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Ursula K. Le Guin: a Critical Companion Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion Susan M. Bernardo Graham J. Murphy Greenwood Press URSULA K. LE GUIN Ursula K. Le Guin. Photograph by Marian Wood Kolisch. URSULA K. LE GUIN A Critical Companion Susan M. Bernardo and Graham J. Murphy CRITICAL COMPANIONS TO POPULAR CONTEMPORARY WRITERS Kathleen Gregory Klein, Series Editor GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bernardo, Susan M. Ursula K. Le Guin : a critical companion / Susan M. Bernardo and Graham J. Murphy. p. cm. — (Critical companions to popular contemporary writers, ISSN 1082–4979) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–313–33225–8 (alk. paper) 1. Le Guin, Ursula K., 1929—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Science fiction, American—History and criticism. 3. Fantasy fiction, American—History and criti- cism. I. Murphy, Graham J., 1970– II. Title. III. Series. PS3562.E42Z54 2006 813'.54—dc22 2006017937 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2006 by Susan M. Bernardo and Graham J. Murphy All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006017937 ISBN: 0–313–33225–8 ISSN: 1082–4979 First published in 2006 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Mark Wagner, an ever-patient, astute reader and feline loyalist. To my parents, who taught me to read and pointed me in the direction of the public library. To my niece, Elise Leduc, avid reader, world explorer, and wise soul. SMB To Jennifer Pym-Murphy, for bringing me balance and never wavering in your faith and love. To my parents and family, who encourage me to keep moving forward despite the odds. To my colleagues, whose advice is never wasted. GJM ADVISORY BOARD Mary Catherine Byrd, English Teacher, East Montgomery High School, Biscoe, North Carolina Dana McDougald, Library Media Specialist, Cedar Shoals High School, Athens, Georgia Patricia Naismith, Library Media Specialist, Springfield High School, Springfield, Pennsylvania Italia Negroni, Head, Library Media Technology Department, Stamford High School, Stamford, Connecticut Rudy Rocamontes, Jr., English Teacher, Southwest High School, San Antonio, Texas Marcia Welsh, Assistant Director, Guilford Free Library, Guilford, Connecticut Contents Series Foreword by Kathleen Gregory Klein ix Acknowledgments xiii 1. Biography of Ursula K. Le Guin 1 2. The Literary Genealogy of Science Fiction and Ursula K. Le Guin 13 3. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) 21 4. The Lathe of Heaven (1971) 35 5. The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (1974) 47 6. The Eye of the Heron (1978) 63 7 . The Telling (2000) 75 8. Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Books and Fantasy 87 9. A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) 95 10. The Tombs of Atuan (1970) 107 viii Contents 11. The Farthest Shore (1972) 117 12. Tehanu (1990) 127 13. “The Finder” from Tales from Earthsea (2001) 143 14. “Dragonfly” and The Other Wind (1997 and 2001) 155 Bibliography 169 Index 191 Series Foreword The authors who appear in the series Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers are all best-selling writers. They do not simply have one successful novel, but a string of them. Fans, critics, and specialist readers eagerly anticipate their next book. For some, high cash advances and breakthrough sales figures are automatic; movie deals often follow. Some writers become household names, recognized by almost everyone. But, their novels are read one by one. Each reader chooses to start and, more importantly, to finish a book because of what she or he finds there. The real test of a novel is in the satisfaction its readers experience. This series acknowledges the extraordinary involvement of readers and writ- ers in creating a best-seller. The authors included in this series were chosen by an Advisory Board composed of high school English teachers and high school and public librarians. They ranked a list of best-selling writers according to their popularity among different groups of readers. For the first series, writers in the top-ranked group who had received no book-length, academic, lit- erary analysis (or none in at least the past ten years) were chosen. Because of this selection method, Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers meets a need that is being addressed nowhere else. The success of these volumes as reported by reviewers, librarians, and teachers led to an expansion of the series mandate to include some writers with wide x Series Foreword critical attention—Toni Morrison, John Irving, and Maya Angelou, for example— to extend the usefulness of the series. The volumes in the series are written by scholars with particular exper- tise in analyzing popular fiction. These specialists add an academic focus to the popular success that these writers