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''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fictional Hainish universe as part of the '' Hainish Cycle'', a series of novels and short stories by Le Guin, which she introduced in the 1964 short story " The Dowry of Angyar". It was fourth in sequence of writing among the Hainish novels, preceded by '' City of Illusions'', and followed by '' The Word for World Is Forest''. The novel follows the story of Genly Ai, a human native of
Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scienti ...
, who is sent to the planet of Gethen as an envoy of the Ekumen, a loose confederation of planets. Ai's mission is to persuade the nations of Gethen to join the Ekumen, but he is stymied by a lack of understanding of their culture. Individuals on Gethen are ''ambisexual'', with no fixed sex; this has a strong influence on the culture of the planet, and creates a barrier of understanding for Ai. ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' was among the first books in the genre now known as feminist science fiction and is the most famous examination of
androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...
in science fiction. A major theme of the novel is the effect of sex and gender on culture and society, explored in particular through the relationship between Ai and Estraven, a Gethenian politician who trusts and helps Ai. When the book was first published, the gender theme touched off a feminist debate over the depiction of the ambisexual Gethenians. The novel also explores the interaction between the unfolding loyalties of its two main characters, the loneliness and rootlessness of Ai, and the contrast between the religions of Gethen's two major nations. ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' has been reprinted more than 30 times, and received high praise from reviewers. In 1970 it was voted the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel by fans and writers, respectively, and was ranked as the third best novel, behind Frank Herbert's '' Dune'' and Arthur C. Clarke's '' Childhood's End'', in a 1975 poll in ''Locus'' magazine. In 1987, ''Locus'' ranked it second among science fiction novels, after ''Dune'', and literary critic
Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking worl ...
wrote, "Le Guin, more than Tolkien, has raised fantasy into high literature, for our time".


Background

Le Guin's father Alfred Louis Kroeber was an anthropologist, and the experience that this gave Le Guin influenced all of her works. The protagonists of many of Le Guin's novels, such as ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' and ''
Rocannon's World ''Rocannon's World'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, her literary debut. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's ''The Kar-Chee Reign'', following the tête-bêche format. Though i ...
'', are also anthropologists or social investigators of some kind. Le Guin used the term ''Ekumen'' for her fictional alliance of worlds, a term coined by her father, who derived it from the Greek ''oikoumene'' to refer to
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
n cultures that shared a common origin. Le Guin's interest in
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
influenced much of her science fiction work. According to academic Douglas Barbour, the fiction of the Hainish universe (the setting for several of Le Guin's works) contain a theme of balance between light and darkness, a central theme of Taoism. She was also influenced by her early interest in mythology, and her exposure to cultural diversity as a child. Her protagonists are frequently interested in the cultures they are investigating, and are motivated to preserve them rather than conquer them. Authors who influenced Le Guin include
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf,
Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...
, and Lao Tzu. Le Guin identified with
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, and was interested in non-violence and
ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
awareness. She participated in demonstrations against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
and nuclear weapons. These sympathies can be seen in several of her works of fiction, including those in the Hainish universe. The novels of the Hainish cycle frequently explore the effects of differing social and political systems, although according to lecturer Suzanne Reid, Le Guin displayed a preference for a "society that governs by consensus, a communal cooperation without external government". Her fiction also frequently challenges accepted depictions of
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
and gender. The original 1969 edition of ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' did not contain an introduction. After reflecting on her work, Le Guin wrote in the 1976 edition that the genre of science fiction was not as "rationalist and simplistic" as simple extrapolation. Instead, she called it a "thought experiment" which presupposes some changes to the world, and probes their consequences. The purpose of the thought experiment is not to predict the future, but to "describe reality, the present world". In this case, her thought experiment explores a society without men or women, where individuals share the biological and emotional makeup of both sexes. Le Guin has also said that the genre in general allows exploration of the "real" world through
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
s and complex stories, and that science fiction can use imaginary situations to comment on human behaviors and relationships. In her new introduction to the Library of America reprint in 2017, the author wrote:


