Ursula Le Guin - Guide to the novel, including summary of characters, key themes, symbols and motifs as well as break down of chapters. A classic of Feminist Science Fiction written in 1969.

1. The Left Hand
of Darkness

2. Background
• Gethen (The Planet) .
• Karhide (Winter) – World described first.
• Orgoreyn – World visited second.
• Ekumen (The large UN-like grouping of planets to which the main character is an
envoy for).
• Cycle of Fertility (For twenty-four days (somer) of each twenty-six day lunar cycle,
they are genderless, then for two days they are in heat (kemmer) and the
hormones decide who will bear children.
• Gender (There is not one, but everyone is described as a ‘he’).
• Kemmer (Like animals in heat).
• Dothe (Period of super strength).
• Commensals (The 33 councilmen who rule Orgoreyn, they need to be convinced
to join the Ecumen).
• Mindspeak (Terran’s can communicate with their minds, in this form it is
impossible to lie).
• Shifgrefor (System of politeness, manners and status).

3. Characters
• All characters are “yellow-brown or red-brown”, Genly is described as
darker than most.
• Genly Ai (Terran, humanoid) Ecumen Envoy
• Estraven (Gethenian) Prime Minister of Karhide, disposed within the
first few chapters [Therem Harth rem ir Estraven]
• King Argaven – The King… of Argaven [Argaven Harge XV]
• Tibe (Hitler like figure, who pushes people to war and gives noisy
speeches over the radio – He replaces Estraven as PM).

4. Chapter 1: A Parade in Erhenrang
Chapter 3: The Mad King
Chapter 5: Domestication of Hunch
Chapter 8: Another way into Orgoreyn
Chapter 10: Conversations in Mishnory
Chapter 13: Down on the Farm
Chapter 15: To the Ice
Chapter 18: On the Ice
Chapter 19: Homecoming
Chapter 20: A Fools Errand
Chapter 2: A place inside the Blizzard
Chapter 4: The Nineteenth Day
Chapter 9: Estraven and the Traitor
Chapter 12: On time and Darkness
Chapter 17: An Orgota Creation Myth
Chapter 6: One way into Orgoreyn
Chapter 11: Soliloquies in Mishory
Chapter 14: The Escape
Chapter 16: Between Dremegole Chapter 7: The question of Sex
Genly Ai
Estraven
Unnamed Female Investigator
Myth Sections
The Novel’s Structure and Perspective by Chapter

5. Myth Bits
• Throughout the novel, 'native' myths and legends are interspersed,
illuminating the beliefs and psychology of the Gethenians and Estraven's
unspoken past.
• Chapter 2: The place inside the storm, a quiet haven within a blizzard.
• Chapter 4: The story of the foretellers
• Chapter 9: Two star-crossed lovers (enemies) meet and mate, then one of
them is killed by their enemies for being a traitor, the baby is found and
later saved by his own parent and peace is restored.
• Chapter 12: The Sayings of Tuhulme the High Priest, a book concerning the
Yomesh of Orgoreyn, the 'official', organised religion of Orgoreyn.
• Chapter 17: The Orgota creation myth is described.
• Honourable Mention
• Chapter 7: The sex lives of Gethenians are described by an unnamed
female investigator

6. Suggested Process for comprehension
• Watch these videos
• Listen to the BBC Drama version (1 hour 40 minutes)
• Listen to the Audiobook
• Read the book, annotating for theme / symbols /
motifs with reference to the annotation guide,
skipping the ‘Myth bits’, but reading chapter 7.
• Read the ‘Myth bits’ and try and piece together the
novels meaning and the relationship between the
plot and these myth sections.

7. Themes
• Gender
Politics
• Communicati
on
• Sociology
(The study of
people and
culture)
• Duty
• Truth
• Trust
• Secrecy and
manners
• Snow
• Journeys
• Love
• Nature versus man
• Taoism
Motifs Symbols
• Crime
• Light and Dark
• Masculinity
• Hunchs
• Blood Red
• Ying and Yang