Short Story Wednesday: "Forgiveness Day" by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

"Forgiveness Day" by Ursula K. Le Guin is a science fiction novella published in 1994, a part of Le Guin's Hainish cycle of books. I have not read any of the Hainish novels and I am not sure how much my unfamiliarity with those stories affected my reaction to this story. However, in retrospect I don't think that was the problem. 

First paragraph:

Solly had been a space brat, a Mobile's child, living on this ship and that, this world and that; she'd traveled five hundred light-years by the time she was ten. At twenty-five she had been through a revolution on Alterra, learned aiji on Terra and farthinking from an old hilfer on Rokanan, breezed through the Schools on Hain, and survived an assignment as Observer in murderous, dying Kheakh, skipping another half millennium at near-lightspeed in the process. She was young, but she'd been around. 

The story describes Solly's experiences as the first Envoy of the Ekumen to the Divine Kingdom of Gatay. The themes of the story seem to be feminism, misogyny, sexual repression, and slavery.

Solly is assigned a Guide and a Guard, plus a Maid. At least one of those three were with her at all times. The Maid was assigned to her as an asset, which was essentially the same as a slave, which Solly was very uncomfortable with. Women did not take part in any events that Solly attended. Solly is treated as an equal to the males in the society, to a certain extent, but it is clear that they all look down on her. She never has any contact or conversations with women, because they all wait at home for their husbands. Solly and the Guard, Rega Teyeo, have an antagonistic relationship, which is explained to some extent by revealing his very complex backstory.

She gets around her isolation to a certain extent by gaining access to Batikam the Makil. He is a transvestite, part of a traveling troupe of entertainers, and is allowed to visit her at night after his performances.

During Forgiveness Day activities, Solly and the Guard are taken prisoner by a rebel group. Up to that point they have never spoken more than necessary, but they are forced to get to know each other under the circumstances.

The first half (or more) of the story was very complex and confusing for me. I suspect I read it too fast. I went back and reread bits of it and figured out where I had gone astray, and I intend to read it again in full.

I was emotionally engaged and moved by the ending of the story, and when that happens, I figure that the author has succeeded. So my final "rating" for this story is very high.

I read this story in The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twelfth Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois. All the stories in that anthology were published in 1994.

It is also included in Five Ways to Forgiveness, an eBook published by Library of America, which includes five stories (one novelette and 4 novellas) in the Hainish cycle.

Two other short stories I have read by Le Guin are "The Shobie's Story" (also in the Hainish cycle) and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", reviewed at the Casual Debris blog in September 2023.