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In The Left Hand of Darkness the physiological state of dothe is described as being a temporary manifestation of great strength and stamina which normally leaves the individual exhausted when concluded. Dothe is normally somewhat brief but can be sustained by focus for longer periods, with commensurate weariness as a result.

What was not clear to me was how dothe relates to the other physiological characteristics of Gethenians; specifically the detailed description of their anatomic adaptations to androgyny and hermaphroditism?

Possible this was explained or alluded to in the book and I missed it, but without an explanation it seems like an unusual part of the story. Everything else seemed to have a tightly woven nature and clear purpose.

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    It isn't a common Gethen thing, only the Handdarata can do it; it sounds like it's not so much a physiological thing as a learned skill; "I am glad to see I have lost no skill at summoning dothe-strength"
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 4:01
  • @DavidW thanks for the grammar & format corrections
    – StayOnTarget
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 14:03
  • No problem; it's partly just site-specific formatting practice, like Title Formatting for novels and quoting words in the question title that would be italics or bold in the body of the question.
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 14:07
  • @DavidW is there a formatting guide somewhere for that kind of thing?
    – StayOnTarget
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 14:15
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    TBH, I don't know of one; it's just something you absorb by hanging out here. :-/ Books, movies and series use Title, episodes, chapters and short stories use "Title." (It does help when referring to Series Title "Episode," short stories in an anthology, etc.)
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 6, 2019 at 15:18

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In brief, it's pretty clear from the story that dothe isn't an intrinsic physiological trait of all Gethenians, it is a technique practiced specifically by the Handdarata and not normally shared by them.

Even the Envoy (Genly Ai) associates dothe with the Handdarata:

This was the first time I had seen the phenomenon of dothe--the voluntary, controlled use of what we call "hysterical strength"--and thereafter I was readier to believe tales concerning the Old Men of the Handdara.

And when Estraven uses dothe to free the Envoy, the Envoy expects that means Estraven is of the Handdarata:

He was scarcely listening. "You couldn't carry me a hundred feet, Estraven. Let alone run, carrying, me, a couple of miles cross-country in the dark--"

"I was in dothe."

He hesitated. "Voluntarily induced?"

"Yes."

"You are... one of the Handdarata?"

But it is not an intrinsic trait of the Handdarata, they can teach it to others because Estraven is not of the Handdarata:

"I was brought up in the Handdara, and indwelt two years at Rotherer Fastness. In Kerm Land most people of the Inner Hearths are Handdarata."

We know it is a skill to be practiced because that is how Estraven describes it:

I am glad to see I have lost no skill at summoning dothe-strength, or entering the untrance

and

I settled my plans, began to ready my will and body to enter dothe

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