Setting

''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is set in the fictional Hainish universe, which Le Guin introduced in her first novel ''
Rocannon's World ''Rocannon's World'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, her literary debut. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's ''The Kar-Chee Reign'', following the tête-bêche format. Though i ...
'', published in 1966. In this fictional history, human beings did not evolve on Earth, but on Hain. The people of Hain colonized many neighboring planetary systems, including Terra (Earth) and Gethen, possibly a million years before the setting of the novels. Some of the groups that " seeded" each planet were the subjects of genetic experiments, including on Gethen. The planets subsequently lost contact with each other, for reasons that Le Guin does not explain. Le Guin does not narrate the entire history of the Hainish universe at once, instead letting readers piece it together from various works. The novels and other fictional works set in the Hainish universe recount the efforts to re-establish a
galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...
civilization. Explorers from Hain as well as other planets use interstellar ships traveling nearly as fast as light. These take years to travel between planetary systems, although the journey is shortened for the travelers due to relativistic
time dilation In physics and relativity, time dilation is the difference in the elapsed time as measured by two clocks. It is either due to a relative velocity between them ( special relativistic "kinetic" time dilation) or to a difference in gravitational ...
, as well as through instantaneous
interstellar communication Interstellar communication is the transmission of signals between planetary systems. Sending interstellar messages is potentially much easier than interstellar travel, being possible with technologies and equipment which are currently available. Ho ...
using the ansible, a device invented during the events described in ''The Dispossessed''. This galactic civilization is known as the "League of All Worlds" in works set earlier in the chronology of the series, and has been reconstructed as the "Ekumen" by the time the events in ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' take place. During the events of the novel, the Ekumen is a union of 83 worlds, with some common laws. At least two "thought experiments" are used in each novel. The first is the idea that all humanoid species had a common origin; they are all depicted as descendants of the original Hainish colonizers. The second idea is unique to each novel. ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' takes place many centuries in the future—no date is given in the book itself. Reviewers have suggested the year 4870 AD, based on extrapolation of events in other works, and commentary on her writing by Le Guin. The protagonist of the novel, the envoy Genly Ai, is on a planet called Winter ("Gethen" in the language of its own people) to convince the citizens to join the Ekumen. Winter is, as its name indicates, a planet that is always cold. The inhabitants of Gethen are ambisexual humans; for twenty-four days (a period called ''somer'' in Karhidish, a Gethenian language) of each twenty-six-day lunar cycle, they are sexually latent
androgyne Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in h ...
s. They only adopt sexual attributes once a month, during a period of sexual receptiveness and high
fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
, called ''kemmer''. During ''kemmer'' they become sexually male or female, with no predisposition towards either, although which sex they adopt can depend on context and relationships. Throughout the novel Gethenians are described as " he", whatever their role in kemmer. This absence of fixed gender characteristics led Le Guin to portray Gethen as a society without war, and also without sexuality as a continuous factor in social relationships. On Gethen, every individual takes part in the "burden and privilege" of raising children, and
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and
seduction Seduction has multiple meanings. Platonically, it can mean "to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty", or "to lead astray, usually by persuasion or false promises". Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual ...
are almost absent.


