Monday, July 25, 2011

Shifgrethor -- Pulling things together_2

Yet another post about Ursula K. le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. And as ever, I don't recommend continuing to read this post unless you've read the book.

SPOILERS

I'm making some minor updates to this post, with info from the third post listed below.


1) Shifgrethor -- Genly
2) Shifgrethor -- Therem
3) Shifgrethor between two nations

Things that I think are rock solid:

In practice:
*Do not give advice unless shifgrethor has been waived (48, 151)
*To give advice without shifgrethor being waived is to insult and offend the other person (151)
*Can be competitive (33)
*Shifgrethor can be discarded when it is convenient to do so (84, 86, 155, 218)
***Each time I see shifgrethor waived it is to ask for advice
*A person loses prestige if caught lying (258)
*Questions are asked indirectly and discreetly (273)
*High shifgrethor can be recognized by the king by giving a person a certain place to live (289)
*When a person makes a grand claim that is proven wrong their shifgrethor is hurt (150)
*If a person makes a bargain and then breaks it they lose shifgrethor (258)

What shifgrethor is:
*Prestige (33, 156, 160)
*Pride (102)
*Honor (I'm reading between the lines)

What shifgrethor is not:

Other:
* Can be played on the level of ethics (106)
*Shifgrethor seems to be deeply ingrained (259)
*The word "shifgrethor" comes from an old word for "shadow" (247)
*Shifgrethor can sometimes be set aside when more than one person's pride or prestige (or that of their country) is at stake (198)

Things that I'm pretty sure of:

In practice:
*Whoever leads the way to success has higher shifgrethor (143)
*Showing signs of mistrust (in certain circumstances) can offend the other person's shifgrethor (257-8, 296)
*Vengeance, when appropriate or deemed necessary (152-3)
*There's no point in playing shifgrethor with "scum" (156)

What shifgrethor is:
*A certain separation between people (152-3)

What shifgrethor is not:

*Uncontrollable emotions (102)
*Fear (102)
*Anger (102)
*Self-praise (102)
*Hate (102)
*Timid (105)


Things that I'm iffy about:

In practice:
*Evasive (33)
*Challenging (33)
*Rhetorical subtleties (33)
*Conversational duel (33-4)
*Barrier to communication (33-4)
*Flattery might be a no-no (38)

What shifgrethor is:
*Social authority (14)

What I need to study to understand shifgrethor better:

*Why is it a no-no to give advice? Idea here.
*The why behind "In trying to flatter and interest him I had cornered him in a prestige-trap" (38).
*Shadow
*Figure out which and what it is in "He fussed over my condescension in deigning to learn anything about his country. Manners here were certainly different from manners in Karhide; there, the fuss he was making would either have degraded his own shifgrethor or insulted min; I wasn't sure which, but it would have done one or the other -- practically everything did" (119).
*Figure out the why behind "Mersen's a spy for Tibe, and of course he thinks nobody knows it but everybody does, and he can't stand the sight of Harth -- think he's either a traitor or a double agent and doesn't know which, and can't risk shifgrethor in finding out" (145-6).
*Examine Therem's explanations on pages 257-8 Done here.

No comments:

