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A Goodreads user asked this question about The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2):
I know this may sound interestingly weird but I still have to ask it. Is this a love story between Tenar\ Arha and Ged ?
layla I think a lot of the answers here don't give satisfying answers to your question. I've just finished the "The Tombs of Atuan", but I know how Ged's an…moreI think a lot of the answers here don't give satisfying answers to your question. I've just finished the "The Tombs of Atuan", but I know how Ged's and Tenar's story continues from spoiling myself on Wikipedia lol.

Short answer: yes, this is a love story between Tenar/Arha and Ged, but not in the traditional sense.

Long answer: first and foremost, "The Tombs of Atuan" is a Bildungsroman - so it has many themes associated with coming-of-age. The main themes are identity, redemption, trust, and defying a false destiny. One of the minor themes is love. Tenar experiences many different conflicting, confusing and distressing emotions and revelations when Ged comes into her lives, and the combined feelings of resentment and love are some of them.

The love story is definitely there - it's just that Tenar, having very little exposure to a world that isn't consumed by religious fanaticism, doesn't understand what she's feeling (very easy to infer from the later chapters). Also, she's 15.

We don't get to see things from Ged's perspective, but it's pretty obvious that he cares for her deeply, but at that moment the reader is unsure if he returns her feelings.

The book might not be an orthodox love story, but it's definitely the beginning of one.
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The Tombs of Atuan
by Ursula K. Le Guin
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