A Wizard of Earthsea

I remember in elementary school we were required to read Ursula K. LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea. Per usual when is comes to books I’ve been forced to read I formed the idea that it was not a good book and I didn’t like it at all. The only thing I actually remember from that first read was learning the word archipelago. Not exactly something to base a life long dislike on. However I am happy to report that thanks to my boyfriend’s urging I gave A Wizard of Earthsea another shot, and boy am I happy that I did. Not only did I discover a novel filled with utterly beautiful prose but I realized what LeGuin was trying to show her readers through a seemingly simple tale of a young mage.

            I’m sure you’re yelling at your computer screen right now, “What was she trying to show? What is this great and mysterious point?” Well, brace yourselves. Here goes a full on BA in English explanation. We are all going to die. The sooner we accept that most basic fact of life, acknowledge our own mortality and make it a part of ourselves, the sooner we truly begin to live. It is simple, but true and LeGuin takes an entire novel to explore and explain this truth.

LeGuin gives her protagonist Ged a strange shadow beast that he released into the world as an arrogant child as his mortality materialized. The entire novel centers on Ged’s search to find the shadow that haunts him and threatens him, darkening his entire life until that ultimate moment when he finds the creature and speaks its true name. LeGuin’s plot relies heavily upon the age-old fantasy trope of everything and every person having a true name that may be used by mages to hold power over it. A man only tells his true name to those he trusts most, and thus when Ged speaks the shadows name he finally masters it and holds it in his power. By mastering his mortality he brings light back into his life, not vanquishing death but accepting it as a part of his soul and the eventuality of time. Because I am a Harry Potter nerd I will draw this comparison. LeGuin is using a concept similar to the end of Deathly Hallows, where Harry must sacrifice himself and accept death in order to truly overcome the “shadow” (read Voldemort) that haunts and threatens him. By allowing himself to face the possibility of death and claim it as his own Harry defeats Voldemort and goes on to (we hope) lead a life that is more enlightened by the truth of mortality.

But enough English major babble and theory. When all is said and done A Wizard of Earthsea is a beautifully written story. LeGuin’s prose is more like poetry as she deftly creates a world of island kingdoms and inhabits that world with characters that are richly varied. Occasionally the plot and Ged’s brooding upon how to defeat his shadow borders on repetitive, but I’m of the opinion LeGuin is trying to hammer a point home. Perhaps that is why I was made to read the novel as a rather young child. The main theme is made obvious for those who are willing to see it.

I liked that LeGuin also works through a range of emotions with Ged. True, he is most often the dark and brooding hero, mysterious with his great power, but he starts out as an arrogant and prideful boy. The reader sees him be clever, develop a friendship that could be described as true platonic love, and even flirt a bit, although Ged has no idea what he’s doing in that arena. He shows compassion for other men and animals in particular and redeems the arrogance of his youth by taking responsibility for his actions. I’d say he is a fine character for young people to read and learn from, and even adults too. I certainly had my eyes opened.

I have two complaints about the novel and one I will admit is rather trivial. There is a particular animal that I, and I’m sure most other readers, come to love and it doesn’t make it to the end of the novel. It was like Hedwig dying all over again. Very sad. My more legitimate complaint is that women are very much secondary characters throughout the novel. Yes, LeGuin wrote this in the 1970’s, female fantasy protagonists weren’t exactly the norm yet, but it still irks me that every woman presented is either incredibly simplified or carries some kind of threat because they use magic for dark purposes. Men are established as higher than women in his society, the only ones taught magic and naming and the only ones expected to wield power. This fact won’t take away from the story and I only mention it because of my study of female characters in fantasy works. Otherwise I highly recommend A Wizard of Earthsea and look forward to hunting down the sequels and seeing if they live up to the first.