Plot summary

The protagonist of the novel is Genly Ai, a male Terran native, who is sent to invite the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen, a coalition of humanoid worlds. Ai travels to the Gethen planetary system on a starship which remains in solar
orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
with Ai's companions, who are in stasis; Ai himself is sent to Gethen alone, as the "first mobile" or Envoy. Like all envoys of the Ekumen, he can "mindspeak"—a form of quasi-
telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
speech, which Gethenians are capable of, but of which they are unaware. He lands in the Gethenian kingdom of Karhide, and spends two years attempting to persuade the members of its government of the value of joining the Ekumen. Karhide is one of two major nations on Gethen, the other being Orgoreyn. The novel begins the day before an audience that Ai has obtained with Argaven Harge, the king of Karhide. Ai manages this through the help of Estraven, the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
, who seems to believe in Ai's mission, but the night before the audience, Estraven tells Ai that he can no longer support Ai's cause with the king. Ai begins to doubt Estraven's loyalty because of his strange mannerisms, which Ai finds effeminate and ambiguous. The behavior of people in Karhide is dictated by '' shifgrethor'', an intricate set of unspoken social rules and formal courtesy. Ai does not understand this system, thus making it difficult for him to understand Estraven's motives, and contributing to his distrust of Estraven. The next day, as he prepares to meet the King, Ai learns that Estraven has been accused of treason, and exiled from the country. The pretext for Estraven's exile was his handling of a border dispute with the neighboring country of Orgoreyn, in which Estraven was seen as being too conciliatory. Ai meets with the king, who rejects his invitation to join the Ekumen. Discouraged, Ai decides to travel through Karhide, as the spring has just begun, rendering the interior of the frozen country accessible. Ai travels to a Fastness, a dwelling of people of the Handdarata, one of two major Gethenian religions. He pays the fastness for a foretelling, an art practiced to prove the "perfect uselessness of knowing the answer to the wrong question". He asks if Gethen will be a member of the Ekumen in five years, expecting that the Foretellers will give him an ambiguous response, but he is answered "yes". This leads him to muse that the Gethenians have "trained hunch to run in harness". After several months of travelling through Karhide, Ai decides to pursue his mission in Orgoreyn, to which he has received an invitation. Ai reaches the Orgota capital of Mishnory, where he finds that the Orgota politicians are initially far more direct with him. He is given comfortable quarters, and is allowed to present his invitation to the council that rules Orgoreyn. Three members of the council, Shusgis, Obsle, and Yegey, are particularly supportive of him. These three are members of an "Open Trade" faction, which wants to end the conflict with Karhide. Estraven, who was banished from Karhide, is found working with these council members, and tells Ai that he was responsible for Ai's reception in Orgoreyn. Despite the support, Ai feels uneasy. Estraven warns him not to trust the Orgota leaders, and he hears rumors of the "Sarf", or secret police, that truly control Orgoreyn. He ignores both his feeling and the warning, and is once again blindsided; he is arrested unexpectedly one night, interrogated, and sent to a far-northern labor camp where he suffers harsh cold, is forced into hard labor, and is given debilitating drugs. He becomes ill and his death seems imminent. His captors expect him to die in the camp, but to Ai's great surprise, Estraven—whom Ai still distrusts—goes to great lengths to save him. Estraven poses as a prison guard and breaks Ai out of the farm, using his training with the Handdarata to induce ''dothe'', or hysterical strength, to aid him in the process. Estraven spends the last of his money on supplies, and then steals more, breaking his own moral code. The pair begin a dangerous 80-day trek across the northern Gobrin
ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...
back to Karhide, because Estraven believes that the reappearance of Ai in Karhide will convince Karhide to accept the Ekumen treaty, knowing that Karhide will want the honor of doing so before Orgoreyn. Over the journey Ai and Estraven learn to trust and accept one another's differences. Ai is eventually successful in teaching Estraven mindspeech; Estraven hears Ai speaking in his mind with the voice of Estraven's dead sibling and lover Arek, demonstrating the close connection that Ai and Estraven have developed. When they reach Karhide, Ai sends a radio transmission to his ship, which lands a few days later. Betrayed by a friend with whom the two were hiding with, Estraven tries to cross the land border back into Orgoreyn, fearing pursuit, but is killed by border guards, who also capture Ai. Estraven's prediction is borne out when Ai's presence in Karhide triggers the collapse of governments in both Karhide and Orgoreyn—Orgoreyn's because its claim that Ai had died of a disease was shown to be false. Karhide agrees to join the Ekumen, followed shortly by Orgoreyn, completing Ai's mission.


Primary characters


Genly Ai

Genly Ai is the protagonist of the novel; a male native of Terra, or Earth, who is sent to Gethen by the Ekumen as a "first mobile" or envoy. He is called "Genry" by the Karhiders, who have trouble pronouncing the sound He is described as rather taller and darker than the average Gethenian. Although curious and sensitive to Gethenian culture in many ways, he struggles at first to trust the ambisexual Gethenians. His own masculine mannerisms, learned on Terra, also prove to be a barrier to communication. At the beginning of the book, he has been on Gethen for one year, trying to gain an audience with the king, and persuade the Karhidish government to believe his story. He arrives equipped with basic information about the language and culture from a team of investigators who had come before him. In Karhide, the king is reluctant to accept his diplomatic mission. In Orgoreyn, Ai is seemingly accepted more easily by the political leaders, yet Ai is arrested, stripped of his clothes, drugged, and sent to a work camp. Rescued by Estraven, the deposed Prime Minister of Karhide, Genly realizes that cultural differences—specifically ''shifgrethor'',
gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
s and Gethenian sexuality—had kept him from understanding their relationship previously. During their 80-day journey across the frozen land to return to Karhide, Ai learns to understand and love Estraven.


