Fine and Flawed Eyes in Gulliver’s Travels and Pride Prejudice: An Argument Relating Eyesight and Judgment

Throughout biblical scripture, an implicit correlation between eyesight and judgment exists – not God’s judgment, but a human’s ability to pass judgment in a certain situation. Matthew 6:22 states, “the eye is the lamp of the body. So, if [the] eye is healthy, [the] whole body will be full of light.” One of the miracles of Jesus provides another example pertaining to eyesight: “Then Jesus laid his hands on [the man’s] eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly” (Mark 8:25). Jonathan Swift and Jane Austen both had ties to the church, and their experiences influenced their texts. In Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver notes the importance of his spectacles. Without them, he would not be able to see clearly, and he later mentions that his spectacles protect his eyes from the Lilliputians when they try to attack him. Throughout the text, however, Gulliver makes poor decisions concerning his family and his loyalty to England. He is blind to his own faults and blind to the corrupt nature of his homeland. I argue that these ideas are related. In a sense, Gulliver’s inability to see the flaws in his own life parallels his poor eyesight. Furthermore, Elizabeth Bennet demonstrates this idea through the description of her “fine eyes.” Though Elizabeth correctly judges each character in the novel, she fails in her attempts to read both Darcy and Wickham. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is the sole character to discern the true natures of each of the other members of the novel correctly, thus a representation of her “fine eyes.” However, her ability to read the actions and motives of each character fails in reference to Wickham and Darcy. She falls prey to her first impressions of each of these men an...

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...lso had moments in which they judged themselves incorrectly. These moments are necessary in order to see growth in both of the characters and in order to reveal this theme of eyesight and judgment within both texts.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, “eyesight” is defined as “the power or faculty of seeing; sight: attributed also to the heart, soul, etc.” This definition demonstrates itself in both methods in Gulliver’s Travels and Pride and Prejudice. Furthermore, the OED defines “judgment” as “the action or result of forming or pronouncing an opinion.” With these definitions as a reference point, readers can conclude that Elizabeth and Gulliver demonstrate poor judgment multiple times. These definitions help to structure this argument in the most concise manner possible: that is, a person’s ability to see directly influences his or her ability to pass judgment.