LeGuin, Ursula K. - Dancing at the Edge of the World

[oyceter]

Collection of LeGuin's essays and speeches and reviews over the late seventies and eighties, I think. The ones I found most interesting were (unsurprisingly) on gender and feminism and on reading. I am rather embarrassed, but I skipped over a lot of the travel ones or the ones with poetry or too much scholarship. I find that while I appreciate poetry, I do not always enjoy it. It's not a fast read for me (ironic, considering the general length) because I feel I have to concentrate on all of it, to figure it out. Too much lit class. Fiction I just devour.

I found some of the earlier ones in particular to subscribe to closely to some sort of gender essentialism, almost, in which the female somehow has some sort of mysterious, earthy connection to the unknown world, in direct contrast to the structured, logical world of the male. I did, however, like her post on gender and lack thereof ("Is Gender Necessary? Redux") in her The Left Hand of Darkness. The first one I pretty much disagreed with (although I haven't read the novel). Well, not most of it, but there was this one point in the essay in which she comments that using "he" as the default for the non-gendered alien beings was gender-neutral. I disagreed with that. Luckily, LeGuin also changed her mind -- the best part was reading the italicized comments, which were added later on, as a sort of commentary on beliefs she no longer believed in (ergo, the redux).

I was also particularly fond of "The Carrier Bag of Fiction." Is that where melymbrosia got the carrier bag theory of blogging? Or is there some original carrier bag theory that both are taking off on? I liked it because it talked about fiction not having to be about action, about fiction that could be about everyday things and such. There are many more thoughts I could be having, but my brain is on a bit of a hiatus right now.

You know, while I liked the original Earthsea trilogy, I was always resentful from the start that only guys could practice magic. Then I was even more resentful when the wise, male Ged gets to rescue Arha/Tenar from darkness... and despite Tenar's coolness as a character, Ged gets to go off and have more grand adventures because he's a mage, while Tenar stays behind and gets married. This is why I liked Tehanu so much, the overturning of the entire male hierarchy of Earthsea, etc.

Comments

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review, Oyce. One to add to the pile.

I know what you mean about the poetry. The ones that work best for me either connect on immediately at an emotional level, or contain references that I am more familar with like the tarot in some Yeats. I am going to miss Angel for this. can't think of any other show where you'd get references to Teddy Bear's Picnic, Othello, and Circus Animals' Desertion all in one episode.

Have a good weekend; I've been enjoying reading your posts, even if I don't have much to say.

[oyceter]

Yes, me too! ee cummings actually works for me most of the time. Something about his phrasing, I don't know.

Thanks! And likewise with you and your poetry and gardening posts -- my general comments are, "Ooooo pretty" ;).

[cofax7]

I was also particularly fond of "The Carrier Bag of Fiction." Is that where melymbrosia got the carrier bag theory of blogging? Or is there some original carrier bag theory that both are taking off on?

Yes, and yes.

It's derived from the carrier bag theory of culture, and I think LeGuin refers to it in the essay. Traditional archaeology proposed that the first tools were weapons -- knifes, clubs, etc. The bone used to bonk the other guy on the head in 2001. This is supported by the archaeological record, because bones, stones, etc., do survive for millenia under later deposits.

However the carrier bag theory holds that the first tools were more likely to be things you could carry things in. Bags, buckets, flasks. Things to make a nomadic lifestyle easier. A baby sling. These would all be made out of flimsier, more organic material, much less likely to survive in the archaeological record for later generations to discover them. They're also far less romantic than chipped flint tools used to hunt saber tooth tigers.

Comparing the two theories, you'll see where the rise of feminist anthropology would support the carrier bag theory: it's more egalitarian, respects the role of women, and shows more emphasis on gathering in hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

[oyceter]

Ahhh, thanks!

There was a nice recent webchat with Le Guin by the Guardian

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Here. (http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/sciencefiction/story/0,6000,1144428,00.html)

Nice titbit on Tehanu:

From a woman's point of view, Earthsea looked quite different than it did from a man's point of view. All I had to do was describe it from the point of view of the powerless, the disempowered - women, children, a wizard who has spent his gift and must live as an "ordinary" man. The same place, but how changed it seems! Some people hate the book for that. They scold me for punishing Ged. I think I was rewarding him.

Re: There was a nice recent webchat with Le Guin by the Guardian

[oyceter]

Oh yeah, I remember reading that a while back! I very much agreed with what she was saying about Earthsea.