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Most of us naturally believe that we can tell people’s feelings from their facial expressions. For example, if a person raises the corners of his mouth by pulling up the muscles in his face, we will think that he is smiling because he is happy or pleased.
Sometimes, however, telling people’s feelings only by facial expressions can be difficult. Take the painting of Mona Lisa as an example. There is still a lot of discussion going on about this painting, especially about the model’s facial expression. Nat King Cole, a popular American singer, used to sing a song about a lady who would not openly show her feelings. In his song, he compared the lady’s smile to that of Mona Lisa, which could be interpreted in many ways. He asks if the lady is smiling to attract a lover, or if she is trying to hide her broken heart. Similar guesses have been made about Mona Lisa’s smile.
Although we can keep on guessing why Mona Lisa is smiling, or whether she is actually smiling or not, there is little possibility that we can arrive at an answer. That is because we do not know who she was, what her character was like, and what situation she was in. These factors all work together to help us “read” people’s facial expressions.