression
of the eyeball,--and this is a most important element in
various expressions,--serves to protect the eyes from becoming too
much gorged with blood, as will presently be explained in detail.
With respect to the order in which the several muscles contract
in firmly compressing the eyes, I am indebted to Dr. Langstaff,
of Southampton, for some observations, which I have since repeated.
The best plan for observing the order is to make a person
first raise his eyebrows, and this produces transverse wrinkles
across the forehead; and then very gradually to contract all
the muscles round the elves with as much force as possible.
The reader who is unacquainted with the anatomy of the face,
ought to refer to p. 24, and look at the woodcuts 1 to 3.
The corrugators of the brow (_corrugator supercilii_) seem to be
the first muscles to contract; and these draw the eyebrows downwards
and inwards towards the base of the nose, causing vertical furrows,
that is a frown, to appear between the eyebrows; at the same time
they cause the disappearance of the transverse wrinkles across
the forehead. The orbicular muscles contract almost simultaneously
with the corrugators, and produce wrinkles all round the eyes;
they appear, however, to be enabled to contract with greater force,
as soon as the contraction of the corrugators has given them
some support. Lastly, the pyramidal muscles of the nose contract;
and these draw the eyebrows and the skin of the forehead still
lower down, producing short transverse wrinkles across the base
of the nose.[2] For the sake of brevity these muscles will generally
be spoken of as the orbiculars, or as those surrounding the eyes.
[1] The best photographs in my collection are by Mr. Rejlander,
of Victoria Street, London, and by Herr Kindermann,
of Hamburg. Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 6 are by the former; and figs.
2 and 5, by the latter gentleman. Fig. 6 is given to show
moderate crying in an older child.
When these muscles are strongly contracted, those running
to the upper lip[3] likewise contract and raise the upper lip.
This might have been expected from the manner in which at least
one of them, the _malaris_, is connected with the orbiculars.
Any one who will gradually contract the muscles round his eyes,
will feel, as he increases the force, that his upper lip
and the wings of his nose (which are partly acted on by one
of the same muscles) are almost always a little drawn up.
If he keeps his mouth firmly shut whilst contracting the muscles
round the eyes, and then suddenly relaxes his lips, he will
feel that the pressure on his eyes immediately increases.
So again when a person on a bright, glaring day wishes to look at
a distant object, but is compelled partially to close his eyelids,
the upper lip may almost always be observed to be somewhat raised.
The mouths of some very short-sighted persons, who are forced
habitually to reduce the aperture of their eyes, wear from this
same reason a grinning expression.
[2] Henle (`Handbuch d. Syst. Anat. 1858, B. i. s. 139) agrees with
Duchenne that this is the effect of the contraction of the _pyramidalis nasi_.
[3] These consist of the _levator labii superioris alaeque nasi_,
the _levator labii proprius_, the _malaris_, and the _zygomaticus minor_,
or little zygomatic. This latter muscle runs parallel to and above
the great zygomatic, and is attached to the outer part of the upper lip.
It is represented in fig. 2 (I. p. 24), but not in figs.
1 and 3. Dr. Duchenne first showed (`Mecanisme de la
Physionomie Humaine,' Album, 1862, p. 39) the importance of the contraction
of this muscle in the shape assumed by the features in crying.
Henle considers the above-named muscles (excepting the _malaris_)
as subdivisions of the q_uadratus labii superioris_.
The raising of the upper lip draws upwards the flesh of the upper
parts of the cheeks, and produces a strongly marked fold on
each cheek,--the naso-labial fold,--which runs from near the wings
of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth and below them.
This fold or furrow may be seen in all the photographs,
and is very characteristic of the expression of a crying child;
though a nearly similar fold is produced in the act of
laughing or Smiling.[4]
[4] Although Dr. Duchenne has so carefully studied the contraction
of the different muscles during the act of crying, and the
furrows on the face thus produced, there seems to be something
incomplete in his account; but what this is I cannot say.
He has given a figure (Album, fig. 48) in which one half of
the face is made, by galvanizing the proper muscles, to smile;
whilst the other half is similarly made to begin crying.
Almost all those (viz. nineteen out of twenty-one persons)
to whom I showed the smiling half of the face instantly
recognized the expression; but, with respect to the other half,
only six persons out of twenty-one recognized it,--that is,
if we accept such terms as "grief," "misery," "annoyance,"
as correct;--whereas, fifteen persons were ludicrously mistaken;
some of them saying the face expressed "fun," "satisfaction,"
"cunning," "disgust," &c. We may infer from this that there
is something wrong in the expression. Some of the fifteen
persons may, however, have been partly misled by not expecting
to see an old man crying, and by tears not being secreted.
With respect to another figure by Dr. Duchenne (fig. 49), in which
the muscles of half the face are galvanized in order to represent
a man beginning to cry, with the eyebrow on the same side
rendered oblique, which is characteristic of misery, the expression
was recognized by a greater proportional number of persons.
Out of twenty-three persons, fourteen answered correctly,
"sorrow," "distress," "grief," "just going to cry,"
"endurance of pain," &c. On the other hand, nine persons either
could form no opinion or were entirely wrong, answering,
"cunning leer," "jocund," "looking at an intense light,"
"looking at a distant object," &c.
As the upper lip is much drawn up during the act of screaming, in the
manner just explained, the depressor muscles of the angles of the mouth
(see K in woodcuts 1 and 2) are strongly contracted in order to keep
the mouth widely open, so that a full volume of sound may be poured forth.
The action of these opposed muscles, above and below, tends to give
to the mouth an oblong, almost squarish outline, as may be seen
in the accompanying photographs. An excellent observer,[5] in
describing a baby crying whilst being fed, says, "it made its mouth
like a square, and let the porridge run out at all four corners."
I believe, but we shall return to this point in a future chapter,
that the depressor muscles of the angles of the mouth are less
under the separate control of the will than the adjoining muscles;
so that if a young child is only doubtfully inclined to cry, this muscle
is generally the first to contract, and is the last to cease contracting.
When older children commence crying, the muscles which run to the upper
lip are often the first to contract; and this may perhaps be due
to older children not having so strong a tendency to scream loudly,
and consequently to keep their mouths widely open; so that the above-named
depressor muscles are not brought into such strong action.
[5] Mrs. Gaskell, `Mary Barton,' new edit. p. 84.
With one of my own infants, from his eighth day and for some time afterwards,
I often observed that the first sign of a screaming-fit, when it could be
observed coming on gradually, was a little frown, owing to the contraction
of the corrugators of the brows; the capillaries of the naked head and face
becoming at the same time reddened with blood. As soon as the screaming-fit
actually began, all the muscles round the eyes were strongly contracted,
and the mouth widely opened in the manlier above described; so that at this
early period the features assumed the same form as at a more advanced age.
Dr. Piderit[6] lays great stress on the contraction of certain
muscles which draw down the nose and narrow the nostrils,
as eminently characteristic of a crying expression.
The _depressores anguli oris_, as we have just seen, are usually
contracted at the same time, and they indirectly tend,
according to Dr. Duchenne, to act in this same manner on the nose.
With children having bad colds a similar pinched appearance
of the nose may be noticed, which is at least partly due,
as remarked to me by Dr. Langstaff, to their constant snuffling,
and the consequent pressure of the atmosphere on the two sides.
The purpose of this contraction of the nostrils by children having
bad colds, or whilst crying, seems to be to cheek the downward
flow of the mucus and tears, and to prevent these fluids
spreading over the upper lip.
After a prolonged and severe screaming-fit, the scalp, face, and eyes
are reddened, owing to the return of the blood from the head having
been impeded by the violent expiratory efforts; but the redness of
the stimulated eyes is chiefly due to the copious effusion of tears.
The various muscles of the face which have been strongly contracted,
still twitch a little, and the upper lip is still slightly drawn up or
everted,[7] with the corners of the mouth still a little drawn downwards.
I have myself felt, and have observed in other grown-up persons,
that when tears are restrained with difficulty, as in reading a
pathetic story, it is almost impossible to prevent the various muscles.
which with young children are brought into strong action during their
screaming-fits, from slightly twitching or trembling.
[6] `Mimik und Physiognomik,' 1867, s. 102. Duchenne, Mecanisme de
la Phys. Humaine, Album, p. 34.
Infants whilst young do not shed tears or weep, as is well known
to nurses and medical men. This circumstance is not exclusively due
to the lacrymal glands being as yet incapable of secreting tears.
I first noticed this fact from having accidentally brushed with the cuff
of my coat the open eye of one of my infants, when seventy-seven days old,
causing this eye to water freely; and though the child screamed violently,
the other eye remained dry, or was only slightly suffused with tears.
A similar slight effusion occurred ten days previously in both eyes
during a screaming-fit. The tears did not run over the eyelids and roll
down the cheeks of this child, whilst screaming badly, when 122 days old.
This first happened 17 days later, at the age of 139 days.
A few other children have been observed for me, and the period of free
weeping appears to be very variable. In one case, the eyes became
slightly suffused at the age of only 20 days; in another, at 62 days.
With two other children, the tears did NOT run down the face at the ages of 84
and 110 days; but in a third child they did run down at the age of 104 days.
In one instance, as I was positively assured, tears ran down at the unusually
early age of 42 days. It would appear as if the lacrymal glands required
some practice in the individual before they are easily excited into action,
in somewhat the same manner as various inherited consensual movements
and tastes require some exercise before they are fixed and perfected.
