Surprise, astonishment Elevation of the eyebrows Opening the
mouth Protrusion of the lips Gestures accompanying
surprise Admiration Fear Terror Erection of the hair Contraction of the
platysma muscle Dilatation of the pupils Horror Conclusion.
Attention, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into
astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement. The latter frame of
mind is closely akin to terror. Attention is shown by the eyebrows
being slightly raised; and as this state increases into surprise, they
are raised to a much greater extent, with the eyes and mouth widely
open. The raising of the eyebrows is necessary in order that the eyes
should be opened quickly and widely; and this movement produces
transverse wrinkles across the forehead. The degree to which the eyes
and mouth are opened corresponds with the degree of surprise felt; but
these movements must be coordinated; for a widely opened mouth with
eyebrows only slightly raised results in a meaningless grimace, as Dr.
Duchenne has shown in one of his photographs.[1201] On the other hand,
a person may often be seen to pretend surprise by merely raising his
eyebrows.
Dr. Duchenne has given a photograph of an old man with his eyebrows
well elevated and arched by the galvanization of the frontal muscle;
and with his mouth voluntarily opened. This figure expresses surprise
with much truth. I showed it to twenty-four persons without a word of
explanation, and one alone did not at all understand what was intended.
A second person answered terror, which is not far wrong; some of the
others, however, added to the words surprise or astonishment, the
epithets horrified, woful, painful, or disgusted.
The eyes and mouth being widely open is an expression universally
recognized as one of surprise or astonishment. Thus Shakespeare says,
I saw a smith stand with open mouth swallowing a tailor s news.
( King John, act iv. scene ii.) And again, They seemed almost, with
staring on one another, to tear the cases of their eyes; there was
speech in the dumbness, language in their very gesture; they looked as
they had heard of a world destroyed. ( Winter s Tale, act v. scene
ii.)
My informants answer with remarkable uniformity to the same effect,
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