already enjoy. The series is designed to appeal to a wide range of readers. The general reading public will find explanations for the appeal of these well-known writers. Fans will find biographical and fictional questions answered. Students will find literary analysis, discussions of fictional genres, care- fully organized introductions to new ways of reading the novels, and bib- liographies for additional research. Whether browsing through the book for pleasure or using it for an assignment, readers will find that the most recent novels of the authors are included. Each volume begins with a biographical chapter drawing on published information, autobiographies or memoirs, prior interviews, and, in some cases, interviews given especially for this series. A chapter on literary his- tory and genres describes how the author’s work fits into a larger literary context. The following chapters analyze the writer’s most important, most popular, and most recent novels in detail. Each chapter focuses on one or more novels. This approach, suggested by the Advisory Board as the most useful to student research, allows for an in-depth analysis of the writer’s fiction. Close and careful readings with numerous examples show readers exactly how the novels work. These chapters are organized around three central elements: plot development (how the story line moves forward), character development (what the reader knows of the important figures), and theme (the significant ideas of the novel). Chapters may also include sections on generic conventions (how the novel is similar or different from others in its same category of science fiction, fantasy, thriller, etc.), narrative point of view (who tells the story and how), symbols and liter- ary language, and historical or social context. Each chapter ends with an “alternative reading” of the novel. The volume concludes with a primary and secondary bibliography, including reviews. The alternative readings are a unique feature of this series. By dem- onstrating a particular way of reading each novel, they provide a clear example of how a specific perspective can reveal important aspects of the book. In the alternative reading sections, one contemporary literary theory— way of reading, such as feminist criticism, Marxism, new his- toricism, deconstruction, or Jungian psychological critique—is defined in brief, easily comprehensible language. That definition is then applied to the novel to highlight specific features that might go unnoticed or be Series Foreword xi understood differently in a more general reading. Each volume defines two or three specific theories, making them part of the reader’s under- standing of how diverse meanings may be constructed from a single novel. Taken collectively, the volumes in the Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers series provide a wide-ranging investigation of the complexities of current best-selling fiction. By treating these novels seri- ously as both literary works and publishing successes, the series demon- strates the potential of popular literature in contemporary culture. Kathleen Gregory Klein Southern Connecticut State University Acknowledgments We would like to thank both Debby Adams at Greenwood Press, for her level-headed help, and Kathy Klein, the series editor who brought us to- gether. We would most especially like to thank Ursula K. Le Guin, whose generosity in giving of her time to reply to questions is remarkable and whose writing opens minds, moves hearts, and changes ways of seeing. Susan: I would like to thank my coauthor Graham J. Murphy, whose ability to meet deadlines is phenomenal. I would also like to thank the librarians at Wagner College for locating materials for me through inter- library loan. Graham: I would like to thank my coauthor Susan Bernardo, whose exemplary professionalism and administrative spearheading has been an inspiration. I would also like to thank my Trent students in CUEN229: Science Fiction and CUEN329: Utopia (future fiction) for providing the perfect venue to test early drafts of the manuscript. In addition, my thanks to both Trent University and Seneca College for their support on this project, notably Veronica Hollinger, whose encouragement has been unwavering. 1 Biography of Ursula K. Le Guin If you weren’t a writer what would you be? Dead. —from M.E. Wood’s BellaOnline interview with Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula K. Le Guin’s one-word answer to an interviewer’s question indicates her view that she is most essentially a writer. She began writing at five years old and has flourished as a writer throughout her life. Now in her seventies, she shows no signs of slowing down. Her most recent work, Gifts, was published in 2005, and she is at work on another novel set in the same place, the Western Shore, to be published in 2006.
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