This is all the more likely with a habit like weeping, which must have been
acquired since the period when man branched off from the common progenitor
of the genus Homo and of the non-weeping anthropomorphous apes.
[7] Dr. Duchenne makes this remark, ibid. p. 39.
The fact of tears not being shed at a very early age from pain
or any mental emotion is remarkable, as, later in life, no expression
is more general or more strongly marked than weeping. When the habit
has once been acquired by an infant, it expresses in the clearest
manner suffering of all kinds, both bodily pain and mental distress,
even though accompanied by other emotions, such as fear or rage.
The character of the crying, however, changes at a very early age, as I
noticed in my own infants,--the passionate cry differing from that of grief.
A lady informs me that her child, nine months old, when in a passion
screams loudly, but does not weep; tears, however, are shed when she
is punished by her chair being turned with its back to the table.
This difference may perhaps be attributed to weeping being restrained,
as we shall immediately see, at a more advanced age, under most
circumstances excepting grief; and to the influence of such restraint
being transmitted to an earlier period of life, than that at which it
was first practised.
With adults, especially of the male sex, weeping soon ceases
to be caused by, or to express, bodily pain. This may be accounted
for by its being thought weak and unmanly by men, both of civilized
and barbarous races, to exhibit bodily pain by any outward sign.
With this exception, savages weep copiously from very slight causes,
of which fact Sir J. Lubbock[8] has collected instances.
A New Zealand chief "cried like a child because the sailors
spoilt his favourite cloak by powdering it with flour."
I saw in Tierra del Fuego a native who had lately lost a brother,
and who alternately cried with hysterical violence, and laughed
heartily at anything which amused him. With the civilized nations
of Europe there is also much difference in the frequency of weeping.
Englishmen rarely cry, except under the pressure of the acutest grief;
whereas in some parts of the Continent the men shed tears much
more readily and freely.
The insane notoriously give way to all their emotions with little or
no restraint; and I am informed by Dr. J. Crichton Browne, that nothing
is more characteristic of simple melancholia, even in the male sex,
than a tendency to weep on the slightest occasions, or from no cause.
They also weep disproportionately on the occurrence of any real
cause of grief. The length of time during which some patients weep
is astonishing, as well as the amount of tears which they shed.
One melancholic girl wept for a whole day, and afterwards confessed
to Dr. Browne, that it was because she remembered that she had once
shaved off her eyebrows to promote their growth. Many patients
in the asylum sit for a long time rocking themselves backwards
and forwards; "and if spoken to, they stop their movements, purse up
their eyes, depress the corners of the mouth, and burst out crying."
In some of these cases, the being spoken to or kindly greeted appears
to suggest some fanciful and sorrowful notion; but in other cases an effort
of any kind excites weeping, independently of any sorrowful idea.
Patients suffering from acute mania likewise have paroxysms of violent
crying or blubbering, in the midst of their incoherent ravings.
We must not, however, lay too much stress on the copious shedding
of tears by the insane, as being due to the lack of all restraint;
for certain brain-diseases, as hemiplegia, brain-wasting, and
senile decay, have a special tendency to induce weeping.
Weeping is common in the insane, even after a complete state
of fatuity has been reached and the power of speech lost.
Persons born idiotic likewise weep;[9] but it is said that this
is not the case with cretins.
[8] `The Origin of Civilization,' 1870, p. 355.
Weeping seems to be the primary and natural expression, as we
see in children, of suffering of any kind, whether bodily pain
short of extreme agony, or mental distress. But the foregoing
facts and common experience show us that a frequently repeated
effort to restrain weeping, in association with certain states
of the mind, does much in checking the habit. On the other hand,
it appears that the power of weeping can be increased through habit;
thus the Rev. R. Taylor,[10] who long resided in New Zealand,
asserts that the women can voluntarily shed tears in abundance;
they meet for this purpose to mourn for the dead, and they take
pride in crying "in the most affecting manner."
A single effort of repression brought to bear on the lacrymal glands
does little, and indeed seems often to lead to an opposite result.
An old and experienced physician told me that he had always found
that the only means to check the occasional bitter weeping of ladies
who consulted him, and who themselves wished to desist, was earnestly
to beg them not to try, and to assure them that nothing would relieve
them so much as prolonged and copious crying.
[9] See, for instance, Mr. Marshall's account of an idiot
in Philosoph. Transact. 1864, p. 526. With respect to cretins,
see Dr. Piderit, `Mimik und Physiognomik,' 1867, s. 61.
[10] `New Zealand and its Inhabitants,' 1855, p. 175.
The screaming of infants consists of prolonged expirations,
with short and rapid, almost spasmodic inspirations, followed at
a somewhat more advanced age by sobbing. According to Gratiolet,[11]
the glottis is chiefly affected during the act of sobbing.
This sound is heard "at the moment when the inspiration conquers
the resistance of the glottis, and the air rushes into the chest."
But the whole act of respiration is likewise spasmodic and violent.
The shoulders are at the same time generally raised, as by this
movement respiration is rendered easier. With one of my infants,
when seventy-seven days old, the inspirations were so rapid
and strong that they approached in character to sobbing; when 138
days old I first noticed distinct sobbing, which subsequently
followed every bad crying-fit. The respiratory movements are partly
voluntary and partly involuntary, and I apprehend that sobbing
is at least in part due to children having some power to command
after early infancy their vocal organs and to stop their screams,
but from having less power over their respiratory muscles,
these continue for a time to act in an involuntary or
spasmodic manner, after having been brought into violent action.
Sobbing seems to be peculiar to the human species; for the keepers
in the Zoological Gardens assure me that they have never heard
a sob from any kind of monkey; though monkeys often scream loudly
whilst being chased and caught, and then pant for a long time.
We thus see that there is a close analogy between sobbing
and the free shedding of tears; for with children, sobbing does
not commence during early infancy, but afterwards comes on rather
suddenly and then follows every bad crying-fit, until the habit
is checked with advancing years.
[11] `De la Physionomie,' 1865, p. 126.
_On the cause of the contraction of the muscles round the eyes
during screaming_.--We have seen that infants and young children,
whilst screaming, invariably close their eyes firmly, by the contraction
of the surrounding muscles, so that the skin becomes wrinkled all around.
With older children, and even with adults, whenever there is violent
and unrestrained crying, a tendency to the contraction of these same
muscles may be observed; though this is often checked in order not
to interfere with vision.
Sir C. Bell explains[12] this action in the following
manner:--"During every violent act of expiration, whether in
hearty laughter, weeping, coughing, or sneezing, the eyeball
is firmly compressed by the fibres of the orbicularis;
and this is a provision for supporting and defending the vascular
system of the interior of the eye from a retrograde impulse
communicated to the blood in the veins at that time.
When we contract the chest and expel the air, there is a
retardation of the blood in the veins of the neck and head;
and in the more powerful acts of expulsion, the blood not only distends
the vessels, but is even regurgitated into the minute branches.
Were the eye not properly compressed at that time, and a
resistance given to the shock, irreparable injury might be
inflicted on the delicate textures of the interior of the eye."
He further adds, "If we separate the eyelids of a child
to examine the eye, while it cries and struggles with passion,
by taking off the natural support to the vascular system
of the eye, and means of guarding it against the rush of blood
then occurring, the conjunctiva becomes suddenly filled with blood,
and the eyelids everted."
[12] `The Anatomy of Expression,' 1844, p. 106. See also his paper
in the `Philosophical Transactions,' 1822, p. 284, ibid. 1823, pp.
166 and 289. Also `The Nervous System of the Human Body,' 3rd edit.
1836, p. 175.
Not only are the muscles round the eyes strongly contracted, as Sir C. Bell
states and as I have often observed, during screaming, loud laughter,
coughing, and sneezing, but during several other analogous actions.
A man contracts these muscles when he violently blows his nose.
I asked one of my boys to shout as loudly as he possibly could,
and as soon as he began, he firmly contracted his orbicular muscles;
I observed this repeatedly, and on asking him why he had every time
so firmly closed his eyes, I found that he was quite unaware of the fact:
he had acted instinctively or unconsciously.
It is not necessary, in order to lead to the contraction of
these muscles, that air should actually be expelled from the chest;
it suffices that the muscles of the chest and abdomen should contract
with great force, whilst by the closure of the glottis no air escapes.
In violent vomiting or retching the diaphragm is made to descend
by the chest being filled with air; it is then held in this position
by the closure of the glottis, "as well as by the contraction of its own
fibres."[13] The abdominal muscles now contract strongly upon the stomach,
its proper muscles likewise contracting, and the contents are thus ejected.
During each effort of vomiting "the head becomes greatly congested,
so that the features are red and swollen, and the large veins of
the face and temples visibly dilated." At the same time, as I know
from observation, the muscles round the eyes are strongly contracted.
This is likewise the case when the abdominal muscles act downwards
with unusual force in expelling the contents of the intestinal canal.
[13] See Dr. Brinton's account of the act of vomiting, in Todd's Cyclop.
of Anatomy and Physiology, 1859, vol. v. Supplement, p. 318.
The greatest exertion of the muscles of the body, if those of the chest are
not brought into strong action in expelling or compressing the air within
the lungs, does not lead to the contraction of the muscles round the eyes.
I have observed my sons using great force in gymnastic exercises,
as in repeatedly raising their suspended bodies by their arms alone,
and in lifting heavy weights from the ground, but there was hardly any
trace of contraction in the muscles round the eyes.
