Gedo Senki (Tales from Earthsea)

20th December 2005

Part 5 - The real enemy was himself

Before I encountered Earthsea, if I had to talk about my image of a story about a magician, it would be about a powerless but good hero who acquires magical powers and overcomes the evil enemy he must defeat, and/or the environment he must conquer.

But when I read Book One of the Earthsea series 20 years ago, it was different. The real enemy was himself.

As a boy, Ged was greedy to learn magic, however his spiritual growth didn't keep pace with the power he possesses, and unknowing, he fostered a spirit of pride and hatred within himself. Then finally that spirit became an evil shadow that appears in front of him, and in front of the world, to obstruct him.

The real enemy was himself, and defeating that enemy was conquering himself. Chased by his own shadow, facing it, and then challenging it.

This was an irresistible attraction.[1]
The story itself was also original, but more than anything else, the me I was then felt a great connection to this theme of "personal growth".

The theme of the first book, "A Wizard of Earthsea", has continued to this day to exert a really huge influence on the world of fantasy. Even now, there are countless stories dealing with this theme. So, its quite possible that some people might find it a bit trite. However I do not know of a tale that depicts so deeply this issue of "light and shadow" inside the heart as Book One of the Earthsea series.

Postscript:

Today felt a lot warmer.
Recently, it's gotten quite cold, but the other day, at night, smoking in my garden, I made a discovery.
Tomorrow, I think I'll take a small detour to write about this.

Translator's Notes

[1]: For the young Goro Miyazaki reading the book.