Estraven

Therem Harth rem ir Estraven is a Gethenian from the Domain of Estre in Kerm Land, at the southern end of the Karhidish half of the continent. He is the Prime Minister of Karhide at the very beginning of the novel, until he is exiled from Karhide after attempting to settle the Sinoth Valley border dispute with Orgoreyn. Estraven is one of the few Gethenians who believe Ai, and he attempts to help him from the beginning, but Ai's inability to comprehend ''shifgrethor'' leads to severe misunderstanding between them. Estraven is said to have made a taboo kemmering vow (love pledge) to his brother, Arek Harth rem ir Estraven, while they were both young. Convention required that they separate after they had produced a child together. Because of the first vow, a second vow Estraven made with Ashe Foreth, another partner, which was also broken before the events in ''Left Hand'', is called a "false vow, a second vow". In contrast to Ai, Estraven is shown with both stereotypically masculine and feminine qualities, and is used to demonstrate that both are necessary for survival.


Argaven

Argaven Harge XV is the king of Karhide during the events of the novel. He is described both by his subjects and by Estraven as being "mad". He has sired seven children, but has yet to bear "an heir of the body, king son". During the novel he becomes pregnant but loses the child soon after it is born, triggering speculation as to which of his sired children will be named his heir. His behavior towards Ai is consistently paranoid; although he grants Ai an audience, he refuses to believe his story, and declines the offer to join the Ekumen. The tenure of his prime ministers tends to be short, with both Estraven and Tibe rising and falling from power during the two Gethenian years that the novel spans. Argaven eventually agrees to join the Ekumen due to the political fallout of Estraven's death and Ai's escape from Orgoreyn.


Tibe

Pemmer Harge rem ir Tibe is Argaven Harge's cousin. Tibe becomes the prime minister of Karhide when Estraven is exiled at the beginning of the novel, and becomes the
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for a brief while when Argaven is pregnant. In contrast to Estraven, he seems intent on starting a war with Orgoreyn over the Sinnoth Valley dispute; as well as taking aggressive actions at the border, he regularly makes belligerent speeches on the radio. He is strongly opposed to Ai's mission. He orders Estraven to be killed at the border at the end of the novel, as a last act of defiance, knowing that Estraven and Ai's presence in Karhide means his own downfall; he resigns immediately after Estraven's death.


Obsle, Yegey, and Shusgis

Obsle, Yegey, and Shusgis are Commensals, three of the thirty-three councillors that rule Orgoreyn. Obsle and Yegey are members of the "Open Trade" faction, who wish to normalize relations with Karhide. Obsle is the commensal of the Sekeve District, and was once the head of the Orgota Naval Trade Commission in Erhenrang, where he became acquainted with Estraven. Estraven describes him as the nearest thing to an honest person among the politicians of Orgoreyn. Yegey is the commensal who first finds Estraven during his exile, and who gives Estraven a job and a place to live in Mishnory. Shusgis is the commensal who hosts Genly Ai after Ai's arrival in Mishnory, and is a member of the opposing faction, which supports the Sarf, the Orgota secret police. Although Obsle and Yegey support Ai's mission, they see him more as a means of increasing their own influence within the council; thus they eventually betray him to the Sarf, in order to save themselves. Their Open Trade faction takes control of the council after Ai's presence in Karhide becomes known at the end of the novel.