As the contraction of these muscles for the protection
of the eyes during violent expiration is indirectly,
as we shall hereafter see, a fundamental element in several
of our most important expressions, I was extremely anxious
to ascertain how far Sir C. Bell's view could be substantiated.
Professor Donders, of Utrecht,[14] well known as one of the highest
authorities in Europe on vision and on the structure of the eye,
has most kindly undertaken for me this investigation with
the aid of the many ingenious mechanisms of modern science,
and has published the results.[15] He shows that during
violent expiration the external, the intra-ocular, and the
retro-ocular vessels of the eye are all affected in two ways,
namely by the increased pressure of the blood in the arteries,
and by the return of the blood in the veins being impeded.
It is, therefore, certain that both the arteries and the veins
of the eye are more or less distended during violent expiration.
The evidence in detail may be found in Professor Donders'
valuable memoir. We see the effects on the veins of the head,
in their prominence, and in the purple colour of the face
of a man who coughs violently from being half choked.
I may mention, on the same authority, that the whole eye
certainly advances a little during each violent expiration.
This is due to the dilatation of the retro-ocular vessels,
and might have been expected from the intimate connection of
the eye and brain; the brain being known to rise and fall with
each respiration, when a portion of the skull has been removed;
and as may be seen along the unclosed sutures of infants' heads.
This also, I presume, is the reason that the eyes of a strangled
man appear as if they were starting from their sockets.
[14] I am greatly indebted to Mr. Bowman for having introduced
me to Prof. Donders, and for his aid in persuading this great
physiologist to undertake the investigation of the present subject.
I am likewise much indebted to Mr. Bowman for having given me,
with the utmost kindness, information on many points.
[15] This memoir first appeared in the `Nederlandsch Archief voor Genees
en Natuurkiinde,' Deel 5, 1870. It has been translated by Dr. W. D. Moore,
under the title of "On the Action of the Eyelids in determination of Blood
from expiratory effort," in `Archives of Medicine,' edited by Dr. L. S. Beale,
1870, vol. v. p. 20.
With respect to the protection of the eye during violent expiratory
efforts by the pressure of the eyelids, Professor Donders concludes from
his various observations that this action certainly limits or entirely
removes the dilatation of the vessels.[16] At such times, he adds,
we not unfrequently see the hand involuntarily laid upon the eyelids,
as if the better to support and defend the eyeball.
[16] Prof. Donders remarks (ibid. p. 28), that, "After injury to the eye,
after operations, and in some forms of internal inflammation,
we attach great value to the uniform support of the closed eyelids,
and we increase this in many instances by the application of a bandage.
In both cases we carefully endeavour to avoid great expiratory pressure,
the disadvantage of which is well known." Mr. Bowman informs me that in
the excessive photophobia, accompanying what is called scrofulous ophthalmia
in children, when the light is so very painful that during weeks or months
it is constantly excluded by the most forcible closure of the lids,
he has often been struck on opening the lids by the paleness of the eye,--
not an unnatural paleness, but an absence of the redness that might have been
expected when the surface is somewhat inflamed, as is then usually the case;
and this paleness he is inclined to attribute to the forcible closure
of the eyelids.
Nevertheless much evidence cannot at present be advanced
to prove that the eye actually suffers injury from the want
of support during violent expiration; but there is some.
It is "a fact that forcible expiratory efforts in violent
coughing or vomiting, and especially in sneezing,
sometimes give rise to ruptures of the little (external) vessels"
of the eye.[17] With respect to the internal vessels,
Dr. Gunning has lately recorded a case of exophthalmos in
consequence of whooping-cough, which in his opinion depended
on the rupture of the deeper vessels; and another analogous
case has been recorded. But a mere sense of discomfort would
probably suffice to lead to the associated habit of protecting
the eyeball by the contraction of the surrounding muscles.
Even the expectation or chance of injury would probably
be sufficient, in the same manner as an object moving too
near the eye induces involuntary winking of the eyelids.
We may, therefore, safely conclude from Sir C. Bell's observations,
and more especially from the more careful investigations
by Professor Donders, that the firm closure of the eyelids
during the screaming of children is an action full of meaning
and of real service.
We have already seen that the contraction of the orbicular muscles
leads to the drawing up of the upper lip, and consequently,
if the mouth is kept widely open, to the drawing down of
the corners by the contraction of the depressor muscles.
The formation of the naso-labial fold on the cheeks likewise
follows from the drawing up of the upper lip. Thus all the chief
expressive movements of the face during crying apparently
result from the contraction of the muscles round the eyes.
We shall also find that the shedding of tears depends on,
or at least stands in some connection with, the contraction
of these same muscles.
[17] Donders, ibid. p. 36.
In some of the foregoing cases, especially in those of sneezing and coughing,
it is possible that the contraction of the orbicular muscles may serve
in addition to protect the eyes from too severe a jar or vibration.
I think so, because dogs and cats, in crunching hard bones, always close
their eyelids, and at least sometimes in sneezing; though dogs do not
do so whilst barking loudly. Mr. Sutton carefully observed for me
a young orang and chimpanzee, and he found that both always closed
their eyes in sneezing and coughing, but not whilst screaming violently.
I gave a small pinch of snuff to a monkey of the American division,
namely, a Cebus, and it closed its eyelids whilst sneezing; but not on
a subsequent occasion whilst uttering loud cries.
_Cause of the secretion of tears_.--It is an important fact which
must be considered in any theory of the secretion of tears from
the mind being affected, that whenever the muscles round the eyes
are strongly and involuntarily contracted in order to compress
the blood-vessels and thus to protect the eyes, tears are secreted,
often in sufficient abundance to roll down the cheeks.
This occurs under the most opposite emotions, and under no emotion
at all. The sole exception, and this is only a partial one,
to the existence of a relation between the involuntary and
strong contraction of these muscles and the secretion of tears
is that of young infants, who, whilst screaming violently
with their eyelids firmly closed, do not commonly weep until
they have attained the age of from two to three or four months.
Their eyes, however, become suffused with tears at a much earlier age.
It would appear, as already remarked, that the lacrymal
glands do not, from the want of practice or some other cause,
come to full functional activity at a very early period of life.
With children at a somewhat later age, crying out or wailing from
any distress is so regularly accompanied by the shedding of tears,
that weeping and crying are synonymous terms.[18]
Under the opposite emotion of great joy or amusement, as long as laughter
is moderate there is hardly any contraction of the muscles round the eyes,
so that there is no frowning; but when peals of loud laughter are uttered,
with rapid and violent spasmodic expirations, tears stream down the face.
I have more than once noticed the face of a person, after a paroxysm
of violent laughter, and I could see that the orbicular muscles and those
running to the upper lip were still partially contracted, which together
with the tear-stained cheeks gave to the upper half of the face an expression
not to be distinguished from that of a child still blubbering from grief.
The fact of tears streaming down the face during violent laughter is common
to all the races of mankind, as we shall see in a future chapter.
In violent coughing especially when a person is half-choked,
the face becomes purple, the veins distended, the orbicular muscles
strongly contracted, and tears run down the cheeks. Even after
a fit of ordinary coughing, almost every one has to wipe his eyes.
In violent vomiting or retching, as I have myself experienced
and seen in others, the orbicular muscles are strongly contracted,
and tears sometimes flow freely down the cheeks. It has been suggested
to me that this may be due to irritating matter being injected into
the nostrils, and causing by reflex action the secretion of tears.
Accordingly I asked one of my informants, a surgeon, to attend to
the effects of retching when nothing was thrown up from the stomach;
and, by an odd coincidence, he himself suffered the next morning
from an attack of retching, and three days subsequently observed
a lady under a similar attack; and he is certain that in neither case
an atom of matter was ejected from the stomach; yet the orbicular
muscles were strongly contracted, and tears freely secreted.
I can also speak positively to the energetic contraction of these same
muscles round the eyes, and to the coincident free secretion of tears,
when the abdominal muscles act with unusual force in a downward
direction on the intestinal canal.
[18] Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood (Dict. of English Etymology,
1859, vol. i. p. 410) says, "the verb to weep comes from
Anglo-Saxon _wop_, the primary meaning of which is simply outcry."
Yawning commences with a deep inspiration, followed by a long
and forcible expiration; and at the same time almost all the muscles
of the body are strongly contracted, including those round the eyes.
During this act tears are often secreted, and I have seen them
even rolling down the cheeks.
I have frequently observed that when persons scratch some point which
itches intolerably, they forcibly close their eyelids; but they do not,
as I believe, first draw a deep breath and then expel it with force;
and I have never noticed that the eyes then become filled with tears;
but I am not prepared to assert that this does not occur.
The forcible closure of the eyelids is, perhaps, merely a part of that
general action by which almost all the muscles of the body are at
the same time rendered rigid. It is quite different from the gentle
closure of the eyes which often accompanies, as Gratiolet remarks,[19]
the smelling a delicious odour, or the tasting a delicious morsel,
and which probably originates in the desire to shut out any disturbing
impression through the eyes.
[19] `De la Physionomie,' 1865, p. 217.
Professor Donders writes to me to the following effect:
"I have observed some cases of a very curious affection when,
after a slight rub (_attouchement_), for example, from the friction
of a coat, which caused neither a wound nor a contusion,
spasms of the orbicular muscles occurred, with a very profuse flow
of tears, lasting about one hour. Subsequently, sometimes after
an interval of several weeks, violent spasms of the same
muscles re-occurred, accompanied by the secretion of tears,
together with primary or secondary redness of the eye."
