A Wizard of Earthsea

by

Ursula K. Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea: Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
As Vetch and Ged make their way across hundreds of miles of stormy seas, stopping on small islands occasionally for supplies and water, Ged refuses to use any spells or enchantments to ease their journey. Both men are full of a cold, heavy foreboding, and neither wants to use magic and upset the careful balance that allows them to sail forth at all. Ged steers their course toward the outermost fringes of the Reach. Vetch warns him that beyond this point, there are no lands at all—only the open sea. In this part of the world, Vetch says, there are things that haven’t been named.
Though Ged has, in the past, ignored both the careful balance of the universe and the need to internalize reverence for the natural world, now, he is mindful of both these things. He wants for this journey to go well, and he fears acting in the thoughtless, headstrong, power-hungry way he did earlier in his journey.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Cosmic Balance Theme Icon
Quotes
Ged laments that he is going forth to meet his fate without having seen so much of the Archipelago. He talks longingly of all the places he still wants to go. He berates his foolish younger self for trading the light of the world “for a shadow.” The only thing that brings Ged comfort is his thoughts of Yarrow. He tells Vetch how much he admires his whip-smart sister, who is like an uncatchable minnow. Vetch smiles and says that Yarrow’s true name is Kest—“minnow” in the Old Speech. 
Ged is still a young man—but he recognizes already just how foolhardy he was as a youth, and how much energy he wasted trying to become powerful. Ged is angry with himself for having sealed his fate at such a young age, but he remains hopeful that he will be able to return to the light soon.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
The pair sail through treacherous weather and dark nights—Ged realizes that it is shortly after Sunreturn, an unlucky time for travelers. Nevertheless, he holds their course steady. After refilling their stores of water on a strange, remote island, the two continue on. Vetch questions whether Ged has them on the right path, but Ged says only that he is drawn to the shadow like iron to a magnet. The two of them occasionally discuss how they might figure out the shadow’s true name, but even after trading stories of great wizards’ remarkable deeds, Ged settles on the idea that “to hear, one must be silent.”
Ged knows that he will need an impossibly strong kind of magic to defeat the shadow—and while he accepts that the answer to besting it lies in learning its true name, he wants to take a gentler, more sage approach to discovering that name. Ged has too often rushed headfirst into a dangerous situation or created more trouble for himself by overestimating his abilities; now, he wants to respect the magnitude of what he’s dealing with and let the answers come to him naturally.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Soon, Ged and Vetch come to the last island in the Archipelago for food and a night’s rest. Beyond here, Vetch warns, there is only ocean. Ged, however, believes there are perhaps lands undiscovered. Ged is suddenly seized in the middle of the night by a premonition that they are moving too slowly—the shadow is threatening to escape from them. They must leave now, he says, and head east—if Ged loses the shadow, he, too, is lost. 
Ged knows that his fate is bound to the shadow, and he is not willing to risk it all because of a desire for comfort or even a fear of the unknown. Ged knows what he must do and he is determined to see this mission through.
Themes
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
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Ged and Vetch sail onward, and, at last, Ged summons a wind to carry their ship eastward. Ged speaks little except to ask Vetch, after their noon meal, whether he believes that there are undiscovered lands. Vetch says he’s afraid that if the two of them sail too far, they will fall off the edge of the world. Ged does not respond to Vetch’s jest. They sail through the night, and, the next day, they encounter heavy rain. Ged continues summoning the winds—yet he worries that if they stray too far from the Archipelago, his powers will weaken.
Ged and Vetch’s journey is a long and difficult one. It is made all the more fraught and arduous by the fact that they are sailing into unknown territory—so far from the Archipelago, Ged has no idea what rules or enchantments might exist. Still, however, Ged stays the course, determined to see his conflict with the shadow through to the end.
Themes
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
The next day, Vetch questions whether Ged is perhaps being led into a trap—the shadow, Vetch points out, does not hunger or weaken, while they themselves do. Ged insists that they are nearly caught up with the creature. They continue sailing onward, sped by Ged’s winds, and Ged begins seeing a “dark vision” along the horizon. Suddenly, one afternoon, Ged stops the wind and orders Vetch to put down the sails. Ged clearly sees something—yet Vetch cannot see it. Still, he follows his companion’s orders. It soon becomes clear that Ged believes they have arrived in a bay, but Vetch cannot see the sand their boat seems to arrive upon.
Ged has chased his shadow across the sea for days and days, refusing to heed Vetch’s warnings about walking into a trap or being deliberately jerked around. Now, as Ged senses the shadow’s presence, he realizes that he was right all along—the shadow has been drawing him somewhere specific in order to confront him.
Themes
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
Once the ship is aground—even though Vetch cannot see what land they may or may not have come to—Vetch and Ged both become aware of a strange stillness on the sea and in the air. Vetch steps out of the boat seemingly into the sea. As Ged walks forward, though, Vetch can see that it is indeed sand his friend walks upon. Ged’s staff begins to glow faintly as he walks on. Soon, Ged becomes aware of the shadow coming toward him across the sand.
