Polite Dissent

Dwayne, he of the Jonah Hex obsession, asks an excellent question: what’s up with Hex’s right eye? He points out that it remains open even when Hex is unconscious, and it’s been suggested that he may be blind in that eye.

As I said, it’s a very good question:

Hex’s permanently open eye could be due to several different things, all ultimately related to the hot tomahawk torture that left his face permanently scarred.
1. The eyelid could have been sliced off.
2. There could be scar tissue that keeps the eyelid open (this seems most likely to me).
3. There could be nerve damage or muscle damage affecting the eyelid in question.

Regardless of the cause, having a permanently open eye is going to lead to blindness in that eye. A functional eyelid and being able to blink lubricate the eye to keep it from drying out, and protect the eye from foreign bodies and irritants.

Without the lid, Hex’s eye will dry out and be more susceptible to scratches and abrasions of the cornea (especially when he takes those long rides through the desert he’s so fond of taking). Without being able to close his eye or blink, these scratches will not have time to heal and more and more of them will occur. Eventually, it will be like trying to look out through a frosted pane of glass — and that’s the best-case scenario.

Infection of the eye is a strong possibility, and there’s a risk of developing corneal ulcers, which if untreated can lead to a perforation of the eye. This can develop into a particularly nasty infection resulting in the loss of the eye itself.

The muscles and reflexes should still be functioning (unless there’s muscle or nerve damage as mentioned above), so if you were talking to Jonah, the eye would still appear to look at you and follow you — but he wouldn’t be able to actually see you out of it. The eye would probably look a little cloudy and worse-for-wear if you took a close look at it.

Thanks to modern medicine, we have several ways to deal with this problem. There are a variety of eye lubricants and drops that can be applied. Surgery can be performed to correct the eyelid defect, or weights can be added the eyelid so it closes. Of course, Hex didn’t have these options back in the 19th century (though he could have worn an eye patch, which would have offered some protection).

Let me use another famous one-eyed cowboy for demonstration purposes:

What Jonah Hex would see, if he were to look at Rooster Cogburn out of his left eye. This would likely be followed by a great deal of drinking and/or shooting.	The same scene, if Hex were looking out of his right eye. Bear in mind that this is the best-case scenario, and the vision would likely be much worse — or absent entirely.

Other Jonah Hex posts:
What’s the Deal with Jonah Hex’s Mouth Scar?
Rabies in the Old West