She writes that when she wrote the first book, in the 60s, it simply didn't occur to her that a woman might be a hero of a fantasy epic in the same way as a man. But writing the series over several decades, gaining more exposure to the feminist movement, she wrote some of the latter books, like Tehanu, directly to critique her earlier assumptions and the sexism of the world in the first book (2)
I think I am coming to like book 1 more now. I'm not particularly bothered by the misogyny tbh - I don't like the repetitions of how women's magic is bad - but in terms of the protagonist being a man, it does make sense for the history of the genre and the era she's writing in. Actually, sometimes I prefer a story with a male protagonist than one who's female protagonist is too saturated with "girlboss" - which is my criticism of lots of modern fantasy, particularly on television. If your female protagonist can't be gross, prideful or spiteful in the same ways as a man then I don't want her.
Obviously I have no idea how le guin treats a female protagonist, this ask just brought these thoughts to my mind through association. And this is the second time someone has recommended Tehanu to me - I am determined to stick out to the end of book 1 and see how the rest of the series goes
