The cold has always been a symbol for things such as isolation and dismay. Le Guin cleverly (also kind of simply) capitalizes on this idea throughout the book. Genly Ai, a human, is an alien on the planet Gethen. He’s out of place and has the intention of getting nations to agree to join the Ekumen, an intergalactic United Nations. United Galaxies if you will?
On top of him not having interest in seeking comfort, no one wants to give him such a thing in the first place. The people of Gethen see Ai as a perverted alien that is trying to interfere with their lives, even though he only wishes to make things better.
With that exposition now said, you can still tell that the feelings of isolation are a bug. Le Guin shows this in the simplest of ways, really down to the basic anatomy of Ai in contrast to ordinary Gethen folk. Ai tends to have some silent suffering when it comes to the weather. Not necessarily in a persistent worrying way?
You can see this when (page 20, Chapter 1) Estraven asks Ai surprisingly, “You’re cold?”
Ai then states that this weather is normal for him. He’s used to this type of thing. Meanwhile, everything here is foreign to Ai. This weather is clearly not like his version of Earth. His shivering and big anatomy only make him more distinctive than the others.
Not only is he a literal alien in this world with everything and anything being absolutely foreign to him, he also has to deal with outside forces that he can't control, which in this case, is the weather.
ReplyDeleteIt is a nice touch that Le Guin made the planet a harsh, cold world to emphasize Genly's differences. It's such a simple addition that really highlights the idea of isolation and loneliness. The fact that even the way Genly evolved on his planet has proved to be a disadvantage on Gethen really lets him easily stand out from the rest of the people on the planet.
(Also thanks for using paragraph breaks. It makes reading these posts a lot easier)
I agree, when most of us think of the word cold, we don't have pleasant thoughts. So of course this cold Gethenian weather would further emphasize the isolation that Genly experiences. The cold makes us seek comfort and warmth and yet Genly couldn't really find either.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that thought. Genly is an alien to Gethen, and doesn't have a lot of similarities with the people that live there. That makes him an outsider who can't recieve the warmth and comfort all the others receive on that planet. I believe that is what makes Gethen unbearable for him. If he were to receive the same treatment as all the others I don't think he feel so cold inside.
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