The Role of Place in the Fluctuations of Ged’s Identity in Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle

Abstract

The present paper studies an issue that has yet not been fully addressed in relation to Ged’s identity development in Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea saga, namely the idea that the geographical spaces inhabited by this character affect his process of individuation. Moving through different roles (goatherd and Archmage) and geographical spaces (Gont, Re Albi and the School of Wizardry in Roke), Ged will show different degrees of relatability and understanding of the various selves that compose his hybrid identity. In his quest for a defined and relatable identity, which begins when he is given the role of Archmage of Earthsea, one he never sought actively and in which he never feels completely comfortable, the places in which he lives, thanks to their intrinsic characteristics and the meanings they store, provide him with the necessary tools to accept his nature and past life. In order to gain a more precise insight into the manner in which these places develop meaning for Ged we will employ a theoretical framework that combines Yi-Fu Tuan’s proposals around space and place with other theories that study the value of geographical spaces like the pastoral and the middle-landscapes. These will allow us to trace Ged’s identity journey from an alienated character lacking selfhood to a fully-developed individual who is finally capable of making sense of the different elements that compose his persona, at the same time as we identify that Ged benefits most from his life in Re Albi, the mountainous area of Gont where he was a goatherd as a child and becomes one again at a crucial point in his adult life.