Nature of a blush—Inheritance—The parts of the body most
affected—Blushing in the various races of man—Accompanying
gestures—Confusion of mind—Causes of blushing—Self-attention, the
fundamental element—Shyness—Shame, from broken moral laws and
conventional rules—Modesty—Theory of blushing—Recapitulation.
Blushing is the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions.
Monkeys redden from passion, but it would require an overwhelming
amount of evidence to make us believe that any animal could blush. The
reddening of the face from a blush is due to the relaxation of the
muscular coats of the small arteries, by which the capillaries become
filled with blood; and this depends on the proper vaso-motor centre
being affected. No doubt if there be at the same time much mental
agitation, the general circulation will be affected; but it is not due
to the action of the heart that the network of minute vessels covering
the face becomes under a sense of shame gorged with blood. We can cause
laughing by tickling the skin, weeping or frowning by a blow, trembling
from the fear of pain, and so forth; but we cannot cause a blush, as
Dr. Burgess remarks,[1301] by any physical means,—that is by any action
on the body. It is the mind which must be affected. Blushing is not
only involuntary; but the wish to restrain it, by leading to
self-attention actually increases the tendency.
The young blush much more freely than the old, but not during
infancy,[1302] which is remarkable, as we know that infants at a very
early age redden from passion. I have received authentic accounts of
two little girls blushing at the ages of between two and three years;
and of another sensitive child, a year older, blushing, when reproved
for a fault. Many children, at a somewhat more advanced age blush in a
strongly marked manner. It appears that the mental powers of infants
are not as yet sufficiently developed to allow of their blushing.
Hence, also, it is that idiots rarely blush. Dr. Crichton Browne
observed for me those under his care, but never saw a genuine blush,
though he has seen their faces flush, apparently from joy, when food
was placed before them, and from anger. Nevertheless some, if not
utterly degraded, are capable of blushing. A microcephalous idiot, for
instance, thirteen years old, whose eyes brightened a little when he
was pleased or amused, has been described by Dr. Behn,[1303] as
blushing and turning to one side, when undressed for medical
examination.
Women blush much more than men. It is rare to see an old man, but not
nearly so rare to see an old woman blushing. The blind do not escape.
Laura Bridgman, born in this condition, as well as completely deaf,
blushes.[1304] The Rev. R. H. Blair, Principal of the Worcester
College, informs me that three children born blind, out of seven or
eight then in the Asylum, are great blushers. The blind are not at
first conscious that they are observed, and it is a most important part
of their education, as Mr. Blair informs me, to impress this knowledge
on their minds; and the impression thus gained would greatly strengthen
the tendency to blush, by increasing the habit of self-attention.
The tendency to blush is inherited. Dr. Burgess gives the case[1305] of
a family consisting of a father, mother, and ten children, all of whom,
without exception, were prone to blush to a most painful degree. The
children were grown up; “and some of them were sent to travel in order
to wear away this diseased sensibility, but nothing was of the
slightest avail.” Even peculiarities in blushing seem to be inherited.
Sir James Paget, whilst examining the spine of a girl, was struck at
her singular manner of blushing; a big splash of red appeared first on
one cheek, and then other splashes, variously scattered over the face
and neck. He subsequently asked the mother whether her daughter always
blushed in this peculiar manner; and was answered, “Yes, she takes
after me.” Sir J. Paget then perceived that by asking this question he
had caused the mother to blush; and she exhibited the same peculiarity
as her daughter.
In most cases the face, ears and neck are the sole parts which redden;
but many persons, whilst blushing intensely, feel that their whole
bodies grow hot and tingle; and this shows that the entire surface must
be in some manner affected. Blushes are said sometimes to commence on
the forehead, but more commonly on the cheeks, afterwards spreading to
the ears and neck.[1306] In two Albinos examined by Dr. Burgess, the
blushes commenced by a small circumscribed spot on the cheeks, over the
parotidean plexus of nerves, and then increased into a circle; between
this blushing circle and the blush on the neck there was an evident
line of demarcation; although both arose simultaneously. The retina,
which is naturally red in the Albino, invariably increased at the same
time in redness.[1307] Every one must have noticed how easily after one
blush fresh blushes chase each other over the face. Blushing is
preceded by a peculiar sensation in the skin. According to Dr. Burgess
the reddening of the skin is generally succeeded by a slight pallor,
which shows that the capillary vessels contract after dilating. In some
rare cases paleness instead of redness is caused under conditions which
would naturally induce a blush. For instance, a young lady told me that
in a large and crowded party she caught her hair so firmly on the
button of a passing servant, that it took some time before she could be
extricated; from her sensations she imagined that she had blushed
crimson; but was assured by a friend that she had turned extremely
pale.
I was desirous to learn how far down the body blushes extend; and Sir
J. Paget, who necessarily has frequent opportunities for observation,
has kindly attended to this point for me during two or three years. He
finds that with women who blush intensely on the face, ears, and nape
of neck, the blush does not commonly extend any lower down the body. It
is rare to see it as low down as the collar-bones and shoulder-blades;
and he has never himself seen a single instance in which it extended
below the upper part of the chest. He has also noticed that blushes
sometimes die away downwards, not gradually and insensibly, but by
irregular ruddy blotches. Dr. Langstaff has likewise observed for me
several women whose bodies did not in the least redden while their
faces were crimsoned with blushes. With the insane, some of whom appear
to be particularly liable to blushing, Dr. J. Crichton Browne has
several times seen the blush extend as far down as the collar-bones,
and in two instances to the breasts. He gives me the case of a married
woman, aged twenty-seven, who suffered from epilepsy. On the morning
after her arrival in the Asylum, Dr. Browne, together with his
assistants, visited her whilst she was in bed. The moment that he
approached, she blushed deeply over her cheeks and temples; and the
blush spread quickly to her ears. She was much agitated and tremulous.
He unfastened the collar of her chemise in order to examine the state
of her lungs; and then a brilliant blush rushed over her chest, in an
arched line over the upper third of each breast, and extended downwards
between the breasts nearly to the ensiform cartilage of the sternum.
This case is interesting, as the blush did not thus extend downwards
until it became intense by her attention being drawn to this part of
her person. As the examination proceeded she became composed, and the
blush disappeared; but on several subsequent occasions the same
phenomena were observed.
The foregoing facts show that, as a general rule, with English women,
blushing does not extend beneath the neck and upper part of the chest.
