Humans are very complex creatures: the ways we move, think, act, and interact. In Gibson’s Neuromancer, technology has completely thwarted mankind’s ability to think for itself. Although, upon analyzing this novel, most look mainly at the imagery of technology, I found it interesting to investigate the description of the characters’ eyes and what emotions linger inside.
The eyes of humans are said to be the window to their soul. Upon reading the assigned chapters of Neuromancer, I began to realize the amount of times Gibson mentions the eyes of the characters in relation to their mental state. Molly falls into a trap set by Ashpool and he carries her into his room. He informs her he was in the middle of committing suicide. After he goes unconscious due to the amount of drugs he has taken, Molly decides to finish him off by stabbing a poison dart into his eye. Ashpool’s life has been ruled by technology, so much that he can no longer live. Molly’s stabbing him in the eye conveys the toxicity of technology. Throughout this novel, we have seen Armitage’s steady mental collapse. Case sees Armitage has an “utterly crazy face” with “eyes black as buttons”. Armitage is basically a whole new person. He has completely escaped his former sick, addicted identity as Colonel Willis Corto by the advances of technology. Molly also talks to Armitage and notices his unstable personality. Molly “passes the tips of her fingers through Armitage’s television eyes”. Gibson uses Armitage’s eyes to convey to the readers the detrimental effect technology has over mankind. His ‘television eyes’ show how technology has severely altered Armitage’s life to the point of complete emptiness. This black appearance is seen in Armitage’s death. The vacuum of space kills Armitage. The emptiness of space has consumed Armitage to the point of no return. Lastly, Gibson introduces 3Jane, daughter of Ashpool, toward the end of the reading. Ashpool first talks about his daughter just before he commits suicide. Molly then sees her face on the prostitute in Ashpool’s bed. Molly describes her eyes as being “dark, curiously opaque”. Her eyes reveal a certain mystery and deviousness that, I think, will lead to a more important role as the novel concludes.
There is no question technology is a major theme in the novel. I think, however, looking into the eyes of the characters will give greater insight into what Gibson intended the reader to infer. Personally, while reading the novel, the number of times Gibson describes a character by their eyes was too much for me to disregard as ‘just a description’.
While reading, I paid attention to the descriptions of the characters’ eyes but never thought about what they symbolize. Leo, I agree with your analysis and believe that eyes can reveal a lot about people. Our eyes can tell a person our emotions without us uttering a single word. The characters’ eyes show no emotion. The description of their blackness and opacity allows the reader to visualize how technology has completely taken over the human mind and emotions. Eyes express a great deal about a person, but in Gibson’s world, technology masks their state of mind.
I thought the fact that you brought up the reoccurring usage of eyes very interesting Leo. It seems like eyes could mean so many different things, and at the same time be extremely significant symbols. One instance was the description of the Villa’s silicon core, which contained a “platinum and Cloisonne with eyes of Bright marbles.” (173) With such an important and inner location for “eyes” in the book, the emphasis on the eyes almost made me think of the Trancendentalist “transparent eye ball,” in which the mentioning of the eye is hinting at the characters ability to see within themselves through the technology that they are dealing with. Parts of the action scenes remind me a lot of Inception, in which Case and Molly are seeing somebody else’s recreation of a complicated program. Or in some instances, they are even seeing a play on their own imagination, for example the manipulation of Case with Linda Lee and his need for a warm bed and rest.
Interesting line of sight (or thought?), Leo. Odd, of course, that you don’t mention Molly’s eyes, which are perhaps the most iconic image from the book.