Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Word for World is Forest, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Violence, War, and Colonization
Nature and Ecology
Communication and Translation
Gender and Masculinity
Summary
Analysis
Lyubov has just seen Selver again in person, which he found shocking. As he flies back to Central, he tries to puzzle out why the encounter disturbed him. It had taken him awhile to get invited to the nearby Athshean village by a headwoman, but he’d felt that he needed to follow the new rules about letting the Athsheans initiate contact. Dongh asked him to meet with the Athsheans and is now hoping that Lyubov will reassure him that they aren’t a threat. Lyubov isn’t sure that his report will do this.
Again, Lyubov is in an isolating position, since Dongh is now asking him to use his connection to the Athsheans to spy on them. Meanwhile, Lyubov’s determination to follow the new orders to the letter would demonstrate that the ansible is functioning as expected. But because readers already know that Davidson recently attacked a village in secret, it seems like a futile effort on Lyubov’s part.
Themes
As Lyubov flew to the village, he noticed how barren the land was prior to reaching the forest. Lyubov had never been inside a forest before he got to Athshe, and he used to feel distressed by the wildness of nature. But he eventually began to feel at home in the forest. He also likes the Athsheans’ words for their lands, like Athshe (Forest/World). To the Athsheans, the forest makes up their world. Terrans think of the earth differently.
The humans’ initial attitudes toward nature in Athshe seem to be pretty consistent, as Davidson and Lyubov both describe feeling disoriented by the forest. But while Davidson’s reaction to that disorientation is to dominate the forest, Lyubov’s is to learn to live alongside it. Lyubov also seems to be one of few humans who understands the importance of nature to the Athsheans.
Themes
Lyubov touched down and walked into the Athshean settlement. Previously, Lyubov had spent time in the Men’s Lodge, but he knew they wouldn’t invite him in this time. The townspeople knew about Smith and knew that the enslaved Athsheans were freed after the attack, and while Dongh was angry that this would seem to them to be cause-and-effect—which it wasn’t—Lyubov thought that this meant that he could start over with the natives. The Athsheans like honesty, so Lyubov assumed they’d discuss Smith, but no one at the village spoke to him at all.
Lyubov’s belief that the Athsheans could move on after the enslaved Athsheans were freed is arguably naïve, given that violence in the novella has always generated more violence. Furthermore, the humans are still cutting down trees, which is one of the Athsheans’ central concerns. Dongh is also incorrect that the ansible’s orders to free the enslaved Athsheans are unrelated to the Athsheans’ attack, since Lepennon and Or only gave the colonists the ansible because of the attack. This suggests that the Athsheans’ violence was necessary to their survival, and the Athsheans are clearly aware of this, even if the humans aren’t.
Themes
Lyubov had arrived in the late afternoon, or dawn according to the Athsheans’ inner clock (contrary to colonists’ belief, the Athsheans do sleep). Every 24 hours, adult women sleep five to six hours total, broken into catnaps, and men can sleep just two. But it’s simpler for colonists to say that Athsheans don’t sleep, since they assume that their naps are laziness. As Lyubov passed through the settlement, he saw many strangers, and none approached him. He then met an acquaintance, the headwoman’s cousin Sherrar. She wouldn’t tell him where his old informants (Egath and Tubab) were, and she attempted to get him away from the Men’s Lodge by inviting him to see the fishing-nets.
This description of the Athsheans’ sleeping habits explains why Davidson always thought Ben stared vacantly and why Ok found the Athsheans lazy: the Athsheans need to sleep periodically throughout the day, so there would be times when they appeared to be daydreaming and neglecting their work. This passage also demonstrates that while Lyubov is isolated from the other humans, he’s also isolated from the Athsheans. While they used to welcome him into their society, they don’t want him there now.
Themes
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A passing girl gave Lyubov a dirty look—no Athshean had ever looked at him like that before, and he wondered how the Athshean nature could have altered so quickly, since this particular town has never encountered Terrans or been enslaved. Apparently, just hearing about the attacks changed them, which seemed impossible to Lyubov: he'd assumed that a community or individual Athshean had to be provoked to act against their nature and culture.
Technically, Lyubov is right that the Athsheans had to be provoked to act violently, since Selver’s violence against Davidson was the direct result of Thele’s assault. However, the Athsheans share dreams, so Davidson’s continued provocation affects them all. Meanwhile, the humans are still cutting down the Athsheans’ trees, which affects the lives of all Athsheans.
