I  think with Gethen culture it's different when he says "There is no unconsenting sex, rape..... Genly see things different and he always asks why and tries to make his points and where the setting at it's like he never gets anything always asks why. also, i think they both confused in this story honestly I'm still confused but to guys that intimate with each other but to them, it doesn't matter because the world they live in its so much different and they don't see nothing wrong in their eyes personally and as they start getting to know eachother they start to feel eachother the attention the communtation well genly is and he start to realize I feel like the plot of this story is a fairy tail which nobody will believe and some will believe but where it takes place its unbelieveable because people going to be like.. "where this at are they on another planet/earth" the whole time its fictions not real at all and in the setting genly start to realize things and start to understand more.  - christine Walton, wave 3

myths aka hearth tales

In The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin, there are a couple chapters where instead of continuing the plot of the story we encounter some myths. These myths are considered folk tales which the Getheniens refer to as hearth tales. The hearth tale of the two brothers is when we are introduced to what is known as "kemmering." Kemmering in a way is like being in heat but also what their intercourse is called. Through this we learn a bit more of the way the Gethenien culture is. Following the fact that they are androgynous, they are also unprejudiced about individuals sex. They also do not shame incest. They do have restrictions though. The two siblings may kemmer together but they cannot vow oath to each other which is like marriage on earth. No life-long incestuous relationships are allowed. When one of the brothers, Hode, hears they are not allowed to remain together he commits suicide. When the news of Hode's suicide went around, Getheren, the other brother, is driven out of town into the coldest place. This also represents the Gethenien culture and how severely they shame and close people off after shameful acts such as suicide or whatever it may be. He ends up finding his brother who has committed suicide there. He tries to capture him but he gets way. He ends up having to amputate his left hand and after this happens his old town begins to prosper again after their famine. These myths are not coincidences but reveal characteristic of the Gethenien culture and they also foreshadow the rest of the book.

A Story Within A Story

Throughout the book there are many myths and folk tales, which the Gethenian people refer to as “hearth tales” throughout the book. I usually would just quickly read through these chapters of books, however for The Left Hand Of Darkness it's so important to acknowledge these chapters instead of taking a glimpse at them. Chapters 4 and 9 I believe, were hearth tales. The purpose of reading those chapters  were so that we could understand the Gethenian culture and history better. One of the myths I recall was about two brothers who separated and remet in the Place Inside the Blizzard. We are given knowledge about the rules from their culture which is that siblings can have a child together but not more than one. Also, we learn that suicide is seen as something super shameful and sinful. Something else that I noticed while reading is that the cold plays a huge impact in the ancient myths of Gethen, since that is a big part of where they live. For example, the odd place that the two brothers met could have been in another location such as a rainforest, a hotter place such as a desert, or any other place.
-Brianna Rubio

Culture Shaping Myths

Throughout The Left Hand of Darkness, the story is told from different points of views and there are different little myths thrown in here and there.  In total there were five myths: The Place Inside the Blizzard, The Nineteenth Day, Estraven the Traitor, On Time and Darkness, and An Orgota Creation Myth.  There were put there to prepare you for the next chapter or maybe explain the backstory of certain traditions.  Take for example The Nineteenth Day and On Time and Darkness.  Both of these chapters had to do with the Foretellers and having questions answered at the cost of something valuable to them.  They showed how seriously the Gethens trust these future seeing people over the centuries of being there.  In The Nineteenth day someone starts to go mad from knowing the day he will die, but not the exact date simply because he asked his question with too little detail.  On Time and Darkness, one of the foreteller groups is asked a question that could not be answered and ended up being able to see everything changing his life entirely.  In both cases, these foretellers change the lives of those that encounter them simply because they are so involve in the current culture of the Gethens and they believe to the letter every word they say.  The Gethens are people that seem to like having the answers to whatever questions they have and are willing to trade for those answers.  Their culture around Foretellers has developed over the years into what it is during the time of the book to show how trusting the people are of them.
-Brendan Stilwell

Myths Myths Myths

All the myths in the book sporadically relate to the plot.  Such as The Place Inside the Blizzard (ch. 2), this myth talks about two brothers that vowed kemmering to each other. Hode committed suicide which is a BIG NO-NO for the Gethenian culture, the other brother Gethren was banished.  Both of the brothers later reunited at the place inside the blizzard in the planet of Gethen.  In Chapter 4, The Nineteeth Day Lord Brestory rem ir Ipe went to Thangering Fastness and offered forty beryls and half the years yield from his orchards as the price of a Foretelling. Then later Lord Brestory rem ir Ipe asked the foretellers when he will die. Although all the myths in the book relate to the plot you can surly tell how these myths are all really important to the Gethenian society because in ch.15 Gethly and Estraven go to cross the Karhide glaciers and then Genley brings up the The Place Inside the Blizzard myth. 