Labels

a book turned into something else (11) adult (67) Alaya Dawn Johnson (2) Andre Norton (1) Andy MacDonald (1) Angie Sage (5) Anita Diamant (3) Anne McCaffrey (3) Aric McKeown (2) art (2) audio book (10) Avi (1) banned / challenged books (7) Bible (8) Bill Amend (1) Bill Martin Jr. (1) Bill Wisher (1) book mending (1) book review (23) book signings (1) Brendan Fraser (1) Brian Jacques (7) C.S. Lewis (3) captive narrative (2) Caroline B. Cooney (2) Catherine Murdock (1) Charles Dickens (1) Charles Vess (4) Charlotte Brontë (1) chart / diagram / whatever (3) Cheryl Schwartz (1) children's lit (1) Chris Speyer (2) Christopher Paolini (27) classism (2) comedy (1) comedy (drama) (2) comics (4) Cornelia Funke (6) correcting myself (1) cover art (7) Cynthia Kadohata (2) D.H. Lawrence (1) Dan Brown (1) Daniel L. Schacter (2) Daniel Loxton (1) Daniel M. Wegner (2) Daniel T. Gilbert (2) David Abram (3) David C. Cook (1) David Levithan (1) Debora Geary (1) Diana Hacker (1) Doug Mauss (3) Douglas Adams (2) Dr. Seuss (1) dragons (3) drama (10) dreams (6) dreams / visions (7) dystopian (1) E.M. Forster (1) early books / book binding / book history / etc. (1) Emily Dickinson (1) environment (1) Eoin Colfer (10) Eric Carle (1) Ernest Hemingway (2) essay (4) Esther M. Friesner (1) fairy tale retold (1) fan art (7) fantasy (126) fantasy -- historical (2) fantasy -- urban (4) fiction (46) fiction -- historical (1) Frank Herbert (4) Fritz Klein (1) G. B. Trudeau (1) gaming (1) Gardner Dozois (4) Garth Nix (8) gender roles (2) Geoff Dyer (2) George Orwell (1) Geronimo Stilton (1) graphic novel (13) H. G. Wells (2) Hank Green (1) Harper Lee (1) Herman Melville (2) historical fantasy (7) historical fiction (29) Hollis Shiloh (1) horror (2) Hugo Petrus (1) humor (2) inconsistencies (4) it ain't real syndrome (2) J. Jacques (1) J. K. Rowling (9) J.D. Salinger (1) J.R.R. Tolkien (8) Jack Dann (4) Jack London (1) James Clavell (7) James Hutchings (1) Jane Austen (15) Jaroslav Pelikan (1) Jean Cassels (1) Jeanne DePrau (1) Jeff Smith (7) Jen Delyth (1) Jenny Erpenbeck (2) Jim Butcher (12) Jim Smiley (1) Joanne Bertin (1) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1) John Green (8) John R. Erickson (4) John William Waterhouse (1) Jonathan Stroud (3) Juliet Marillier (13) just me rambling (2) juvenile lit (17) K.A. Applegate (2) Kage Baker (1) Kelly McCullough (2) kids literature (2) Kirby Larson (1) Kristen Britain (8) L.M. Montgomery (1) Lem Pew (2) Leo Tolstoy (1) Leslie Silko (4) LGBTQIA (9) LHoD (32) Llewellyn (1) Louise Erdrich (3) made me cry (2) magic (8) manga (1) Marion Zimmer Bradley (1) Mark Twain (1) Mary E. Pearson (1) Mary Nethery (1) masks (1) Meg Cabot (3) memoir (2) Mercedes Lackey (2) Michael Walters (1) movies (13) music / video (7) music / youtube (12) my crushes on fictional characters (7) my predictions (14) mystery (2) mythology (1) names (3) Nancy Butler (1) Nancy Resnick (1) Naomi Novik (2) narrator review (2) Nathaniel Hawthorne (2) Nathaniel Parker (1) Native American (9) natural disasters (1) nature / wildlife (1) non fiction (24) Nora Roberts (1) Northrop Frye (2) notes (6) Octavia E. Butler (1) Pam Jenoff (1) Pamela Frierson (7) Paul M. Kramer (1) Peggy V. Beck (1) Peter S. Beagle (1) pets / animals (4) Philip Pullman (2) poetry (10) questions (16) Rachel Pollack (1) racism (9) Randa Abdel-Fattah (2) Randall Frakes (2) Ray Bradbury (2) reading challenges (12) reading list (3) Rebecca Z Shafir (2) reference book (1) religion / spirituality (11) religion / spirituality / mythology (15) Rick Riordan (8) Robert A. Heinlein (4) Robert Frost (1) Robert M. Pirsig (2) romance (13) Ruth S. Noel (1) Sappho (1) Sarah Darer Littman (3) science fantasy (5) science fiction (66) Sergio Cariello (3) Seth Grahame-Smith (1) sexism (1) sexual violence (2) Shakespeare (13) Sharon Olds (1) Shaun Hutson (1) Sherman Alexie (9) Shirley Jackson (1) short story (5) signed book (1) six word novels (1) Stephenie Meyer (12) Susan Cooper (1) Susan Fletcher (1) Suzanne Collins (1) Tamora Pierce (44) Taylor Mali (1) Terminator (9) Terry Pratchet (3) textbooks (1) Thanhha Lai (1) Tim Curry (1) Tim Hamilton (1) Tom Fischbach (1) totally random (1) tragedy (drama) (5) translated literature (8) Trudi Canavan (1) urban fantasy (9) Ursula K. le Guin (47) vampires (2) Vanessa Sorensen (1) Victor Hugo (1) Virtual Read-Out (2) visions (3) werewolves (3) what I'm reading (9) what's on my nightstand (1) writing to an author (1) written for school (8) Yevgeny Zamyatin (3) young adult (61) Zack Whedon (1)