Hey, everyone.
So, I know for this week I said I would be going back to RWBY Theory, but screw it, this is more of a speculative blog. Plus, people can't rub it in my face as hard if I get something wrong. Anyway, for this week's topic, I'll be covering...
That's correct--the importance of silver eyes. This is one of the most overlooked and least understood aspects of RWBY. In fact, when I think about it, I get a little annoyed because of how quickly it's glossed over at the end of Volume 3. Anyway, let's take a look at Ruby's silver eyes and see if we can't piece together anything important.
Why Silver Eyes?
Why does Ruby have silver eyes? From a canon perspective, it's because Summer did. But from a writing perspective, what purpose do they serve? And what's the big deal about eyes in RWBY, because remember, both Amber's and Cinder's eyes burn when using the power of the Maiden. And why are Ruby's eyes silver?
The Symbolism of Eyes:
To understand eyes better, I dug into their symbolism. Most of us are probably aware of the saying "eyes are the window to the soul." And what with aura and Semblance being based off the soul, it'd make sense for this connection to be in RWBY. One website I found listed several other interesting qualities associated with eyes including intelligence, light, vigilance, moral conscience, and truth, all of which are noble qualities I would expect a huntsman to uphold. Eyes can also represent judgment, authority, clairvoyance, and omniscience. And of course, the site mentions eyes being the gateway to the soul. But, that's not enough to go on alone. None of us can really look Ruby, Cinder, and Amber in the eyes and see into their souls. But, something that the website did mention is that eye color carries with it its own unique meanings too, which brings us to the next component.
The Meaning of the Color Silver:
We're all familiar with the usual color meanings: red is passion, blue is calmness, green is earth, yellow is happiness, black is death. But what about silver? What does it mean? Well, according to this site silver can mean illumination, reflection, feminine power, dignity, responsibility, insight, and wisdom. Illumination and reflection actually remind me of the virtues truth, light, and moral conscience that are associated with eyes. Never mind the fact that silver can also be related to insight. Perhaps all those Madman's Knowledge items in Bloodborne should've been silver.
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| Perhaps Micolash should've been praying to these to grant him eyes. |
But, there's another quality there that I'm sure you picked up on: feminine power. Colors are a big deal in RWBY, and while the usual four came to Monty in a dream, it's possible that he knew or found out that silver was feminine, hence why he gave Ruby silver eyes. Some may say that's looking into it too much, but he also gave Summer silver eyes. Could just be genetics, but it could be more. It could be that all silver eyed warriors are women. That'd be interesting.
But, I think there's another, more obvious connection to the color silver in RWBY. Perhaps you remember Qrow telling Ruby the legend of how people born with silver eyes were destined to live the lives of warriors, that the Grimm feared them, and that a look alone could kill a Grimm? While humanity's greatest enemy is the Grimm, it seems like only those with silver eyes are the enemies of the Grimm. Why?
Well, what's the stereotypical Grimm? By that, I mean, what's the most common Grimm we see? Beowolves, right? Which are... wolves. And I'm asking questions about silver. Do you see where I'm going with this? Sure, the Beowolves aren't werewolves, but they are evil. And evil things are supposed to have an aversion to silver. Hell, it can be used against vampires, too. So, could it be that the silver eyed warriors have silver eyes due to some concept of good versus evil? It's possible. But, what does that mean for the show?
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Silver Eyes in RWBY:
Do you remember Salem's opening narration in the first episode? This opening narration gave us quite a bit of information, but there is a part of it that is overlooked. When she's talking about how the Grimm attacked early man, she says, "it seemed like darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds."
Now, some may think that Salem was talking about Dust since that's what that line leads up to. But, let me draw your attention to Ozpin's rebuttal in that episode, and then Salem's response to Ozpin at the end of Volume 3.
Ozpin: But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul. [camera pans down to Ruby]
Salem: "A smaller, more honest soul." It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope. Breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my power to snuff it out. [...] So you send your guardians, your huntsmen and huntresses, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise.
