The left hand of darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness (AKA The Left Hand of Darkness , originally in Germany under the title Winter Planet published) is a 1969 published, for Hainish cycle belonging science fiction -novel the author Ursula K. Le Guin , translated by Gisela Stege . Considered one of the earliest novels in feminist science fiction, it is certainly the best-known treatment of androgyny within the genre.
In 1970 the novel received both the Hugo and the Nebula Award for best novel of the year. In 1987 it was voted the second best science fiction & fantasy novel (after Dune by Frank Herbert ) by the readers of Locus magazine .
In the preface, Le Guin calls the novel (and much of the science fiction) a "thought experiment" which in this case explores a possible society without the sexual division into men and women. In addition, the novel is supposed to express a less obvious truth about humanity: its androgynous nature, viewed from a certain angle.
Le Guin has also written other stories about the world of this story, including "Winter's King" (1969), according to the author, the literary "hour of birth" of the world of winter.
action
Ecumenism, a world collective, has sent the male Terran Genly Ai as an envoy to the planet Winter (in the language of the inhabitants "Gethen"); it is intended to encourage residents to become part of the collective. In winter there is always a harsh, cold climate. The residents are "ambisexual"; most of the time they are asexual, but once a month, during a period called kemmer, they take on male or female characteristics and become sexually active.
Genly lands in the Kingdom of Karhide; his mission is not particularly successful at first. He feels like he's being held off, and although the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Estraven, finally seems convinced of his cause, Genly is plagued by doubts. Estraven appears opaque, evasive to him. He cannot understand it. On the day of the first audience with the king, Genly learns that Estraven has been accused of treason and has fled to neighboring Orgoreyn. The king refuses membership in the ecumenical movement. Genly decides to go to Orgoreyn.
While the residents of Karhide align their lives with Shifgrethor, formal rules of conduct and traditions, Orgoreyn's technique and logic are in the foreground for the residents. Here communication is more direct; the Orgota rulers seem to be positive about his proposal. But Estraven, whom Genly met again here, warns him against the rulers. Genly ignores the warning, as does his gut instinct. That same night, he was sent to a labor camp in the far north to end his life.
But although Genly Estraven does not trust Estraven, it is of all people who tries to save him. He helps him escape from the labor camp. Together they undertake the very dangerous, never before attempted journey across the Gobrin Ice Field back to Karhide, where Estraven would like to campaign for membership in the ecumenical movement. Through the shared experience, the two begin to trust each other and to respect their differences. During the "Kemmer", Estraven becomes a "woman". Genly, who thought Estraven was more "male", ignored the episode.
When they reach Karhide, Estraven is killed. Genly realizes he's lost a real friend. In the aftermath of Estraven's death, Karhide and then Orgoreyn join the ecumenical movement; Genly realizes that his friend Estraven sacrificed his existence for the good of the many.
style
The story is told through Genly's reports kept in the "Hains Archives". In the process, Genly's style changes from a distanced observer to a participating reporter who also told his own story and also reflects his own mistakes and incorrectly developed ideas. Accordingly, the text is also viewed as an educational novel.
Reactions
Algis Budrys called the text "the work of an excellent writer, a rousing story about risk and ambition, in which love and other human qualities are presented in a new context".
Individual evidence
- ^ "Locus Poll Best All-time Novel Results: 1987, sf novels". Locus. August 1987. Retrieved April 12, 2012
- ^ Reid, Suzanne Elizabeth (1997). Presenting Ursula Le Guin. New York: Twayne. ISBN 0805746099 .
- ^ "Galaxy Bookshelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1970, pp. 144-45, 158 .; "... a novel written by a magnificent writer, a totally compelling tale of human peril and striving under circumstances in which human love, and a number of other human qualities, can be depicted in a fresh context."