Ahira's Hangar

Me too!! But he's a stubborn old fool! ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

He sure is, he needs a good kick to the seat of his pants. This self-pity of his is not attractive at all.

sigh...oh Ged. *********

"And the glory of the world becomes less than it was."<i></i>

Yes, reading "Tehanu" made me a bit sad. When I read about Tenar I thougt about women that could have make a carrier and they became wives and mothers and they could not make their carriers. But, at the same time they do not mind it very much. Maybe this is trivial interpretation, but I could not stop thinking about it. It is a very good portrait of an ageing woman, too. <i></i>

yes, definately a bit of "midlife crisis" going on for both Ged and Tenar...
In the interview with the author that Highdrake posted, she says that she is "rewarding" Ged in this book...while having a relationship with Tenar, and gaining a dughter in Tehanu can be seen as a reward, I see one heck of a lot of grief and sadness, and punishment for him, too...does anyone else have an opinion on this? Reward or punishment for Ged? or a bit of both? ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Let's not forget what Ged said in The Farthest Shore:Quote:I crave to walk on the mountain, the mountain of Gont, in the forests, in the autumn when the leaves are bright. there is no kingdom like the forests. It is time I went there, went in silence, went alone. And maybe there I would learn at last what no act or art or power can teach me, what I have never learned.He got exactly what he wanted. Without his power, he is learning what it could not teach him. ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

Duchess, I also never saw Ged's fate as "reward", but when the author says "reward" it must be reward.
In no way it can be "punishment". I would rather say "trade-off". Carrier for family (actually you are right that it refers both Tenar and Ged).
That's life: Trust and you're betrayed; don't trust and you betray yourself.<i></i>

Hello to all -- I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to find a forum of Le Guin fans. This is my first post here, so I'm a bit bubbly over it all.

I have been wanting to re-read Tehanu, but decided I should re-read the Earthsea Trilogy first, so I haven't quite made it to Tehanu yet. Still, to find a thread about the story has been a wonderful reminder of why I wanted to re-read it in the first place.

One of the primary things which happened for me when I read Tehanu was the recognition that Le Guin was able to talk about child abuse (or any abuse) in detail, exploring its effects on the survivor, the healing process, the "blame the victim" attitude, the slow empowerment of Tehanu, and more -- ALL without ever getting preachy, or using the lingo of the professionals who deal with abusers and survivors of abuse. Typical of Le Guin, she wrote from the heart of it all, be it Tehanu's experience or Moss's perceptions, and of course did not need to rely on stock phrasing or an over-clinical analysis. Her observations and her wonderful manner with the English language provided all the tools I needed to get a much better insight into abuse than any lecture, article or book has ever imparted.

Plus, it's a darn good story about some characters I always sort of wondered about. Then I found out. Then she wrote more stories. Ahhh...the love a good book... <i></i>

Welcome SisterArtemis, Welcome and True. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Welcome to the Grove, Artemis!!! How'd you find us?

Yes, what you say is so true. Le Guin preaches some real good stuff sometimes, without preaching at all. And since taoism is so big with her, that's one of the things she preaches, and her without-preaching method is the taoist method! ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

Thank you for the welcome, Highdrake. I got here by meandering around, which you can read about over in the Welcome Thread. Looking forward to getting to Tehanu soon, after finishing the first three. I think Tehanu may be my favorite in the Earthsea stories, but one has to read what comes before for the proper set-up, I always think... <i></i>

Have you read past Tehanu yet? ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

I have read both Tales of Earthsea and The Other Wind, though only once thru each. Tehanu I have read twice, and am eager to get to it again. It's been a while, but I seem to remember a couple of short stories scattered in other collections, but maybe I'm confusing that with the stories in Tales of Earthsea.

I have been reading the original trilogy, and am almost to the end of The Tombs of Atuan -- Tenar has just escaped the from the earthquake-driven destruction of the undertomb. It is very interesting to encounter her as a young woman again, to think about the person Le Guin is describing, and translating that to the older farmwife I will encounter again in Tehanu. When I read Tehanu the last couple of times, it had been almost a decade since I'd read the trilogy. It will be most interesting to jump into the story of Tenar and Tehanu so soon after The Tombs of Atuan. If I weren't such a stickler for reading series in order, I might skip The Farthest Shore for now and jump right into the fourth book. But the third volume is a quick read, and I will make myself read it first, and of course I'll enjoy it very much, as well.

One of my biggest memories in reading Tehanu was the sense that the book is written in a very different voice than the original trilogy -- a "story," as opposed to a "tale," you might say, marked primarily by the difference between a voice narrating in everyday english (if you can call Le Guin's graceful prose "everyday") and a voice telling a tale from long long ago in a more formal and stilted language. I was relieved, a couple of pages in, to be reading Le Guin in the style I've grown to love. Tehanu may well be my favorite Earthsea book not simply because of the wonderful story she weaves, but because her prose brought the characters of Tenar and Ged closer to me than the tale-telling of the original trilogy could do.

Plus, I've always been fascinated by those opportunities to look at someone who's been on a bit of a pedastal with a new eye: to know that a wealthy celebrity likes to eat Cheerios in bed while watching Bugs Bunny; to know that a world leader has a fondness for collecting sea shells while walking barefoot at the shore; to know that the famous share with us the common experiences of life, even while dealing with the bigger issues of the world. Jumping from the formality of the stories in the original trilogy, to the intimate understanding of the people, ordinary in their own ways, which is relayed in Tehanu -- that captured my heart and my mind both times I read the book before. To know Tenar and Ged as ordinary villagers, however powerful they might be in other ways, made them "bigger" in my eyes. <i></i>

Oh my goodness! I think we're going to like having your around, Artemis!! What a great way to view these books!!

And, iirc, Tehanu is danlo's favorite also. At least it was before he read Tales and Wind. I don't know if either of those replaced it. ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

A couple of questions on Tehanu, having now slept on it.

...let me know if this should be spoilered to protect future readers to this thread...

Therru/Tehanu...

Was she born such? Did the pushing into the fire happen because of what she was? Or was she changed into such from the abuse?

If the abuse had never happened, would she have ever come into realization of who she was?

Having also finished Dragonfly, I am guessing she would have come to realization without the abuse. But even in that story, it took events that normally did not happen for Dragonfly to become aware of who she was. And for two of such to become aware of themselves in so close a time chronologically!!

Kalessin/Segoy...

The Giver of Names.

He was before the creation of Earthsea, yes? Does that mean he is of the original, non-split dragon-folk? In other words, he is still capable of learning, whereas the other dragons, perhaps even Orm Embar, are/were not?