It's a cold and harsh world

From the start of the novel, the world of Gethen is introduced to the reader as an extremely cold planet. Cold in theory is related to loneliness and isolation which Genly Ai feels due to the fact that he struggles to "fit in."  Where Ai comes from the cold was never a problem. "They told me, keep the Envoy warm, he's from a hot world, and can't stand our cold" (117). The theme of loneliness is portrayed through Genly because he is an envoy, a loner in a different planet where he was put in. There is a place inside the blizzard is cold and empty which promotes isolation. It is where those who committed suicide go and roam forever. In this place they are not able to talk to each other forcing them into isolation. The constant cold of Gergen contributes to the theme of isolation and loneliness because it affects Genly Ai a lot of physically and shows similarities in the way he acts.
-Sean Pacheco

assuming gender

Genly comes from a world where gender role is a thing. Men dominance is typical from the planet Genly comes from. It's normal to feel attracted to someone based on physical feature including their beauty, style, race, and gender. However now Genly is in a gender-less planet. His struggle is adjusting to this culture. As we know, they do not have any gender that will distinguish their identity. To be with someone is as easy as to just vow "kemmering". This system of marriage eliminates all forms of sexual discrimination, even better it seems like they have solved that flaw that is found on our planet earth. It leads a Gethenian to be capable of taking on both roles as a woman and/or as a man.  Despite Genly's years of research about the Gethenian culture, his attitude towards gender is wired to automatically label a person as a male or female on the first encounter.

loneliness can never be a friend

Throughout this book, the cold has been the overall mood of the novel. A cold stricken land where Gethenians choose to stay has change everything about them. how they get there food, there clothing, and life style all revolves around the cold. Especially now with genly and Esterven trapped in the vast land of snow trying there best to get back to karhid. its hard for Genely when Esterven tells him the only way they can survive is to travel all through the mountains. Genly still argues whether it would be safe to cross the ice-crossing than wait till spring. But Esterven only tells him," solitude.." (202) implying that no one will be there during this winter. Also, as they struggle with  food supply Estreven come back with a pile of food only to imply that he had stolen it. This also gives out how hard it is to live in the cold were no food can be provided in hand and drastic measures have to be precocious in order  to survive. 

Furthermore, when Genly explains that,"where there is no beer on winter there is orsh, where there is neither beer nor orsh there are no people"(202). Stating the fact that without something warm and conforming like a hot cup of "orsh", there would be a Communion of people to fight out the solitude the cold give.

Another thing too is that when both are in the most coldest conditions and being close to warmth,  Genly ask,"then i am AI-who uses first names?" " hearth brothers or friends..."

later leaving Genly to think "a friend. what is a friend in a world where any friend may be a lover at a new phase of the moon?...they were no flesh of mine, no friends, no love between us"(213). Even in the cold, Esterven strongly tells genly that they could never be friends. This is the solitude cold gives. even in the depth of death these Gethenians choose to be alone in there own world. Helping but never wanting to be friends. This is why solitude and isolation is being portrayed to the cold, because so as the cold wants to be alone, so do these Gethenians who only struggle to survive in there strange world.

