The Dispossessed

Abstract

The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin, tells the story of Shevek, who grows up on the anarchist planet Anarres, where society values sharing, equality and communal living. Despite this, his intellectual pursuits in physics set him apart. He faces challenges when his unethical mentor, Sabul, exploits his work. As Shevek struggles to develop his theory of time (the theory of Simultaneity), he grows disillusioned with the rigid conformity of Anarres, especially when job postings separate him from his family – his partner, Takver, and their two children. After facing hostility for attempting to communicate with Urras, the capitalist planet from which Anarres’ settlers originated, Shevek decides to travel there. Upon arriving in Urras, Shevek is shocked by the wealth of A-Io, one of its states, and begins teaching at the university. He soon realizes that the physicists there are spying on him, either for A-Io or its communist rival, Thu. Both governments want to use his theory for faster-than-light travel as a weapon for conquest. Disillusioned and ashamed of his behavior, Shevek finishes his theory but refuses to give it to any state. He escapes the university with the help of anarchists and speaks at a demonstration, which is violently suppressed by the government. Shevek takes refuge at the Terran embassy, where the ambassador helps him transmit his theory to other planets to be used for peaceful communication. With the aid of the Hainish, another planet’s representatives, Shevek returns to Anarres, though it is uncertain whether he will be allowed to re-enter peacefully, leaving his fate ambiguous.