Tehanu

1990 fantasy novel by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tehanu

Cover of 2012 edition (hardcover) with corrected title.

Author| Ursula K. Le Guin
Language| English
Series| Earthsea
Genre| Fantasy
Published| 1990 (Atheneum), 2012 (Saga)
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages| 226
Award| Nebula Award for Best Novel (1990), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (1991)
ISBN| 0-689-31595-3
OCLC| 19975630

Dewey Decimal

| [Fic] 20
LC Class| PZ7.L5215 Te 1990
Preceded by| The Farthest Shore
Followed by| Tales from Earthsea

Tehanu /təˈhɑːnuː/,[1] initially subtitled The Last Book of Earthsea, is a fantasy novel by the American author Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Atheneum in 1990. It is the fourth novel set in the fictional archipelago Earthsea, published almost twenty years after the first three Earthsea novels (1968–1972), and not the last, despite its subtitle.[2][a] It won the annual Nebula Award for Best Novel[3] and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.[4]

Tehanu continues the stories of Tenar, the heroine of the second book of the Earthsea series The Tombs of Atuan, and Ged, the hero of the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea.

## Plot Summary

[edit]

Tehanu begins slightly before the conclusion of the previous book in the series, The Farthest Shore, and provides some information about the life of Tenar after the end of The Tombs of Atuan. She had rejected the option of life in aristocratic Havnor, and instead arrived on Gont. For some time she lived with Ged's old master, the mage Ogion – but though fond of him, rejected Ogion's offer to teach her magic. Instead, she married a farmer called Flint with whom she had two children, called Apple and Spark, and became known to the locals as Goha. It is mentioned that Ged was a bit disappointed in – and did not understand – Tenar's choice of a life.

At the book's outset, her husband is now dead and her children grown up. Tenar lives on her own at Flint's property - Oak Farm - and is lonely and uncertain of her identity. She is brought a severely injured child, born of wandering vagabonds; the child's natural father had pushed her into a campfire and left her for dead. Tenar helps to save the child's life, but the child is left with one side of her face permanently scarred and the fingers of one hand fused into a claw. Tenar adopts her and gives the child the use name Therru, which means "flame" in Tenar's native Kargish language.

Tenar learns that Ogion is on his deathbed and has asked to see her. She sets out to visit him at his house outside the town of Re Albi, taking Therru with her. On the way, she encounters a group of ruffians, one of whom is Handy, who was involved in the original attempt on Therru's life, and claims to be her uncle. She stays with Ogion, tending to him in his last days. He instructs her to teach Therru, but his instructions are vague, and hint at her being more than she seems. After his death, she stays on at his cottage, assisted by a local witch called Moss and a simple village girl called Heather. A few days after Ogion's death, Ged (also called Sparrowhawk) arrives on the back of the dragon Kalessin, unconscious and near death. Ged – once the Archmage of Roke – has spent all his wizard's powers in sealing the gap between the worlds of the living and the dead created by the evil wizard Cob. She nurses him back to health, but when the new king Lebannen sends envoys to bring him back to Havnor for the coronation, Ged cannot face them. He accepts Tenar's offer to return to Oak Farm to manage things there in her absence and once more takes up life as a goatherd. While at Re Albi, Tenar is confronted by the local lord's wicked mage, Aspen, who attempts to put a curse on her, but is initially thwarted.

Tenar informs the king's men that she cannot reveal Ged's whereabouts, and they accept the situation and depart. Tenar is initially unsure whether to stay or leave Re Albi, but when she is threatened by both Aspen and Handy, she flees with Therru. Her mind confused by Aspen's magic, she is almost overtaken by Handy, but manages to escape to Gont Port, taking refuge in the ship of the king himself. Lebannen takes Tenar and Therru to Valmouth, where Tenar eventually returns to Oak Farm to find that Ged is away tending goats in the mountains for the season. Tenar settles back into life on the farm, until one night when Handy and a group of men attempt to break into the house. They are driven off by Ged, who followed them on their way toward the farm and nearly kills one of them with a pitchfork. Tenar and Ged begin a relationship, acknowledging that they had always loved each other. Ged wants nothing more than to settle down and live an ordinary life, far from the concerns of an Archmage. Together, they teach and care for Therru and manage the farm. The order is upset, however, when Tenar's son Spark returns home suddenly from a life as a sailor and tells her he wishes to run the farm. Under Gontish law Oak Farm belongs to him and Tenar has no claim to it.

