Ai's Alienation

As readers, we immediately recognize how much negative attention Genly gets because of his physical appearance (8), which makes him feel like an alien; even more so when he is so used to his own personal habits and societal norms from Ekumen. Genly Ai is an obvious outsider in Gethen, and never really gets used to the foreign culture on the planet - the androgynous humans, the ~spooky~ religions, and especially the act of kemmer. Simultaneously, the native Gethenians never get used to Genly either. They constantly give him a hard time because of his “foreign” ways, and never understand him just as he will never understand Gethenians. Just as the Gethenian lifestyle is foreign to Genly, it is foreign to us readers as well. The world that Genly comes from is one that is similar to Earth, so as readers we can feel the discomfort that Genly goes through while he’s in Gethen. I think that the world that Genly comes from is more diverse in all aspects of life, so when he goes to Gethen he feels a bit suffocated because of how uncomfortably similar everyone is. The author allows us to experience the foreignity of Gethen with Genly. Even though Genly has lived in Gethen for some time, the Gethenian “normal” never really becomes “normal” throughout the book, so there is a constant struggle for Genly to live comfortably without judgement. I think the theme of alienation is a common theme for science fiction novels, but it is even more prevalent to the reader because we are in the same shoes as Genly, and can easily understand how strange Gethen is to him.