Mr. Bowman informs me that be has occasionally observed closely
analogous cases, and that, in some of these, there was no redness
or inflammation of the eyes.
I was anxious to ascertain whether there existed in any of the lower
animals a similar relation between the contraction of the orbicular
muscles during violent expiration and the secretion of tears;
but there are very few animals which contract these muscles
in a prolonged manner, or which shed tears. _The Macacus maurus_,
which formerly wept so copiously in the Zoological Gardens, would have
been a fine case for observation; but the two monkeys now there,
and which are believed to belong to the same species, do not weep.
Nevertheless they were carefully observed by Mr. Bartlett and myself,
whilst screaming loudly, and they seemed to contract these muscles;
but they moved about their cages so rapidly, that it was difficult
to observe with certainty. No other monkey, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, contracts its orbicular muscles whilst screaming.
The Indian elephant is known sometimes to weep. Sir E. Tennent,
in describing these which he saw captured and bound in Ceylon, says,
some "lay motionless on the ground, with no other indication of suffering
than the tears which suffused their eyes and flowed incessantly."
Speaking of another elephant he says, "When overpowered and made fast,
his grief was most affecting; his violence sank to utter prostration,
and he lay on the ground, uttering choking cries, with tears trickling
down his cheeks."[20] In the Zoological Gardens the keeper of the Indian
elephants positively asserts that he has several times seen tears
rolling down the face of the old female, when distressed by the removal
of the young one. Hence I was extremely anxious to ascertain,
as an extension of the relation between the contraction of the orbicular
muscles and the shedding of tears in man, whether elephants when screaming
or trumpeting loudly contract these muscles. At Mr. Bartlett's
desire the keeper ordered the old and the young elephant to trumpet;
and we repeatedly saw in both animals that, just as the trumpeting began,
the orbicular muscles, especially the lower ones, were distinctly contracted.
On a subsequent occasion the keeper made the old elephant trumpet
much more loudly, and invariably both the upper and lower orbicular
muscles were strongly contracted, and now in an equal degree.
It is a singular fact that the African elephant, which, however, is so
different from the Indian species that it is placed by some naturalists
in a distinct sub-genus, when made on two occasions to trumpet loudly,
exhibited no trace of the contraction of the orbicular muscles.
[20] `Ceylon,' 3rd edit. 1859, vol. ii. pp. 364, 376.
I applied to Mr. Thwaites, in Ceylon, for further information
with respect to the weeping of the elephant; and in consequence
received a letter from the Rev. Mr Glenie, who, with others,
kindly observed for me a herd of recently captured elephants.
These, when irritated, screamed violently; but it is remarkable that they
never when thus screaming contracted the muscles round the eyes.
Nor did they shed tears; and the native hunters asserted that they
had never observed elephants weeping. Nevertheless, it appears
to me impossible to doubt Sir E. Tennent's distinct details
about their weeping, supported as they are by the positive
assertion of the keeper in the Zoological Gardens. It is
certain that the two elephants in the Gardens, when they began
to trumpet loudly, invariably contracted their orbicular muscles.
I can reconcile these conflicting statements only by supposing
that the recently captured elephants in Ceylon, from being
enraged or frightened, desired to observe their persecutors,
and consequently did not contract their orbicular muscles,
so that their vision might not be impeded. Those seen weeping by
Sir E. Tennent were prostrate, and had given up the contest in despair.
The elephants which trumpeted in the Zoological Gardens at the word
of command, were, of course, neither alarmed nor enraged.
From the several foregoing cases with respect to Man, there can,
I think, be no doubt that the contraction of the muscles round
the eyes, during violent expiration or when the expanded chest
is forcibly compressed, is, in some manner, intimately connected
with the secretion of tears. This holds good under widely
different emotions, and independently of any emotion. It is not,
of course, meant that tears cannot be secreted without the contraction
of these muscles; for it is notorious that they are often freely
shed with the eyelids not closed, and with the brows unwrinkled.
The contraction must be both involuntary and prolonged,
as during a choking fit, or energetic, as during a sneeze.
The mere involuntary winking of the eyelids, though often repeated,
does not bring tears into the eyes. Nor does the voluntary and
prolonged contraction of the several surrounding muscles suffice.
As the lacrymal glands of children are easily excited, I persuaded
my own and several other children of different ages to contract
these muscles repeatedly with their utmost force, and to continue
doing so as long as they possibly could; but this produced hardly
any effect. There was sometimes a little moisture in the eyes,
but not more than apparently could be accounted for by the squeezing
out of the already secreted tears within the glands.
The nature of the relation between the involuntary and energetic
contraction of the muscles round the eyes, and the secretion of tears,
cannot be positively ascertained, but a probable view may be suggested.
The primary function of the secretion of tears, together with some mucus,
is to lubricate the surface of the eye; and a secondary one,
as some believe, is to keep the nostrils damp, so that the inhaled
air may be moist,[21] and likewise to favour the power of smelling.
But another, and at least equally important function of tears, is to wash
out particles of dust or other minute objects which may get into the eyes.
That this is of great importance is clear from the cases in which the cornea
has been rendered opaque through inflammation, caused by particles
of dust not being removed, in consequence of the eye and eyelid becoming
immovable.[22] The secretion of tears from the irritation of any foreign
body in the eye is a reflex action;--that is, the body irritates a
peripheral nerve which sends an impression to certain sensory nerve-cells;
these transmit an influence to other cells, and these again to the
lacrymal glands. The influence transmitted to these glands causes,
as there is good reason to believe, the relaxation of the muscular
coats of the smaller arteries; this allows more blood to permeate
the glandular tissue, and this induces a free secretion of tears.
When the small arteries of the face, including those of the retina,
are relaxed under very different circumstances, namely, during an
intense blush, the lacrymal glands are sometimes affected in a like manner,
for the eyes become suffused with tears.
It is difficult to conjecture how many reflex actions have originated,
but, in relation to the present case of the affection of the lacrymal
glands through irritation of the surface of the eye, it may be worth
remarking that, as soon as some primordial form became semi-terrestrial
in its habits, and was liable to get particles of dust into its eyes,
if these were not washed out they would cause much irritation;
and on the principle of the radiation of nerve-force to adjoining
nerve-cells, the lacrymal glands would be stimulated to secretion.
As this would often recur, and as nerve-force readily passes along
accustomed channels, a slight irritation would ultimately suffice
to cause a free secretion of tears.
[21] Bergeon, as quoted in the `Journal of Anatomy
and Physiology,' Nov. 1871, p. 235.
[22] See, for instance, a case given by Sir Charles Bell,
`Philosophical Transactions,' 1823, p. 177.
As soon as by this, or by some other means, a reflex action
of this nature had been established and rendered easy,
other stimulants applied to the surface of the eye--such as a
cold wind, slow inflammatory action, or a blow on the eyelids--
would cause a copious secretion of tears, as we know to be the case.
The glands are also excited into action through the irritation
of adjoining parts. Thus when the nostrils are irritated by
pungent vapours, though the eyelids may be kept firmly closed,
tears are copiously secreted; and this likewise follows from
a blow on the nose, for instance from a boxing-glove. A stinging
switch on the face produces, as I have seen, the same effect.
In these latter cases the secretion of tears is an incidental result,
and of no direct service. As all these parts of the face,
including the lacrymal glands, are supplied with branches
of the same nerve, namely, the fifth, it is in some degree
intelligible that the effects of the excitement of any one branch
should spread to the nerve-cells or roots of the other branches.
The internal parts of the eye likewise act, under certain conditions,
in a reflex manner on the lacrymal glands. The following statements
have been kindly communicated to me by Mr. Bowman; but the subject
is a very intricate one, as all the parts of the eye are so intimately
related together, and are so sensitive to various stimulants.
A strong light acting on the retina, when in a normal condition,
has very little tendency to cause lacrymation; but with unhealthy
children having small, old-standing ulcers on the cornea, the retina
becomes excessively sensitive to light, and exposure even to common
daylight causes forcible and sustained closure of the lids,
and a profuse flow of tears. When persons who ought to begin
the use of convex glasses habitually strain the waning power
of accommodation, an undue secretion of tears very often follows,
and the retina is liable to become unduly sensitive to light.
In general, morbid affections of the surface of the eye,
and of the ciliary structures concerned in the accommodative act,
are prone to be accompanied with excessive secretion of tears.
Hardness of the eyeball, not rising to inflammation, but implying
a want of balance between the fluids poured out and again taken up by
the intra-ocular vessels, is not usually attended with any lacrymation.
When the balance is on the other side, and the eye becomes too soft,
there is a greater tendency to lacrymation. Finally, there are
numerous morbid states and structural alterations of the eyes,
and even terrible inflammations, which may be attended with little
or no secretion of tears.
It also deserves notice, as indirectly bearing on our subject,
that the eye and adjoining parts are subject to an extraordinary
number of reflex and associated movements, sensations, and actions,
besides those relating to the lacrymal glands. When a bright
light strikes the retina of one eye alone, the iris contracts,
but the iris of the other eye moves after a measurable interval of time.
The iris likewise moves in accommodation to near or distant vision,
and when the two eyes are made to converge.[23] Every one knows how
irresistibly the eyebrows are drawn down under an intensely bright light.
