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The Yin-Yang Allegory in “On the Ice”
Mar. 26th, 2013 03:27 pmThe Taoist yin-yang symbol is the central allegorical theme of The Left Hand of Darkness, hence the title of the book. Chapter 18, “On the Ice,” contains a distillation of this theme.
The yin-yang symbol is a circle divided into black and white teardrop halves, with each half containing a small spot of the opposite colour. White is on the left side, and black on the right. The smaller spots within each half symbolize the interdependent nature of these opposites*.
Within this chapter, the tent acts as the spot of opposition within the great expanse. A physical representation of yin-yang is shown with death and cold outside the tent, and life and warmth inside. However, even this spot is a smaller version of the ying-yang symbol, for within this tiny spot of warmth, even smaller portions of opposition may be found: “needles of icy air blew in” (264), and the darkness is peppered with snow motes.
A mental representation of yin-yang is also shown. Love exists within the tent, and hatred without (268). The mental/spiritual manifestation continues with Estraven's prayer for “darkness unfinished” (264).
Mental and physical representations manifest simultaneously. Ai coalesces the physical/mental through verbal/telepathic communication with Estraven, and Estraven amalgamates yin-yang by voicing a prayer for darkness unfinished. Just as darkness unfinished contains light, light unfinished contains darkness, and the reader is given a representational description of the yin-yang symbol.
The chapter culminates with a literal demonstration of the disorientation caused by imbalance. When Estraven and Ai enter the Unshadow, orientation is restored only when darkness, the right hand of light, comes “hulking out of the void” (281). With this spot of darkness in the light, they recover their vestibular sense along with their directional bearings.
Through these examples, the allegory of the yin-yang in The Left Hand of Darkness is coalesced in “On the Ice.”
( Works cited )
The yin-yang symbol is a circle divided into black and white teardrop halves, with each half containing a small spot of the opposite colour. White is on the left side, and black on the right. The smaller spots within each half symbolize the interdependent nature of these opposites*.
Within this chapter, the tent acts as the spot of opposition within the great expanse. A physical representation of yin-yang is shown with death and cold outside the tent, and life and warmth inside. However, even this spot is a smaller version of the ying-yang symbol, for within this tiny spot of warmth, even smaller portions of opposition may be found: “needles of icy air blew in” (264), and the darkness is peppered with snow motes.
A mental representation of yin-yang is also shown. Love exists within the tent, and hatred without (268). The mental/spiritual manifestation continues with Estraven's prayer for “darkness unfinished” (264).
Mental and physical representations manifest simultaneously. Ai coalesces the physical/mental through verbal/telepathic communication with Estraven, and Estraven amalgamates yin-yang by voicing a prayer for darkness unfinished. Just as darkness unfinished contains light, light unfinished contains darkness, and the reader is given a representational description of the yin-yang symbol.
The chapter culminates with a literal demonstration of the disorientation caused by imbalance. When Estraven and Ai enter the Unshadow, orientation is restored only when darkness, the right hand of light, comes “hulking out of the void” (281). With this spot of darkness in the light, they recover their vestibular sense along with their directional bearings.
Through these examples, the allegory of the yin-yang in The Left Hand of Darkness is coalesced in “On the Ice.”
( Works cited )