Nevertheless Sir J. Paget informs me that he has lately heard of a
case, on which he can fully rely, in which a little girl, shocked by
what she imagined to be an act of indelicacy, blushed all over her
abdomen and the upper parts of her legs. Moreau also[1308] relates, on
the authority of a celebrated painter, that the chest, shoulders, arms,
and whole body of a girl, who unwillingly consented to serve as a
model, reddened when she was first divested of her clothes.
It is a rather curious question why, in most cases the face, ears, and
neck alone redden, inasmuch as the whole surface of the body often
tingles and grows hot. This seems to depend, chiefly, on the face and
adjoining parts of the skin having been habitually exposed to the air,
light, and alternations of temperature, by which the small arteries not
only have acquired the habit of readily dilating and contracting, but
appear to have become unusually developed in comparison with other
parts of the surface.[1309] It is probably owing to this same cause, as
M. Moreau and Dr. Burgess have remarked, that the face is so liable to
redden under various circumstances, such as a fever-fit, ordinary heat,
violent exertion, anger, a slight blow, &c.; and on the other hand that
it is liable to grow pale from cold and fear, and to be discoloured
during pregnancy. The face is also particularly liable to be affected
by cutaneous complaints, by small-pox, erysipelas, &c. This view is
likewise supported by the fact that the men of certain races, who
habitually go nearly naked, often blush over their arms and chests and
even down to their waists. A lady, who is a great blusher, informs Dr.
Crichton Browne, that when she feels ashamed or is agitated, she
blushes over her face, neck, wrists, and hands,—that is, over all the
exposed portions of her skin. Nevertheless it may be doubted whether
the habitual exposure of the skin of the face and neck, and its
consequent power of reaction under stimulants of all kinds, is by
itself sufficient to account for the much greater tendency in English
women of these parts than of others to blush; for the hands are well
supplied with nerves and small vessels, and have been as much exposed
to the air as the face or neck, and yet the hands rarely blush. We
shall presently see that the attention of the mind having been directed
much more frequently and earnestly to the face than to any other part
of the body, probably affords a sufficient explanation.
_Blushing in the various races of man_.—The small vessels of the face
become filled with blood, from the emotion of shame, in almost all the
races of man, though in the very dark races no distinct change of
colour can be perceived. Blushing is evident in all the Aryan nations
of Europe, and to a certain extent with those of India. But Mr. Erskine
has never noticed that the necks of the Hindoos are decidedly affected.
With the Lepchas of Sikhim, Mr. Scott has often observed a faint blush
on the cheeks, base of the ears, and sides of the neck, accompanied by
sunken eyes and lowered head. This has occurred when he has detected
them in a falsehood, or has accused them of ingratitude. The pale,
sallow complexions of these men render a blush much more conspicuous
than in most of the other natives of India. With the latter, shame, or
it may be in part fear, is expressed, according to Mr. Scott, much more
plainly by the head being averted or bent down, with the eyes wavering
or turned askant, than by any change of colour in the skin.
The Semitic races blush freely, as might have been expected, from their
general similitude to the Aryans. Thus with the Jews, it is said in the
Book of Jeremiah (chap. vi. 15), “Nay, they were not at all ashamed,
neither could they blush.” Mrs. Asa Gray saw an Arab managing his boat
clumsily on the Nile, and when laughed at by his companions, “he
blushed quite to the back of his neck.” Lady Duff Gordon remarks that a
young Arab blushed on coming into her presence.[1310]
Mr. Swinhoe has seen the Chinese blushing, but he thinks it is rare;
yet they have the expression “to redden with shame.” Mr. Geach informs
me that the Chinese settled in Malacca and the native Malays of the
interior both blush. Some of these people go nearly naked, and he
particularly attended to the downward extension of the blush. Omitting
the cases in which the face alone was seen to blush, Mr. Geach observed
that the face, arms, and breast of a Chinaman, aged 24 years, reddened
from shame; and with another Chinese, when asked why he had not done
his work in better style, the whole body was similarly affected. In two
Malays[1311] he saw the face, neck, breast, and arms blushing; and in a
third Malay (a Bugis) the blush extended down to the waist.
The Polynesians blush freely. The Rev. Mr. Stack has seen hundreds of
instances with the New Zealanders. The following case is worth giving,
as it relates to an old man who was unusually dark-coloured and partly
tattooed. After having let his land to an Englishman for a small yearly
rental, a strong passion seized him to buy a gig, which had lately
become the fashion with the Maoris. He consequently wished to draw all
the rent for four years from his tenant, and consulted Mr. Stack
whether he could do so. The man was old, clumsy, poor, and ragged, and
the idea of his driving himself about in his carriage for display
amused Mr. Stack so much that he could not help bursting out into a
laugh; and then “the old man blushed up to the roots of his hair.”
Forster says that “you may easily distinguish a spreading blush” on the
cheeks of the fairest women in Tahiti.[1312] The natives also of
several of the other archipelagoes in the Pacific have been seen to
blush.
Mr. Washington Matthews has often seen a blush on the faces of the
young squaws belonging to various wild Indian tribes of North America.
At the opposite extremity of the continent in Tierra del Fuego, the
natives, according to Mr. Bridges, “blush much, but chiefly in regard
to women; but they certainly blush also at their own personal
appearance.” This latter statement agrees with what I remember of the
Fuegian, Jemmy Button, who blushed when he was quizzed about the care
which he took in polishing his shoes, and in otherwise adorning
himself. With respect to the Aymara Indians on the lofty plateaus of
Bolivia, Mr. Forbes says,[1313] that from the colour of their skins it
is impossible that their blushes should be as clearly visible as in the
white races; still under such circumstances as would raise a blush in
us, “there can always be seen the same expression of modesty or
confusion; and even in the dark, a rise of temperature of the skin of
the face can be felt, exactly as occurs in the European.” With the
Indians who inhabit the hot, equable, and damp parts of South America,
the skin apparently does not answer to mental excitement so readily as
with the natives of the northern and southern parts of the continent,
who have long been exposed to great vicissitudes of climate; for
Humboldt quotes without a protest the sneer of the Spaniard, “How can
those be trusted, who know not how to blush?”[1314] Von Spix and
Martius, in speaking of the aborigines of Brazil, assert that they
cannot properly be said to blush; “it was only after long intercourse
with the whites, and after receiving some education, that we perceived
in the Indians a change of colour expressive of the emotions of their
minds.”[1315] It is, however, incredible that the power of blushing
could have thus originated; but the habit of self-attention, consequent
on their education and new course of life, would have much increased
any innate tendency to blush.
