In the novel The Left Hand of Darkness, the cold weather of Gethen heavily relates to the book's theme of loneliness and isolation. For instance, in the beginning of the novel, Genly Ai is walking through the snow to the palace to have dinner with Estraven where he says "though I have been nearly 2 years on Winter I was still far from being able to see the people of the planet through their own eyes" (12). Since he's not from Gethen, it's hard for Genly to grasp their ways; for example, the way they perceive gender. Seeing how gethenians are androgynous, it comes as a complete culture shock to him and even after 2 years of being on Gethen it's still hard for him to grasp. Since Genly isn't from Gethen, he doesn't share the same physical characteristics as gethenians which must contribute more into making him feel isolated and different from those around him.
When Genly goes back to the palace after his dinner with Estraven to talk to the King, he was alone and mentioned "I, however, a tropical bird, was cold" (29). When the King finally arrives, Genly and Argaven begin to speak about why Genly came from Earth to have Gethen be apart of the Ekumen. The King isn't in favor of his mission and refuses to be apart of the Ekumen. In a way, this contributes to Genly's loneliness in Gethen because he believes that no one is in favor of joining the Ekumen.
I definitely agree with your point on how the cold defines Genly as isolated and alone especially because its a huge difference from his home planet where the weather is different in comparison to Gethen's. I also like how Genly refers to himself as a tropical bird being in sense somewhat exotic and different from everyone else on Gethen.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, without realizing Kaitlyn, you, and I all talked about the similar aspects of what this loneliness and cold represents. Your quotes are really accurate and a nice touch to this post.
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