Sir C. Bell remarks,[1226] that “horror is full of energy; the body is
in the utmost tension, not unnerved by fear.” It is, therefore,
probable that horror would generally be accompanied by the strong
contraction of the brows; but as fear is one of the elements, the eyes
and mouth would be opened, and the eyebrows would be raised, as far as
the antagonistic action of the corrugators permitted this movement.
Duchenne has given a photograph[1227] (fig. 21) of the same old man as
before, with his eyes somewhat staring, the eyebrows partially raised,
and at the same time strongly contracted, the mouth opened, and the
platysma in action, all effected by the means of galvanism. He
considers that the expression thus produced shows extreme terror with
horrible pain or torture. A tortured man, as long as his sufferings
allowed him to feel any dread for the future, would probably exhibit
horror in an extreme degree. I have shown the original of this
photograph to twenty-three persons of both sexes and various ages; and
thirteen immediately answered horror, great pain, torture, or agony;
three answered extreme fright; so that sixteen answered nearly in
accordance with Duchenne’s belief. Six, however, said anger, guided no
doubt, by the strongly contracted brows, and overlooking the peculiarly
opened mouth. One said disgust. On the whole, the evidence indicates
that we have here a fairly good representation of horror and agony. The
photograph before referred to (Pl. VII. fig. 2) likewise exhibits
horror; but in this the oblique eyebrows indicate great mental distress
in place of energy.
Horror is generally accompanied by various gestures, which differ in
different individuals. Judging from pictures, the whole body is often
turned away or shrinks; or the arms are violently protruded as if to
push away some dreadful object. The most frequent gesture, as far as
can be inferred from the action of persons who endeavour to express a
vividly-imagined scene of horror, is the raising of both shoulders,
with the bent arms pressed closely against the sides or chest. These
movements are nearly the same with those commonly made when we feel
very cold; and they are generally accompanied by a shudder, as well as
by a deep expiration or inspiration, according as the chest happens at
the time to be expanded or contracted. The sounds thus made are
expressed by words like _uh_ or _ugh_.[1228] It is not, however,
obvious why, when we feel cold or express a sense of horror, we press
our bent arms against our bodies, raise our shoulders, and shudder.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account