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