Several trustworthy observers have assured me that they have seen on
the faces of negroes an appearance resembling a blush, under
circumstances which would have excited one in us, though their skins
were of an ebony-black tint. Some describe it as blushing brown, but
most say that the blackness becomes more intense. An increased supply
of blood in the skin seems in some manner to increase its blackness;
thus certain exanthematous diseases cause the affected places in the
negro to appear blacker, instead of, as with us, redder.[1316] The
skin, perhaps, from being rendered more tense by the filling of the
capillaries, would reflect a somewhat different tint to what it did
before. That the capillaries of the face in the negro become filled
with blood, under the emotion of shame, we may feel confident; because
a perfectly characterized albino negress, described by Buffon,[1317]
showed a faint tinge of crimson on her cheeks when she exhibited
herself naked. Cicatrices of the skin remain for a long time white in
the negro, and Dr. Burgess, who had frequent opportunities of observing
a scar of this kind on the face of a negress, distinctly saw that it
“invariably became red whenever she was abruptly spoken to, or charged
with any trivial offence.”[1318] The blush could be seen proceeding
from the circumference of the scar towards the middle, but it did not
reach the centre. Mulattoes are often great blushers, blush succeeding
blush over their faces. From these facts there can be no doubt that
negroes blush, although no redness is visible on the skin.
I am assured by Gaika and by Mrs. Barber that the Kafirs of South
Africa never blush; but this may only mean that no change of colour is
distinguishable. Gaika adds that under the circumstances which would
make a European blush, his countrymen “look ashamed to keep their heads
up.”
It is asserted by four of my informants that the Australians, who are
almost as black as negroes, never blush. A fifth answers doubtfully,
remarking that only a very strong blush could be seen, on account of
the dirty state of their skins. Three observers state that they do
blush;[1319] Mr. S. Wilson adding that this is noticeable only under a
strong emotion, and when the skin is not too dark from long exposure
and want of cleanliness. Mr. Lang answers, “I have noticed that shame
almost always excites a blush, which frequently extends as low as the
neck.” Shame is also shown, as he adds, “by the eyes being turned from
side to side.” As Mr. Lang was a teacher in a native school, it is
probable that he chiefly observed children; and we know that they blush
more than adults. Mr. G. Taplin has seen half-castes blushing, and he
says that the aborigines have a word expressive of shame. Mr.
Hagenauer, who is one of those who has never observed the Australians
to blush, says that he has “seen them looking down to the ground on
account of shame;” and the missionary, Mr. Bulmer, remarks that though
“I have not been able to detect anything like shame in the adult
aborigines, I have noticed that the eyes of the children, when ashamed,
present a restless, watery appearance, as if they did not know where to
look.”
The facts now given are sufficient to show that blushing, whether or
not there is any change of colour, is common to most, probably to all,
of the races of man.
_Movements and gestures which accompany Blushing_.—Under a keen sense
of shame there is a strong desire for concealment.[1320] We turn away
the whole body, more especially the face, which we endeavour in some
manner to hide. An ashamed person can hardly endure to meet the gaze of
those present, so that he almost invariably casts down his eyes or
looks askant. As there generally exists at the same time a strong wish
to avoid the appearance of shame, a vain attempt is made to look direct
at the person who causes this feeling; and the antagonism between these
opposite tendencies leads to various restless movements in the eyes. I
have noticed two ladies who, whilst blushing, to which they are very
liable, have thus acquired, as it appears, the oddest trick of
incessantly blinking their eyelids with extraordinary rapidity. An
intense blush is sometimes accompanied by a slight effusion of
tears;[1321] and this, I presume, is due to the lacrymal glands
partaking of the increased supply of blood, which we know rushes into
the capillaries of the adjoining parts, including the retina.
Many writers, ancient and modern, have noticed the foregoing movements;
and it has already been shown that the aborigines in various parts of
the world often exhibit their shame by looking downwards or askant, or
by restless movements of their eyes. Ezra cries out (ch. ix. 6), “O, my
God! I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my head to thee, my God.” In
Isaiah (ch. I. 6) we meet with the words, “I hid not my face from
shame.” Seneca remarks (Epist. xi. 5) “that the Roman players hang down
their heads, fix their eyes on the ground and keep them lowered, but
are unable to blush in acting shame.” According to Macrobius, who lived
in the filth century (‘Saturnalia,’ B. vii. C. 11), “Natural
philosophers assert that nature being moved by shame spreads the blood
before herself as a veil, as we see any one blushing often puts his
hands before his face.” Shakspeare makes Marcus (‘Titus Andronicus,’
act ii, sc. 5) say to his niece, “Ah! now thou turn’st away thy face
for shame.” A lady informs me that she found in the Lock Hospital a
girl whom she had formerly known, and who had become a wretched
castaway, and the poor creature, when approached, hid her face under
the bed-clothes, and could not be persuaded to uncover it. We often see
little children, when shy or ashamed, turn away, and still standing up,
bury their faces in their mother’s gown; or they throw themselves face
downwards on her lap.
_Confusion of mind_.—Most persons, whilst blushing intensely, have
their mental powers confused. This is recognized in such common
expressions as “she was covered with confusion.” Persons in this
condition lose their presence of mind, and utter singularly
inappropriate remarks. They are often much distressed, stammer, and
make awkward movements or strange grimaces. In certain cases
involuntary twitchings of some of the facial muscles may be observed. I
have been informed by a young lady, who blushes excessively, that at
such times she does not even know what she is saying. When it was
suggested to her that this might be due to her distress from the
consciousness that her blushing was noticed, she answered that this
could not be the case, “as she had sometimes felt quite as stupid when
blushing at a thought in her own room.”
I will give an instance of the extreme disturbance of mind to which
some sensitive men are liable. A gentleman, on whom I can rely, assured
me that he had been an eye-witness of the following scene:—A small
dinner-party was given in honour of an extremely shy man, who, when he
rose to return thanks, rehearsed the speech, which he had evidently
learnt by heart, in absolute silence, and did not utter a single word;
but he acted as if he were speaking with much emphasis. His friends,
perceiving how the case stood, loudly applauded the imaginary bursts of
eloquence, whenever his gestures indicated a pause, and the man never
discovered that he had remained the whole time completely silent. On
the contrary, he afterwards remarked to my friend, with much
satisfaction, that he thought he had succeeded uncommonly well.