Themes
Just then, Selver emerged from the Lodge. Lyubov and Selver made eye contact, which frightened Lyubov. Now, flying in the hopper, Lyubov wonders why he was afraid—nothing has changed between him and Selver, and Selver’s actions at Smith didn’t matter to Lyubov. They were good friends, and Lyubov felt close to Selver after saving his life. Besides, Selver’s violent actions weren’t without reason. Their tense encounter actually made Lyubov realize how loyal he felt to Selver, and he was frightened that Selver would see him as an enemy.
At the HQ meeting, Lyubov essentially suggested that he was willing to give up his position among the humans for the Athsheans, a sentiment he reiterates here. However, Lyubov’s continued attachment to his fellow humans means that he and Selver can’t have the uncomplicated friendship he wants. Selver’s actions at Smith did matter, since they directly impacted Athshean-human relations and changed the way the humans view Lyubov’s research.
Themes
Selver greeted Lyubov by offering his hands, as touch is a central mode of communication among Athsheans, which always grossed the colonists out. Selver’s touch reassured Lyubov, who asked to speak with him, but Selver refused. Lyubov realized that despite their touch, Selver had changed. Lyubov asked if he could speak with Selver later, but Selver said he’d be leaving the area soon. Lyubov told Selver that the massacre didn’t change their friendship, that the release of the enslaved Athsheans meant that nothing stood between them, and that Lyubov was the same as ever.
The fact that Selver greets Lyubov the way he would greet another Athshean is significant and points to the deep connection between the two men. However, Lyubov’s insistence that nothing has changed between them is, again, arguably narrow-minded. Lyubov suggests both that the Athsheans’ violence was a one-time event and that he and Selver are on equal footing now. Both of these things are false, especially because the humans continue to log the planet and because Davidson continues to attack the Athsheans (something Lyubov doesn’t yet know). And crucially, the massacre was at least partly the result of Lyubov and Selver’s friendship, because Lyubov’s intel about the humans convinced Selver that they needed to be driven out.
Themes
Selver told Lyubov that Lyubov shouldn’t have come, that he should leave Central in two nights, and that he wished he’d never known Lyubov. After Selver left, Sherrar told Lyubov that Selver was a god now. Lyubov wanted to believe that Selver’s rejection was just because Lyubov was a Terran, but the reason for the rejection was irrelevant; it hurt no matter what. As Lyubov pulled the hopper into the sky, Sherrar ran away, hopping in her eagerness to leave him behind.
Selver’s warning that Lyubov should leave Central is ominous, though its meaning is currently unclear. By telling Lyubov that he wishes they’d never known each other, Selver likely means that caring about Lyubov complicates his hatred of humans. But again, Lyubov ensured both Selver’s survival (since Lyubov saved his life) and the Athsheans’ survival as a species, as Lyubov’s information helped Selver understand the humans’ motivations.
Themes
The sight of Sherrar’s hop was somewhat funny. Terrans react so negatively to Athsheans because of their size and their similarity to human appearance, but admittedly, they’re odd-looking. Thinking of Sherrar now, Lyubov considers that part of his colony’s problem is their lack of old women. Old women govern the Athsheans, dealing with political matters while their men deal with intellectual ones.
While Lyubov seems to value women more than other colonists, particularly Davidson, he doesn’t consider the fact that the colony could utilize the young women who are already in Central, whose current role is solely to breed. After all, young Athshean women are also vital, since they disseminate messages. Lyubov’s wish for old women dismisses the younger human women on Athshe, which suggests that the colonists’ patriarchal mindset is pervasive even among the more progressive men.
Themes
Beyond this, however, Lyubov is concerned with what he’ll report to HQ, particularly related to Selver. Selver had always been important to Lyubov. Before they met, he was “Sam,” a slave for three officers, including Benton. Many Athsheans were groggy while working in the camp, because they had to adjust their dreaming to fit the Terran workday. Sam was one of the few who adapted, and Lyubov used him as an “ethnological informant.” Sam trusted him and helped translate the Athshean culture for Lyubov’s research.
The backstory of Lyubov and Selver’s friendship is significant, since their relationship was always rooted in understanding each other’s cultures. While readers already know that the information Selver learned from Lyubov helped him make decisions, the information Lyubov learned from Selver was equally important, particularly because other Athsheans couldn’t have filled the same role—they would have been too busy staying awake to learn English.
