Ursula K. Leguin's The Left Hand Of Darkness

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The Bible has different meanings for everyone. Some read its pages and put their faith in them; others read it and believe that it is simply a book full of stories. There are others, however, who may not believe everything within the book, but they still account for the book being a historical reference. The Left Hand of Darkness contains several biblical references, although they do not always seem to be intentional. Some of these references may be a subtle mention of a name, while others may be wrapped in something as obvious as the title of the novel. Ursula K. Leguin creates a society in which war is not present and technology is not in an advanced stage. It is hard for us to imagine such a society. These people live a more natural…show more content…
This, however, was against Karhide law. The law stated that brothers could vow kemmering until a child was born to the two of them. After the birth of the child, the brothers could no longer kemmer together. The brothers had to separate. These particular brothers had a difficult time following this law. A child was born and the king demanded that the brothers no longer kemmer with one another. The brother who bore the child could not take the separation. He could not be comforted. In his despair, he obtained “poison, [and he] committed suicide” (Leguin 15). The brother who was still living, was blamed for the suicide, or as everyone else viewed it: murder. This story relates to the story of two brothers in the book of Genesis, found in the Bible. Cain and Abel, the first siblings on Earth, were involved in the first murder recorded in history. The brothers, who were the sons of Adam and Eve, brought sacrifices before God. God viewed Abel’s sacrifice as favorable, but He did not view Cain’s offering in the same way. Cain became angry and envious. He took action, and Cain “attacked his brother Abel and killed him” (Genesis 4:8). Cain was blamed for his brother’s death, and God made him a wanderer of the earth. The brother in The Left Hand of Darkness, who was viewed as responsible for the other brother’s suicide, was also forced to wander, going from “place to place he went until he saw that there was no kindness left for him in his own land, and his crime would not be forgiven” (Leguin 15). The wandering brother in The Left Hand of Darkness would change his name to Ennoch so that people would not recognize him as Getheren of Shath. In the Bible, Cain would become the father to a son, Enoch (Genesis
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