When a person is much ashamed or very shy, and blushes intensely, his
heart beats rapidly and his breathing is disturbed. This can hardly
fail to affect the circulation of the blood within the brain, and
perhaps the mental powers. It seems however doubtful, judging from the
still more powerful influence of anger and fear on the circulation,
whether we can thus satisfactorily account for the confused state of
mind in persons whilst blushing intensely.
The true explanation apparently lies in the intimate sympathy which
exists between the capillary circulation of the surface of the head and
face, and that of the brain. On applying to Dr. J. Crichton Browne for
information, he has given me various facts bearing on this subject.
When the sympathetic nerve is divided on one side of the head, the
capillaries on this side are relaxed and become filled with blood,
causing the skin to redden and to grow hot, and at the same time the
temperature within the cranium on the same side rises. Inflammation of
the membranes of the brain leads to the engorgement of the face, ears,
and eyes with blood. The first stage of an epileptic fit appears to be
the contraction of the vessels of the brain, and the first outward
manifestation is, an extreme pallor of countenance. Erysipelas of the
head commonly induces delirium. Even the relief given to a severe
headache by burning the skin with strong lotion, depends, I presume, on
the same principle.
Dr. Browne has often administered to his patients the vapour of the
nitrite of amyl,[1322] which has the singular property of causing vivid
redness of the face in from thirty to sixty seconds. This flushing
resembles blushing in almost every detail: it begins at several
distinct points on the face, and spreads till it involves the whole
surface of the head, neck, and front of the chest; but has been
observed to extend only in one case to the abdomen. The arteries in the
retina become enlarged; the eyes glisten, and in one instance there was
a slight effusion of tears. The patients are at first pleasantly
stimulated, but, as the flushing increases, they become confused and
bewildered. One woman to whom the vapour had often been administered
asserted that, as soon as she grew hot, she grew MUDDLED. With persons
just commencing to blush it appears, judging from their bright eyes and
lively behaviour, that their mental powers are somewhat stimulated. It
is only when the blushing is excessive that the mind grows confused.
Therefore it would seem that the capillaries of the face are affected,
both during the inhalation of the nitrite of amyl and during blushing,
before that part of the brain is affected on which the mental powers
depend.
Conversely when the brain is primarily affected; the circulation of the
skin is so in a secondary manner. Dr. Browne has frequently observed,
as he informs me, scattered red blotches and mottlings on the chests of
epileptic patients. In these cases, when the skin on the thorax or
abdomen is gently rubbed with a pencil or other object, or, in
strongly-marked cases, is merely touched by the finger, the surface
becomes suffused in less than half a minute with bright red marks,
which spread to some distance on each side of the touched point, and
persist for several minutes. These are the _cerebral maculae_ of
Trousseau; and they indicate, as Dr. Browne remarks, a highly modified
condition of the cutaneous vascular system. If, then, there exists, as
cannot be doubted, an intimate sympathy between the capillary
circulation in that part of the brain on which our mental powers
depend, and in the skin of the face, it is not surprising that the
moral causes which induce intense blushing should likewise induce,
independently of their own disturbing influence, much confusion of
mind.
_The Nature of the Mental States which induce Blushing_.—These consist
of shyness, shame, and modesty; the essential element in all being
self-attention. Many reasons can be assigned for believing that
originally self-attention directed to personal appearance, in relation
to the opinion of others, was the exciting cause; the same effect being
subsequently produced, through the force of association, by
self-attention in relation to moral conduct. It is not the simple act
of reflecting on our own appearance, but the thinking what others think
of us, which excites a blush. In absolute solitude the most sensitive
person would be quite indifferent about his appearance. We feel blame
or disapprobation more acutely than approbation; and consequently
depreciatory remarks or ridicule, whether of our appearance or conduct,
causes us to blush much more readily than does praise. But undoubtedly
praise and admiration are highly efficient: a pretty girl blushes when
a man gazes intently at her, though she may know perfectly well that he
is not depreciating her. Many children, as well as old and sensitive
persons blush, when they are much praised. Hereafter the question will
be discussed, how it has arisen that the consciousness that others are
attending to our personal appearance should have led to the
capillaries, especially those of the face, instantly becoming filled
with blood.
My reasons for believing that attention directed to personal
appearance, and not to moral conduct, has been the fundamental element
in the acquirement of the habit of blushing, will now be given. They
are separately light, but combined possess, as it appears to me,
considerable weight. It is notorious that nothing makes a shy person
blush so much as any remark, however slight, on his personal
appearance. One cannot notice even the dress of a woman much given to
blushing, without causing her face to crimson. It is sufficient to
stare hard at some persons to make them, as Coleridge remarks,
blush,—“account for that he who can.”[1323]
With the two albinos observed by Dr. Burgess,[1324] “the slightest
attempt to examine their peculiarities invariably caused them to blush
deeply.” Women are much more sensitive about their personal appearance
than men are, especially elderly women in comparison with elderly men,
and they blush much more freely. The young of both sexes are much more
sensitive on this same head than the old, and they also blush much more
freely than the old. Children at a very early age do not blush; nor do
they show those other signs of self-consciousness which generally
accompany blushing; and it is one of their chief charms that they think
nothing about what others think of them. At this early age they will
stare at a stranger with a fixed gaze and un-blinking eyes, as on an
inanimate object, in a manner which we elders cannot imitate.
It is plain to every one that young men and women are highly sensitive
to the opinion of each other with reference to their personal
appearance; and they blush incomparably more in the presence of the
opposite sex than in that of their own.[1325] A young man, not very
liable to blush, will blush intensely at any slight ridicule of his
appearance from a girl whose judgment on any important subject he would
disregard. No happy pair of young lovers, valuing each other’s
admiration and love more than anything else in the world, probably ever
courted each other without many a blush. Even the barbarians of Tierra
del Fuego, according to Mr. Bridges, blush “chiefly in regard to women,
but certainly also at their own personal appearance.”
