The Large Eyes of Communion

Anne of Green Gables was published 30 years ago this month. The iconic cover and paragraph about the large eyes have always been a recurring theme. Why do those big eyes trigger something in us? Is it because we have been hardwired in some way to respond to these big eyes? Or is it something else? It's easy to assume that such strange looking creatures must be from somewhere else in the universe, but not enough evidence to close the question.