Tenar receives word that Moss is dying and wants to see her. She, Ged and Therru leave immediately for Re Albi. However, the message was a trap set by Aspen, who reveals himself to be a follower of the defeated wizard Cob. Tenar and Ged are led to the lord's mansion controlled by Aspen's magic. Therru runs to the cliff behind Ogion's cottage, where she calls to the dragon Kalessin for help, and reveals her true nature: she is in fact "a double being, half human, half-dragon". Aspen and his followers bring both Tenar and Ged up to the clifftop. Under the influence of Aspen's spell, they are both just about to jump to their deaths when the dragon Kalessin arrives, subsequently burning Aspen and his men. Kalessin addresses Therru by her true name Tehanu, calling her its own daughter, and asks her if she would like to leave with it, but she decides for now that she will stay with Tenar and Ged. The novel ends with all three of them settling down to a simple life of farming and goat keeping at Ogion's old cottage.

## Major characters

[edit]

See also: List of characters in Earthsea

Cover of 1990 edition (hardcover) showing the subtitle The Last Book of Earthsea, which was removed in later editions.

Tenar
Former priestess of the Tombs of Atuan, and White Lady of Gont. Called Goha by the locals.
Ged
Archmage of Roke. Called Sparrowhawk.
Erisen
A twisted mage and follower of Cob. Called Aspen.
Kalessin
The eldest dragon.
Tehanu
A burned child, a woman-dragon. Called Therru.[5]

## Major themes

[edit]

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### Gender issues

[edit]

As in The Tombs of Atuan, Tehanu is written from a female perspective. The common saying quoted in "A Wizard of Earthsea" - "weak as a woman's magic, wicked as a woman's magic" - is shown to be untrue, an expression of narrow-minded male prejudice. The present novel makes clear that in fact women's magic is as strong as men's, the former being described by the witch Moss as being "deeper than the roots of trees, deeper than the roots of islands, older than the Making, older than the moon". Although it is less concerned with authority and dramatic action than male power, it is equally valuable. Wizards are portrayed as emotionally stunted, arrogant and detached. It is made explicit that wizards lead a life of celibacy to devote all their energy to their magic. These shortcomings are laid bare in Ged after he has lost his power. He is completely at sea and is described by Moss as having the emotions of a fifteen-year-old boy. He does not have the courage to face the King's men to tell them he can no longer be mage, and flees. He relies on Tenar to work out a solution for him, and find somewhere for him to recover his sense of identity. He goes back to being a goatherd. In so doing he reaches a new maturity and depth to his character, not available to him as Archmage. The dark wizard Aspen is portrayed negatively; his loathing of Tenar is plainly based on hatred and fear of her womanhood.

Le Guin's exploration in her fiction, particularly in Always Coming Home, of gender power issues had grown more overt in the years between the publication of The Farthest Shore in 1972 and Tehanu in 1990. Tehanu revisits the world of Earthsea with this sensibility and explores questions such as why women can't be wizards, why men are seen as superior to women in Earthsea, and what kind of power may be open to women if they are denied the power of wizardry.

### Being and Doing

[edit]

Following the Taoist thread running through the first three books and many of Le Guin's other works, a further theme in Tehanu is Ged's transition from a man of doing and action to a man of generally passive being in harmony with his feelings and with nature. This was foreshadowed in the first book of the trilogy, A Wizard of Earthsea, in the contrast between Ged's first teacher Ogion the Silent and Ged himself as a young student, and also in The Farthest Shore, at the end of which the Master Doorkeeper of Roke states of Ged: "He is done with doing: he goes home." This implies that Ged's full maturity lies not in doing but in "going home" to the part of himself that he has yet to embrace.

### Magic

[edit]

Magic in general has a much smaller role in Tehanu than in the previous trilogy. The book's text suggests that, to some extent at least, this is prompted by Le Guin's redefinition of the world of Earthsea and the questions she asks about the differences between male and female "power". In other words, the reduced emphasis on magic appears to be not just a difference in the kind of narrative Le Guin decided to tell, but in the actual role she felt that magic (as defined in the earlier trilogy) would play in the future of Earthsea.

