The Dispossessed

On Anarres, Shevek finds a letter encouraging him to “join with us your brothers” (193). He desires to connect with the working classand tries to strike up a rapport with his servant, Efor; however, Efor is reluctant. On an expedition to Oiie’s house, he meets Oiie’s sister-in-law, Demaere, and finds her alluring. While escorting her to the train station, he sees in one of the small newspapers a notice that there has been a revolution in the nation of Benbili. He soon reads that A-Io has also sent an army to combat troops from Thu and suppress the revolution, which disgusts him. He wishes to escape the prison of the university—and Urras—and settles for a spontaneous trip to Nio Esseia, where Demaere lives. He spends a day with her, delighting in her charm and her perspective on gender roles. She tells him he is not truly a rebel—he has to obey more laws than she does; for him, they are simply internalized. At her party later that evening, Shevek gets drunk and discusses the relationships between physics and ethics. He tells the party guests that they are “all in jail” (229).