Reception

''The Left Hand of Darkness'' has received highly positive critical responses since its publication. In 1970 it won both the Nebula Award, given by the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the Hugo Award, determined by science fiction fans. In 1987, science fiction news and trade journal ''
Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...
'' ranked it number two among "All-Time Best SF Novels", based on a poll of subscribers. The novel was also a personal milestone for Le Guin, with critics calling it her "first contribution to feminism". It was one of her most popular books for many years after its publication. By 2014, the novel had sold more than a million copies in English. The book has been widely praised by genre commentators, academic critics, and literary reviewers. Fellow science fiction writer Algis Budrys praised the novel as "a narrative so fully realized, so compellingly told, so masterfully executed". He found the book "a novel written by a magnificent writer, a totally compelling tale of human peril and striving under circumstances in which human love, and a number of other human qualities, can be depicted in a fresh context". Darko Suvin, one of the first academics to study science fiction, wrote that ''Left Hand'' was the "most memorable novel of the year", and Charlotte Spivack regards the book as having established Le Guin's status as a major science-fiction writer. In 1987 Harold Bloom described ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' as Le Guin's "finest work to date", and argued that critics have generally undervalued it. Bloom followed this up by listing the book in his ''
The Western Canon ''The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages'' is a 1994 book about Western literature by the American literary critic Harold Bloom, in which the author defends the concept of the Western canon by discussing 26 writers whom he sees as ce ...
'' (1994) as one of the books in his conception of artistic works that have been important and influential in Western culture. In Bloom's opinion, "Le Guin, more than Tolkien, has raised
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
into high literature, for our time". Critics have also commented on the broad influence of the book, with writers such as Budrys citing it as an influence upon their own writing. More generally it has been asserted that the work has been widely influential in the science fiction field, with ''
The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...
'' claiming that "No single work did more to upend the genre's conventions than ''The Left Hand of Darkness''". Donna White, in her study of the critical literature on Le Guin, argued that ''Left Hand'' was one of the seminal works of science fiction, as important as '' Frankenstein'', by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
, which is often described as the very first science fiction novel. Suzanne Reid wrote that at the time the novel was written, Le Guin's ideas of androgyny were unique not only to science fiction, but to literature in general. ''Left Hand'' has been a focus of literary critique of Le Guin's work, along with her
Earthsea ''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by the American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with ''A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' ...
fiction and
utopian fiction Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...
. The novel was at the center of a feminist debate when it was published in 1969. Alexei Panshin objected to the use of masculine "he/him/his"
gender pronouns Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take di ...
to describe its androgynous characters, and called the novel a "flat failure". Other feminists maintained that the novel did not go far enough in its exploration of gender. Criticism was also directed at the portrayal of androgynous characters in the " masculine" roles of politicians and statesmen but not in family roles. Sarah LeFanu, for example, wrote that Le Guin turned her back on an opportunity for experimentation. She stated that "these male heroes with their crises of identity, caught in the stranglehold of liberal individualism, act as a dead weight at the center of the novel". Le Guin, who identifies as a feminist, responded to these criticisms in her essay "Is Gender Necessary?" as well as by switching masculine pronouns for feminine ones in a later reprinting of " Winter's King", an unconnected short story set on Gethen. In her responses, Le Guin admitted to failing to depict androgynes in stereotypically feminine roles, but said that she considered and decided against inventing gender-neutral pronouns, because they would mangle the language of the novel. In the afterword of the 25th anniversary edition of the novel, she stated that her opinion on the matter had changed, and that she was "haunted and bedeviled by the matter of the pronouns."


Themes


Hainish universe themes

Le Guin's works set in the Hainish universe explore the idea of human expansion, a theme found in the
future history A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whil ...
novels of other science-fiction authors such as Isaac Asimov. The Hainish novels, such as ''
The Dispossessed ''The Dispossessed'' (in later printings titled ''The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia'') is a 1974 anarchist utopian science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, one of her seven Hainish Cycle novels. It is one of a small number o ...
'', ''Left Hand'', and '' The Word for World Is Forest,'' also frequently explore the effects of differing social and political systems. Le Guin believed that contemporary society suffered from a high degree of alienation and division, and her depictions of encounters between races, such as in ''The Left Hand of Darkness,'' sought to explore the possibility of "improved mode of human relationships", based on "integration and integrity". ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' explores this theme through the relationship between Genly Ai and Estraven; Ai initially distrusts Estraven, but eventually comes to love and trust him. Le Guin's later Hainish novels also challenge contemporary ideas about gender, ethnic differences, the value of ownership, and human beings' relationship to the natural world.


