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Monday, February 6, 2017
Gethenian Culture
There are various myths and folktales sprinkled around the novel, and they give a lot of hints about how the Gethenians carry themselves in their world, just like humans carry themselves through fables and stories. One folktale, The Nineteenth Day, is a Karhidish story about a man named Berosty who asked the Foretellers about when he will pass away. When he asked, the Foretellers answered that he will die on the 19th day of any month, which angered Berosty because it was not the answer he was looking for. Later, the kemmer of Berosty, Herbor, came and asked how long will Berosty live, hoping to cure Berosty of his sorrow, and they answered, "Longer than you will live." When Herbor told Berosty, he became very angry and killed Herbor with a stone. Berosty regretted his actions, and a month later, hanged himself, on the nineteenth of the month of Thern. This story explains a lot of how the Gethenians are content with living. They never wanted more or wanted less. In the folktale, it shows that death and suicide will come to people who ask for more, and both are frowned upon in Gethenian society.
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I agree with what you said because their religions are about being satisfied with not knowing and the foretellers believe that the questions asked are, for various reasons, the wrong questions.
ReplyDeleteI also talked about this story in my post. Berosty being angered and crazed of the fact of his death has caused him to kill Herbor. Hanging himself on the 19th shows the lesson in the story, that death should not rule their lives in gethen culture.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the Gethenian myths, this one was the most striking to me. There's something oddly familiar about it. It reminds me of a video game I played, where the villain found a book that told him the future and he went insane and tried to destroy the world. Pretty dark for a Mario game.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree with Jether. People shouldn't try to predict the future because they are bound to hear things they won't like. Imagine the psychological burden a person would carry along with the knowledge of the future. It's inevitable and they can either accept it or fight it and ultimately fail.
I'm curious as to what would have happened if Berosty hadn't inquired further. Maybe he would have lead a normal life and still died on the 19th day of any given month. Perhaps hearing his future caused him to seal his fate much faster.