Hopefully you can see the parallel I'm trying to draw between the "smaller, more honest soul" and the "simple spark" that can ignite hope, change, and strength. And hopefully, you get the fact that I'm trying to say that the smaller, more honest soul that brought about the salvation of humanity is from the silver eyed warriors thus meaning simpler souls have silver eyes, or that people with silver eyes have simpler souls. And this theory does work when we consider what we know about Ruby. I mean, she is kind of simple. She says she wants to become a huntress because she wants to help people. That's all she wants; no more, no less. It's very direct and honest. It's not slightly backhanded like Yang who's in it for the thrills, and it's not complicated like Weiss and Blake who are fighting for honor and justice. Ruby is doing righteousness for the sake righteousness. In fact, we could even use words like innocent and pure to describe Ruby, but not so much with the other three.
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| "Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" "I'm hoping we all will." |
Now, while this seems nice and tidy, I'm still lacking proof for my claim. The biggest problem is that we don't know anything of substance about Summer, the only other character in the series with silver eyes. But, given her similar appearance to Ruby, we could assume they have similar personalities or at the least, similar thought processes. One thing that bothers me about the Xiao Long-Rose family is why Tai thought it would be a good idea to get into a relationship with Raven, and then how easily and quickly Summer filled her place because remember, Yang has no memory of Raven being her mother. So, I wonder quite a bit about Tai's mindset and Summer's. I mean, they were partners. Was there an actual romance between them and Raven was a fling or the other woman? Or, was Summer Tai's consolation prize; was she the girl who had been pining for Tai ever since the beginning and managed to luck out when Raven went AWOL because Tai was on the rebound?
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| She's got a hood, a cloak, bobbed hair with the same coloration. And a combat skirt! |
But, if we accept the fact that Summer has a simple soul, she doesn't get caught up in complex reasons, she just does what's best for the situation, because her becoming Yang's mother was what was best in that situation, then it's easier to understand why Summer married Tai. Summer is a warrior of justice and virtue like her daughter.
But! There's still a problem. I still haven't answered the question why is having silver eyes important. Well, if Ozpin is doubling down on the fact that victory lies within a smaller, more honest soul, and silver eyed warriors have simpler, more honest souls, then Ruby is going to be the hero of our story. Not like that's a surprise. She's the main character after all.
But, this doesn't answer everything. For instance, why did Qrow side step Ruby's question at the end of Vol. 3? Why didn't he tell her how he knew what Ozpin said to her? And how come Qrow doesn't know more about the silver eyes? If it was so important to Ozpin, why didn't he tell Qrow? I mean, Qrow's teammate/sister-in-law and niece both have silver eyes. How come they don't know more? This also begs the question was it Summer Hazel was referring to when he said they've "dealt with their kind before?" Or, did he mean other silver eyed warriors? How many of them are there? And if there are plenty, where do they come from? Perhaps they're the ones Salem spoke of in the introduction when she said that humanity is the remnant of a "forgotten past."
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This also brings into question the origin of Dust. Monty said Dust is like materia from FFVII in how there are different kinds. But maybe he hid the fact that that similarities go deeper than that. Maybe Dust is the actual dust of an ancient, long dead civilization. I mean, Pyrrha did turn to dust and thus kindly scatter when she died. Maybe Dust is the remnant of silver eyed warriors who mastered their auras in amazing ways.
But, I'm rambling now. There are still unanswered questions such as the eye connection. It could just be because the eye is the gateway to the soul and the power of the Maiden and the power of silver eyes comes from the soul, but we can't make that claim until we understand the weaknesses of the Maiden's powers and what actually causes the power of the silver eyes to awaken and what they do when they're used. As far as we know, they're good for petrifying a dragon, blinding people, sprouting angel wings from one's eyeballs, and putting out some bitch's eye. And there are painful side effects to using the power. Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in Volume 5. Honestly, I care more about the mystery of the silver eyes, Dust, Jaune's bloodline, and why the moon's f*cked up more than I do about Remnant's creation story or artifacts.
Speaking of Vol. 5, it premieres next week Saturday. But, only for First Members. Hopefully RT will let others watch it for free on Sunday because f*ck First Membership. But, my point is, for next week's post, I'll be doing a "what I think will happen in Vol. 5" post. Also, if you're on RT's mailing list, you'll know about the exclusive event in which you can see the first chapter Vol. 5 next week Thursday. Here's the advert.
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| Go to Fathom Events to learn more. |
Until next week...
Keep writing, my friends.
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