The Dispossessed
by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Mitis Character Analysis

The senior physicist at the Northsetting Institute. She is a compassionate and involved teacher, and attempts to warn Shevek about the possible pitfalls of working with Sabul: she tells Shevek that if he goes to work for Sabul, Shevek will be “his man,” making use of a possessive article which is nonexistent in Anarresti language.

Mitis Quotes in The Dispossessed

The The Dispossessed quotes below are all either spoken by Mitis or refer to Mitis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Freedom Theme Icon
).

Chapter 2 Quotes

“Take care in Abbenay. Keep free. Power inheres in a center. You’re going to the center. I don’t know Sabul well; I know nothing against him; but keep this in mind; you will be his man.”

The singular forms of the possessive pronoun in Pravic were used mostly for emphasis; idiom avoided them. Little children might say “my mother,” but very soon they learned to say “the mother.” Instead of “my hand hurts,” it was “the hand hurts me,” and so on; to say “this one is mine and that’s yours” in Pravic, one said, “I use this one and you use that.” Mitis’s statement, “You will be his man,” had a strange sound to it. Shevek looked at her blankly.

Related Characters: Mitis (speaker)
Page Number and Citation: 58
Explanation and Analysis:
Shevek’s mentor at the Northsetting Institute, the wise woman Mitis, knows that her pupil is bound for great things. She recommends him for advanced study at the Central Institute of the Sciences in Abbenay, hoping that there he will have the room and the resources to achieve his potential. She sends him away, though, with a pair of warnings: to beware of centralization and the power structure that can form in a major institute or city, and to keep in mind that in going to Abbenay, Shevek will be conscripting himself into Sabul’s service. Pravic language, devoid of common possessive Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostr
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Mitis Character Timeline in The Dispossessed

The timeline below shows where the character Mitis appears in The Dispossessed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Freedom Theme Icon
Humility and Moderation vs. Ego and Excess Theme Icon
Individualism and Isolation vs. Collectivism and Solidarity Theme Icon
...he has been contemplating while far away in the Dust. The senior physicist at Northsetting, Mitis, is a wise and calm woman. In a meeting with Shevek, she reveals that she... (full context)
Freedom Theme Icon
Humility and Moderation vs. Ego and Excess Theme Icon
Individualism and Isolation vs. Collectivism and Solidarity Theme Icon
Mitis tells Shevek that Sabul will now want him to come to Abbenay to work alongside... (full context)
Chapter 3
Freedom Theme Icon
The Failure of Utopian Ideals Theme Icon
Humility and Moderation vs. Ego and Excess Theme Icon
Individualism and Isolation vs. Collectivism and Solidarity Theme Icon
...if he knows any women “capable of original intellectual work,” and Shevek cites his teachers Mitis and Gvarab. Odo, he says, was a woman as well. Instantly, Shevek can see that... (full context)
Chapter 4
Humility and Moderation vs. Ego and Excess Theme Icon
Individualism and Isolation vs. Collectivism and Solidarity Theme Icon
The two men argue, and Shevek at last realizes that Mitis’s warning has come true: he is indeed Sabul’s man. Nevertheless, Shevek acknowledges that he needs... (full context)