by Ursula K. Le Guin
Published 1969
Winner of the Nebula Award in 1969
Other novels nominated:
Winner of the Hugo Award
in 1970
Other novels nominated:
Questions to consider for
discussion:
1. Is the background clearly described?
The Ekumen? Not really. We hear only that there was an earlier mission to Winter/Genthan
and that they were the first contact team. Genly Ai is the first "mobile" on
Genthan--A "mobile" seems to be an ambassador who is actually planetside and
interacting with the society. The Ekumen has a higher technology level ("ansibles"
and space ships), but nothing more is really shown.
Genthan/Winter? Well, it's very cold there. There is little agriculture because
of the cold (some "Hannish" grain that Genly recognizes and the inhabitants
think is native and some nuts--where do they come from?), and at least two countries
on the major continent. The inhabitants are described briefly and some of the
social structure (enough for the story) is included.
Karhide and Orgoreyn? Yes, if you know your Cold War history and politics. It
is clear that Karhide is the United States/democratic world opposed to Orgoreyn/the
Soviet Union. There are even gulags in Orgoreyn! But not much
else is included.
2. Does the structure of the novel (narrative, folklore report, diary) aid
the progress of the novel?
Yes. The variety of narration allows information to be given to the reader without
interrupting the text to insert a lecture; the contact report about the sexuality
of the inhabitants of Genthan fills in the background for the reader and explains
the changes that take place during kemmer, but since it is in the form of a
report, it is not as jarring as it would be if the narrative just stopped to
add this information. The folk tales sections were also very good and added
depth to the characters and situations.
3. Is Estrevan's androgyny real? Why or why not?
It is not real. Although Le Guin tells us that the Genthans have no concept
of gender roles, the first narrator of the novel is from Earth and he has very
decided sex role ideas. He constantly refers to the Genthans, particularly Estrevan,
with male pronouns. All of the female roles are negative, and the female side
of the personality is also negative (e.g. Estrevan fusses "womanishly" about
the dinner he has for Genly). Conversely, although Genly
and Estrevan come to feel very deeply for each other, Genly never faces the
fact that he loves who he has been thinking of as a man; he never seems to notice
this. Is homosexuality taken for granted on Earth at this time?
Clearly, it does not exist on Genthan, at least not in the way it exists on
Earth. The one tale of the brothers who become lovers while in the male sex
shows that homosexuality is not an issue on Genthan. Although it seems
obvious that same sex love exists for only a small percentage of a couples time
together, Le Guin still does not address this issue.
Is the Genthan's fluctuating sex real? What does it mean that Genly and Estrevan
love each other and what does Estrevan think of this? The reader never knows.
4. Is androgyny essential to the story itself or would the story essentially
be the same without it?
It is not essential since Le Guin only has it as background that changes nothing
and adds nothing. Genly never faces the idea that he loves a "man", Estrevan
never has to explain Genthan gender roles to Genly (at least not one that directly
affects Genly). Estrevan and Genly never become lovers in the physical sense
so the whole background of the Genthans gender is essentially meaningless. It
plays no part in the main plot, adds nothing to the characters and seems to
exist totally independently from the main plot. If Genly and Estrevan had become
lovers it would have tied the two ideas together perfectly. While it seems essential
that this happen, it doesn't, and thus the whole subplot of the androgyny can
be removed without removing anything essential to the story.
We were also puzzled as to why Le Guin chose to use English pronouns with their
inherent gender, rather than invent one. In one of her essays on writing she
said she didn't want to "bastardize" the English language, but English has no
neuter pronouns, so she had nothing to bastardize. We agreed that she should
have made up something since the Genthans surely would have and she did include
a few Genthan words in the novel. The omission of neuter pronouns weakened the
gender role.
Summation: While the background society of Genthan is original and intriguing,
it is never integrated into the main plot. Parts of the society on Genthan are
taken directly from Cold War ideology and thus seem dated now, especially to
readers expecting more development of a new culture. The main plot itself is
basic action/adventure, although more low key than most. The characters behave
just as one would expect humans of the late 1960s to
behave and have no insights into themselves, their contrasting cultures or the
broader universe of the Ekumen. Finally, Genly is the most narrow-minded, incompetent
ambassador/field worker in history--he is so prejudiced and unable to see past
it that he can't ever understand the differences of the Genthan culture. As
a result, since he is the principle narrator, the reader's information is filtered
past this prejudice. And by the way, aside from one early reference that Genly
is black (and could pass for a Genthan, so they are dark skinned too), what
happened to the racial issues of Earth society? Have they just disappeared?
What is it like for Genly on a dark-skinned world, where in at least one respect,
he is finally in the majority? Although the gender roles are given prominence,
the racial issues, at least as important to society, are neglected. We found
this strange and disappointing.
Other novels that deal with androgyny/shifting sexuality are:
These notes were written by Pat Sayre McCoy.
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