## Reception

[edit]

The style of Tehanu differs from the initial Earthsea trilogy. Where the initial trilogy was written around the classic fantasy tropes of perilous quests, heroic actions and larger-than-human forces, Tehanu studies social interaction and emotional resonance. The pace is slower, the mood darker and more introspective.[6][7]

The initial trilogy focuses on the character and quests of Ged, with Tenar introduced as the central character of the second book. Tehanu uses the lens of everyday events and a strong anti-patriarchal viewpoint to not only explore the future of these two characters—and of Earthsea itself—but to reinterpret them. According to Sharada Bhanu, Le Guin sees this reinterpretation as a more balanced view of the world of Earthsea, which is written in the first three books from an implicitly patriarchal (or at least, male) viewpoint.[8]

The Kirkus Reviews comments that "Yes, there are dragons; but the human story and its meaning are primary here. Unlike Ged's, Le Guin's power is undiminished." The review notes that Ged and Tenar are "past middle age", reflecting the slower action, but "even young readers will be beguiled by the flawless, poetic prose, the philosophy expressed in thoughtful, potent metaphor, and the consummately imagined world".[9] The Science Fiction Review summarized the novel as "Great things happen to great people, whatever their station in life, and wherever they may be. An excellent story and a fine capstone to Earthsea."[10]

Tehanu won the 1990 Nebula Award; this made Le Guin the first person to win three Nebula Awards for Best Novel.[11][b] It also won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.[13]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Two short stories set in Earthsea preceded the trilogy. A fifth novel and a collection of stories and essays were published about ten years after Tehanu. See Earthsea Cycle series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
2. ^ Joe Haldeman would go on to equal this number in 2006, winning his third Nebula for Camouflage. Three years later, Le Guin received a fourth Nebula for Powers. As of 2021, she holds the record for the most Best Novel Nebulas.[11][12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Le Guin, Ursula K. (October 10, 2010). Ursula K. Le Guin reads from "The Wizard of Earthsea" (Reading). Washington Center for the Performing Arts: Timberland Regional Library. Event occurs at 1:05:45. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
2. ^ Tehanu title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB).
3. ^ "1990 Nebula Awards". The Nebula Awards. Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
4. ^ "Locus Awards 1991". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
5. ^ Petty, Anne C. Dragons of Fantasy: The Scaly Villains & Heroes of Tolkien, Rowling, McCaffrey, Pratchett & Other Fantasy Greats, (Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Press, 2004)
6. ^ Walton, Jo (February 1, 2010). "A woman on Gont: Ursula Le Guin's Tehanu". Tor.com. Macmillan.
7. ^ Guynes, Sean (February 24, 2021). "Tehanu: Le Guin's Return to Earthsea — and Her Best Novel". Tor.com. Macmillan.
8. ^ Tehanu: A Return to the Source, by Sharada Bhanu Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine excerpt on the Ursula K. Le Guin website
9. ^ "Kirkus Review: Tehanu". Kirkus Reviews. 15 January 1990. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
10. ^ "Science Fiction Review: Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea". Science Fiction Review. 1 (2): 75. Summer 1990.
11. ^ a b "Nebula Awards Winners By Category". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
12. ^ Troughton, R. K. (May 14, 2014). "Nebula Awards by the Numbers". Amazing Stories. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
13. ^ "Ursula K. Le Guin Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

## Sources

[edit]

* Bernardo, Susan M.; Murphy, Graham J. (2006). Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion (1st ed.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33225-8.
* Cadden, Mike (2005). Ursula K. Le Guin Beyond Genre: Fiction for Children and Adults (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-99527-2.
* Drout, Michael (2006). Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature (1st ed.). China: Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-0-7607-8523-2.
* Martin, Philip (2009). A Guide to Fantasy Literature: Thoughts on Stories of Wonder & Enchantment (1st ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Crickhollow Books. ISBN 978-1-933987-04-0.
* Mathews, Richard (2002). Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-93890-2.
* Petty, Anne C. (2004). Dragons of Fantasy: The Scaly Villains & Heroes of Tolkien, Rowling, McCaffrey, Pratchett & Other Fantasy Greats (1st ed.). Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold Spring Press. ISBN 978-1-59360-010-5.