The eyelids also involuntarily wink when an object is moved near the eyes,
or a sound is suddenly heard. The well-known case of a bright light
causing some persons to sneeze is even more curious; for nerve-force
here radiates from certain nerve-cells in connection with the retina,
to the sensory nerve-cells of the nose, causing it to tickle;
and from these, to the cells which command the various respiratory muscles
(the orbiculars included) which expel the air in so peculiar a manner
that it rushes through the nostrils alone.
To return to our point: why are tears secreted during
a screaming-fit or other violent expiratory efforts?
As a slight blow on the eyelids causes a copious secretion
of tears, it is at least possible that the spasmodic contraction
of the eyelids, by pressing strongly on the eyeball, should in
a similar manner cause some secretion. This seems possible,
although the voluntary contraction of the same muscles does not
produce any such effect. We know that a man cannot voluntarily
sneeze or cough with nearly the same force as he does automatically;
and so it is with the contraction of the orbicular muscles:
Sir C. Bell experimented on them, and found that by suddenly
and forcibly closing the eyelids in the dark, sparks of light
are seen, like those caused by tapping the eyelids with
the fingers; "but in sneezing the compression is both more
rapid and more forcible, and the sparks are more brilliant."
That these sparks are due to the contraction of the eyelids
is clear, because if they "are held open during the act
of sneezing, no sensation of light will be experienced."
In the peculiar cases referred to by Professor Donders and
Mr. Bowman, we have seen that some weeks after the eye has been
very slightly injured, spasmodic contractions of the eyelids ensue,
and these are accompanied by a profuse flow of tears.
In the act of yawning, the tears are apparently due solely
to the spasmodic contraction of the muscles round the eyes.
Notwithstanding these latter cases, it seems hardly credible
that the pressure of the eyelids on the surface of the eye,
although effected spasmodically and therefore with much greater
force than can be done voluntarily, should be sufficient to cause
by reflex action the secretion of tears in the many cases
in which this occurs during violent expiratory efforts.
[23] See, on these several points, Prof. Donders `On the Anomalies
of Accommodation and Refraction of the Eye,' 1864, p. 573.
Another cause may come conjointly into play.
We have seen that the internal parts of the eye, under certain
conditions act in a reflex manner on the lacrymal glands.
We know that during violent expiratory efforts the pressure
of the arterial blood within the vessels of the eye is increased,
and that the return of the venous blood is impeded.
It seems, therefore, not improbable that the distension
of the ocular vessels, thus induced, might act by reflection
on the lacrymal glands--the effects due to the spasmodic pressure
of the eyelids on the surface of the eye being thus increased.
In considering how far this view is probable, we should bear
in mind that the eyes of infants have been acted on in this
double manner during numberless generations, whenever they
have screamed; and on the principle of nerve-force readily
passing along accustomed channels, even a moderate compression
of the eyeballs and a moderate distension of the ocular vessels
would ultimately come, through habit, to act on the glands.
We have an analogous case in the orbicular muscles being almost
always contracted in some slight degree, even during a gentle
crying-fit, when there can be no distension of the vessels
and no uncomfortable sensation excited within the eyes.
Moreover, when complex actions or movements have long been performed
in strict association together, and these are from any cause at first
voluntarily and afterwards habitually checked, then if the proper exciting
conditions occur, any part of the action or movement which is least under
the control of the will, will often still be involuntarily performed.
The secretion by a gland is remarkably free from the influence of
the will; therefore, when with the advancing age of the individual,
or with the advancing culture of the race, the habit of crying out
or screaming is restrained, and there is consequently no distension
of the blood-vessels of the eye, it may nevertheless well happen
that tears should still be secreted. We may see, as lately remarked,
the muscles round the eyes of a person who reads a pathetic story,
twitching or trembling in so slight a degree as hardly to be detected.
In this case there has been no screaming and no distension of the
blood-vessels, yet through habit certain nerve-cells send a small amount
of nerve-force to the cells commanding the muscles round the eyes;
and they likewise send some to the cells commanding the lacrymal glands,
for the eyes often become at the same time just moistened with tears.
If the twitching of the muscles round the eyes and the secretion
of tears had been completely prevented, nevertheless it is almost
certain that there would have been some tendency to transmit nerve-force
in these same directions; and as the lacrymal glands are remarkably
free from the control of the will, they would be eminently liable still
to act, thus betraying, though there were no other outward signs,
the pathetic thoughts which were passing through the person's mind.
As a further illustration of the view here advanced,
I may remark that if, during an early period of life,
when habits of all kinds are readily established, our infants,
when pleased, had been accustomed to utter loud peals of laughter
(during which the vessels of their eyes are distended)
as often and as continuously as they have yielded when
distressed to screaming-fits, then it is probable that in after
life tears would have been as copiously and as regularly
secreted under the one state of mind as under the other.
Gentle laughter, or a smile, or even a pleasing thought,
would have sufficed to cause a moderate secretion of tears.
There does indeed exist an evident tendency in this direction, as will
be seen in a future chapter, when we treat of the tender feelings.
With the Sandwich Islanders, according to Freycinet,[24] tears are
actually recognized as a sign of happiness; but we should require
better evidence on this head than that of a passing voyager.
So again if our infants, during many generations, and each
of them during several years, had almost daily suffered from
prolonged choking-fits, during which the vessels of the eye
are distended and tears copiously secreted, then it is probable,
such is the force of associated habit, that during after life
the mere thought of a choke, without any distress of mind,
would have sufficed to bring tears into our eyes.
To sum up this chapter, weeping is probably the result of some such chain
of events as follows. Children, when wanting food or suffering in any way,
cry out loudly, like the young of most other animals, partly as a call
to their parents for aid, and partly from any great exertion serving relief.
Prolonged screaming inevitably leads to the gorging of the blood-vessels of
the eye; and this will have led, at first consciously and at last habitually,
to the contraction of the muscles round the eyes in order to protect them.
At the same time the spasmodic pressure on the surface of the eye,
and the distension of the vessels within the eye, without necessarily
entailing any conscious sensation, will have affected, through reflex action,
the lacrymal glands. Finally, through the three principles of nerve-force
readily passing along accustomed channels--of association, which is so
widely extended in its power--and of certain actions, being more under
the control of the will than others--it has come to pass that suffering
readily causes the secretion of tears, without being necessarily accompanied
by any other action.
[24] Quoted by Sir J. Lubbock, `Prehistoric Times,' 1865, p. 458.
Although in accordance with this view we must look at weeping
as an incidental result, as purposeless as the secretion of tears
from a blow outside the eye, or as a sneeze from the retina
being affected by a bright light, yet this does not present any
difficulty in our understanding how the secretion of tears serves
as a relief to suffering. And by as much as the weeping is more
violent or hysterical, by so much will the relief be greater,--
on the same principle that the writhing of the whole body,
the grinding of the teeth, and the uttering of piercing shrieks,
all give relief under an agony of pain. CHAPTER VII.
LOW SPIRITS, ANXIETY, GRIEF, DEJECTION, DESPAIR.
General effect of grief on the system--Obliquity of the eyebrows
under suffering--On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows--
On the depression of the corners of the mouth.
AFTER the mind has suffered from an acute paroxysm of grief,
and the cause still continues, we fall into a state of low spirits;
or we may be utterly cast down and dejected. Prolonged bodily pain,
if not amounting to an agony, generally leads to the same state of mind.
If we expect to suffer, we are anxious; if we have no hope
of relief, we despair.
Persons suffering from excessive grief often seek relief by violent
and almost frantic movements, as described in a former chapter;
but when their suffering is somewhat mitigated, yet prolonged,
they no longer wish for action, but remain motionless
and passive, or may occasionally rock themselves to and fro.
The circulation becomes languid; the face pale; the muscles flaccid;
the eyelids droop; the head hangs on the contracted chest;
the lips, checks, and lower jaw all sink downwards from
their own weight. Hence all the features are lengthened;
and the face of a person who hears bad news is said to fall.
A party of natives in Tierra del Fuego endeavoured to explain
to us that their friend, the captain of a sealing vessel,
was out of spirits, by pulling down their cheeks with
both hands, so as to make their faces as long as possible.
Mr. Bunnet informs me that the Australian aborigines when out
of spirits have a chop-fallen appearance. After prolonged
suffering the eyes become dull and lack expression, and are often
slightly suffused with tears. The eyebrows not rarely are
rendered oblique, which is due to their inner ends being raised.
This produces peculiarly-formed wrinkles on the forehead,
which are very different from those of a simple frown;
though in some cases a frown alone may be present.
The corners of the mouth are drawn downwards, which is so
universally recognized as a sign of being out of spirits,
that it is almost proverbial.
The breathing becomes slow and feeble, and is often interrupted
by deep sighs. As Gratiolet remarks, whenever our attention is long
concentrated on any subject, we forget to breathe, and then relieve
ourselves by a deep inspiration; but the sighs of a sorrowful person,
owing to his slow respiration and languid circulation,
are eminently characteristic.[1] As the grief of a person
in this state occasionally recurs and increases into a paroxysm,
spasms affect the respiratory muscles, and he feels as if something,
the so-called _globus hystericus_, was rising in his throat.
These spasmodic movements are clearly allied to the sobbing
of children, and are remnants of those severer spasms which occur
when a person is said to choke from excessive grief.[2]
[1] The above descriptive remarks are taken in part from my own observations,
but chiefly from Gratiolet (`De la Physionomie,' pp. 53, 337; on Sighing,
232), who has well treated this whole subject. See, also, Huschke. `Mimices
et Physiognomices, Fragmentum Physiologicitim,' 1821, p. 21. On the dulness
of the eyes, Dr. Piderit, `Mimik und Physiognomik,' 1867, s. 65.
