Myths

  Throughout Left Hand of Darkness there are many folktales/myths that are displayed as little glimpses it Gethenians culture, belief system, and ethics displayed on the planet. From the totalitarian rule of Estraven to the semi- love story between two gethenians brothers that refuse to end their kemmer stage. The specific one I wanna look into is Chapter 2, although it is very early on in the book it is important for following chapters and in the story in general. The tale is a tape recording from the early days of Karhide when brothers who were in kemmering that stayed together after they had their child. In Gethenian law, after the child is born it is said they must immediately split apart no matter the condition. This of course was under the ruling of Argaven the 3rd who is said to be a troubled man who fears progressive as displayed in the novel. The chapter demonstrates how kemmering was allowed back then and after the accident which led to restrictions and serious perimeters after the two gethenians. Although this a tale it gives us a glimpse why kemmering became the way it is today. There's been many cases where sense AI our main character feels weird whenever around the genthians and has often labeled the people of planet as "feminine" relating to Earth human characteristics. This becomes a recurring theme whenever Ai describes the people he see's and some of the feelings he gets when he speaks about sex identification and kemmering.

That One Myth

The Left Hand of Darkness tells myths in a unique way. The Nineteenth Day myth was one that stood out to me. This myth discussed a man going to a foreteller to ask what day he was going to die and the foreteller told him on the Nineteenth Day of any month. He was astounded , so his kemmer went to ask what day would they die and it was said to be the Nineteenth Day as well. He then went on to kill his kemmer and hung himself which happened to land on the Nineteeth Day. This myth showed me that the Gethen culture is not like our typical culture. Their culture has a weird vibe to them and I just can't get to what it is.

Genies

In the novel we experience many myths in various chapters. One particular myth that stands out to me is "The Nineteenth Day" located in chapter 4. The myth tells of a fellow Gethenian named Berosity and his kemmer partner Herbor. Berosity is told that he will die on the 19th which is very vague, so he asks his kemmer partner to go to the Foreteller and get more information. Herbor asks the Foreteller when Berosity will die and he said after Herbor does. Herbor takes the information and tells Berosity that he will die after he does. Berosity becomes mad because he never asked or answered his question. Now they are both lost and confused on the date of their death. In the end Berosity became to enraged that he killed his kemmer partner then soon killing him self, see the Foreteller did not lie. This shows that the Gethenian culture is similar to the tricky genies. You know how a genie grants you wishes but you have to be specific, this relates to the genie in a strong way. The Foreteller will grant you your question(wish) if you be specific and less vague. For example Herbor asked a vague question and received a vague answer. So it's basically you get what you receive, or the saying closed mouths never get feed. If you don't ask then you won't get what you want.

Stories in Winter

The myths presented in the Left Hand of Darkness pertain to the cultures in Gethen. A common feature I found in Gethen myths were people in kemmer. Most stories involved an initial tragedy between a couple and subjects of suicide and murder were present. The legends told to us were used to explain the beliefs and customs held by gethenians those in particular in karhide. Suicide was considered to be a capital crime that would shame a family for future generations yet incest isn't regarded as taboo as we would in our culture. Though there is a sense of difference in belief they way they were presented is very similar to the way we express our culture, through stories and parables.      

Myth: An Orgota Creation Myth

One myth from The Left Hand of Darkness that stood out was Chapter 17, An Orgota Creation Myth. The chapter talks and how there was once a whole planet with only the sun and ice, but one day the ice decides to melt into three different shapes. One shape went into the ice cracks creating land, another radiates on the ice melting it creating rivers and oceans, the last one created the plants, trees and people. This chapter told me that the Gethen culture is not much different from ours; they just have another way of telling the story resembling our bible. This particular myth relates to the direct plot of the story because the Gethenians we’re born in a house of flesh and death will seem to follow them everywhere.

Good Question,Good Answer/ Dumb question, Dumb Answer

One folktale in The Left Hand of Darkness that stood out the most to me was the one about the fore tellers. It told a tale of a man seeking out the answer to when he was going to die. He asked the fore tellers when he was going to die, and they gave him the answer that he was going to die on the 19th day of any month. This was obviously not the answer he was looking for, so he became depressed and locked himself away. He waited and waited, but nothing happened, until his kemmering partner went to the fore tellers to ask when his partner was going to die. The answer he got was that he was going to die after his partner, which was also a horrible and vague answer. The kemmering partner then returns to him to tell him the answer he got. It still didn't satisfy him, consumed by madness he kills his partner, and then kills himself, on the 19th day. This helped Genly craft a question in which ensured that he got the answer he desired. This folktale shows that a good question will result in a good answer, and a stupid question will result in a stupid answer.

Always Ask Clear and Precise Questions

          One of the folktales in The Left Hand of Darkness that stood out to me was "The Nineteenth Day." The readers are able to have a look into who the Foretellers are and why they do the things they do now. This chapter gives the reason of why Genly is advised to word his question wisely, and to not ask a dumb one. It tells a tale of a Gethenian who was curious of when he would die and asked that question. He was not pleased with the Foreteller's response and actually went mad. He was told "The nineteenth day," but was never told of what motn, or what year. As each month passed, and each nineteenth day passed, he grew crazier. Then one day, his kemmering partner wanted to relieve him from his anxiety and went to go ask the Foretellers himself. The Foretellers gave him an answer. An answer that was still as vague as the first answer. The first Gethenian would die after his kemmering partner. So, his kemmering partner went to go tell him the "good" news. The Gethenian got even more mad when he was told the information. It was a waste of a question. He killed his kemmering, and then killed himself later. On the nineteenth day. At the end of this chapter, I got chills. When I read the line that he died on the nineteenth day, I got chills. This chapter was really insightful in showing why Genly was advised to ask a clear, and precise question. He would receive the answer to the question he would ask. The more clear of a question, the more clear of a response.