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The Left Hand of Darkness · 1969
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Le Guin turns the prophecy trope upside down: the Foretellers can see the future, and Faxe argues the useful thing is the uncertainty. Knowing would end the questions that make people live and choose. Readers quote it as a calm answer to anxiety about the future, and as a mark of how much Le Guin's science fiction cared about faith and mystery.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Left Hand of DarknessShow the scene
Genly Ai, the envoy of the Ekumen, travels through Karhide on the frozen world of Gethen and visits a Fastness of the Handdarata, one of its two main religions. He pays for a Foretelling, an art meant to show the uselessness of knowing the answer to the wrong question. Ai asks whether Gethen will join the Ekumen within five years and, expecting an evasion, is told yes. Faxe, the Weaver, one of the Foretellers, explains that what keeps life possible is not knowing what comes next.
Sources (2)
- The Left Hand of Darkness, WikipediaPlot summary, Ai's travel through KarhideReference checked
- The Left Hand of Darkness, WikipediaReceptionReference checked
Context reviewed