The shadow has led Ged to the ends of the earth, but now there is nowhere left to run. The strange enchantment Ged and Vetch come upon may be the work of the shadow, but Le Guin leaves much of Ged’s final struggle with the shadow ambiguous. The specifics and optics of their showdown are not important—what is essential is that Ged at last recognizes exactly what he must do to defeat the shadow and reclaim ownership of his life.
Themes
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
As the shadow approaches, Ged finds that the shadow has taken the form of his father. Stunned, he blinks, and finds that it takes the form of Jasper. As Ged raises his staff to better see the shadow, it takes the form of Pechvarry. Ged continues forward toward the shadow as it continues shifting shape. Ged lifts his staff and it brightens intensely. The shadow casts off its false forms and once again becomes a strange, dark creature. As Ged and the shadow come face to face, Ged speaks the shadow’s true name to it: Ged. The shadow says the same thing back. Ged takes hold of his other self. Light and darkness meet.
In Ged’s climactic final encounter with the shadow, he at last realizes that the shadow’s true name is his own. In other words, the shadow is and always has been the darkest part of himself. By accepting this facet of his own personality, Ged is able to absorb it. There is no light without darkness, and as the shadow and Ged at last rejoin as one, Le Guin invokes the power of the universe’s perfect—yet often incomprehensible—sense of equilibrium. Ged’s coming-of-age tale is at last complete: he has understood the truth of who he is.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Cosmic Balance Theme Icon
Quotes
Vetch hurries to help Ged, fearing his friend is overpowered, yet he finds himself unable to move through the sand Ged walks upon with ease. Vetch hurries back to the boat. As he gets in, he realizes he has lost sight of Ged. He looks around and at last sees his friend flailing in the waves—the sand is gone. Vetch rows over to Ged and hauls him back onto the boat. Ged is frightened and exhausted. He clutches his staff and doesn’t speak for a long time. Vetch begins sailing back from whence they came.
Vetch came along on this journey to help his friend, and here, he proves that he is willing to risk everything for Ged’s safety. Vetch is a selfless, devoted person who sees duty to others as a fundamental cornerstone of his life.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon
That night, as Ged spies the new moon in the sky, he declares at last: “It is done. It is over.” Ged begins to laugh. He declares that he is whole, free, and healed. As Vetch looks carefully upon his friend, he sees that it is true: Ged has not lost or won; he has simply made himself complete by naming the shadow and understanding his “whole true self.” Ged, Vetch knows, cannot be used or possessed any longer by any entity but himself. Vetch sings an old, happy song aloud as he sails westward.
The shadow was always the darkest part of Ged—and this passage makes clear that now that Ged has accepted this fact, he is able to be “whole” once again. Ged’s coming-of-age journey is thus complete. As a young man, he was easily swayed by the pursuit of power and the desire to prove himself to others. Now, however, having accepted the truth of who he is, he is beholden to no one but himself. Ged fully understands his complex nature now, and he is no longer in conflict with himself as he once was. 
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
Cosmic Balance Theme Icon
Quotes
After over a fortnight of sailing and using enchantments to sweeten the seawater and catch fish to eat, Vetch and Ged find land again. The weather is calm and steady, and both men delight in the songs of seabirds and the sights of the great cliffs that surround them as they return to the Archipelago. Soon, they are back on Iffish. After docking their boat, they wind through the streets of town toward Vetch’s house, where Yarrow, joyful, is waiting to meet them.
As Ged’s journey comes to an end, he is not alone as he long feared he would be. Instead, he is surrounded by friends who love, see, and celebrate him. Ged is able to begin enjoying his life again now that the threat of the shadow has been removed—he understands who he truly is, and this allows him to show his true self to the others in his life, too.
Themes
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Identity and the Shadow Self Theme Icon
No song remains of Ged’s encounter with the shadow—the very song Vetch promised to write and sing. However, there is an enduring tale of a boat that ran aground on the open sea. The song varies from isle to isle: some say it was Vetch who steered the boat, while others say it was two humble fishermen. In the Deed of Ged, the lore dedicated to Ged’s legacy, no line even mentions his encounter with the shadow—even though many of his great accomplishments, including his return to Roke, his encounter with more dragons, and his ascendancy to Archmage of the Archipelago all have a place in the song.
The final passage of the novel proves that Ged’s journey throughout the story was never about pride, glory, or fame. This journey has been an intensely personal one, necessary even though in the scope of things it brings no additional pride or glory upon Ged’s name. This final passage hints that though Ged will ultimately achieve the greatness he once imagined for himself in his youth, this early, private adventure is perhaps the most important part of his entire story. The thankless, personal, quiet parts of a person’s life, Le Guin suggests, are the most important.
Themes
Knowledge and Patience vs. Power and Pride Theme Icon
Duty and Destiny Theme Icon