The Hurdles in the Journey of Love: Genly Ai's Character Development Anonymous 11th Grade

“Neither man nor woman, neither and both, cyclic, lunar, metamorphosing under the hand’s touch, changelings in the human cradle, they were no flesh of mine, no friends; no love between us” (229). Genly Ai doesn’t think that he will ever be friends with the alien named Estraven because Genly Ai has firm personal prejudices acquired from Earth. On his journey to Gethen, an unfamiliar planet, Genly Ai discovers that the Gethenians challenge his ways of thinking. In Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin describes Genly Ai’s journey to overcome the barriers of gender, fear, trust and communication that prevent him from forming a loving friendship with Estraven, a genuine Gethenian. Ultimately, Genly Ai finds that although interpersonal differences can be a barrier to a loving relationship, they are essential to it.

Genly Ai’s shock of the gender and sexuality differences prevents him from developing any relationships upon arriving on Gethen with a mission to form an alliance between Gethen and Ekumen, an organization of eighty-three worlds including Earth. All Gethenians are referred to as “he” and are mostly male until they enter a kemmer period when a feminine side emerges. During this time, a Gethenian can find a partner, and in...