[2] On the action of grief on the organs of respiration,
_Obliquity of the eyebrows_.--Two points alone in the above
description require further elucidation, and these are
very curious ones; namely, the raising of the inner ends of
the eyebrows, and the drawing down of the corners of the mouth.
With respect to the eyebrows, they may occasionally be seen
to assume an oblique position in persons suffering from deep
dejection or anxiety; for instance, I have observed this
movement in a mother whilst speaking about her sick son;
and it is sometimes excited by quite trifling or momentary
causes of real or pretended distress. The eyebrows assume
this position owing to the contraction of certain muscles
(namely, the orbiculars, corrugators, and pyramidals of the nose,
which together tend to lower and contract the eyebrows)
being partially checked by the more powerful action of the central
fascim of the frontal muscle. These latter fasciae by their
contraction raise the inner ends alone of the eyebrows;
and as the corrugators at the same time draw the eyebrows together,
their inner ends become puckered into a fold or lump.
This fold is a highly characteristic point in the appearance
of the eyebrows when rendered oblique, as may be seen in figs.
2 and 5, Plate II. The eyebrows are at the same time
somewhat roughened, owing to the hairs being made to project.
Dr. J. Crichton Browne has also often noticed in melancholic
patients who keep their eyebrows persistently oblique,
"a peculiar acute arching of the upper eyelid."
A trace of this may be observed by comparing the right and left
eyelids of the young man in the photograph (fig. 2, Plate II.);
for he was not able to act equally on both eyebrows. This is also
shown by the unequal furrows on the two sides of his forehead.
The acute arching of the eyelids
see more especially Sir C. Bell, `Anatomy of Expression,' 3rd edit.
1844, p. 151. depends, I believe, on the inner end alone of the eyebrows
being raised; for when the whole eyebrow is elevated and arched,
the upper eyelid follows in a slight degree the same movement.
But the most conspicuous result of the opposed contraction of the above-named
muscles, is exhibited by the peculiar furrows formed on the forehead.
These muscles, when thus in conjoint yet opposed action, may be called,
for the sake of brevity, the grief-muscles. When a person elevates
his eyebrows by the contraction of the whole frontal muscle,
transverse wrinkles extend across the whole breadth of the forehead;
but in the present case the middle fasciae alone are contracted;
consequently, transverse furrows are formed across the middle
part alone of the forehead. The skin over the exterior parts
of both eyebrows is at the same time drawn downwards and smooth,
by the contraction of the outer portions of the orbicular muscles.
The eyebrows are likewise brought together through the simultaneous
contraction of the corrugators;[3] and this latter action generates
vertical furrows, separating the exterior and lowered part of the skin
of the forehead from the central and raised part. The union of these
vertical furrows with the central and transverse furrows (see figs.
2 and 3) produces a mark on the forehead which has been compared
to a horse-shoe; but the furrows more strictly form three sides
of a quadrangle. They are often conspicuous on the foreheads of adult
or nearly adult persons, when their eyebrows are made oblique;
but with young children, owing to their skin not easily wrinkling,
they are rarely seen, or mere traces of them can be detected.
These peculiar furrows are best represented in fig. 3, Plate II.,
on the forehead of a young lady who has the power in an unusual
degree of voluntarily acting on the requisite muscles.
As she was absorbed in the attempt, whilst being photographed,
her expression was not at all one of grief; I have therefore
given the forehead alone. Fig. 1 on the same plate, copied from
Dr. Duchenne's work 4 represents, on a reduced scale, the face,
in its natural state, of a young man who was a good actor.
In fig. 2 he is shown simulating grief, but the
[3] In the foregoing remarks on the manner in which the eyebrows
are made oblique, I have followed what seems to be the universal
opinion of all the anatomists, whose works I have consulted on
the action of the above-named muscles, or with whom I have conversed.
Hence throughout this work I shall take a similar view of the action
of the _corrugator supercilii_, _orbicularis, pyramidalis nasi_,
and _frontalis_ muscles. Dr. Duchenne, however, believes, and every
conclusion at which he arrives deserves serious consideration, that it
is the corrugator, called by him the _sourcilier_, which raises the inner
corner of the eyebrows and is antagonistic to the upper and inner
part of the orbicular muscle, as well as to the _pyramidalis nasi_
(see Mecanisme de la Phys. Humaine, 1862, folio, art.
v., text and figures 19 to 29: octavo edit. 1862, p. 43 text).
He admits, however, that the corrugator draws together the eyebrows,
causing vertical furrows above the base of the nose, or a frown.
He further believes that towards the outer two-thirds of the eyebrow
the corrugator acts in conjunction with the upper orbicular muscle;
both here standing in antagonism to the frontal muscle.
I am unable to understand, judging from Henle's drawings (woodcut, fig.
3), how the corrugator can act in the manner described
by Duchenue. See, also, oil this subject, Prof. Donders' remarks in
the `Archives of Medicine,' 1870, vol. v. p. 34. Mr. J. Wood,
who is so well known for his careful study of the muscles
of the human frame, informs me that he believes the account
which I have given of the action of the corrugator to be correct.
But this is not a point of any importance with respect to
the expression which is caused by the obliquity of the eyebrows,
nor of much importance to the theory of its origin.
`I am greatly indebted to Dr. Duchenne for permission to have
these two photographs (figs. 1 and 2) reproduced by the heliotype
process from his work in folio. Many of the foregoing remarks on
the furrowing of the skin, when the eyebrows are rendered oblique,
are taken from his excellent discussion on this subject.
two eyebrows, as before remarked, are not equally acted on.
That the expression is true, may be inferred from the fact
that out of fifteen persons, to whom the original photograph
was shown, without any clue to what was intended being
given them, fourteen immediately answered, "despairing sorrow,"
"suffering endurance," "melancholy," and so forth. The history of fig.
5 is rather curious: I saw the photograph in a shop-window,
and took it to Mr. Rejlander for the sake of finding out by whom it
had been made; remarking to him how pathetic the expression was.
He answered, "I made it, and it was likely to be pathetic,
for the boy in a few minutes burst out crying." He then showed me
a photograph of the same boy in a placid state, which I have had
(fig. 4) reproduced. In fig. 6, a trace of obliquity in
the eyebrows may be detected; but this figure, as well as fig.
7, is given to show the depression of the corners of the mouth,
to which subject I shall presently refer.
Few persons, without some practice, can voluntarily act on
their grief-muscles; but after repeated trials a considerable
number succeed, whilst others never can. The degree of obliquity
in the eyebrows, whether assumed voluntarily or unconsciously,
differs much in different persons. With some who apparently have
unusually strong pyramidal muscles, the contraction of the central
fasciae of the frontal muscle, although it may be energetic,
as shown by the quadrangular furrows on the forehead,
does not raise the inner ends of the eyebrows, but only prevents
their being so much lowered as they otherwise would have been.
As far as I have been able to observe, the grief-muscles are brought
into action much more frequently by children and women than by men.
They are rarely acted on, at least with grown-up persons,
from bodily pain, but almost exclusively from mental distress.
Two persons who, after some practice, succeeded in acting on their
grief-muscles, found by looking at a mirror that when they made
their eyebrows oblique, they unintentionally at the same time
depressed the corners of their mouths; and this is often the case
when the expression is naturally assumed.
The power to bring the grief-muscles freely into play appears
to be hereditary, like almost every other human faculty.
A lady belonging to a family famous for having produced an extraordinary
number of great actors and actresses, and who can herself give this
expression "with singular precision," told Dr. Crichton Browne
that all her family had possessed the power in a remarkable degree.
The same hereditary tendency is said to have extended, as I likewise
hear from Dr. Browne, to the last descendant of the family,
which gave rise to Sir Walter Scott's novel of `Red Gauntlet;'
but the hero is described as contracting his forehead into a
horseshoe mark from any strong emotion. I have also seen a young
woman whose forehead seemed almost habitually thus contracted,
independently of any emotion being at the time felt.
The grief-muscles are not very frequently brought into play;
and as the action is often momentary, it easily escapes observation.
Although the expression, when observed, is universally and instantly
recognized as that of grief or anxiety, yet not one person
out of a thousand who has never studied the subject, is able
to say precisely what change passes over the sufferer's face.
Hence probably it is that this expression is not even alluded to,
as far as I have noticed, in any work of fiction, with the exception
of `Red Gauntlet' and of one other novel; and the authoress
of the latter, as I am informed, belongs to the famous family
of actors just alluded to; so that her attention may have been
specially called to the subject.
The ancient Greek sculptors were familiar with the expression, as shown
in the statues of the Laocoon and Arretino; but, as Duchenne remarks,
they carried the transverse furrows across the whole breadth
of the forehead, and thus committed a great anatomical mistake:
this is likewise the case in some modern statues.
It is, however, more probable that these wonderfully accurate
observers intentionally sacrificed truth for the sake of beauty,
than that they made a mistake; for rectangular furrows on
the forehead would not have had a grand appearance on the marble.
The expression, in its fully developed condition, is, as far
as I can discover, not often represented in pictures by
the old masters, no doubt owing to the same cause; but a lady
who is perfectly familiar with this expression, informs me
that in Fra Angelico's `Descent from the Cross,' in Florence,
it is clearly exhibited in one of the figures on the right-hand;
and I could add a few other instances.
