Haskell writes that Scarlett "stands apart from herself, a masquerade of the feminine, as the mirror returns a gaze that is both her own and implicitly that of the man for whom the presentation is intended".
And the more we humans return a pet's gaze and the greater the resulting surge of oxytocin, the more emphatically we believe ours is the best dog in the whole wide world.
When a woman speaks directly to a man with little confidence, the man usually has a hard time returning a strong gaze.
Welles, in costume as Falstaff, returns a crinkly grin and gazes into Olivier's eyes, as though seeking something there.
But her real magic is not just that she was able to look, absolutely, at somebody through the lens, but that she created a space where that other person – even a child – could return her gaze on their own terms.
Whereas wild animals like wolves will avert their eyes when spotted, dogs and cats readily return our gaze, and with an apparent emotiveness that stimulates the wistful narrative in our head.
When I did nothing but return his gaze, he spoke, in an altered tone.
Visitors to the museum were invited, first come first served, to sit in a chair facing her and silently return her gaze.
He doesn't return their gaze, though.
It brightens right back up when you return your gaze.
"I wonder if he will return my gaze".
