I believe bravery, used in this manner, is not necessarily an intentional act, but rather it is an unintentional projection. The act of facing the fearsome will project a perception of bravery outward to others… irregardless if it is intended by the one facing the fear.
My dog went missing for a month. Construction workers found him lying dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft. He’d fallen eight floors down a secret shaft and laid their decaying for a month in the August summer. All the while I thought he’d been dognapped.
My friend and I meet the workers two stories underground to retrieve Bart’s body. One of us had to enter the shaft alone. There were volunteers who knew how crazed I’d become over the past month, but I insisted upon retrieving him myself. Upon entering, in a space where no one else could see me, I saw Bart lying there, peacefully. I cried out howling “Oh… Bart!” I was so afraid. I reached out to pick him up but his body just crumpled into gooey chunks of furry muddy flesh decay that reeked rotten like all the toilets in hell. I just bawled and cried, shoveling his remains into a trash bag.
When I came out, everyone was staring wide eyed and drop jawed. Every one of them said my act was the bravest thing they’d ever seen.
I’m like “huh?” Brave? It was a terrifying experience. Nothing brave intended at all. But my friends said it was brave because I had to face it alone. And something in that act was unintentionally projecting bravery to them.