Themes
Lyubov had been studying the Athsheans for years without understanding their sleeping habits, and Selver was the one who helped him understand what the Athshean word “dream” meant, as it was synonymous with the word for “root.” Using Selver’s EEG, Lyubov saw that the Athshean dream-state was between sleep and waking. Selver could have escaped from the humans’ enslavement, and Lyubov had offered to work with him in another location. But Selver refused, since his wife, Thele, was also enslaved and locked up in the female pen, and Lyubov couldn’t manage to secure her freedom.
Again, Lyubov’s clinical assessment of the Athsheans’ dreaming demonstrates that despite his deep connection with Selver, there are still things that he and Selver can never understand about each other. After all, Athshean dreaming is less scientific than Lyubov imagines and far more entwined with spirituality and nature—hence why the Athsheans don’t separate dreaming and the concept of tree roots.
Themes
Lyubov did help Selver and Thele meet in his hut occasionally, and as Thele was returning one night, Davidson saw her, took her to his hut, and raped her. She died afterwards, either because Davidson killed her, or because she chose to die, which Athsheans can do. Either way, Davidson murdered her, and the next day, Selver attacked him. Frightened by Selver’s persistence, Davidson was about to kill him before Lyubov broke up the fight. From that day, Lyubov has hated Davidson, and Davidson has hated Lyubov for stopping the murder. Davidson is a killer, and by nature, killers have to kill themselves over and over by murdering others.
Lyubov and Selver’s friendship didn’t directly cause Thele’s death, but it is important that she died directly after one of the secret meetings Lyubov helped to arrange. Again, Lyubov and Selver’s friendship saved Selver and the Athsheans, but it also (indirectly) forced them both to sacrifice a great deal. That said, Lyubov is right that Davidson was directly responsible for Thele’s death, and Lyubov’s description of Davidson’s mindset mimics the role of violence in the novella. Violence is cyclical, and Davidson’s acts of violence generate violence against himself. Here, Lyubov suggests that Davidson’s decision to enact violence is part of his nature, but the novella has already implied that this isn’t the case—instead, violence is Davidson’s choice.
Themes
Lyubov then nursed Selver back to health, which was against regulations. Because of this, he knew that no colonists would trust him again. He’d spent a long time trying to stay on HQ’s good side and pick his battles to stay in a position that would allow him to defend the Athsheans and continue to report to the Committee on Rights, who might eventually stop the Open Colony policy. But he had to save his friend. Davidson kept threatening to kill Selver, so after Selver was better, Lyubov dropped him off with relatives in the west.
Readers already know that Lyubov’s reports to the Committee on Rights never left the colony, and the colonists only let the Athsheans go after the Athsheans attacked them. Once again, this demonstrates that the Athsheans’ violence was necessary, since Lyubov’s attempts to legally secure the Athsheans’ freedom failed. Although the colonists now distrust Lyubov more than ever, since his research was faulty, this distrust is apparently longstanding, and Lyubov has apparently always been isolated from human society because of his connection to Selver.
Themes
Lyubov wasn’t reprimanded for helping Selver escape, since there was no policy about that (technically, the Athsheans weren’t slaves). But his colleagues, including the ecologist Gosse, were annoyed. Gosse wanted to know why Lyubov came to an Open Colony, knowing that it was human nature to wipe the natives out. Lyubov argued that it’s also human nature to make note of what humanity destroys, and Gosse told him to keep making reports if he wanted, but to stay out of things. Scientists don’t rescue lab rats. Angry, Lyubov said that Selver was his friend.
Here, Gosse suggests that violence is part of “human nature,” but the events of the novella has already proven that this is false. The Athsheans’ existence shows that even when people have the capacity to be violent, they can choose not to be, and Davidson himself claimed to have learned violence from books. Contrary to Gosse’s belief, the novella suggests that violence is a choice, and that choosing violence only ensures more violence.
Themes
Now Selver is a god. The word Sherrar used was sha’ab, which means both “god” and “translator,” according to the dictionary in Lyubov’s bungalow (which he consults now, having landed the hopper in Central). Lyubov wonders what the significance of this double meaning is. Maybe a sha’ab translates visions into reality and speaks subconscious thoughts, therefore changing society “from the root.” This also means changing Athshean society by dreaming (since root is the same word as dream). As a god, Selver has brought murder to the Athsheans. Is murder part of his language now, or is he just parroting Davidson’s? Murder seems to have emerged naturally from Selver’s own suffering, but it could destroy the Athsheans.
