#TheStruggleIsReal

The cold of Winter is a constant reminder of how isolated and lonely Genly Ai feels. Genly is alien to the planet, so his body was not made to endure its extremely low temperatures. Because of this, he is always layering up, which makes him even more noticeable to the citizens. Since Gethenian bodies are adapted to the frigid temperatures, they do not understand how severe the weather feels to him, again, making him feel like an outsider. I noticed that when writers are writing about a sad topic, they often make the setting gloomy to evoke our emotions and force us to picture said gloomy setting. To build on the theme of loneliness, Genly is, as I said, an alien to Winter; therefore, he is not accustomed to their androgynous society. To further explain Genly’s isolation, his mind is so used to the typical “male” and “female” way of life, that he never fully grasps and holds the idea that nobody he meets is specifically male or female, causing him to feel out of place in this cold society. “Cold society” referring to both the weather and attitudes of the people. Another character that adds to the theme of isolation is Estraven because he is banished from Karhide and is forced to live in isolation from his child and everyone/everything he ever knew. In chapter two, the setting, for the most part, is in the freezing cold and includes Getheran going “... alone through the storm.” and the imagery of his limbs becoming frostbitten (pg. 25)