I read A Wizard of Earthsea in memory of a friend who passed away far too early. It was one of her favourites.
I first read this book when I was in high school Quite a few decades have elapsed since then, and my memories of it were mere tattered cobwebs waving in a gentle breeze; however, it stands up nicely to being re-read. There are intriguing themes and concepts, and Le Guin's use of language is deft. This is more than a Y.A. novel and certainly appealed to my adult self.
The protagonist of the tale, Ged, is a young boy who becomes apprenticed to a wizard called Ogion. They live on the island of Gont, one of hundreds in the archipelago called Earthsea. Ged is restless and ambitious, and he becomes frustrated with Ogion's cautious method of instruction. Ogion tells him: Manhood is patience. Mastery is nine times patience. Ged cannot settle down, and Ogion recommends he goes on the island of Roke to attend a school for wizards. On Roke, Ged displays a precocious talent for magic, and this makes the older students envious. Ged is provoked into a magic duel, and in his pride he oversteps his skills with disastrous results. Will he ever be able to find redemption?
Le Guin had an interest in Taoism, and its philosophy of balance in nature underpins the tale. On Roke, the boys are told by their master:
The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard's power of Changing and of Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power. It is most perilous. It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow ...
Of course, it is advice that will go unheeded, and a great harm is caused. It is interesting to think of our modern times where the power of human technology to change the world in our image is also changing the natural equilibrium of the environment.
Le Guin also introduced the idea that everything has its own True Name, and learning that name gives one mastery over that thing. A true name can be divined by gaining deep knowledge of a thing, be it animal, vegetable or mineral. What one does with that knowledge and power is an ethical matter. Do we chose mastery over balance? Again, this has resonances for us in the 21st Century.
Time to think deeply.
