The Left Hand of Darkness
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| Cover of 2001 hardcover edition. | |
| Author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Ace Books |
| Released | 1969 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 286 pp |
| Science fiction |
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Genre studies Subculture Categories Cross-genre |
The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1969.
The book is one of the first major works of "feminist science fiction". It won the 1969 Nebula and 1970 Hugo awards.
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[edit] Plot
The Left Hand of Darkness is the account of the efforts of a man named Genly Ai, a representative from a galactic federation of worlds (the Ekumen), who seeks to bring the world of Gethen into that society. It forms part of a series of books by Le Guin all set in the same fictional universe.
The inhabitants of Gethen are androgynes, biologically hermaphroditic humans; for twenty four days of each twenty six day Kemmer cycle they are biologically neuter, and for the remaining two days are male or female, as determined by pheromonal negotiation with an interested sex partner. Thus each individual can both sire and bear children. The Gethenians were genetically engineered for this characteristic long ago, possibly to maximize reproductive success on the harsh glaciated world of Gethen, or because the ancient biological engineers were curious about what such people would be like.
The book opens with a straightforward science fiction/costume drama setting. It is only later that the reader realises that assumptions LeGuin sets up at the opening about particular Gethenian characters are, in fact, totally wrong. The story follows the misadventures of Genly Ai as he seeks to interest the Gethenians in joining the Ekumen, and his failures to understand their society. This theme continues throughout the book, where repeatedly situations play out differently to Ai's expectations because of the nature of that society.
The first part of the story takes place in the feudal kingdom of Karhide, but action later moves to the centralised totalitarian state of Orgoreyn. The differences between these ideologies is an important part of the motivation of the main Gethenian characters. Genly Ai becomes a tool which the different factions seek to use to their own advantage. Lord Estraven, the prime minister of Karhide, finds himself opposed to King Argaven, when Argaven seeks to centralise Karhide, more on the lines of Orgoreyn.
Le Guin developed this idea out of a desire to explore what remained basic to human nature when biological gender was no longer a factor. The Left Hand of Darkness is a significant milestone in the increasing sophistication of the treatment of sex in science fiction that developed in the 1970s.
[edit] Analysis
A large part of the novel is an exploration of a neuter society — a society in which sexual difference plays no role, although love and jealousy remain. Le Guin's most challenging assertion is that such a world would have no history of war: lacking a deep sense of duality implied by strong gender divisions, Gethenians lack a necessary component of nationalism. Their sense of us vs. them is strongly mitigated by their intuitive grasp that there is no real difference, that any distinction is at least somewhat arbitrary. However, they retain the capacity for personal aggression.
Gethenians do possess an elaborate system of social prestige called shifgrethor, in which individuals jockey for position by subtle maneuvering — the exact kind of social conflict seen in homogeneous groups (compare office politics). The demonization of others is artificial and temporary; alliances shift easily, and prevailing cultural mores are determined and protected by the next clearest division between groups - geography. Nations exist, and different places have different societies, but they blend at the edges. Low level raiding of indeterminate value preserves a sense of hostility and division that is useful for internal political purposes, but there is little real desire to actually conquer another nation. Indeed, the concept of full-scale war is unknown to Gethenian societies.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Left Hand of Darkness publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Analysis of Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand Of Darkness
- Review of the novel
- Scfi.com's review of the novel
| Ursula K. Le Guin's Ekumen series | |
| The Dispossessed | The Word for World is Forest | Rocannon's World | Planet of Exile | City of Illusions | The Left Hand of Darkness | Four Ways to Forgiveness | The Telling | |