Sex and gender

A prominent theme in the novel is social relations in a society in which gender is irrelevant; in Le Guin's words, she "eliminated gender, to find out what was left". In her 1976 essay "Is Gender Necessary?" Le Guin wrote that the theme of gender was only secondary to the novel's primary theme of loyalty and betrayal. Le Guin revisited this essay in 1988, and stated that gender was central to the novel; her earlier essay had described gender as a peripheral theme because of the defensiveness she felt over using masculine pronouns for her characters. The novel also follows changes in the character of Genly Ai, whose behavior shifts away from the "masculine" and grows more androgynous over the course of the novel. He becomes more patient and caring, and less rigidly rationalist. Ai struggles to form a bond with Estraven through much of the novel, and finally breaks down the barrier between them during their journey on the ice, when he recognizes and accepts Estraven's dual sexuality. Their understanding of each other's sexuality helps them achieve a more trusting relationship. The new intimacy they share is shown when Ai teaches Estraven to mindspeak, and Estraven hears Ai speaking with the voice of Estraven's dead sibling (and lover) Arek. Feminist theorists criticized the novel for what they saw as a
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
depiction of the relationship between Estraven and Ai. Both are presented as superficially masculine throughout the novel, but they never physically explore the attraction between them. Estraven's death at the end was seen as giving the message that "death is the price that must be paid for forbidden love". In a 1986 essay, Le Guin acknowledged and apologized for the fact that ''Left Hand'' had presented heterosexuality as the norm on Gethen. The androgynous nature of the inhabitants of Gethen is used to examine gender relations in human society. On Gethen, the permanently male Genly Ai is an oddity, and is seen as a "pervert" by the natives; according to reviewers, this is Le Guin's way of gently critiquing masculinity. Le Guin also seems to suggest that the absence of gender divisions leads to a society without the constriction of gender roles. The Gethenians are not inclined to go to war, which reviewers have linked to their lack of sexual
aggressiveness Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
, derived from their ambisexuality. According to Harold Bloom, "Androgyny is clearly neither a political nor a sexual ideal" in the book, but that "ambisexuality is a more imaginative condition than our bisexuality. ... the Gethenians ''know'' more than either men or women". Bloom added that this is the major difference between Estraven and Ai, and allows Estraven the freedom to carry out actions that Ai cannot; Estraven "is better able to love, and freed therefore to sacrifice".


Religion

The book features two major religions: the Handdara, an informal system reminiscent of
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, and the Yomeshta or Meshe's cult, a close-to- monotheistic religion based on the idea of absolute knowledge of the entirety of time attained in one visionary instant by Meshe, who was originally a Foreteller of the Handdara, when attempting to answer the question: "What is the meaning of life?" The Handdara is the more ancient, and dominant in Karhide, while Yomesh is the official religion in Orgoreyn. The differences between them underlie political distinctions between the countries and cultural distinctions between their inhabitants. Estraven is revealed to be an adept of the Handdara. Le Guin's interest in Taoism influenced much of her science fiction work. Douglas Barbour said that the fiction of the Hainish Universe contains a theme of balance between light and darkness, a central theme of Taoism. The title ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' derives from the first line of a lay traditional to the fictional planet of Gethen: Suzanne Reid stated that this presentation of light and dark was in strong contrast to many western cultural assumptions, which believe in strongly contrasted opposites. She went on to say that Le Guin's characters have a tendency to adapt to the rhythms of nature rather than trying to conquer them, an attitude which can also be traced to Taoism. The Handdarrata represent the Taoist sense of unity; believers try to find insight by reaching the "untrance", a balance between knowing and unknowing, and focusing and unfocusing. The Yomesh cult is the official religion of Orgoreyn, and worships light. Critics such as David Lake have found parallels between the Yomesh cult and Christianity, such as the presence of saints and angels, and the use of a dating system based on the death of the prophet. Le Guin portrays the Yomesh religion as influencing the Orgota society, which Lake interprets as a critique of the influence of Christianity upon Western society. In comparison to the religion of Karhide, the Yomesh religion focuses more on enlightenment and positive, obvious statements. The novel suggests that this focus on positives leads to the Orgota being not entirely honest, and that a balance between enlightenment and darkness is necessary for truth.


