Myst Warrior
08-12-2006, 11:24 AM
Recently, I read through all four books of the Earthsea cycle. The books were wonderfully written, and LeGuin has a great writing talent. At the end, however, I was left with a few thoughts/questions and would like to hear other's thoughts on them.(spoilertext for the questions)
1. Why was Ged's shadow able to physically hurt him when it first came into being, but unable to later except through others?
2. What exactly was Therru/Tehanu? I don't think she could be Kalessin's daughter, since dragons can't speak English, and she's a normal woman's daughter, so she isn't dragonkin. At this point I'm leaning toward a "she was crazy and read Ogion's books" theory.
3. How did Aspen figure out Tenar's true name? I mean, everyone always refers to her as Goha, don't they? Since his curse was obviously VERY strong, and seemed to strip her of rational thought, he kinda would have needed it.
4. Since magic revolved around knowing the names of things, how did Ged lose his powers by sealing the gate? I would think if he had lost all knowledge of names, he would have been reduced to a dribbling vegetable, not just a loser.
5. Why was Ged bound by the same spell that affected Tenar? Aspen clearly didn't know his true name, and Ged could have just called for help.
6. Why couldn't Tenar think in Kargish, like she did before?
7. Why didn't the Godking get revenge on the Central Islands for them destroying his temple?
8. If Ged could re-name anyone, why didn't he just have a mage do that to him? Wouldn't it have returned his power, just like it did the old woman's?
I'm looking foward to seeing just what other people thought about the unanswered questions LeGuin left for us to gnaw at...
1. Why was Ged's shadow able to physically hurt him when it first came into being, but unable to later except through others?
2. What exactly was Therru/Tehanu? I don't think she could be Kalessin's daughter, since dragons can't speak English, and she's a normal woman's daughter, so she isn't dragonkin. At this point I'm leaning toward a "she was crazy and read Ogion's books" theory.
3. How did Aspen figure out Tenar's true name? I mean, everyone always refers to her as Goha, don't they? Since his curse was obviously VERY strong, and seemed to strip her of rational thought, he kinda would have needed it.
4. Since magic revolved around knowing the names of things, how did Ged lose his powers by sealing the gate? I would think if he had lost all knowledge of names, he would have been reduced to a dribbling vegetable, not just a loser.
5. Why was Ged bound by the same spell that affected Tenar? Aspen clearly didn't know his true name, and Ged could have just called for help.
6. Why couldn't Tenar think in Kargish, like she did before?
7. Why didn't the Godking get revenge on the Central Islands for them destroying his temple?
8. If Ged could re-name anyone, why didn't he just have a mage do that to him? Wouldn't it have returned his power, just like it did the old woman's?
I'm looking foward to seeing just what other people thought about the unanswered questions LeGuin left for us to gnaw at...