The Left Hand of Darkness

Ursula K. Le Guin 1969 Buy from Amazon.com

The Left Hand of Darkness won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and after reading it, it is clear why. This is a work of social and political speculative fiction, combining the best of science fiction ideals with the most thorough and subtle of techniques to draw you into experiencing another world.

Genly Ai is the envoy sent to represent the Ekumenical worlds. He has come to Gethen, known as Winter, a world in the midst of an ice-age, to ask them if they would like to join in communication and trade, as equal partners. Each time a new world is found, one envoy is sent. Just one, so as to be unthreatening. If they fail, one more is sent, until the world accepts them.

On Winter, there is no gender, all are latent until they cycle into Kemmer, when they are sexually active. The social consequences of this constantly beat against Genly throughout the book. Using this as a base, Le Guin creates a story of two cultures, and two people. We see the world of Gethen through the eyes of Genly Ai, and the culture represented by Genly through the eyes of Estraven.

The differences between the culture we would be familiar with, with two genders and a complex social system that acknowledges and is guided by that, and the culture of Gethen, where there is no duality, is explored with thoroughness and skill. It is as though Le Guin had genuinely lived through the experiences of Genly, and had come to those thoughts we read through a combination time spent within, and pressure from, that culture she has created.

Estraven is one of the top politicians in the land of Karhide, and he is the only one of his world that truly believes the envoy, and believes that it is time for their world to accept the future, whether it be his own country or another.

Genly sees Estraven as having been obscure and untrustworthy, never giving the information the Genly needs and manouevering him for his own ends. When Estraven sets up a meeting with the King of Karhide, and then advises Genly not to hope too much, Genly thinks he has been betrayed.

Genly fails to understand the political situation and ends up arrested and sent to a prison camp in the far north. Estraven has a horrible feeling he may have completely misunderstood Genly and that Genly may have had no idea that Estraven was ever offering advice. He feels responsible and sets off to rescue Genly.

During the months that they travel together in extreme hardship, they learn much about each other’s culture, Estraven being the only one so far that as shown any real interest. Genly also teaches Estraven mindspeech, in which it is impossible to lie. Genly’s confusion with regard to Estraven’s gender continues, he sees many traits that he would consider to be exclusive to one or the other manifested in Estraven.

The observations of Estraven about Genly, made in a journal written for his family, show the uniqueness of the Genthians as clearly as the observations of Genly about Estraven. When Estraven enters Kemmer during their journey, and his body reacts to the masculine influence of Genly, Genly is forced to finally accept that it is the gender issue that has created his mistrust of Estraven. They do not become intimate, but their desire is acknowledged and the bond naturally created by their circumstances over those months deepens.

This is certainly some of the strongest literature I have read that deals with the basic differences and similarities between humans in a sensitive, insightful and thought provoking manner. I highly recommend it for anyone who looks for complex characters and fully developed societies in their scifi.

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