Monday, February 5, 2018
Brotherly Love
In chapter 2, The Place Inside the Blizzard on page 23, there is a story about two brothers whose names were Hode and Getheren. They aren't ordinary brothers, these bros fall in love during kemmer. In Winter, bros normally just commit kemmer with feelings unattached. The rules in Winter state that brothers can stay in kemmer, a sexually active state, until the female brother produces an off spring. This shows that incest is okay and common in their culture and that loving your brother sexually is also ok and having kids with your brother is also ok! However, the rule also states that you also must drop and forget about the bro after the deed is done and you can't vow kemmer or "marry" your brother. This makes the Gethenian community similar to ours because it is also illegal to marry your brother here in California. However, Hode and Getheren decided to vow kemmer and Lord Shath tells them to separate. Then, Home decides to commit suicide which is also against the law in Winter. It is also illegal in California too! These all relate to the real world and also connects back to the plot because later on we find out that Estraven had a relationship with his brother who was his first and real vow. The Gethenian culture is filled with craziness and lots of brotherly love. The myth continues and explains that Hode goes to a land where people go after they commit suicide. Getheren finds him, and Hode asks him to stay but he refuses because Hode broke the promise when he committed suicide. Home tries to hold Getheren back but he manages to escape and he deals with a injury and has to amputate his left arm. This can also relate to the book in general because the book is called The Left Hand of Darkness.
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I like that you found incest being illegal in our world and on Gethen to be a similarity. Though, I'm not sure I've heard anything about suicide being illegal anywhere. Anyway, it's interesting to see even though Gethen has made it difficult to sexually discriminate anybody, incest is one of the things that can be found odd or rebellious even if those involved try to vow kemmer to one another. Here, we've just recently opened up to the idea of gay marriage, something that was once illegal to do just like vowing kemmer to a brother is on Gethen. In a sense, I think this plays into how society on Gethen , though distant, has developed similar to Earth societies' definition of what's right or wrong. It's also the sense of doing something wrong in society that sometimes leads people to do crazy things like suicide. Maybe Gethen and Earth aren't as different as they seem after all.
ReplyDeleteFrom the few articles I've read, suicide (or even attempted suicide)
Deleteis considered a crime. It sounds odd, but I guess it's true. Like Gethan, many religions view suicide as a "sin" and you can be criminalized According to Mr. Geddy, people sometimes commit suicide due to financial burdens (among many other reasons I'm sure), thinking it will ease up, but it doesn't. The government just piles all the financial stuff onto remaining family.