A Wizard of Earthsea

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1968

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Light and Dark

Le Guin often uses imagery of light and dark in her writing. She describes the Archmage, as Ged first meets him, as seeming “as if all darkness […] had been leached out of him by the slow usage of the years, leaving him white and worn as driftwood that has been a century adrift” (41). A great wizard and a good man who eventually sacrifices his life to save Ged, the Archmage is cast in light colors to emphasize this goodness and superiority.

Though Le Guin uses the imagery of light and dark separately, she combines them far more often. When Ged first awakes after unleashing the shadow, he is overcome by the lightness of the world. Le Guin writes that “[s]ince the darkness of that night on Roke Knoll he had known only darkness. Now he saw daylight, and the sun shining. He hid his scarred face in his hands and wept” (76). Even in simple descriptions of the scenery, Le Guin ties light and dark together; she writes of “the sky that darkened where the sun had set” and “the new moon shone: a ring of ivory, a rim of horn, reflected sunlight shining across the ocean of the dark” (213). By tying together light and darkness in this way, Le Guin calls upon one of the major themes of the novel: that of balance and wholeness through contrast.

Names

Names and the act of naming are both extremely important in A Wizard of Earthsea, both as a plot device and as a motif.

Ged learns that “magic consists in […] the true naming of a thing” (54). Because names are so powerful, a “mage’s name is better hidden than a herring in the sea, better guarded than a dragon’s den” (86). Further, names are shown to reveal something about their owner; Ged unintentionally guesses Vetch’s younger sister’s name because she reminds him of a small, quick fish (199), and his own use-name, Sparrowhawk (7), stems from his love of the birds when he was first beginning to learn magic.

Names appear to be something that you discover about yourself, as Ged laments “that he should go into the dark land without ever having known his own name, his true name as a man” (10) before facing the invading tribe at the beginning of the novel. In this way, names may be seen as a powerful metaphor for finding and protecting the most vulnerable parts of yourself.

Names of the places in Earthsea can also reveal information. For example, the Court of the Terrenon can be understood as the Court of No Land, as “terre” means land in Latin and non means the absence of. This clearly defines that there is no clear ruler of the territory since the stone and its custodian are both lacking in power and skill, so neither cannot rule completely. It also symbolizes how Ged has come completely untethered from his understanding of himself and his magic at this point in the story.

The Ocean

The people of Earthsea rely on the ocean for their lives and their livelihoods, and it is also a powerful symbol of forces that are greater than and beyond the scope of human understanding.

One of Ged’s teachers mentions this to him when warning him about the dangers of ignoring Equilibrium, telling Ged that without practical limits on the power of mages, “the wickedness of the powerful or the folly of the wise would long ago have sought to change what cannot be changed […] the unbalanced sea would overwhelm the islands where we perilously dwell” (56). The ocean is a mighty force even the most powerful wizards don’t meddle with.

As such, the ocean is shown to be perhaps the most powerful force in Earthsea. Ged is protected by the sea in his encounter with the dragon and the evil of the Terrenon stone are also stopped by Ged flying out over the ocean. Ged attempts to meet the shadow over the ocean whenever possible, reflecting that “[o]ut of the sea rise storms and monsters, but no evil powers: evil is of earth” (157). This is reflected in Ged and Vetch’s journey over the ocean toward the shadow as well. They voyage past the edges of any known map into waters where Vetch’s powers weaken.

In these ways, the ocean stands as a reminder of the minuteness of humanity, even in the world of Earthsea where many people can wield powerful magic.