She Unnames Them Analysis

Ursula Le Guin wrote the short story “She Unnames them” from the Bible, in the book of

Genesis Adam names all the animals in the first few chapters. Genesis 2:19-20, God made the

animals and had Adam name them. “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast

of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call

them: and whatsoever Adam would call every living creature, that was the name thereof. So

Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field.” When

Adam falls asleep, God takes one of his ribs and creates a helpmate for Adam or a companion for

him. Adam also chooses her name and calls her woman.

Even though this is a very short story, it is

a powerful one. Eve (the one Adam called woman) is
the main character in this story. Eve tells this story of how she convinces the animals that their
names are not important. Slowly, but surely, the animals agree to let go of their names, even
though the Yaks are the last ones to agree on this. The female Yaks get together and hold a
meeting and decide that they will agree to let go of their names, and after a while, the male Yaks
finally agree.
Eve wants to be more connected with nature and the animals around her in this story. She feels
that by taking away everyone’s name she can eliminate that barrier that is keeping her distant
from the animals. Eve talks about her new feelings with the animals that now have no name. She talks
about how much closer she feels towards them, but also at the same time fears them, because now she
has no idea who is the hunter and the hunted.

We see her go back to Adam and gives back to him what

she says is his. He just dismisses her away, so she is not afraid of him like she was in the beginning. The

problem is that Eve has given women a bad name. Eve ate the forbidden fruit, knowing it was wrong and

then she pushed her husband Adam to do the same. Eve tries to break down the distinction

between man and woman or man and animal by unnaming every creature. Names are what make

us who we are. Eve is trying to get the attention of her husband, but he does not notice that and

still treats her the same way. He believes that the outside so to speak is a man’s place and she is

better off in the kitchen or somewhere else that is considered to be a woman’s place.

This story shows a theme of power. Man has always felt superior to woman and Le Guin shows her feminist side. She wrote this in support of the Women’s Rights movement, Le Guin shows that the era of male supremacy must end. Women are capable of being independent, and just as all life is inherently equal, men and women should be equal. While I do not believe in taking the Bible and switching the story around to the way we want it, I do like how Le Guin stands up for what she believed in which is women’s

rights.