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Due to a variety of factors (computer trouble, intensely busy at work, and, oh yeah, growing a new human), I'm way behind on posting books. Like 3-4 weeks behind. I'm going to try to catch up gradually with a few posts a day (because of course I have things I want to say about each book, which takes time, and none of the aforementioned issues have gone away).
So, The Tombs of Atuan was one of my favorite Earthsea novels, although on the first read I felt conflicted because, it seemed to me, the central plot revolved around our male hero coercing the heroine to give up her lifestyle and power to help him out and then abandoning her. I felt differently on the second read: the cruelty and evil of the Nameless Ones came through more strongly this time, I felt, and the injustice of her life, and the fact that, rather than being coerced, she was put into a situation where she had to make a choice, and she chose freely. The issue of giving up her power is still a valid one, I think--the gods in question may or may not be evil, and may or may not deserve to be served or worshipped, but she did have great power as their priestess, which she gave away to help the first man who walked into her life. But if she had stayed there, dealing with the boredom and darkness combined with her power over the course of her lifetime, she would have ended up just as warped as the other priestess. She made a choice, and she chose to take the only way out she'd ever been presented with. On the issue of Ged abandoning her, I still felt a bit, but much less strongly this time. Knowing Ged a little better this time around, I understood a little more that he couldn't stay in one place, let alone give Tenar the normal life she would come to want. The trueness of his affection for her shone through a little more for me this time. I still love this book, and I think I enjoyed it more this time around; I would still give it to my daughter to read, although I'd want to talk over these issues with her after she read it.
So, The Tombs of Atuan was one of my favorite Earthsea novels, although on the first read I felt conflicted because, it seemed to me, the central plot revolved around our male hero coercing the heroine to give up her lifestyle and power to help him out and then abandoning her. I felt differently on the second read: the cruelty and evil of the Nameless Ones came through more strongly this time, I felt, and the injustice of her life, and the fact that, rather than being coerced, she was put into a situation where she had to make a choice, and she chose freely. The issue of giving up her power is still a valid one, I think--the gods in question may or may not be evil, and may or may not deserve to be served or worshipped, but she did have great power as their priestess, which she gave away to help the first man who walked into her life. But if she had stayed there, dealing with the boredom and darkness combined with her power over the course of her lifetime, she would have ended up just as warped as the other priestess. She made a choice, and she chose to take the only way out she'd ever been presented with. On the issue of Ged abandoning her, I still felt a bit, but much less strongly this time. Knowing Ged a little better this time around, I understood a little more that he couldn't stay in one place, let alone give Tenar the normal life she would come to want. The trueness of his affection for her shone through a little more for me this time. I still love this book, and I think I enjoyed it more this time around; I would still give it to my daughter to read, although I'd want to talk over these issues with her after she read it.