The fact that “god” is the same word as “translator” in the Athsheans’ language fits with what the Athsheans have said about Selver’s godhood so far: he introduced violence into their society, which makes him unlike anyone else. Selver is alone in this translation, which demonstrates how isolated his connection to the humans has made him, even though it was necessary to the Athsheans’ survival. In this passage, Lyubov questions whether or not violence is a natural progression for the Athsheans or whether the Athsheans are mimicking Davidson. The novella doesn’t answer this question outright. But by presenting violence as a cycle, it suggests that violence is never natural (even for Davidson), and that it's a learned behavior.
Themes
Lyubov doesn’t often think about what he can do to help a situation, but it’s hard not to now. He can’t do anything more to help the Athsheans survive, as the ansible’s existence protects the Athsheans and Colonel Dongh is following its orders. Because the ansible’s transmission is instantaneous, Lyubov considers it a “machina ex machina.” People now have to answer for their crimes as they commit them. However, it’s still not clear what the League is after. This is something that worries Dongh but excites Lyubov: diversity of possibilities means life, which means hope.
In literature, a deus ex machina is a plot device that unrealistically solves a story’s seemingly unsolvable problem. On the surface, the ansible appears to be a deus ex machina in The Word for World is Forest, and Le Guin acknowledges this by having Lyubov call it a “machina ex machina.” But readers already know that the ansible hasn’t stopped Davidson’s violence, so Lyubov’s comment is intentionally ironic: there is no deus ex machina that can solve the problem of colonization on Athshe, even if the League has good intentions.
Themes
The only thing that might disrupt the balance between colonists and Athsheans is fear. The Athsheans probably aren’t afraid right now, and neither are the colonists, since nothing has happened since Smith. But if Lyubov told the colonists that he’d seen Selver, they’d put Selver on trial, overriding the Colonial Code, and they’d bring Davidson to Central to stand witness. Lyubov can’t allow that. He realizes that he’s already made his decision.
By suggesting that the colonists would be alarmed if Lyubov revealed that he’d seen Selver, Lyubov implies that Selver’s presence in the village is ominous—and indeed, Selver’s warning that Lyubov should leave Central supports this idea. Lyubov’s analysis of the consequences of his decision suggests that he’s once again consciously choosing the Athsheans over the humans, even if it puts the humans in danger. This is a major sacrifice, and it again isolates Lyubov from his fellow humans.
Themes
The next day, Lyubov turns in a report saying that Tuntar (the Athshean village) is functioning normally. It’s an inaccurate report, since it leaves out his cold reception, his informants’ absence, the girl’s dirty look, and Selver. Yet it’s technically the truth. He has a migraine when he goes to bed, and when he wakes, he hears sirens and explosions. He’s the only person in Central who isn’t surprised, and he knows that he’s a traitor.
Throughout the novella, Lyubov’s migraines have hinted at his guilt. His migraine in this passage confirms that even before he hears the explosions, he’s aware that he may have put the humans in danger by camouflaging the Athsheans’ attitude toward the humans. This passage suggests that he was right. Ironically, Lyubov’s connection to the Athsheans allowed them to attack, because if he didn’t care about the Athsheans, he would have turned in an honest report.
Themes
Still, Lyubov can’t be sure that this is an Athshean raid. Maybe because of the surrounding trees, his hut has been left alone. But as he leaves it, he can see that everything else is on fire, including HQ, where the ansible is. He has no idea where the Athsheans got explosives or how they started the fire. It seems impossible: there were guards all around.
If anything, the fact that Lyubov’s hut is untouched proves that this is an Athshean raid. Selver warned Lyubov to leave, but apparently, he took precautions in case Lyubov didn’t—something that speaks to their deep connection. The destruction of the ansible in this passage, inadvertently caused by the Athsheans’ retaliation, proves once and for all that the ansible couldn’t solve the problems on Athshe.
Themes
Lyubov sees a Terran girl standing in a doorway, paralyzed with fear. He runs over, pries her from the doorway, and urges her to come with him. She does so, but not before the building she was in collapses in flames. One wood beam strikes Lyubov and knocks him to the ground. As a result, he doesn’t see a female Athshean grab the girl and slit her throat.
This passage reveals that the Athsheans are targeting human women, even though these women have no power in the colony—not unlike Davidson’s earlier raid on an innocent Athshean village. It’s not yet clear why the Athsheans are targeting women, though their reasons will be evident later on.
Themes