## External links

[edit]

* Tehanu title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea at Worlds Without End

* v
* t
* e

Works by Ursula K. Le Guin

Bibliography

Earthsea|

| Novels|

* A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
* The Tombs of Atuan (1971)
* The Farthest Shore (1972)
* Tehanu (1990)
* The Other Wind (2001)

|

Short stories|

* "The Word of Unbinding" (1964)
* "The Rule of Names" (1964)
* "Dragonfly" (1997)
* "Darkrose and Diamond" (1999)
* "The Daughter of Odren" (2014)
* "Firelight" (2018)

Collections|

* Tales from Earthsea (2001)
* The Books of Earthsea (2018)

Adaptations|

* Earthsea (miniseries) (2004)
* Tales from Earthsea (film) (2006)

Related|

* Universe
* Characters
* Ged
* Earthsea Revisioned (1993)

Hainish
Cycle|

| Novels|

* Rocannon's World (1966)
* Planet of Exile (1966)
* City of Illusions (1967)
* The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
* The Dispossessed (1974)
* The Word for World Is Forest (1976)
* Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995)
* The Telling (2000)

|

Short stories|

* "The Dowry of Angyar" (1964)
* "Winter's King" (1969)
* "Vaster than Empires and More Slow" (1971)
* "The Day Before the Revolution" (1974)
* The Shobies' Story (1990)
* "The Matter of Seggri" (1994)
* "A Man of the People"
* "Coming of Age in Karhide" (1995)
* "Mountain Ways" (1996)
* "Old Music and the Slave Women" (1999)

Related|

* Ansible

Annals of the Western Shore|

| Novels|

* Gifts (2004)
* Voices (2006)
* Powers (2007)

|

Other
fiction|

| Novels|

* The Lathe of Heaven (1971)
* Very Far Away from Anywhere Else (1976)
* The Eye of the Heron (1978)
* Malafrena (1979)
* The Beginning Place (1980)
* Always Coming Home (1985)
* Lavinia (2008)

|

Short stories|

* "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" (1973)
* "The Diary of the Rose" (1976)
* "The Wife's Story" (1982)
* "Paradises Lost" (2002)

Collections|

* The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1975)
* Orsinian Tales (1976)
* The Compass Rose (1982)
* Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences (1987)
* A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (1994)
* Unlocking the Air and Other Stories (1996)
* The Birthday of the World (2002)
* Changing Planes (2003)

Children's books|

* Catwings (series) (1988–1999)
* Cat Dreams

Non-fiction|

* The Language of the Night (1979)
* Dancing at the Edge of the World (1982)
* Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (1997)
* Steering the Craft (1998)

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel

1970s and 1980s|

* The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien (1978)
* Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip (1980)
* Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg (1981)
* The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982)
* The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe (1983)
* The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1984)
* Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein (1985)
* Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny (1986)
* Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe (1987)
* Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card (1988)
* Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card (1989)

1990s|

* Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card (1990)
* Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991)
* Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper (1992)
* Last Call by Tim Powers (1993)
* The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle (1994)
* Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop (1995)
* Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card (1996)
* A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (1997)
* Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers (1998)
* A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin (1999)

2000s|

* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (2000)
* A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (2001)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002)
* The Scar by China Miéville (2003)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)
* Iron Council by China Miéville (2005)
* Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2006)
* The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (2007)
* Making Money by Terry Pratchett (2008)
* Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)

2010s|

* The City & the City by China Miéville (2010)
* Kraken by China Miéville (2011)
* A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (2012)
* The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross (2013)
* The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (2014)
* The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2015)
* Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016)
* All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (2019)

2020s|

* Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (2020)
* The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (2021)
* Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (2022)
* Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023)
* Witch King by Martha Wells (2024)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

* v
* t
* e

Nebula Award for Best Novel

1966–1980|

* Dune by Frank Herbert (1966)
* Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1967)
* The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
* Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (1969)
* The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1970)
* Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)
* A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg (1972)
* The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)
* Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1974)
* The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)
* The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976)
* Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (1977)
* Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)
* Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1979)
* The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (1980)

1981–2000|

* Timescape by Gregory Benford (1981)
* The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982)
* No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop (1983)
* Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)
* Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)
* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)
* Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)
* The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy (1988)
* Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
* The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1990)
* Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991)
* Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1992)
* Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993)
* Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994)
* Moving Mars by Greg Bear (1995)
* The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer (1996)
* Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1997)
* The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre (1998)
* Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1999)
* Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler (2000)

2001–2020|

* Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear (2001)
* The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro (2002)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2003)
* Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2004)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2005)
* Camouflage by Joe Haldeman (2006)
* Seeker by Jack McDevitt (2007)
* The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
* Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)
* The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
* Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (2011)
* Among Others by Jo Walton (2012)
* 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (2013)
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2015)
* Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016)
* All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2019)
* A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker (2020)

2021–present|

* Network Effect by Martha Wells (2021)
* A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (2022)
* Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023)
* The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2024)

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