Summary
Ursula Le Guin: Tehanu
Many years ago, the young priestess Tenar and the powerful wizard Ged escaped together from the ominous tombs of Atuan. Now she is a farmer's widow who has chosen the simple pleasures of ordinary life. He is a broken old man who has lost his magical powers. In their youth, they helped each other in dark and dangerous moments. Now they must once again join forces to help another person in trouble - an enigmatic child whose fate has yet to be revealed...
In this novel, Ursula Le Guin carefully explores the differences between male and female power and magic, and the precious nature of traditionally or stereotypically female traits, actions and abilities. In this world, women are not allowed to be sorceresses, and men's abilities and behaviors are considered superior. However, in the fourth book of Earthsea, readers are exposed to an astonishing, violent power that may also mark the beginning of a restoration of balance.
The original subtitle of the novel Tehanu, published even 18 years after the first trilogy, read "The Last Book of the Earthsea". There is every chance, however, that the author could not help solving some of the open and unfinished mysteries of the world of Earth Sea - in 2000, she will publish Second Wind, a book of short stories whose plots and exciting heroes will reinterpret this marvelous archipelago.
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