The Tombs of Atuan

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**Title** **The Tombs of Atuan**
Cover of first edition (Hardcover, second state, with Newbery Medal attached)
Author	Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrator	Gail Garraty
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Earthsea Cycle
Genre(s)	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Atheneum Books
Released	1971
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	163 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-689-20680-1
Preceded by	A Wizard of Earthsea
Followed by	The Farthest Shore

The Tombs of Atuan is the second of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea, first published in 1971. It follows on from A Wizard of Earthsea and is continued in The Farthest Shore. The Tombs of Atuan was a Newbery Honor Book in 1972.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story centers on a Kargish child who is taken from her family and dedicated as the high priestess in the service of the "Nameless Ones". Her true name is Tenar, but is renamed Arha, "the eaten one", as all the high priestesses are considered reincarnations of Arha. Tenar was chosen because she was born the night the previous Arha died.

Tenar's youth is a haunting contrast between light-hearted childish escapades and dark, solemn rituals. Gradually she comes to accept her lonely, anonymous role, and to feel at home in the unlit underground labyrinth, the eponymous Tombs, where the malevolent, powerful Nameless Ones dwell. Indeed, as she becomes aware of the political machinations among the older priestesses, the Tombs become a refuge to her.

Ged, the protagonist of A Wizard of Earthsea, enters the story only as Tenar is coming of age. She catches him attempting to rob the Tombs of the long-lost missing half of the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, a magical talisman necessary for peace in Earthsea. To punish his sacrilege she traps him underground to die. Ged expends his strength continually fighting to keep the Nameless Ones unaware of his presence. When he grows too weak to hide himself, they will kill him. Yet in her loneliness, she is drawn to him and listens as he tells her of the outside world.

Tenar is eventually won over by Ged's kindness. She realizes that the Nameless Ones demand her service but give nothing and create nothing in return. She helps him escape from the Tombs with the ring, as he helps her escape from the priesthood.

[edit] Analysis

While the trilogy's first book consisted of a coming of age process through an arduous voyage which would ultimately lead to Ged confronting his own issues, The Tombs Of Atuan works in a much more restricted, confined space, which reflects itself in the narrative's style and progression, Tenar's tale being more intimate and less epically inclined than the previous novel. Whereas Ged's quest led to his dramatic confrontation with himself and his own darkness, and ultimately, to his acknowledgment of his full identity and power, Tenar's triumph is that of coming to freedom.

Ged, while still a young man, is portrayed here as much wiser than in the first book. When Tenar asks him about the scar on his face, caused by the Shadow creature that he unleashed, he replies that it is the result of his foolishness in the past - his ambition has been tempered with experience. And it is his ambition and intelligence, combined with Tenar's budding wish for freedom and a wider world, that leads to their success.

Tenar reappears and plays a large role in the fourth book of the series, Tehanu.