Abstract

Ursula Le Guin’s novels The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974) rely upon the description of fantasy worlds whose organizing systems were initially a reflection of the need to create the perfect society. From this perspective, both the lack of gender distinctions on the planet Gethen/Winter in the former novel and the abolition of social inequality on the planet Anarres in the latter novel represent failed experiments of the attempt to transform a dream-like world into reality. This paper aims at identifying the guiding principles of the alien communities in the two science-fiction novels and the reasons beyond the failure of what began like a wonderful dream. Furthermore, our intention is to draw a parallel between Genly Ai, the messenger of the coalition of the planets in The Left Hand of Darkness and Shevek, the inquisitive physicist on Urras in The Dispossessed. Their common thirst for knowledge and discovery is the driving force behind their journey on different planets; their immersion into an alien society helps them reconsider their world view and understand the importance of balance in accepting cultural diversity.