Let it be observed how an indignant man, who resents, and will not
submit to some injury, holds his head erect, squares his shoulders, and
expands his chest. He often clenches his fists, and puts one or both
arms in the proper position for attack or defence, with the muscles of
his limbs rigid. He frowns,—that is, he contracts and lowers his
brows,—and, being determined, closes his mouth. The actions and
attitude of a helpless man are, in every one of these respects, exactly
the reverse. In Plate VI. we may imagine one of the figures on the left
side to have just said, “What do you mean by insulting me?” and one of
the figures on the right side to answer, “I really could not help it.”
The helpless man unconsciously contracts the muscles of his forehead
which are antagonistic to those that cause a frown, and thus raises his
eyebrows; at the same time he relaxes the muscles about the mouth, so
that the lower jaw drops. The antithesis is complete in every detail,
not only in the movements of the features, but in the position of the
limbs and in the attitude of the whole body, as may be seen in the
accompanying plate. As the helpless or apologetic man often wishes to
show his state of mind, he then acts in a conspicuous or demonstrative
manner.
In accordance with the fact that squaring the elbows and clenching the
fists are gestures by no means universal with the men of all races,
when they feel indignant and are prepared to attack their enemy, so it
appears that a helpless or apologetic frame of mind is expressed in
many parts of the world by merely shrugging the shoulders, without
turning inwards the elbows and opening the hands. The man or child who
is obstinate, or one who is resigned to some great misfortune, has in
neither case any idea of resistance by active means; and he expresses
this state of mind, by simply keeping his shoulders raised; or he may
possibly fold his arms across his breast.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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