An Echo of Maya in Le Guin’s The Dispossessed

Authors

  • J. Muthulekha Assistant Professor, GRI, Gandhigram

Keywords:

The Dispossessed, Maya, Urras and Anarres

Abstract

Ursula K. Le Guin is a well-known science fiction writer in America. She often makes use of foreign cultures and philosophy in her fictions to convey her message about human civilization and values. In The Dispossessed, Le Guin blends philosophical and scientific ideas in an inextricable way. She uses the Indian philosophic concept of ‘Maya’ and shows the two different planets – Urras and Anarres – having different principles. The inhabitants of the two planets are entangled in ‘Maya’ and refuse to realize the truth. They forgot the global harmony that prevails among the people. The protagonist Shevek yields to ‘Maya’ but finds the way to redeem himself from temporal pleasures. The paper makes an attempt to eulogize the concept of ‘Maya’ and brings out the common phenomenon that binds the eastern and western mind.

References

Bernard, Theos.1947. Hindu Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Print.

Le Guin, Ursula.1974. The Dispossessed. London: Gollancz. Print.

Maharaj, Jee Chidatman Swami. 2009. Indian Mysticism. New Delhi: Anmol Publishers. Print.

Muller Max, Friedrich.1998. The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: Associated Publishing House. Print.

Pandey, Sheojee.1987. “The Concept of Maya”. Sri Aurobindo and Vedanta Philosophy. New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 46-49. Print.

Radhakrishnan.S.1999. “The Theism of Bhagavad Gita”. Indian Philosophy. Vol.1. New Delhi: OUP, 519-580. Print.

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Published

01.01.2013

How to Cite

J. Muthulekha. (2013). An Echo of Maya in Le Guin’s The Dispossessed . Journal of Teaching and Research in English Literature, 4(3), 28–32. Retrieved from https://journals.eltai.in/index.php/jtrel/article/view/JTREL040306

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2013): January

Section

Research Articles

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