After reading the first couple chapters of The Left Hand of Darkness, it made me question what this novel is truly about. We are told that this story is solely about a world with no gender but is there more to it than just that? I feel that creating a world with no gender will ultimately teach us, the reader, about our own views of gender and how we treat others based on that characteristic alone. Without gender we would be forced to treat people equally and not place each other into specific roles.
Our narrator describes to us how he struggles in a world without gender. He tries to place a gender role with other characters in the book just like we do with one another. He finds himself confused because certain emotions and actions are gender specific in his society and is believed to belong to one gender and not the other. During the dinner seen at Estraven’s house, he finds that the way dinner is presented is very womanly but the way Estraven looks gives him a sense of masculinity. A world without gender must be confusing for someone who is used to gender roles in their world. If we were to be placed in a planet, like Winter where there is no gender, would we feel as outsiders and unable to cop without our gender identity?
You’re right; it is amazingly hard to think of something as androgynous. Humans are creatures that need labels to define things. Thinking of a gender-less person…well…. What would they look like? How would they talk? Do they all sound the same? How do they walk or posture themselves? What’s their manner of dress like? Is there such a thing as masculinity and effeminacy in such a world? Do they tell each other apart by personality (probably I think)?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don’t think we’ll ever know, especially with Genly at the helm and telling us things from his point of view. He’s from a world that is, at least gender-wise, seemingly like ours. Sex is permanent. You’re either male or female. If he’s confused about everything, well, we’re not going to fare that much better ourselves.
I’m also thinking that Genly comes from a fairly patriarchal world as well. Notice that since he compulsively feels the need to label Gethenians as male. There are no obvious women or men. So they automatically become men who just happen to get pregnant every now and then (maybe it’s just me, but I enjoy male pregnancy quite a bit…). Even the ones who seem more girly, with the exception of the owner of his current “island”, still end up being male.
Perhaps the easiest point to take everything is when Estraven starts telling his story. He’s not focused on gender at all. Because he’s nonchalant- no let me re-phrase that- because he grew up in such a genderless society, it’s obviously not that important to him. He doesn’t even think about it. If there’s something on his mind, it’s his current and perhaps future problems. Nothing as queer as wondering who has a penis and who doesn’t. When it comes to accepting the radical idea of androgyny, Etraven is definitely the way to go. Okay, a little bit of this might help too (couldn't resist): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVs6Fekh0RY