Gender Roles In The Left Hand Of Darkness

Conflict is a staple of literature – literature can be as illuminating as anything else as to what causes the distrust between individuals, groups, and nations. The Left Hand of Darkness explores what it means to be a renegade is great depth – as well as complex questions about gender and politics. The novel follows the story of Ai, a male who is sent from his home to the planet Gethen, charged with convincing them to join a coalition of planets. He spends time in the land of Karhide, and in two years fails to convince them to join the proposed alliance. Early on in the novel, the topic of gender is first addressed. In Karhide, there are no genders – all residents are hermaphrodites. Ai is struck by this biological difference and what impact

Ai obtains this audience with the help of Estraven, the prime minister of Karhide. Ai is mistrustful of Estraven because of his effeminate nature. This was a firm political and gendered statement by the author. On the one hand, Ai’s distrust was a critique of masculinity, painting it as both close-minded and divisive. On the other hand, the political statement made here is that a society without gender roles could perhaps be better. The author paints the Gethenians as less prone to war, more able to love, and less stubborn headed. These could all be linked to their androgynous nature, and is likely a statement about the author that gender roles play an unnoticed part in society’s

Ai’s acceptance and bond with Estraven was an example of how loyalty can overcome prejudice, and also highlighted his failure up until that point. His stubbornness with regard to gender was likely what caused difficulty in convincing Karhide to join the interstellar pact. The fact that Ai’s voice came to Estraven in the form of his former lover was an attempt by the author to show how close people can become if they drop their prejudices, and likely was a hint at how hate and mistrust could be decreased in our world if we became more open minded about gender.
When the duo reaches Karhide, border guards kill Estraven, still banished, and Ai is captured. Ai’s presence in Karhide triggers the collapse of both the governments of Karhide and Orgoreyn. But later, when visitors from Ai’s planet arrive, both the peoples of Karhide and Orgoreyn agree to join the international coalition, rendering Ai’s mission a