Shevek asks him if they are Odonians, he says, “Partly. It functions as a symbolic division. And I want to see the best survive. Not from vested authority, there isn’t any. He becomes antisocial. Freedom is never very safe.”. The two have been communicating by letter for years and discussing their theories.  (, “如果不害怕，不逃避，也许人可以升华，发现在痛苦之上还有一种东西存在。挣扎受苦的是人的自我，而在那里（痛苦之上），自我已经不复存在。我不知如何描述，然而我相信——我在挣扎苦痛中才能意识到舒适幸福时不能明白的这个事实——我相信痛苦的真面目并非痛苦。只要你能够... "You ask questions like a true profiteer," Shevek said, and not a soul there knew he had insulted Dearri with the most contemptuous word in his vocabulary; indeed Dearri nodded a bit, accepting the compliment with satisfaction. There is no property ownership of any kind. At first he says no, because he thinks of the wives the men have on Urras and how the men think of it as ownership, then he corrects it by saying he has a ‘partner.’ She asks him to visit her at her home someday.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'bookreports_info-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_1',122,'0','0'])); Shevek often fears that he is becoming too accustomed to his life in Urras. They owned him. As are the ecological differences between the two: an alien and desert Annares, prone to drought and famine, and a Urras seemingly gifted with a lush abundance of flora and fauna. The Left Hand of Darkness. 209–220 in Palumbo, ed.. Jim Villani, "The Woman Science Fiction Writer and the Non-Heroic Male Protagonist", pp. . Bedap notices that as Rulag begins to speak, she continually stares at, ...no longer being rationed. Book-ended by two short chapters on the paired planet and moon, there is an alternating sequence of six chapters actioned on Shevek's home moon of Anarres and five chapters actioned on Urras. His supervisor laid claim to his work and erected more walls around him. “Are you sure you want to walk through this wall with me, Ketho? .

He puts a tourniquet on the wound and wants to call for help.

Yet as Shevek gradually learns, both have scientific communities where his brilliance as a scientific fore-runner cannot protect him from exploitation. They knew no relation but possession. You live in prison, die in prison. [27], The theory Shevek is working on in the novel seeks to tie together the seemingly contradictory natures of Simultaneity and Sequentiality in temporal physics.

We must go on. He is a spy from the Thuvians. It is set in the Hainish Cycle universe. The sexual freedom on Anarres also contributes to the book's feminist message. Because our men and women are free—possessing nothing, they are free. The two men go before the PDC and try to get them to allow people from Urras to come to Anarres and people from Anarres to go to Urras.

...panels on the walls opens them to reveal a toilet, sink, desk, closet, and shelves.

There he finds poverty that had been kept hidden from him. The chapters alternate between the two planets and between the present and the past. A black cellar full of dust, and a dead man.