Love Over Loyalty

In Gethenian culture, love is an incredibly powerful aspect of life. Whether it is the love for one's nation or love for another, it is a clear and established theme within the story as can be seen in various occasions throughout the story. However, there is a distinct difference between the love of one's nation and the love for one another, the latter of which is much stronger. This can be seen in the myth of Stokven and Estraven in Chapter Nine. In this story, we find two lords of opposing factions meeting one another by chance. Their interactions are short, lasting only a few days. But in this short time, they vowed Kemmer with one another; pledging eternal love with each other despite being of opposing factions-- not unlike our story of Romeo and Juliet. Which, I believe, is not a coincidence; I believe Le Guin purposely drew this parallel to emphasize the bonds of Kemmer. Soon after Estraven's death in this parable, we see that the Lord of Stok takes action against the men (?) in question-- men who were of the same faction as Stokven. From this action, we clearly see that the bond created by Kemmer is much stronger than that of the faction. Even years after the event, we see Stokven caring for his her Estraven's child, who had become the leader of Estre. This parable not only emphasizes the bond of Kemmer, but also the pointlessness of feuds between factions. It alludes to a  battle that hurts everyone, yet benefits no one-- just like the feud between Karhide and Orgoreyn.