Gethen
Encyclopedia
Gethen is a fiction
al planet
in Ursula K. Le Guin
's Ekumen
universe. It is the setting for her science fiction
novel
The Left Hand of Darkness
.
and a human-compatible atmosphere (the Earth envoy sent there shows no sign of discomfort). Because of its cold climate, the planet is sometimes called "Winter".
Gethen's axis is not tilted
(as is the case with Earth), but a relatively high orbital eccentricity produces global seasons. At the time of the story, Gethen is in the midst of an Ice Age
(some local scientists believe it is near the end). The poles and a large portion of the land around them are permanently covered with glacier
s, and even in the inhabited areas the climate can be extremely cold. In some places it is impossible to travel in winter, since the snow covers all roads. A summer day at 30 degrees Celsius is compared (by a Gethenian) to being inside a furnace.
, the species that "seeded" many worlds in the Ekumen
with humanoid lifeforms.)
The inhabitants of Gethen are androgynes
, biologically hermaphroditic humans; for approximately three weeks of each month they are biologically neuter, and for the remaining week are male or female, as determined by pheromonal negotiation with an interested sex partner. Thus each individual can both sire and bear children.
As for their appearance, Le Guin explains;
its primary star once every 0.96 Earth years (8401 Earth hours). The planet rotates around its axis in 23.08 earth hours, so a Gethenian year consists of 364 local days.
The only natural satellite of the planet revolves around it in 26 local days, which constitutes a month. The year is divided into 14 of these lunar months. By fortunate coincidence, the deviation between this lunisolar calendar
and the true solar year is small enough to require a correction only once every 200 years. Thus the days are synchronized with the moon phase every month.
Each day in a month has a unique name. Days are not grouped in weeks, but the month is evenly divided in two halves of 13 days each (the names of the days in the second half are derived regularly from those of the first half).
Gethenians further divide each day into ten parts or "hours", the first one starting at noon.
A very curious concept of dating is employed in Gethen, though this is only explained briefly in the book: the years are not numbered sequentially in increasing order, but the current year is always referred to as "Year One", and the others are counted as years before or after this standpoint. Historical records employ well-known events to mark (fixed) past dates.
The planet is covered with ice everywhere beyond 45 degrees, and often down to 30 degrees.
. It gives their myths and legends, set amidst the story of a visitor from Earth.
Winter's King
is a short story written earlier. It tells the story of Argaven, a Gethenian who visits another planet.
Coming of Age in Karhide
was written 25 or 30 years later. It takes place after the events of Winter's King. It is mostly about an ordinary Gethenian discovering sex.
Another short story, The Shobies' Story
, has Gethenians as part of a mixed Ekumen
expedition to a new planet. Since they are now integrated into the Ekumen, it must take place after the other tales. In yet another tale, "Solitude
", collected in The Birthday of the World
, features a Gethenian scholar on an expedition.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
in Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's Ekumen
Ekumen
The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of them are not set on the planet Hain, but have it as a distant background...
universe. It is the setting for her science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe....
.
The planet
Gethen appears to have a surface gravity more or less similar to EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and a human-compatible atmosphere (the Earth envoy sent there shows no sign of discomfort). Because of its cold climate, the planet is sometimes called "Winter".
Gethen's axis is not tilted
Axial tilt
In astronomy, axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotational axis, and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane...
(as is the case with Earth), but a relatively high orbital eccentricity produces global seasons. At the time of the story, Gethen is in the midst of an Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
(some local scientists believe it is near the end). The poles and a large portion of the land around them are permanently covered with glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s, and even in the inhabited areas the climate can be extremely cold. In some places it is impossible to travel in winter, since the snow covers all roads. A summer day at 30 degrees Celsius is compared (by a Gethenian) to being inside a furnace.
The people
Gethenians are physically and culturally adapted to cold; they tend to be of robust build and short stature, and they are familiar with the caloric yield of many different types of food. (The physical adaptations might be a product of genetic manipulation by the HainHain (planet)
Hain is a fictional planet that plays an important background role in the science fiction novels of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. It is described more closely in some later short stories. It is the oldest culture in both the League of Worlds and later the Ekumen and is about 140 Light Years...
, the species that "seeded" many worlds in the Ekumen
Ekumen
The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of them are not set on the planet Hain, but have it as a distant background...
with humanoid lifeforms.)
The inhabitants of Gethen are androgynes
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
, biologically hermaphroditic humans; for approximately three weeks of each month they are biologically neuter, and for the remaining week are male or female, as determined by pheromonal negotiation with an interested sex partner. Thus each individual can both sire and bear children.
As for their appearance, Le Guin explains;
- In my first big science fiction novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, the only person from Earth is a black man, and everybody else in the book is Inuit (or Tibetan) brown.
Calendar and timekeeping
Gethen orbitsOrbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...
its primary star once every 0.96 Earth years (8401 Earth hours). The planet rotates around its axis in 23.08 earth hours, so a Gethenian year consists of 364 local days.
The only natural satellite of the planet revolves around it in 26 local days, which constitutes a month. The year is divided into 14 of these lunar months. By fortunate coincidence, the deviation between this lunisolar calendar
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
and the true solar year is small enough to require a correction only once every 200 years. Thus the days are synchronized with the moon phase every month.
Each day in a month has a unique name. Days are not grouped in weeks, but the month is evenly divided in two halves of 13 days each (the names of the days in the second half are derived regularly from those of the first half).
Gethenians further divide each day into ten parts or "hours", the first one starting at noon.
A very curious concept of dating is employed in Gethen, though this is only explained briefly in the book: the years are not numbered sequentially in increasing order, but the current year is always referred to as "Year One", and the others are counted as years before or after this standpoint. Historical records employ well-known events to mark (fixed) past dates.
Cartography
Gethen has four continents and an archipelago. Two of the continents, Orgoreyn and Karhide, are connected. The action of the novel takes place here. Map. The other continents are Sith and the Antarctic continent, Perunter.The planet is covered with ice everywhere beyond 45 degrees, and often down to 30 degrees.
Appearances in Le Guin's fiction
The main description of the people and culture is The Left Hand of DarknessThe Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe....
. It gives their myths and legends, set amidst the story of a visitor from Earth.
Winter's King
Winter's King
"Winter's King" is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, originally published in the September 1969 issue of Orbit, a fiction anthology. The story is part of the Hainish Cycle and explores topics such as the human effect of space travel at nearly the speed of light, as well as religious and...
is a short story written earlier. It tells the story of Argaven, a Gethenian who visits another planet.
Coming of Age in Karhide
The Birthday of the World
The Birthday of the World is a collection of short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin, and first published in March, 2002 by HarperCollins. All of the stories except "Paradises Lost" were previously published individually elsewhere....
was written 25 or 30 years later. It takes place after the events of Winter's King. It is mostly about an ordinary Gethenian discovering sex.
Another short story, The Shobies' Story
The Shobies' Story
The Shobies' Story is a 1990 science fiction novella by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, describing a society in which consensus matters more than individual viewpoints. The Shobies' Story posits a reality that emerges as the sum of what all the participants say: a meta-narrative, a...
, has Gethenians as part of a mixed Ekumen
Ekumen
The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories of Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of them are not set on the planet Hain, but have it as a distant background...
expedition to a new planet. Since they are now integrated into the Ekumen, it must take place after the other tales. In yet another tale, "Solitude
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
", collected in The Birthday of the World
The Birthday of the World
The Birthday of the World is a collection of short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin, and first published in March, 2002 by HarperCollins. All of the stories except "Paradises Lost" were previously published individually elsewhere....
, features a Gethenian scholar on an expedition.