Of all parts of the body, the face is most considered and regarded, as
is natural from its being the chief seat of expression and the source
of the voice. It is also the chief seat of beauty and of ugliness, and
throughout the world is the most ornamented.[1326] The face, therefore,
will have been subjected during many generations to much closer and
more earnest self-attention than any other part of the body; and in
accordance with the principle here advanced we can understand why it
should be the most liable to blush. Although exposure to alternations
of temperature, &c., has probably much increased the power of
dilatation and contraction in the capillaries of the face and adjoining
parts, yet this by itself will hardly account for these parts blushing
much more than the rest of the body; for it does not explain the fact
of the hands rarely blushing. With Europeans the whole body tingles
slightly when the face blushes intensely; and with the races of men who
habitually go nearly naked, the blushes extend over a much larger
surface than with us. These facts are, to a certain extent,
intelligible, as the self-attention of primeval man, as well as of the
existing races which still go naked, will not have been so exclusively
confined to their faces, as is the case with the people who now go
clothed.
We have seen that in all parts of the world persons who feel shame for
some moral delinquency, are apt to avert, bend down, or hide their
faces, independently of any thought about their personal appearance.
The object can hardly be to conceal their blushes, for the face is thus
averted or hidden under circumstances which exclude any desire to
conceal shame, as when guilt is fully confessed and repented of. It is,
however, probable that primeval man before he had acquired much moral
sensitiveness would have been highly sensitive about his personal
appearance, at least in reference to the other sex, and he would
consequently have felt distress at any depreciatory remarks about his
appearance; and this is one form of shame. And as the face is the part
of the body which is most regarded, it is intelligible that any one
ashamed of his personal appearance would desire to conceal this part of
his body. The habit having been thus acquired, would naturally be
carried on when shame from strictly moral causes was felt; and it is
not easy otherwise to see why under these circumstances there should be
a desire to hide the face more than any other part of the body.
The habit, so general with every one who feels ashamed, of turning
away, or lowering his eyes, or restlessly moving them from side to
side, probably follows from each glance directed towards those present,
bringing home the conviction that he is intently regarded; and he
endeavours, by not looking at those present, and especially not at
their eyes, momentarily to escape from this painful conviction.
_Shyness_.—This odd state of mind, often called shamefacedness, or
false shame, or _mauvaise honte_, appears to be one of the most
efficient of all the causes of blushing. Shyness is, indeed, chiefly
recognized by the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast
down, and by awkward, nervous movements of the body. Many a woman
blushes from this cause, a hundred, perhaps a thousand times, to once
that she blushes from having done anything deserving blame, and of
which she is truly ashamed. Shyness seems to depend on sensitiveness to
the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, more especially with
respect to external appearance. Strangers neither know nor care
anything about our conduct or character, but they may, and often do,
criticize our appearance: hence shy persons are particularly apt to be
shy and to blush in the presence of strangers. The consciousness of
anything peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemish on
the person, and more especially, on the face—points which are likely to
attract the attention of strangers—makes the shy intolerably shy. On
the other hand, in those cases in which conduct and not personal
appearance is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy in the presence
of acquaintances, whose judgment we in some degree value, than in that
of strangers. A physician told me that a young man, a wealthy duke,
with whom he had travelled as medical attendant, blushed like a girl,
when he paid him his fee; yet this young man probably would not have
blushed and been shy, had he been paying a bill to a tradesman. Some
persons, however, are so sensitive, that the mere act of speaking to
almost any one is sufficient to rouse their self-consciousness, and a
slight blush is the result.
Disapprobation or ridicule, from our sensitiveness on this head, causes
shyness and blushing much more readily than does approbation; though
the latter with some persons is highly efficient. The conceited are
rarely shy; for they value themselves much too highly to expect
depreciation. Why a proud man is often shy, as appears to be the case,
is not so obvious, unless it be that, with all his self-reliance, he
really thinks much about the opinion of others although in a disdainful
spirit. Persons who are exceedingly shy are rarely shy in the presence
of those with whom they are quite familiar, and of whose good opinion
and sympathy they are perfectly assured;—for instance, a girl in the
presence of her mother. I neglected to inquire in my printed paper
whether shyness can be detected in the different races of man; but a
Hindoo gentleman assured Mr. Erskine that it is recognizable in his
countrymen.
Shyness, as the derivation of the word indicates in several
languages,[1327] is closely related to fear; yet it is distinct from
fear in the ordinary sense. A shy man no doubt dreads the notice of
strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them, he may be as
bold as a hero in battle, and yet have no self-confidence about trifles
in the presence of strangers. Almost every one is extremely nervous
when first addressing a public assembly, and most men remain so
throughout their lives; but this appears to depend on the consciousness
of a great coming exertion, with its associated effects on the system,
rather than on shyness;[1328] although a timid or shy man no doubt
suffers on such occasions infinitely more than another. With very young
children it is difficult to distinguish between fear and shyness; but
this latter feeling with them has often seemed to me to partake of the
character of the wildness of an untamed animal. Shyness comes on at a
very early age. In one of my own children, when two years and three
months old, I saw a trace of what certainly appeared to be shyness,
directed towards myself after an absence from home of only a week. This
was shown not by a blush, but by the eyes being for a few minutes
slightly averted from me. I have noticed on other occasions that
shyness or shamefacedness and real shame are exhibited in the eyes of
young children before they have acquired the power of blushing.
As shyness apparently depends on self-attention, we can perceive how
right are those who maintain that reprehending children for shyness,
instead of doing them any good, does much harm, as it calls their
attention still more closely to themselves. It has been well urged that
“nothing hurts young people more than to be watched continually about
their feelings, to have their countenances scrutinized, and the degrees
of their sensibility measured by the surveying eye of the unmerciful
spectator. Under the constraint of such examinations they can think of
nothing but that they are looked at, and feel nothing but shame or
apprehension.”[1329]
_Moral causes: guilt_.—With respect to blushing from strictly moral
causes, we meet with the same fundamental principle as before, namely,
regard for the opinion of others. It is not the conscience which raises
a blush, for a man may sincerely regret some slight fault committed in
solitude, or he may suffer the deepest remorse for an undetected crime,
but he will not blush. “I blush,” says Dr. Burgess,[1330] “in the
presence of my accusers.” It is not the sense of guilt, but the thought
that others think or know us to be guilty which crimsons the face. A
man may feel thoroughly ashamed at having told a small falsehood,
without blushing; but if he even suspects that he is detected he will
instantly blush, especially if detected by one whom he reveres.
