"Hatred was also left outside" : Journeys into the Cold in Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness

• In Ursula K. Le Guin’s science fiction novel The Left Hand of Darkness cold is used on both literal and metaphorical levels as the main character, sent to the planet of Gethen, or Winter, undertakes an inner journey of self discovery. The first part of the article analyses the novel as a fictional travelogue to establish how the boundaries between Self and Other, between observer and studied, are constructed. Animal imagery, adaptation to the cold and the Gethenian’s androgynous sexuality are aspects at focus. The second part of the article centres more specifically on how the cold functions on several levels in the novel. The harsh climate initially works as a divider between Self and Other, and the central themes of fidelity and betrayal are connected to the cold on both literal and metaphorical levels. However, the essentializing aspects of the cold come to erase these and other binaries and enable the protagonist’s understanding of both himself and the encountered culture.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- General Literary Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

boundaries

self

other

cold

winter

travelogue

science fiction

Literature

Litteraturvetenskap

Literature

litteraturvetenskap

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)