In second chapter of The Left Hand of Darkness, there is a parable about two incests. One of which had committed suicide while the other, by the name of Getheren was formally banished. In Shath, they do not exactly look down upon incest, but there are some rules and boundaries that exist. In their culture, two siblings are permitted to have kemmering relationships with each other, but as soon as a child is born, the partnership between the incest parents must end. This prevented siblings to vow permanent kemmering or what is equivalent to our society's concept of marriage. However in our world today, incest is looked down upon but only illegal in a few countries. Wherever incest exists, it is usually in incognito. Our world tends to always have social prejudice which leads to hatred and war. But people in the planet Winter seem to not have these social issues. We took note of this in class which may be the reason why wars do not happen in these fictional societies.
As Getheren was banished, he then faced the the loneliness of exile. Or was his experience enlightening? From this point on, we can agree that this story within a story is a direct comparison to former Prime Minister Estraven's exile. If one is just banished from a nation with few resources to survive, of course they are going to face hardships just as both Getheren and Estraven have.
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