Unlike that hearing, Thursday’s drama on Capitol Hill was subject to instant analysis, dissected and framed in real time on social media. Judge Kavanaugh’s chances of confirmation seemed to fall and rise depending on the hour, as political reporters relayed tidbits from President Trump’s inner circle. Brit Hume, the veteran Fox News anchor, compared the feeling to election night of 2016, a yo-yo of emotions for partisans on both sides.

At its core was a story born of literature: two protagonists revisiting a fateful moment from decades ago. “I am terrified,” Dr. Blasey said at the start of her testimony; they were virtually the first words that the public had ever heard her say.

Later came a Judge Kavanaugh who bore little resemblance to the milquetoast man on Fox News three nights earlier. Indignant and defiant, nostrils flaring, the judge unleashed a torrent of pain and grievance, at times unable to speak as he cried in front of a national audience.

Producers had lined up the usual anchors and analysts to offer comment. But the emotions of the day were too raw to be captured by pundits alone. C-Span, the no-frills public affairs network, became a spontaneous town square for everyday Americans who lit up the channel’s phone lines, compelled to share deeply personal reactions to what they had seen.

“I’m a 76-year-old woman who was sexually molested in the second grade; this brings back so much pain,” said a woman who identified herself as Brenda of Valley Park, Mo., calling in after Dr. Blasey’s opening statement. “I have not brought this up for years until I heard this testimony, and it is just breaking my heart.”