On the other hand, a man may be convinced that God witnesses all his
actions, and he may feel deeply conscious of some fault and pray for
forgiveness; but this will not, as a lady who is a great blusher
believes, ever excite a blush. The explanation of this difference
between the knowledge by God and man of our actions lies, I presume, in
man’s disapprobation of immoral conduct being somewhat akin in nature
to his depreciation of our personal appearance, so that through
association both lead to similar results; whereas the disapprobation of
God brings up no such association.
Many a person has blushed intensely when accused of some crime, though
completely innocent of it. Even the thought, as the lady before
referred to has observed to me, that others think that we have made an
unkind or stupid remark, is amply sufficient to cause a blush, although
we know all the time that we have been completely misunderstood. An
action may be meritorious or of an indifferent nature, but a sensitive
person, if he suspects that others take a different view of it, will
blush. For instance, a lady by herself may give money to a beggar
without a trace of a blush, but if others are present, and she doubts
whether they approve, or suspects that they think her influenced by
display, she will blush. So it will be, if she offers to relieve the
distress of a decayed gentlewoman, more particularly of one whom she
had previously known under better circumstances, as she cannot then
feel sure how her conduct will be viewed. But such cases as these blend
into shyness.
_Breaches of etiquette_.—The rules of _etiquette_ always refer to
conduct in the presence of, or towards others. They have no necessary
connection with the moral sense, and are often meaningless.
Nevertheless as they depend on the fixed custom of our equals and
superiors, whose opinion we highly regard, they are considered almost
as binding as are the laws of honour to a gentleman. Consequently the
breach of the laws of etiquette, that is, any impoliteness or
_gaucherie_, any impropriety, or an inappropriate remark, though quite
accidental, will cause the most intense blushing of which a man is
capable. Even the recollection of such an act, after an interval of
many years, will make the whole body to tingle. So strong, also, is the
power of sympathy that a sensitive person, as a lady has assured me,
will sometimes blush at a flagrant breach of etiquette by a perfect
stranger, though the act may in no way concern her.
_Modesty_.—This is another powerful agent in exciting blushes; but the
word modesty includes very different states of the mind. It implies
humility, and we often judge of this by persons being greatly pleased
and blushing at slight praise, or by being annoyed at praise which
seems to them too high according to their own humble standard of
themselves. Blushing here has the usual signification of regard for the
opinion of others. But modesty frequently relates to acts of
indelicacy; and indelicacy is an affair of etiquette, as we clearly see
with the nations that go altogether or nearly naked. He who is modest,
and blushes easily at acts of this nature, does so because they are
breaches of a firmly and wisely established etiquette. This is indeed
shown by the derivation of the word _modest_ from _modus_, a measure or
standard of behaviour. A blush due to this form of modesty is,
moreover, apt to be intense, because it generally relates to the
opposite sex; and we have seen how in all cases our liability to blush
is thus increased. We apply the term ‘modest,’ as it would appear, to
those who have an humble opinion of themselves, and to those who are
extremely sensitive about an indelicate word or deed, simply because in
both cases blushes are readily excited, for these two frames of mind
have nothing else in common. Shyness also, from this same cause, is
often mistaken for modesty in the sense of humility.
Some persons flush up, as I have observed and have been assured, at any
sudden and disagreeable recollection. The commonest cause seems to be
the sudden remembrance of not having done something for another person
which had been promised. In this case it may be that the thought passes
half unconsciously through the mind, “What will he think of me?” and
then the flush would partake of the nature of a true blush. But whether
such flushes are in most cases due to the capillary circulation being
affected, is very doubtful; for we must remember that almost every
strong emotion, such as anger or great joy, acts on the heart, and
causes the face to redden.
The fact that blushes may be excited in absolute solitude seems opposed
to the view here taken, namely that the habit originally arose from
thinking about what others think of us. Several ladies, who are great
blushers, are unanimous in regard to solitude; and some of them believe
that they have blushed in the dark. From what Mr. Forbes has stated
with respect to the Aymaras, and from my own sensations, I have no
doubt that this latter statement is correct. Shakspeare, therefore,
erred when he made Juliet, who was not even by herself, say to Romeo
(act ii. sc. 2):—
“Thou know’st the mask of night is on my face;
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek,
For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night.”
But when a blush is excited in solitude, the cause almost always
relates to the thoughts of others about us—to acts done in their
presence, or suspected by them; or again when we reflect what others
would have thought of us had they known of the act. Nevertheless one or
two of my informants believe that they have blushed from shame at acts
in no way relating to others. If this be so, we must attribute the
result to the force of inveterate habit and association, under a state
of mind closely analogous to that which ordinarily excites a blush; nor
need we feel surprise at this, as even sympathy with another person who
commits a flagrant breach of etiquette is believed, as we have just
seen, sometimes to cause a blush.
Finally, then, I conclude that blushing,—whether due to shyness—to
shame for a real crime—to shame from a breach of the laws of
etiquette—to modesty from humility—to modesty from an
indelicacy—depends in all cases on the same principle; this principle
being a sensitive regard for the opinion, more particularly for the
depreciation of others, primarily in relation to our personal
appearance, especially of our faces; and secondarily, through the force
of association and habit, in relation to the opinion of others on our
conduct.
_Theory of Blushing_.—We have now to consider, why should the thought
that others are thinking about us affect our capillary circulation? Sir
C. Bell insists[1331] that blushing “is a provision for expression, as
may be inferred from the colour extending only to the surface of the
face, neck, and breast, the parts most exposed. It is not acquired; it
is from the beginning.” Dr. Burgess believes that it was designed by
the Creator in “order that the soul might have sovereign power of
displaying in the cheeks the various internal emotions of the moral
feelings;” so as to serve as a check on ourselves, and as a sign to
others, that we were violating rules which ought to be held sacred.
Gratiolet merely remarks,—“Or, comme il est dans l’ordre de la nature
que l’être social le plus intelligent soit aussi le plus intelligible,
cette faculté de rougeur et de pâleur qui distingue l’homme, est un
signe naturel de sa haute perfection.”
The belief that blushing was SPECIALLY designed by the Creator is
opposed to the general theory of evolution, which is now so largely
accepted; but it forms no part of my duty here to argue on the general
question. Those who believe in design, will find it difficult to
account for shyness being the most frequent and efficient of all the
causes of blushing, as it makes the blusher to suffer and the beholder
uncomfortable, without being of the least service to either of them.
