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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Family Quarrel:
In the following passage from Chapter 1, Estraven and Genly converse at the Karhider's home. Estraven discusses the nuances of his country with Genly, using metaphor to explain their political structure:
“I’m from Kerm Land myself,” he says when I admire his knowledge. “Anyhow it’s my business to know the Domains. They are Karhide. To govern this land is to govern its lords. Not that it’s ever been done. Do you know the saying, Karhide is not a nation but a family quarrel?” I haven’t, and suspect that Estraven made it up; it has his stamp.
Estraven thinks of Karhide as a "family quarrel" rather than a nation, making reference to this sentiment multiple times throughout the novel. This metaphor serves as an apt analogy for Karhide's governmental/political structure. Karhidish society is clan-based, organized around families and local alliances rather than through a large central government. The nation's politics correspondingly resemble that of its core units. Karhiders are loyal to family first; as such, any effort to amass a military in the country has been useless. There are few patriotic sentiments in Karhide. While this makes the country decentralized and unable to organize, it also allows Karhiders to avoid the pitfalls of nationalism, authoritarianism, and all the pain those ideals bring.
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Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Birds and Adaptation:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 3, Genly muses on the connection between Gethenian physiology and societal structure:
The mechanical industrial Age of Invention in Karhide is at least three thousand years old, and during those thirty centuries they have developed excellent and economical central-heating devices using steam, electricity, and other principles; but they do not install them in their houses. Perhaps if they did they would lose their physiological weatherproofing, like Arctic birds kept in warm tents, who being released get frostbitten feet. I, however, a tropical bird, was cold; cold one way outdoors and cold another way indoors, ceaselessly and more or less thoroughly cold.
Genly compares himself to a tropical bird, outside of his natural habitat in the harsh, wintry terrain of Karhide. According to Genly, he is maladapted to the environment on Winter—and thus, his maladaption to Gethenian society follows. This reference to bird adaption cleverly associates The Left Hand of Darkness with Darwin's seminal evolutionary theory. Darwin originally devised his theory by observing a wide variety of finches in the Galapagos, noting their similarities and marked differences. Genly places himself in a specific intellectual tradition, bearing with him the history of his own civilization.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Singer's Voice:
The following passage from Chapter 5 features an important metaphor, reflecting on the role of the "time-dividers" in the foretelling process:
They were insane. Goss called them “time-dividers,” which may mean schizophrenics. Karhidish psychologists, though lacking mindspeech and thus like blind surgeons, were ingenious with drugs, hypnosis, spotshock, cryonic touch, and various mental therapies; I asked if these two psychopaths could not be cured. “Cured?” Goss said. “Would you cure a singer of his voice?”
Karhiders with schizophrenia serve a crucial role in foretelling, which happens to be one of the most important spiritual practices in Karhidish society. Goss compares these time-dividers to singers, who categorically should not be "cured" of their voices or talents.
The fact that Genly does not understand the necessity of time-dividers to Karhidish society speaks volumes about his biased perspective. He presumes that schizophrenic people need to be cured because his society treats those people with disregard and disgust. Initially, Genly cannot fathom that a person seen as inconsequential in his society would adopt a position of honor and preeminence in another. Goss is quick to correct Genly, comparing the act of time-dividing to an art form Genly would be familiar with. Through Genly's ignorance, Le Guin satirizes societal perspectives on mental illness.
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Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—Love as a Bridge:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 18, Genly describes the complex sexual and romantic tension between him and Estraven, whom he has been sharing a daily routine with for months:
But it was from the difference between us, not from the affinities and likenesses, but from the difference, that that love came: and it was itself the bridge, the only bridge, across what divided us. For us to meet sexually would be for us to meet once more as aliens. We had touched, in the only way we could touch. We left it at that. I do not know if we were right.
Genly uses metaphor to understand the complex love he feels for Estraven. Their care for one another arises from their differences; love, in their relationship, is a bridge over an ice crevasse, making passable what would otherwise be impassable. Genly spends much of The Left Hand of Darkness at odds with his own biology, alienated by design in a world he has not adapted to. Through his relationship with Estraven, Genly learns to accept difference as a thing of beauty. His ability to connect with Estraven is made all the more profound by their differences, bridged by shared hardship on the ice.
Explanation and Analysis—Evolution:
In the following example of metaphor from Chapter 18, Genly explains the Ekumen's philosophy to Estraven, comparing the workings of the celestial organization to that of evolution:
"In a certain sense the Ekumen is not a body politic, but a body mystic. It considers beginnings to be extremely important. Beginnings, and means. Its doctrine is just the reverse of the doctrine that the end justifies the means. It proceeds, therefore, by subtle ways, and slow ones, and queer, risky ones; rather as evolution does, which is in certain senses its model. [...]"
In addition to the evolution metaphor, the above passage contains an idiom often referenced in Le Guin's work: "the end justifies the means." In its original context, this phrase implies that the result matters more than the method of achieving said result, even if the methodology is flawed or unethical. Le Guin makes it evident that she disagrees with this idiom: to quote her novel The Lathe of Heaven, "The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means." The above passage echoes this sentiment, positioning the Ekumen as antithetical to an "ends justify the means" philosophy. For the Ekumen, the process is entirely the point. Like evolution, the Ekumenal process is anti-deterministic; there is no end goal, no ideal.
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