The Left Hand of Darkness
A novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
I first read “The Left Hand of Darkness” in a University literature class. Ursula Le Guin published the novel in 1969 and won the Hugo and Nebula awards, the first to win both awards. I re-read this book frequently, as one of my Top Three favorite novels (the other two are The Crystal Cave and Holy Fire - see links below).
The main character, Genly Ai, documents his observations of the alien race of the planet he is sent to as an Envoy. Through the main character's voice, the reader explores cultural beliefs on gender roles in relationships, business, and family. When Ai is faced with danger and death on a planet far away from his home, he realizes the person whom he thought of as an enemy is actually his only ally.
When I read “The Left Hand of Darkness” in university, I remember being influenced by the discourse on gender roles. When I read the novel while I was traveling the world, I remember relating to the observations and difficulty of understanding foreign behaviors and culture. When I read the novel during my career in business, I was intrigued by the role of Envoy and the importance of a single person being sent to the alien world as the lone representative of the other worlds.
With my more recent re-readings, I am pulled in by Le Guin’s description of mystic qualities within her fictional religions. When I first read the novel, I did not have much of a reference point to relate to the monastic cultures of the Foretellers. It was perhaps, my first glimpse and entry point into what has now become a passion for the studies of comparative mythology and world literature. I’ve now had decades to seek out and experience our blend of ancient Eastern spiritual teachings, with modern Western psychologies and self-inquiry methods. I can appreciate the skill that she uses to create the cultural stories of an alien world, as documented by the Envoy.
The title of the novel is explained in a mantra
Light is the left hand of darkness
And darkness the right hand of light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
Together like lovers in kemmer,
Like hands joined together,
Like the end and the way.
~Ursula Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
I withhold my attempts to break down the story into its parts for analysis on character and plot development. For me, the analysis of the parts, to study the beats and the author’s methods, would ruin the magic of the whole story. Yet, as I write this article, I noted the placement of story information, and the climax that has stayed with me for decades of re-reading this novel, comes at the two-thirds point, where the other main character, Estraven, realizes that throughout the adventure, he and the Envoy “have seen the same events with different eyes; [he] wrongly thought they’d seem the same.”
For me, this conversation is the pinnacle of the story where the two aliens finally connect, finally get to know each other. Estraven has been in support of Ai’s mission from the start. Repeatedly Ai misinterpreted Estraven’s actions, and in his misunderstanding was distrustful of the only person who had helped him, who had believed him. Although only a few pages in the novel, this powerful chapter that reveals the shock of how hard it is to reach out, and to be heard, across cultural beliefs, language interpretation, and socially coded behaviours, is what keeps me coming back to re-read the story.
As reader, I have resonated with each of the characters during different readings, at different junctions in the story. I credit this as a criteria for richness of story. The story appeal is diverse enough so that many perspectives of readership can find a relatable aspect. And for a single reader, multiple readings continue to provide new and repeated depths of resonance.
For me, as a personal favorite, this story has so much that appeals to my own needs. It teaches me about the themes of the separation of self and other. The exploration of being in exile and as the alien other, the resolution to work through difficulties in communication and relationships, of trying to figure out what is going on, and maturing with it all, to fulfill the dedication of one’s mission through to the edges of life and death.
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I love the fact you are going back to your old books like this and sharing. The image on the cover is amazing. The trouble with you sharing is that my booklist grows 😃