Thus, when the
head moves in an inverse direction from the object that it examines, it
is from a selfish standpoint; and when the examiner bends toward the
object it is in contempt of self that the object is viewed.
These are the two related looks that I have named Sensuality and
Tenderness, for these reasons:
The former of these glances is addressed exclusively to the form of its
object; it caresses the periphery of it, and, the better to appreciate
its totality, moves away from it. This is what occurs in the retroactive
attitude of the head.
The other look, on the contrary, aims at the heart of things without
pausing on the surface, disdaining all that is external. It strives to
penetrate the object to its very essence, as if to unite itself more
closely within it; it has the expression of confidence, of faith--in a
word, the giving up of self.
Thus, when a man presses a woman's hand, we may affirm one of three
things from the attitude which his head assumes:
1. That he does not love her, if his head remains straight or simply
bent in facing her.
2. That he loves her tenderly, if he bows his head obliquely toward her.
3. Finally, that he loves her sensually--that is to say, solely for her
physical qualities--if, on looking at her, he moves his head toward the
shoulder which is opposite her.
Such are, in brief, the three attitudes of the head and the eyes, which
I have named _colorless, affectional, sensual_.
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