Le Guin's the left hand of darkness: A critique Dubey Poonam1 1Associate professor, Dept. of English, D. S. N. College, Unnao, Email: poonamdubey223@yahoo.com.in Online Published on 23 May, 2022. Abstract The Left Hand of Darkness is a science fiction that depicts a futuristic society. Le Guin, in the novel, seeks to explore a society sans men and women, where individuals are ambisexual both biologically and emotionally. It depicts Gethenians in the distant future who are asexual during Somer and take on gender roles during Kemmer (a brief period of sexual activity and fertility) in which their sexual organ and desire grow. The novel is a heuristic device, a kind of thought experiment that is marked by the absence of war, exploitation, sexuality and dualism as there is no human division of any kind. Genly Ai comes to Karhide, a place on the cold planet, Winter, to convince people to join Ekumen. But he fails to convince the king and other people. Only Estraven supports his mission and saves his life. The two develop intimate relationship with each-other. By means of Hermaphroditic existence of the people on the planet, Le Guin expresses her desire to establish a society where women are not exploited physically, mentally and otherwise. The present paper seeks to study the novel The Left Hand of Darkness as a science fiction that dreams of a futuristic society that ensures a safe haven for women. Top Keywords Ekumen, Gethen, Kemmer, Winter, Hermaphrodite. Top |