One of the themes in Neuromancer is the acceptance of the body itself, specifically in the case of Case and Molly. It's not exactly a gender issue, but that does play a part in this theme. As I mentioned in my last blog, Molly and Case have two very different and distinct views about their own body in the beginning of the book. But in the end Case's view ultimately changes because of Molly.
Molly is portrayed as being a resilient individual and has this tough girl image. Although Molly does have body modifications, she embraces her body. The body modifications she got help her to do what she wants to do. The blades in her hand serve as a device for protection and other purposes in her daily life. Unfortunately, her strong and accepted body breaks down on her in the end, and she isn't able to complete the mission on her own.
Case on the other hand, rejects his body and in a way wants to escape it. His way of getting away from his body is through the matrix. When Molly gets hurt, he realizes he now has to take action himself to finish out the mission. This is the first step in Case eventually accepting his body. He witnesses and feels Molly's pain and other things when in the matrix. Completing the mission himself has a huge effect on how he feels, and changes his point of view. Seeing things from a different point of view opened his eyes. The matrix doesn't have the same meaning to Case as it did before, and now he embraces his body.
1 comment:
I think Shaina has a different opinion on Case and his relation to the body. I feel that Case struggles between accepting his body and trying to escape it from the beginning to the end. In the beginning Case is a drug addict because he can no longer escape his body and enter cyberspace like he used to. He enjoys being in cyberspace more than anything else. When he regains the ability to enter cyberspace he hates his body for the things it requires like food, sleep, and using the restroom. He finds these as inconvenient. At points during his mission however he is stressed out and longs for the ability to get high which his body has been advanced passed the state of doing. In longing to get high he wants to leave his body in a way I suppose but also needs the body to be able to do this. In the end Case still works by entering cyberspace but he gets high as well. He's got a slightly more sincere feeling towards his body but I don't think he has fully accepted it.
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