The Collateral of the Cold

Genly Ai is already an outsider as it is, from a planet not nearly as cold as Gethen. Throughout the novel, Genly struggles to “fit in”; he is darker and taller than Gethenians and belongs to “...a society of perverts” (38). His mind is already conditioned to see only male and female, despite his years of educated research on genderless beings of another planet. Moreover, Genly finds it difficult to withstand the numbing cold of Winter, which in theory, makes him feel even more lonely and isolated from the people of Gethen, because Gethenians are able to endure the weather in Winter without the need of extra clothing or Chabe stoves. Although, it is not only Genly that feels isolated and alone. Estraven’s exile was a measure that pushed him towards a life of solitude, which is a pretty brutal sentence on a freezing cold planet, and since when one is in exile, it is prohibited for another man to help an exile flee or give an exile shelter. When Estraven fled Karhide and settled in Orgoreyn, he was an outsider, a Karhidish man surrounded by Orgota men. Later in the novel, both Genly and Estraven “...are equals at last, equal, alien, alone” on their three month trek through -40 degree weather, blizzards, and crevassed areas on the Gobrin Ice (251). On the last stretch of their journey, a monstrous blizzard left them trapped in their tent. Genly noted that “outside, as always, lies the great darkness, the cold, death’s solitude” (258). This line illustrates the collateral of the planet’s heinous weather, forcing people to stay inside, isolating them from the rest of the world.

Jasmine Kim

Genly vs. Gethen

Cold is a contrast of heat. Cold weather is often associated with isolation and loneliness because the violent cold climate is a challenge to survive. Throughout the years, televised news programs have reported multiple stories of tragedies that occur to people that are caught in mountains that are covered in snowstorms. Casualties and missing individuals headline these stories as few people are able to survive such harsh conditions. It is like the world is against you, and there is very little hope for survival. You are alone.
The harsh, cold climate on Gethen contributes to the theme of isolation because the harsh, chilly climate emphasizes Genly's loneliness. In the novel, Genly is traveling alone through a foreign planet as the sole representative of the Ekumen. He is out of place on Gethen where he is much taller than Gethenians and is permanently male in contrast to the androgynous nature of Gethen's people. The cold weather furthers Genly's isolation because it is him against the cold world of Gethen. In Chapter 5, Genly travels with a bunch of strangers on his trek to find the Foretellers, and he observes the harsh weather and dangerous mountains of Gethen. On the trip, Genly is forced to sleep on a hard seat in a cold cab as he stated "Karhide is no country for comfort." (51) which demonstrates the theme of isolation because Genly is seeking warmth on the journey, but he is met with discomfort and a lonely night sleep due to the cold weather and isolation from the Gethenians. The cold forces people to stay indoors where there is heat; however, it locks people indoors while isolating people from interacting with others that are scattered outside. Furthermore, as a stranger to Gethen, Genly is not accustomed to the climate and cannot handle the cold weather. He wouldn't be able to survive if he was traveling alone; therefore, the constant cold of Gethen supports the theme of isolation because Genly is the only person who doesn't have the adaptations to handle the cold climate. Luckily, Genly has always had Estraven to support him because without Estraven, Genly would have died in the storm called Gethen.

-Javen Pacion

Waves of Myths and Folktales

The Left Hand of Darkness contains chapters that don’t directly deal with the plot of the story, but instead provide the reader with a richer sense of the history, culture of Gethen and where the story takes place. A chapter called “The Question of Sex,” taken from the field notes of an Investigator, provides detailed information about the biology and behavior of the non-existent gender of the Gethenian race. Although the nature of Gethenian sexuality, or the lack of it, has already been alluded to, within the main narrative. This chapter helps provide insight into the ways in which sex and gender have influenced Gethenian culture as a whole. Another chapter, “The Place Inside the Blizzard,” gives readers a better sense of Gethenian cultural norms regarding incest and suicide. On the other note, folktales and myths give depth to the anthropology accounts of the Gethenian people’s habits and customs. For instance, although ice giants likely did not create Gethen, as suggested in “An Orgota Creation Myth”, the chapter  provides a useful insight into the Orgota culture, as it explains the culture’s ideas and the basis of their spiritual life about the cycle of light and death, and the important role that darkness and shadows play in daily life and in mythology. 

Overall, The Left Hand of Darkness emphasizes on the fact that there is no single, objective truth about the world. By using many types of stories told from many perspectives, Ursula Le Guin, weaves a complex and even sometimes in opposition of the picture of reality. This shows that a variety of viewpoints gives a more complete picture than a single viewpoint could not possibly provide. Although Genly Ai and earlier Investigators can provide the anthropology studies of the world, its people, their observable biology and behavior, it is the chapters written from the myths, and the legends of the Gethenians, that render a true depiction of the people of Gethen as fully-formed beings with complex internal lives and centuries of rich culture and tradition.

