The first book of the original trilogy, A Wizard of Earthsea was centered on a two-named hero, the boy Sparrowhawk who becomes the Wizard Ged. This middle book is focused a a two-named heroine: Tenar, chosen to be the high priestess in childhood as the reincarnation of the last high priestess. She becomes Arha ("the eaten one") when she's dedicated to the "nameless ones" and the labyrinths beneath the tombs of Atuan are her refuge. Enter Ged, who she leads into that labyrinth. Does that sound familiar? It sure did to me: Ariadne and Theseus. The book has other such resonances as well. Another review pointed out for instance how the way the high priestess is chosen is reminiscent of Tibetan Buddhism. And I've read that the Earthsea books were inspired by Taoism. So it's tempting here to see Tenar as Yin to Ged's Yang. In the previous book Ged's adversary was "shadow"(associated with Yin). This book doesn't necessarily flip that, but it is more inward. In the first book Ged travels outward and ultimately is fleeing his own shadow. In this one Tenar is trapped in dark places. I actually think this book reads less allegorically and is more atmospheric. No dragons here, but I liked it even more than the first book. If anything irritates me about it is that while in the first book Ged learns his own lessons, in this one it seems the female must be led into the light by the male.