They will also find it difficult to account for negroes and other
dark-coloured races blushing, in whom a change of colour in the skin is
scarcely or not at all visible.
No doubt a slight blush adds to the beauty of a maiden’s face; and the
Circassian women who are capable of blushing, invariably fetch a higher
price in the seraolio of the Sultan than less susceptible women.[1332]
But the firmest believer in the efficacy of sexual selection will
hardly suppose that blushing was acquired as a sexual ornament. This
view would also be opposed to what has just been said about the
dark-coloured races blushing in an invisible manner.
The hypothesis which appears to me the most probable, though it may at
first seem rash, is that attention closely directed to any part of the
body tends to interfere with the ordinary and tonic contraction of the
small arteries of that part. These vessels, in consequence, become at
such times more or less relaxed, and are instantly filled with arterial
blood. This tendency will have been much strengthened, if frequent
attention has been paid during many generations to the same part, owing
to nerve-force readily flowing along accustomed channels, and by the
power of inheritance. Whenever we believe that others are depreciating
or even considering our personal appearance, our attention is vividly
directed to the outer and visible parts of our bodies; and of all such
parts we are most sensitive about our faces, as no doubt has been the
case during many past generations. Therefore, assuming for the moment
that the capillary vessels can be acted on by close attention, those of
the face will have become eminently susceptible. Through the force of
association, the same effects will tend to follow whenever we think
that others are considering or censuring our actions or character.
As the basis of this theory rests on mental attention having some power
to influence the capillary circulation, it will be necessary to give a
considerable body of details, bearing more or less directly on this
subject. Several observers,[1333] who from their wide experience and
knowledge are eminently capable of forming a sound judgment, are
convinced that attention or consciousness (which latter term Sir H.
Holland thinks the more explicit) concentrated on almost any part of
the body produces some direct physical effect on it. This applies to
the movements of the involuntary muscles, and of the voluntary muscles
when acting involuntarily,—to the secretion of the glands,—to the
activity of the senses and sensations,—and even to the nutrition of
parts.
It is known that the involuntary movements of the heart are affected if
close attention be paid to them. Gratiolet[1334] gives the case of a
man, who by continually watching and counting his own pulse, at last
caused one beat out of every six to intermit. On the other hand, my
father told me of a careful observer, who certainly had heart-disease
and died from it, and who positively stated that his pulse was
habitually irregular to an extreme degree; yet to his great
disappointment it invariably became regular as soon as my father
entered the room. Sir H. Holland remarks, that “the effect upon the
circulation of a part from the consciousness suddenly directed and
fixed upon it, is often obvious and immediate.” Professor Laycock, who
has particularly attended to phenomena of this nature, insists that
“when the attention is directed to any portion of the body, innervation
and circulation are excited locally, and the functional activity of
that portion developed.”
It is generally believed that the peristaltic movements of the
intestines are influenced by attention being paid to them at fixed
recurrent periods; and these movements depend on the contraction of
unstriped and involuntary muscles. The abnormal action of the voluntary
muscles in epilepsy, chorea, and hysteria is known to be influenced by
the expectation of an attack, and by the sight of other patients
similarly affected. So it is with the involuntary acts of yawning and
laughing.
Certain glands are much influenced by thinking of them, or of the
conditions under which they have been habitually excited. This is
familiar to every one in the increased flow of saliva, when the
thought, for instance, of intensely acid fruit is kept before the mind.
It was shown in our sixth chapter, that an earnest and long-continued
desire either to repress, or to increase, the action of the lacrymal
glands is effectual. Some curious cases have been recorded in the case
of women, of the power of the mind on the mammary glands; and still
more remarkable ones in relation to the uterine functions.
See Gratiolet on this subject, De la Phys. p. 287. Dr. J. Crichton
Browne, from his observations on the insane, is convinced that
attention directed for a prolonged period on any part or organ may
ultimately influence its capillary circulation and nutrition. He has
given me some extraordinary cases; one of these, which cannot here be
related in full, refers to a married woman fifty years of age, who
laboured under the firm and long-continued delusion that she was
pregnant. When the expected period arrived, she acted precisely as if
she had been really delivered of a child, and seemed to suffer extreme
pain, so that the perspiration broke out on her forehead. The result
was that a state of things returned, continuing for three days, which
had ceased during the six previous years. Mr. Braid gives, in his
‘Magic, Hypnotism,’ &c., 1852, p. 95, and in his other works analogous
cases, as well as other facts showing the great influence of the will
on the mammary glands, even on one breast alone.
When we direct our whole attention to any one sense, its acuteness is
increased;[1340] and the continued habit of close attention, as with
blind people to that of hearing, and with the blind and deaf to that of
touch, appears to improve the sense in question permanently. There is,
also, some reason to believe, judging from the capacities of different
races of man, that the effects are inherited. Turning to ordinary
sensations, it is well known that pain is increased by attending to it;
and Sir B. Brodie goes so far as to believe that pain may be felt in
any part of the body to which attention is closely drawn.[1341] Sir H.
Holland also remarks that we become not only conscious of the existence
of a part subjected to concentrated attention, but we experience in it
various odd sensations as of weight, heat, cold, tingling, or
itching.[1342]
Lastly, some physiologists maintain that the mind can influence the
nutrition of parts. Sir J. Paget has given a curious instance of the
power, not indeed of the mind, but of the nervous system, on the hair.
A lady “who is subject to attacks of what is called nervous headache,
always finds in the morning after such an one, that some patches of her
hair are white, as if powdered with starch. The change is effected in a
night, and in a few days after, the hairs gradually regain their dark
brownish colour.”[1343]
We thus see that close attention certainly affects various parts and
organs, which are not properly under the control of the will. By what
means attention—perhaps the most wonderful of all the wondrous powers
of the mind—is effected, is an extremely obscure subject. According to
Müller,[1344] the process by which the sensory cells of the brain are
rendered, through the will, susceptible of receiving more intense and
distinct impressions, is closely analogous to that by which the motor
cells are excited to send nerve-force to the voluntary muscles. There
are many points of analogy in the action of the sensory and motor
nerve-cells; for instance, the familiar fact that close attention to
any one sense causes fatigue, like the prolonged exertion of any one
muscle.[1345] When therefore we voluntarily concentrate our attention
on any part of the body, the cells of the brain which receive
impressions or sensations from that part are, it is probable, in some
unknown manner stimulated into activity. This may account, without any
local change in the part to which our attention is earnestly directed,
for pain or odd sensations being there felt or increased.