-Margareth Simbillo

¡Ai, caramba! These Myths

There are many myths present in Gethenian culture, and what I have observed is that the myths all sort of re-occur more than once in order to align with the plot. For example, one myth that is mentioned very early on is the Place Inside the Blizzard, which basically talks about how after one kemmering brother committed suicide, and the other was banished, both brothers reunited in a place inside of the storm of the planet of Gethen. I think a big part of myths in this world is about seeking to express or explain the attitudes of Gethenians when it comes to things they don’t necessarily agree with. The world was against siblings vowing kemmering so they told a story of what happened to people who once tried that. Later on, I am not sure exactly the chapter (I believe 15 or 16), Estraven and Genly are making their way to Karhide crossing glacier and Genly is worrying about whether or not they will survive the cold and Estraven mentions possibly finding the Place Inside the Blizzard. The fact that Estraven brings up this tale again can be a sign of how widely known myths are in the society, and possibly how many people actually think they are true.
-Brooke Sasse

Myths and Folk Tales

In chapters 4 and 9 the book gives us little short stories in the form of Gethenian Folk tales, which the call hearth tales.These tales allow us to have a better understanding of the history and culture of Gethen and its people. Chapter 12 tells a couple of legends Meshe, the prophet of the Orgoreyn religion.In chapter 4,Lord Berosty goes to Thangering Fastness to request a foretelling from the Weaver Orden, he asks him what day he will die.Orden tells he with die on "Odstreth", which is the 19th day of any month. After, Lord Berosty gets upset and asks the Weaver Orden what day, but he wouldnt say. So Lord Berosty decides to lock himself in the Hearth-Tower for 10 months. This book is seen as a "science-fiction" which I can see why, but it also has some characteristics of a fairytale, as seen in this chapter. No one can predict death.So what this tells me about their culure is that they dont really have a godly figure to look up they have foretellers and kings.     

The Struggle is Real

Genly is put in a precarious position he finds himself on an alien world with a non-gender, usually sexually dormant, species. He finds it difficult to understand their complex psychology despite having done extensive research on them before even coming to winter. He also struggles to see the Gethenians as they are and as they aren't, they aren't male or female, but at the same time they are (confusing right?) This would be hard for anyone who's brain wasn't conditioned to think this way since birth, because  our brains know instinctively that females should have certain qualities and males should have certain qualities that is isn't true if you're on the planet winter. We often take for granted that for the most part most people think the same (herd mentality as some might call it) but Genly doesn't have that luxury on Winter he is forced to take a different approach use different tactics then we would if he were talking to someone on Earth; espcially when it comes to the Gethenians and their shifgethor (I know I spelled it wrong) and how saying or doing certain things can challenge other Getheaninas prestige; like asking questions when you should know the answer.

Genly's attudides show that he comes from our world, or at least what the world looked like at the time of The Left Hand of Darkness being written.

Isolation on Gethen

On the world of Gethen, the concepts of loneliness and isolation are emphasized as we follow Genly Ai through his mission as an envoy for the Ekumen. The population of Gethen is composed of the Gethenians, androgynous beings with a culture and identity that completely differentiates from Genly's origin. Despite the time and hardships they have gone through together, Genly and Estraven still do not consider themselves friends. Genly asks, "Is it going to be 'Mr.' clear across the Gobrin Ice?" (212). Estraven informs him that only hearth-brothers or friends use first names, implying that they are not friends. Arriving to a new planet with severe weather conditions that Genly is not used to has left him seeking basic comforts in those around him. The last place Genly felt safe and comfortable in was Orgoreyn where he was betrayed by the Commensals and was forced to rely on Estraven to escape. During their journey, Genly says that they "never saw more than a quarter-mile ahead through the gray mist and mass of rain. What slopes rose on above us I never looked up to see; nothing to see but rain falling," (217). Not only were they 800 miles away from their destination but he was traversing through the harsh winter of Gethen, suffering from a stomache with nothing to ease the pain.
In the end, the constant cold is a source of Genly's loneliness and isolation because of his inability to handle the harshness of the weather.  Not only that but he is a stranger or alien to the people of Gethen. On their planet, he is an outsider because of his defined gender and physical characteristics and what is unknown instills fears. The only individual Genly has been able to communicate and express himself with is Estraven, the exiled traitor.

-Peter Nguyen