Dr. Crichton Browne, at my request, closely attended to this
expression in the numerous insane patients under his care
in the West Riding Asylum; and he is familiar with Duchenne's
photographs of the action of the grief-muscles. He informs me
that they may constantly be seen in energetic action in cases
of melancholia, and especially of hypochondria; and that the
persistent lines or furrows, due to their habitual contraction,
are characteristic of the physiognomy of the insane belonging
to these two classes. Dr. Browne carefully observed for me
during a considerable period three cases of hypochondria,
in which the grief-muscles were persistently contracted.
In one of these, a widow, aged 51, fancied that she had
lost all her viscera, and that her whole body was empty.
She wore an expression of great distress, and beat her semi-closed
hands rhythmically together for hours. The grief-muscles
were permanently contracted, and the upper eyelids arched.
This condition lasted for months; she then recovered,
and her countenance resumed its natural expression.
A second case presented nearly the same peculiarities,
with the addition that the corners of the mouth were depressed.
Mr. Patrick Nicol has also kindly observed for me several cases
in the Sussex Lunatic Asylum, and has communicated to me full details
with respect to three of them; but they need not here be given.
From his observations on melancholic patients, Mr. Nicol concludes that
the inner ends of the eyebrows are almost always more or less raised,
with the wrinkles on the forehead more or less plainly marked.
In the case of one young woman, these wrinkles were observed to be
in constant slight play or movement. In some cases the corners
of the mouth are depressed, but often only in a slight degree.
Some amount of difference in the expression of the several melancholic
patients could almost always be observed. The eyelids generally droop;
and the skin near their outer corners and beneath them is wrinkled.
The naso-labial fold, which runs from the wings of the nostrils to the
corners of the mouth, and which is so conspicuous in blubbering children,
is often plainly marked in these patients.
Although with the insane the grief-muscles often act persistently;
yet in ordinary cases they are sometimes brought unconsciously
into momentary action by ludicrously slight causes.
A gentleman rewarded a young lady by an absurdly small present;
she pretended to be offended, and as she upbraided him, her eyebrows
became extremely oblique, with the forehead properly wrinkled.
Another young lady and a youth, both in the highest spirits,
were eagerly talking together with extraordinary rapidity;
and I noticed that, as often as the young lady was beaten,
and could not get out her words fast enough, her eyebrows
went obliquely upwards, and rectangular furrows were formed
on her forehead. She thus each time hoisted a flag of distress;
and this she did half-a-dozen times in the course of a few minutes.
I made no remark on the subject, but on a subsequent occasion I
asked her to act on her grief-muscles; another girl who was present,
and who could do so voluntarily, showing her what was intended.
She tried repeatedly, but utterly failed; yet so slight a cause
of distress as not being able to talk quickly enough, sufficed to
bring these muscles over and over again into energetic action.
The expression of grief, due to the contraction of the grief-muscles,
is by no means confined to Europeans, but appears to be common to all
the races of mankind. I have, at least, received trustworthy accounts
in regard to Hindoos, Dhangars (one of the aboriginal hill-tribes
of India, and therefore belonging to a quite distinct race from the
Hindoos), Malays, Negroes and Australians. With respect to the latter,
two observers answer my query in the affirmative, but enter into no details.
Mr. Taplin, however, appends to my descriptive remarks the words
"this is exact." With respect to negroes, the lady who told me
of Fra Angelico's picture, saw a negro towing a boat on the Nile,
and as he encountered an obstruction, she observed his grief-muscles
in strong action, with the middle of the forehead well wrinkled.
Mr. Geach watched a Malay man in Malacca, with the corners of his
mouth much depressed, the eyebrows oblique, with deep short grooves
on the forehead. This expression lasted for a very short time;
and Mr. Geach remarks it "was a strange one, very much like a person
about to cry at some great loss."
In India Mr. H. Erskine found that the natives were familiar with
this expression; and Mr. J. Scott, of the Botanic Gardens, Calcutta,
has obligingly sent me a full description of two cases.
He observed during some time, himself unseen, a very young
Dhangar woman from Nagpore, the wife of one of the gardeners,
nursing her baby who was at the point of death; and he distinctly
saw the eyebrows raised at the inner corners, the eyelids drooping,
the forehead wrinkled in the middle, the mouth slightly open,
with the corners much depressed. He then came from behind a screen
of plants and spoke to the poor woman, who started, burst into
a bitter flood of tears, and besought him to cure her baby.
The second case was that of a Hindustani man, who from illness
and poverty was compelled to sell his favourite goat.
After receiving the money, he repeatedly looked at the money
in his hand and then at the goat, as if doubting whether he would
not return it. He went to the goat, which was tied up ready
to be led away, and the animal reared up and licked his hands.
His eyes then wavered from side to side; his "mouth was
partially closed, with the corners very decidedly depressed."
At last the poor man seemed to make up his mind that he must part
with his goat, and then, as Mr. Scott saw, the eyebrows became
slightly oblique, with the characteristic puckering or swelling at
the inner ends, but the wrinkles on the forehead were not present.
The man stood thus for a minute, then heaving a deep sigh,
burst into tears, raised up his two hands, blessed the goat,
turned round, and without looking again, went away.
_On the cause of the obliquity of the eyebrows under suffering_.--
During several years no expression seemed to me so utterly
perplexing as this which we are here considering. Why should grief
or anxiety cause the central fasciae alone of the frontal muscle
together with those round the eyes, to contract? Here we seem
to have a complex movement for the sole purpose of expressing grief;
and yet it is a comparatively rare expression, and often overlooked.
I believe the explanation is not so difficult as it at first appears.
Dr. Duchenne gives a photograph of the young man before referred to,
who, when looking upwards at a strongly illuminated surface,
involuntarily contracted his grief-muscles in an exaggerated manner.
I had entirely forgotten this photograph, when on a very bright
day with the sun behind me, I met, whilst on horseback, a girl
whose eyebrows, as she looked up at me, became extremely oblique,
with the proper furrows on her forehead. I have observed the same
movement under similar circumstances on several subsequent occasions.
On my return home I made three of my children, without giving them
any clue to my object, look as long and as attentively as they could,
at the summit of a tall tree standing against an extremely bright sky.
With all three, the orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles were
energetically contracted, through reflex action, from the excitement of
the retina, so that their eyes might be protected from the bright light.
But they tried their utmost to look upwards; and now a curious struggle,
with spasmodic twitchings, could be observed between the whole
or only the central portion of the frontal muscle, and the several
muscles which serve to lower the eyebrows and close the eyelids.
The involuntary contraction of the pyramidal caused the basal
part of their noses to be transversely and deeply wrinkled.
In one of the three children, the whole eyebrows were momentarily
raised and lowered by the alternate contraction of the whole frontal
muscle and of the muscles surrounding the eyes, so that the whole
breadth of the forehead was alternately wrinkled and smoothed.
In the other two children the forehead became wrinkled in the middle
part alone, rectangular furrows being thus produced; and the eyebrows
were rendered oblique, with their inner extremities puckered and swollen,--
in the one child in a slight degree, in the other in a strongly
marked manner. This difference in the obliquity of the eyebrows
apparently depended on a difference in their general mobility, and in
the strength of the pyramidal muscles. In both these cases the eyebrows
and forehead were acted on under the influence of a strong light,
in precisely the same manner, in every characteristic detail,
as under the influence of grief or anxiety.
Duchenne states that the pyramidal muscle of the nose is less under
the control of the will than are the other muscles round the eyes.
He remarks that the young man who could so well act on his grief-muscles,
as well as on most of his other facial muscles, could not contract the
pyramidals.[5] This power, however, no doubt differs in different persons.
The pyramidal muscle serves to draw down the skin of the forehead
between the eyebrows, together with their inner extremities.
The central fasciae of the frontal are the antagonists of the pyramidal;
and if the action of the latter is to be specially checked,
these central fasciae must be contracted. So that with persons having
powerful pyramidal muscles, if there is under the influence of a bright
light an unconscious desire to prevent the lowering of the eyebrows,
the central fasciae of the frontal muscle must be brought into play;
and their contraction, if sufficiently strong to overmaster the pyramidals,
together with the contraction of the corrugator and orbicular muscles,
will act in the manner just described on the eyebrows and forehead.
When children scream or cry out, they contract, as we know,
the orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles, primarily for
the sake of compressing their eyes, and thus protecting them
from being gorged with blood, and secondarily through habit.
I therefore expected to find with children, that when they
endeavoured either to prevent a crying-fit from coming on,
or to stop crying, they would cheek the contraction of
the above-named muscles, in the same manner as when looking
upwards at a bright light; and consequently that the central
fasciae of the frontal muscle would often be brought into play.
Accordingly, I began myself to observe children at such times,
and asked others, including some medical men, to do the same.
It is necessary to observe carefully, as the peculiar opposed
action of these muscles is not nearly so plain in children,
owing to their foreheads not easily wrinkling, as in adults.
But I soon found that the grief-muscles were very frequently
brought into distinct action on these occasions. It would
be superfluous to give all the cases which have been observed;
and I will specify only a few. A little girl, a year and
a half old, was teased by some other children, and before
bursting into tears her eyebrows became decidedly oblique.
With an older girl the same obliquity was observed,
with the inner ends of the eyebrows plainly puckered; and at
the same time the corners of the mouth were drawn downwards.
