Thoughts on “The Left Hand of Darkness” by Ursula K. Leguin

I recently read ‘The left hand of darkness’ by Ursula K. Leguin, and this story I think is a great example of one of the core purposes of science fiction: social commentary. This story to me spoke about how we as humans identify ourselves through our gender. The male / female dualism of the species in the story highlights how we interact with each other and where those interactions come from. Identity, I think, forms a large part of person’s life journey: discovering who you are and what you want, are two of the most important and difficult questions anyone can ask of themselves. This story clearly showed an alternate lifestyle, way of life, motivations and relationships – all derived from a different mixture of intersex relations. I felt that this had the power to make a reader re-evaluate their lifestyle, way of life, relationships and motivations that root themselves in the separation and distinction of the two sexes.