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
I agreed with your stance on Estraven being the only reason Genly survived on Gethen as Genly knew very little about the world and surely would not be able to adapt without help. That being said, even though Genly always had Estraven, I would not say he realised how important he was until later. Genly always thought to himself that he was alone on a foreign world even when he was not simply because he made himself feel that way. His differences made him feel isolated as you said and because of that never saw the help he was getting. He just instantly assumed that everyone thought he was a pervert and a crazy person. He isolated himself when he went to a different planet alone and did not try to get closer to anyone. However, I am sure most people would do the same thing in his shoes.
ReplyDelete-Brendan Stilwell