Family and Feminism in Ursala K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed

Abstract

The current American familial structure consists of a mother who serves as the housewife and
a father who serves as the breadwinner. Although American society is breaking away from
this norm, the nuclear family structure is still idealized, causing women to struggle against the
patriarchal confnes of this structure as they choose to remain single, enter the workforce, and
refuse to reproduce. Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed utilizes the utopia genre to explore a
fctional planet, Anarres, that values collectivism over individualism in an attempt to become truly
egalitarian. This essay analyzes the egalitarian structure of Anarres through the experiences of
the main character, Shevek, and uses it to examine the anti-feminist issues of the current familial
structure of America.