Loyalty and betrayal

Loyalty, fidelity, and betrayal are significant themes in the book, explored against the background of both planetary and interplanetary relations. Genly Ai is sent to Gethen as an envoy of the Ekumen, whose mission is to convince the various Gethenian nations that their identities will not be destroyed when they integrate with the Ekumen. At the same time, the planetary conflict between Karhide and Orgoreyn is shown as increasing nationalism, making it hard for citizens of each country to view themselves as citizens of the planet. These conflicts are demonstrated by the varying loyalties of the main characters. Genly Ai tells Argaven after Estraven's death that Estraven served mankind as a whole, just as Ai did. During the border dispute with Orgoreyn, Estraven tries to end the dispute by moving Karhidish farmers out of the disputed territory. Estraven believes that by preventing war he was saving Karhidish lives and being loyal to his country, while King Argaven sees it as a betrayal. At the end of the novel Ai calls his ship down to formalize Gethen's joining the Ekumen, and feels conflicted while doing so because he had promised Estraven that he would clear Estraven's name before calling his ship down. His decision is an example of Le Guin's portrayal of loyalty and betrayal as complementary rather than contradictory, because in joining Gethen with the Ekumen, Ai was fulfilling the larger purpose that he shared with Estraven. Donna White wrote that many of Le Guin's novels depict a struggle between personal loyalties and public duties, best exemplified in ''The Left Hand of Darkness'', where Ai is bound by a personal bond to Estraven, but must subordinate that to his mission for the Ekumen and humanity. The theme of loyalty and trust is related to the novel's other major theme of gender. Ai has considerable difficulty in completing his mission because of his prejudice against the ambisexual Gethenians and his inability to establish a personal bond with them. Ai's preconceived ideas of how men should behave prevents him from trusting Estraven when the two meet; Ai labels Estraven "womanly" and distrusts him because Estraven exhibits both male and female characteristics. Estraven also faces difficulties communicating with Ai, who does not understand ''shifgrethor'', the Gethenians' indirect way of giving and receiving advice. A related theme that runs through Le Guin's work is that of being rooted or rootless in society, explored through the experiences of lone individuals on alien planets.


''Shifgrethor'' and communication

''Shifgrethor'' is a fictional concept in the Hainish universe, first introduced in ''The Left Hand of Darkness''. It is first mentioned by Genly Ai, when he thinks to himself "shifgrethor—prestige, face, place, the pride-relationship, the untranslatable and all-important principle of social authority in Karhide and all civilizations of Gethen". It derives from an old Gethenian word for shadow, as prominent people are said to "cast darker r longershadows". George Slusser describes ''shifgrethor'' as "not rank, but its opposite, the ability to maintain equality in any relationship, and to do so by respecting the person of the other". According to
University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies classes at the Atlanta History Ce ...
Professor Carrie B. McWhorter, ''shifgrethor'' can be defined simply as "a sense of honor and respect that provides the Gethenians with a way to save face in a time of crisis". Ai initially refuses to see a connection between his sexuality and his mode of consciousness, preventing him from truly understanding the Gethenians; thus he is unable to persuade them of the importance of his mission. Ai's failure to comprehend ''shifgrethor'' and to trust Estraven's motives leads him to misunderstand much of the advice that Estraven gives him. As Ai's relationship to Estraven changes, their communication also changes; they are both more willing to acknowledge mistakes, and make fewer assertions. Eventually, the two are able to converse directly with mindspeech, but only after Ai is able to understand Estraven's motivations, and no longer requires direct communication.