As soon as she burst into tears, the features all changed and
this peculiar expression vanished. Again, after a little boy
had been vaccinated, which made him scream and cry violently,
the surgeon gave him an orange brought for the purpose,
and this pleased the child much; as he stopped crying all the
characteristic movements were observed, including the formation
of rectangular wrinkles in the middle of the forehead.
Lastly, I met on the road a little girl three or four years old,
who had been frightened by a dog, and when I asked her what was
the matter, she stopped whimpering, and her eyebrows instantly
became oblique to an extraordinary degree.
[5] Mecanisme de la Phys. Humaine, Album, p. 15.
Here then, as I cannot doubt, we have the key to the problem why the central
fasciae of the frontal muscle and the muscles round the eyes contract
in opposition to each other under the influence of grief;--whether their
contraction be prolonged, as with the melancholic insane, or momentary,
from some trifling cause of distress. We have all of us, as infants,
repeatedly contracted our orbicular, corrugator, and pyramidal muscles,
in order to protect our eyes whilst screaming; our progenitors before us
have done the same during many generations; and though with advancing years
we easily prevent, when feeling distressed, the utterance of screams,
we cannot from long habit always prevent a slight contraction of the
above-named muscles; nor indeed do we observe their contraction in ourselves,
or attempt to stop it, if slight. But the pyramidal muscles seem
to be less under the command of the will than the other related muscles;
and if they be well developed, their contraction can be checked only by
the antagonistic contraction of the central fasciae of the frontal muscle.
The result which necessarily follows, if these fasciae contract energetically,
is the oblique drawing up of the eyebrows, the puckering of their inner ends,
and the formation of rectangular furrows on the middle of the forehead.
As children and women cry much more freely than men, and as grown-up
persons of both sexes rarely weep except from mental distress, we can
understand why the grief-muscles are more frequently seen in action,
as I believe to be the case, with children and women than with men;
and with adults of both sexes from mental distress alone. In some of
the cases before recorded, as in that of the poor Dhangar woman and of
the Hindustani man, the action of the grief-muscles was quickly followed
by bitter weeping. In all cases of distress, whether great or small,
our brains tend through long habit to send an order to certain muscles
to contract, as if we were still infants on the point of screaming out;
but this order we, by the wondrous power of the will, and through habit,
are able partially to counteract; although this is effected unconsciously,
as far as the means of counteraction are concerned.
_On the depression of the corners of the mouth_.--This action is
effected by the _depressores anguili oris_ (see letter K in figs.
1 and 2). The fibres of this muscle diverge downwards, with the upper
convergent ends attached round the angles of the mouth, and to
the lower lip a little way within the angles.[6] Some of the fibres
appear to be antagonistic to the great zygomatic muscle, and others
to the several muscles running to the outer part of the upper lip.
The contraction of this muscle draws downwards and outwards the corners
of the mouth, including the outer part of the upper lip, and even in
a slight degree the wings of the nostrils. When the mouth is closed
and this muscle acts, the commissure or line of junction of the two
lips forms a curved line with the concavity downwards,[7] and the lips
themselves are generally somewhat protruded, especially the lower one.
The mouth in this state is well represented in the two photographs
(Plate II., figs. 6 and 7) by Mr. Rejlander. The upper boy (fig. 6)
had just stopped crying, after receiving a slap on the face from another boy;
and the right moment was seized for photographing him.
[6] Henle, Handbuch der Anat. des Menschen, 1858, B. i. s. 148, figs.
68 and 69.
[7] See the account of the action of this muscle by Dr. Duchenne, `Mecanisme
de la Physionomie Humaine, Album (1862), viii. p. 34.
The expression of low spirits, grief or dejection, due to the contraction
of this muscle has been noticed by every one who has written on the subject.
To say that a person "is down in the mouth," is synonymous with saying
that he is out of spirits. The depression of the corners may often be seen,
as already stated on the authority of Dr. Crichton Browne and Mr. Nicol,
with the melancholic insane, and was well exhibited in some photographs sent
to me by the former gentleman, of patients with a strong tendency to suicide.
It has been observed with men belonging to various races, namely with Hindoos,
the dark hill-tribes of India, Malays, and, as the Rev. Mr. Hagenauer
informs me, with the aborigines of Australia.
When infants scream they firmly contract the muscles round
their eyes, and this draws up the upper lip; and as they
have to keep their mouths widely open, the depressor muscles
running to the corners are likewise brought into strong action.
This generally, but not invariably, causes a slight angular bend
in the lower lip on both sides, near the corners of the mouth.
The result of the upper and lower lip being thus acted on is that
the mouth assumes a squarish outline. The contraction of the depressor
muscle is best seen in infants when not screaming violently,
and especially just before they begin, or when they cease to scream.
Their little faces then acquire an extremely piteous expression,
as I continually observed with my own infants between the ages
of about six weeks and two or three months. Sometimes, when they
are struggling against a crying-fit, the outline of the mouth
is curved in so exaggerated a manner as to be like a horseshoe;
and the expression of misery then becomes a ludicrous caricature.
The explanation of the contraction of this muscle, under the influence
of low spirits or dejection, apparently follows from the same
general principles as in the case of the obliquity of the eyebrows.
Dr. Duchenne informs me that he concludes from his observations,
now prolonged during many years, that this is one of the facial muscles
which is least under the control of the will. This fact may indeed
be inferred from what has just been stated with respect to infants
when doubtfully beginning to cry, or endeavouring to stop crying;
for they then generally command all the other facial muscles more
effectually than they do the depressors of the corners of the mouth.
Two excellent observers who had no theory on the subject, one of them
a surgeon, carefully watched for me some older children and women
as with some opposed struggling they very gradually approached
the point of bursting out into tears; and both observers felt sure
that the depressors began to act before any of the other muscles.
Now as the depressors have been repeatedly brought into strong
action during infancy in many generations, nerve-force will tend
to flow, on the principle of long associated habit, to these
muscles as well as to various other facial muscles, whenever in
after life even a slight feeling of distress is experienced.
But as the depressors are somewhat less under the control of the will
than most of the other muscles, we might expect that they would
often slightly contract, whilst the others remained passive.
It is remarkable how small a depression of the corners of the mouth
gives to the countenance an expression of low spirits or dejection,
so that an extremely slight contraction of these muscles would
be sufficient to betray this state of mind.
I may here mention a trifling observation, as it will serve to sum
up our present subject. An old lady with a comfortable but absorbed
expression sat nearly opposite to me in a railway carriage.
Whilst I was looking at her, I saw that her _depressores anguli
oris_ became very slightly, yet decidedly, contracted; but as her
countenance remained as placid as ever, I reflected how meaningless
was this contraction, and how easily one might be deceived.
The thought had hardly occurred to me when I saw that her eyes
suddenly became suffused with tears almost to overflowing,
and her whole countenance fell. There could now be no doubt
that some painful recollection, perhaps that of a long-lost child,
was passing through her mind. As soon as her sensorium
was thus affected, certain nerve-cells from long habit
instantly transmitted an order to all the respiratory muscles,
and to those round the mouth, to prepare for a fit of crying.
But the order was countermanded by the will, or rather
by a later acquired habit, and all the muscles were obedient,
excepting in a slight degree the _depressores anguli oris_.
The mouth was not even opened; the respiration was not hurried;
and no muscle was affected except those which draw down the corners
of the mouth.
As soon as the mouth of this lady began, involuntarily and unconsciously
on her part, to assume the proper form for a crying-fit, we may feel
almost sure that some nerve-influence would have been transmitted
through the long accustomed channels to the various respiratory muscles,
as well as to those round the eyes, and to the vaso-motor centre
which governs the supply of blood sent to the lacrymal glands.
Of this latter fact we have indeed clear evidence in her eyes becoming
slightly suffused with tears; and we can understand this, as the lacrymal
glands are less under the control of the will than the facial muscles.
No doubt there existed at the same time some tendency in the muscles round
the eyes at contract, as if for the sake of protecting them from being
gorged with blood, but this contraction was completely overmastered,
and her brow remained unruffled. Had the pyramidal, corrugator, and orbicular
muscles been as little obedient to the will, as they are in many persons,
they would have been slightly acted on; and then the central fasciae
of the frontal muscle would have contracted in antagonism, and her eyebrows
would have become oblique, with rectangular furrows on her forehead.
Her countenance would then have expressed still more plainly than it did
a state of dejection, or rather one of grief.
Through steps such as these we can understand how it is, that as soon
as some melancholy thought passes through the brain, there occurs
a just perceptible drawing down of the corners of the mouth,
or a slight raising up of the inner ends of the eyebrows, or both
movements combined, and immediately afterwards a slight suffusion
of tears. A thrill of nerve-force is transmitted along several
habitual channels, and produces an effect on any point where the will
has not acquired through long habit much power of interference.
The above actions may be considered as rudimental vestiges of the
screaming-fits, which are so frequent and prolonged during infancy.
In this case, as well as in many others, the links are indeed wonderful
which connect cause and effect in giving rise to various expressions
on the human countenance; and they explain to us the meaning of
certain movements, which we involuntarily and unconsciously perform,
whenever certain transitory emotions pass through our minds.
CHAPTER VIII.
Joy, HIGH SPIRITS, LOVE, TENDER FEELINGS, DEVOTION.
Laughter primarily the expression of joy--Ludicrous ideas--
Movements of the features during laughter--Nature of the
sound produced--The secretion of tears during loud laughter--
Gradation from loud laughter to gentle smiling--High spirits--
The expression of love--Tender feelings--Devotion.
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