'You look surprised! I will try to explain.

That young lady is stronger than you think.

It would do her a world of good to shed tears, but she cannot because her unconscious power of resistance has been exercised till it has grown rigid.

You have heard of Hindu devotees who hold up one arm till it stiffens in that position, so that they could not move it if they tried.

That is an image of what I mean, unless it is the thing itself.