Throughout the novel The Dispossessed, we are given many possible reasons for why the title of the book is fitting (although, it may also just be a play on Dostoeyvsky’s novel The Possessed). The Anarresti leave Urras (or are rather exiled) to live on its Moon, a land of great scarcity, and establish a colony lacking of materialism, ownership, and government. The words mine and yours are taken out of their vocabulary, there’s no form of currency, and no one is a servant to anyone else.
And of those who have become dispossessed, we find women established as equals among men, ridding themselves of the shackles of disregard on display on Urras. As Shevek notices the rarity of women at the functions he first attends, the men of Urras crack jokes to Shevek, conveying a very old fashioned 1950s style of chauvinism, disclaiming “You know how it is, what women call thinking is done with the uterus!” and expressing disbelief to know some of the Anarresti scientists they studied were women. On Urras, the women themselves were practically possessions, confined to their homes and children.
But the feminism of The Dispossessed is not merely women exchanging roles with men, such as Antonia’s Line, Le Guin creates a world where men and women are equal but different. Donna Williams states in Science Fiction Studies, Volume 21 “The calm acknowledgement of physiological gender variations (such as pregnancy hormones) gives evidence of a view in which human equality is not threatened by differences.” What is most impressive is not that Shevek should gloat about the fact Gvarab and Mitis are women, but that it’d never really occurred to him that it mattered. With the subtitle of The Dispossessed being “An Ambiguous Utopia” ambiguity itself purposely lies in the names and gender roles of Anarres. It would not have made much difference had LeGuin wished to drop gender related pronouns from the vocabulary of the Anarresti.
Williams also takes note of the way Le Guin contrasts the women of Anarres with the women of Urras. “The contrast both emphasizes the strength, freedom, and social value of the free woman, and also connects the novel to the contemporary reader…”
Lastly, the strong women in Le Guin’s novel are forced to make the choices and sacrifices associated with their freedom. According to Williams, “The feminist position of The Dispossessed is manifest in female characters free to live lives of positive accomplishment… but it is also shown in those women who have used their freedom to choose painful limitations that are generally associated with men in our society.” She’s referring to Shevek’s mother, who seems to have Dispossessed herself of the role of motherhood, and only later in life wishes to play any part in her son’s life.
The form of feminism shown in Le Guin’s utopia should speak to our society. Women are still struggling to be considered equals, even in such simple ways as obtaining equal pay. Though Anarres may not be perfect, its views on equality are extremely attainable. By acknowledging our differences yet giving little importance to them, we can all live happy and productive lives.
I wonder how, within the current societal structure we live in, it would look if women were suddenly to b e considered “equal” to men? For the most part we are conditioned to adhere to the roles assigned to our sex. What would it mean to suddenly have those roles removed from the equation. I feel as though some women, as Vea suggest, believe that they have some sort of secret power over men within their perceived subservient role. And they would perhaps not be willing to give this up. We assume somewhat that all women want to be treated as equals to men, but I find it highly permissible that to some, which find this idea of equality foreign, are fine to continue living under the same hierarchy of power.