Style and structure

The novel is framed as part of the report that Ai sends back to the Ekumen after his time on Gethen, and as such, suggests that Ai is selecting and ordering the material. Ai narrates ten chapters in the first person; the rest are made up of extracts from Estraven's personal diary and ethnological reports from an earlier observer from the Ekumen, interspersed with Gethenian myths and legends. The novel begins with the following statement from Ai, explaining the need for multiple voices in the novel: The myths and legends serve to explain specific features about Gethenian culture, as well as larger philosophical aspects of society. Many of the tales used in the novel immediately precede chapters describing Ai's experience with a similar situation. For instance, a story about the dangers of foretelling is presented before Ai's own experience witnessing a foretelling. Other stories include a retelling of the legend of the "place inside the storm" (about two lovers whose vow is broken when societal strictures cause one to kill themself); another retelling the roots of the Yomeshta cult; a third is an ancient Orgota creation myth; a fourth is a story of one of Estraven's ancestors, which discusses what a traitor is. The presence of myths and legends has also been cited by reviewers who state that Le Guin's work, particularly ''Left Hand'', is similar to allegory in many ways. These include the presence of a guide (Estraven) for the protagonist (Ai), and the use of myths and legends to provide a backdrop for the story. The heterogeneous structure of the novel has been described as "distinctly
post-modern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
", and was unusual for the time of its publication, in marked contrast to (primarily male-authored) traditional science fiction, which was straightforward and linear. In 1999, literary scholar Donna White wrote that the unorthodox structure of the novel made it initially confusing to reviewers, before it was interpreted as an attempt to follow the trajectory of Ai's changing views. Also in contrast to what was typical for male authors of the period, Le Guin narrated the action in the novel through the personal relationships she depicted. Ai's
first-person narration A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...
reflects his slowly developing view, and the reader's knowledge and understanding of the Gethens evolves with Ai's awareness. He begins in naivety, gradually discovering his profound errors in judgement. In this sense, the novel can be thought of as a '' Bildungsroman'', or coming of age story. Since the novel is presented as Ai's journey of transformation, Ai's position as the narrator increases the credibility of the story. The narration is complemented by Le Guin's writing style, described by Bloom as "precise, dialectical—always evocative in its restrained pathos" which is "exquisitely fitted to her powers of invention".


Adaptations

In December 2004, Phobos Entertainment acquired media rights to the novel and announced plans for a feature film and video game based on it. In 2013, the Portland Playhouse and Hand2Mouth Theatre produced a stage adaptation of ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' in
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
. On April 12 and 19, 2015, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a two-part adaptation of the novel, starring Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Genly Ai,
Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), ''Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress ...
as Estraven, Toby Jones as Argaven,
Ruth Gemmell Ruth Katrin Gemmell (born October 1967) is an English actress. She starred in the film ''Fever Pitch'' in 1997 which was followed by supporting roles in television series ''EastEnders'', '' Casualty'', '' Home Fires'' and '' Penny Dreadful.'' ...
as Ashe, Louise Brealey as Tibe and Gaum, Stephen Critchlow as Shusgis, and David Acton as Obsle. The radio drama was adapted by Judith Adams and directed by Allegra McIlroy. The adaptation was created and aired as part of a thematic month centered on the life and works of Ursula Le Guin, in honor of her 85th birthday. In early 2017, the novel was picked up for production by Critical Content as a television limited series with Le Guin serving as a consulting producer. The first university production of ''Left Hand of Darkness'' premiered in the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
's Robinson Theater on November 3, 2017, with a script adapted by John Schmor. Many works of the
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
artist Tuesday Smillie exhibited at the
Rose Art Museum The Rose Art Museum, founded in 1961, is a part of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, US. Named after benefactors Edward and Bertha Rose, it offers temporary exhibitions, and it displays and houses works of art from the permanent col ...
take inspiration from the book.


See also

* Biology in fiction *
Postgenderism Postgenderism is a social, political and cultural movement which arose from the eroding of the cultural, psychological, and social role of gender, and an argument for why the erosion of binary gender will be liberatory. Postgenderists argue ...
* "
Coming of Age in Karhide "Coming of Age in Karhide" is a science fiction short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, first published in 1995. The story is set on the fictional planet of Gethen, the same as Le Guin's 1969 novel ''The Left Hand of Darkness'', and is a part of Le Gu ...
", an unconnected short story about Gethenians.


Notes


References


Sources

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Further reading

* * *


External links


Bibliography: ''The Left Hand of Darkness''
at the
Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

Author's introduction to ''The Left Hand of Darkness''

Audio review and discussion of ''The Left Hand of Darkness''
a
The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Left Hand Of Darkness, The 1969 science fiction novels 1969 American novels Ace Books books American science fiction novels Anarchist fiction Androgyny in fiction Feminist science fiction novels Hainish Cycle Hugo Award for Best Novel-winning works Ice planets in fiction James Tiptree Jr. Award-winning works LGBT speculative fiction novels Nebula Award for Best Novel-winning works Novels about intersex Novels by Ursula K. Le Guin Novels set on fictional planets American LGBT novels