The interplanetary name for what humans call planet Earth. Ai’s home planet.
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Terra Term Timeline in The Left Hand of Darkness
The timeline below shows where the term Terra appears in The Left Hand of Darkness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
Ai rides the landboat for four days. He reflects that while people on Terra feel they need to get ahead, Gethenians are happy to live in the moment. However,...
(full context)
Chapter 8
...Age, but have had no true Industrial Revolution. Gethen has developed much more slowly than Terra, but in its steady development it has avoided environmental or societal disaster. Ai suspects that...
(full context)
...as to the meeting’s purpose, talking instead with Obsle about life on his home planet, Terra, and the wider universe.
(full context)
Chapter 10
...expertise. Only Estraven, Ai reflects, asked him enough questions to form a clear picture of Terra or Ekumenical society.
(full context)
Chapter 16
...because of innate or learned differences. Estraven senses “equality is not the general rule” in Terran society. Ai reveals he has begun to forget what women are like after two years...
(full context)