If, however, the part is furnished with muscles, we cannot feel sure,
as Mr. Michael Foster has remarked to me, that some slight impulse may
not be unconsciously sent to such muscles; and this would probably
cause an obscure sensation in the part.
In a large number of cases, as with the salivary and lacrymal glands,
intestinal canal, &c., the power of attention seems to rest, either
chiefly, or as some physiologists think, exclusively, on the vaso-motor
system being affected in such a manner that more blood is allowed to
flow into the capillaries of the part in question. This increased
action of the capillaries may in some cases be combined with the
simultaneously increased activity of the sensorium.
The manner in which the mind affects the vasomotor system may be
conceived in the following manner. When we actually taste sour fruit,
an impression is sent through the gustatory nerves to a certain part of
the sensorium; this transmits nerve-force to the vasomotor centre,
which consequently allows the muscular coats of the small arteries that
permeate the salivary glands to relax. Hence more blood flows into
these glands, and they secrete a copious supply of saliva. Now it does
not seem an improbable assumption, that, when we reflect intently on a
sensation, the same part of the sensorium, or a closely connected part
of it, is brought into a state of activity, in the same manner as when
we actually perceive the sensation. If so, the same cells in the brain
will be excited, though, perhaps, in a less degree, by vividly thinking
about a sour taste, as by perceiving it; and they will transmit in the
one case, as in the other, nerve-force to the vaso-motor centre with
the same results.
To give another, and, in some respects, more appropriate illustration.
If a man stands before a hot fire, his face reddens. This appears to be
due, as Mr. Michael Foster informs me, in part to the local action of
the heat, and in part to a reflex action from the vaso-motor
centres.[1346] In this latter case, the heat affects the nerves of the
face; these transmit an impression to the sensory cells of the brain,
which act on the vaso-motor centre, and this reacts on the small
arteries of the face, relaxing them and allowing them to become filled
with blood. Here, again, it seems not improbable that if we were
repeatedly to concentrate with great earnestness our attention on the
recollection of our heated faces, the same part of the sensorium which
gives us the consciousness of actual heat would be in some slight
degree stimulated, and would in consequence tend to transmit some
nerve-force to the vaso-motor centres, so as to relax the capillaries
of the face. Now as men during endless generations have had their
attention often and earnestly directed to their personal appearance,
and especially to their faces, any incipient tendency in the facial
capillaries to be thus affected will have become in the course of time
greatly strengthened through the principles just referred to, namely,
nerve-force passing readily along accustomed channels, and inherited
habit. Thus, as it appears to me, a plausible explanation is afforded
of the leading phenomena connected with the act of blushing.
_Recapitulation_.—Men and women, and especially the young, have always
valued, in a high degree, their personal appearance; and have likewise
regarded the appearance of others. The face has been the chief object
of attention, though, when man aboriginally went naked, the whole
surface of his body would have been attended to. Our self-attention is
excited almost exclusively by the opinion of others, for no person
living in absolute solitude would care about his appearance. Every one
feels blame more acutely than praise. Now, whenever we know, or
suppose, that others are depreciating our personal appearance, our
attention is strongly drawn towards ourselves, more especially to our
faces. The probable effect of this will be, as has just been explained,
to excite into activity that part of the sensorium, which receives the
sensory nerves of the face; and this will react through the vaso-motor
system on the facial capillaries. By frequent reiteration during
numberless generations, the process will have become so habitual, in
association with the belief that others are thinking of us, that even a
suspicion of their depreciation suffices to relax the capillaries,
without any conscious thought about our faces. With some sensitive
persons it is enough even to notice their dress to produce the same
effect. Through the force, also, of association and inheritance our
capillaries are relaxed, whenever we know, or imagine, that any one is
blaming, though in silence, our actions, thoughts, or character; and,
again, when we are highly praised.
On this hypothesis we can understand how it is that the face blushes
much more than any other part of the body, though the whole surface is
somewhat affected, more especially with the races which still go nearly
naked. It is not at all surprising that the dark-coloured races should
blush, though no change of colour is visible in their skins. From the
principle of inheritance it is not surprising that persons born blind
should blush. We can understand why the young are much more affected
than the old, and women more than men; and why the opposite sexes
especially excite each other’s blushes. It becomes obvious why personal
remarks should be particularly liable to cause blushing, and why the
most powerful of all the causes is shyness; for shyness relates to the
presence and opinion of others, and the shy are always more or less
self-conscious. With respect to real shame from moral delinquencies, we
can perceive why it is not guilt, but the thought that others think us
guilty, which raises a blush. A man reflecting on a crime committed in
solitude, and stung by his conscience, does not blush; yet he will
blush under the vivid recollection of a detected fault, or of one
committed in the presence of others, the degree of blushing being
closely related to the feeling of regard for those who have detected,
witnessed, or suspected his fault. Breaches of conventional rules of
conduct, if they are rigidly insisted on by our equals or superiors,
often cause more intense blushes even than a detected crime, and an act
which is really criminal, if not blamed by our equals, hardly raises a
tinge of colour on our cheeks. Modesty from humility, or from an
indelicacy, excites a vivid blush, as both relate to the judgment or
fixed customs of others.
From the intimate sympathy which exists between the capillary
circulation of the surface of the head and of the brain, whenever there
is intense blushing, there will be some, and often great, confusion of
mind. This is frequently accompanied by awkward movements, and
sometimes by the involuntary twitching of certain muscles.
As blushing, according to this hypothesis, is an indirect result of
attention, originally directed to our personal appearance, that is to
the surface of the body, and more especially to the face, we can
understand the meaning of the gestures which accompany blushing
throughout the world. These consist in hiding the face, or turning it
towards the ground, or to one side. The eyes are generally averted or
are restless, for to look at the man who causes us to feel shame or
shyness, immediately brings home in an intolerable manner the
consciousness that his gaze is directed on us. Through the principle of
associated habit, the same movements of the face and eyes are
practised, and can, indeed, hardly be avoided, whenever we know or
believe that, others are blaming, or too strongly praising, our moral
conduct.