Treasure in the Depths
It can be terrifying to explore one’s inner depths. Fortunately, Ursula K. LeGuin’s 1971 classic, “The Tombs of Atuan,” is a roadmap (and treasure-map) for anyone entering the labyrinth.
Please note: this essay contains spoilers for the 1971 book, “The Tombs of Atuan.”
Journeying to the Center of Ourselves
This week I’m revisiting The Tombs of Atuan (1971) by Ursula K. LeGuin. It is the second book in LeGuin’s Earthsea Cycle, a fantasy series set in the fictional world of Earthsea which closely traces the adventures of a young wizard named Ged.
Here is a brief synopsis, courtesy of Goodreads:
When young Tenar is chosen as high priestess to the ancient and nameless Powers of the Earth, everything is taken away - home, family, possessions, even her name. For she is now Arha, the Eaten One, guardian of the ominous Tombs of Atuan.
While she is learning her way through the dark labyrinth, a young wizard, Ged, comes to steal the Tombs' greatest hidden treasure, the Ring of Erreth-Akbe. But Ged also brings with him the light of magic, and together, he and Tenar escape from the darkness that has become her domain.
Ursula K. LeGuin wrote so much that I admire, yet The Tombs of Atuan might be my favorite of all her works. On the one hand, it is a fairly straightforward fantasy story about an imperiled priestess and a powerful sorcerer who forge a friendship and help one another. On the other hand, this book is also an incredibly helpful roadmap for anyone embarking on their own journey of self-discovery.
In this essay, I hope to illustrate a few of the ways in which I think The Tombs of Atuan mirrors the process we all go through as we explore the unknown within ourselves – whether through inner work, therapy, or friendship with a trusted “other.”
An Inheritance of Darkness
Tenar, the book’s protagonist, is born on the same day the High Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan dies. Therefore, Tenar is believed to be her reincarnation. She is taken from her family at age 5 and initiated in the Tombs’ priestess-hood. An older priestess mentor teaches the dances and rituals, as well as how to navigate the subterranean labyrinth under the Tombs where a precious treasure lies hidden.
The labyrinth is always completely dark, only navigable by memorizing its vast layout.
Flash forward. Tenar has turned 14, and has fully assumed her status as highest-ranking priestess. Soon, a group of prisoners is sent to the Tombs from elsewhere in the Kargish Empire. As High Priestess, Tenar is expected to kill them – which she does by starving them in the labyrinth’s dungeons. This act pleases her powerful mentor, but haunts Tenar and makes her question the socio-religious system she presides in.
Tenar’s loss of innocence causes her intense pain, but also awakens her to the destructive nature of the path she had been walking. Tenar now fully recognizes the danger and paradox of her position; she has power and safety only as long as she is willing to hurt others. In acknowledging this, she unknowingly opens the door through which help can enter her life.
Intrusion, Vulnerability, and Hidden Splendor
Tenar’s one pleasure is to walk alone in the labyrinths. One night while walking, she notices a stranger creeping along the labyrinth walls – a thief! Yet instead of raising the alarm, she stalks and observes him silently. Lost, the young man (who is the wizard, Ged) raises his staff and casts a spell of light, illuminating the labyrinth.
Tenar, whose eyes are accustomed to the dark, is dazzled by what the spell reveals: the labyrinth’s high ceilings, arches, and ornate pillars are covered in beautiful stones and crystals. All her life, Tenar had thought the place to be plain rock.
This sudden revelation of beauty and depth is so stunning that Tenar panics and slips into fear, sounding the alarm and having the stranger dragged to the dungeons.
Tenar cannot yet accept what the “other” has shown her – that she, like the environment she presides in - may contain previously unknown worth and value. Her defenses are still too high, and it will take time before she is able to fully trust.
Does this dynamic sound familiar to you? It sure does to me.
Traitor to Tradition
Her mentor – fearful of Tenar’s ever-growing independence and authority – demands that Tenar kill the prisoner as a sacrifice to the Powers of the Earth. Tenar’s conscience, however, implores her to keep the prisoner alive.
Feeling ever more like a prisoner herself, Tenar disobeys her mentor and visits the dungeons overnight. Tenar’s guesses are confirmed – the intruder is indeed a wizard, and he may hold the key to her escape from the Tombs. He promises he is not stealing for personal gain, but to retrieve the Ring of Erreth-Akbe and renew balance to Earthsea.
Tenar is hopeful but distrustful. It is only several visits later, when Ged confides in her his true name (known to only a few in Earthsea), and shares about his own experiences with death and darkness, that she can fully place her wounded faith in him. Aboveground, she buys time by promising Ged will be killed during an imminent ceremony. But her plans for their escape have already taken form.
These pivotal meetings in the labyrinth allow Tenar to find her voice and show Ged that she is more than a High Priestess, and more than the Tombs she occupies. I love that these meetings take place deep within the labyrinth – an ancient symbol which often represents the psyche, and even looks a bit like a diagram of the brain.
This is so fitting, as the conversations they have are as deep and poignant as those of a good therapy session, or a session of spiritual direction. Ged asks thoughtful questions, listens to Tenar, and responds with empathy to her many deep-seated resistances. He never dismisses Tenar’s society, religion, or her role. He honors these things within her, at the same time firmly challenging her to consider sacrificing her life here for the world beyond the Tombs.
Structural Collapse of Outdated Systems
Ultimately, Ged cannot force Tenar to act. She alone must decide to flee or stay. Although Tenar doesn’t yet have full trust or belief in herself, Ged has helped her gain just enough confidence to make the crucial change. She springs him, and they run.
The two escapees make a harrowing flight away from the mountains as the massive Tombs collapse from within, sending waves of dust and rock into the sky. The Tombs literally cannot stand without their High Priestess. Their implosion means that Tenar is the last High Priestess who will have ever served the ancient Powers of the Earth.
Through the lens of depth psychology, I also view this collapse as the implosion of Tenar’s old worldview and psychic structure. Although it was a long time coming (probably with many prior cracks in the architecture), the sudden annihilation of this structure is still a crushing blow, leading to this marvelous passage from LeGuin:
“A dark hand had let go its lifelong hold upon her heart. But [Tenar] did not feel joy, as she had in the mountains. She put her head down in her arms and cried, and her cheeks were salt and wet. She cried for the waste of her years in bondage to a useless evil. She wept in pain, because she was free.
“What she had begun to learn was the weight of liberty. Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it.”
My Takeaways
I adore this book for its stark beauty and haunting atmosphere - and also because I see so much of myself in Tenar. Like her, I have sometimes resisted the “light-bringers” in my own life, and I have also struggled to balance my fears with curiosity.
Like Tenar, I recognize how difficult it is to rebel against tradition – even when your life is on the line! No matter how “right” Tenar’s difficult choices were, the religion she abandoned will always be “right-er” according to the elaborate game they’ve written the rules for. The Tombs’ collapse at the end of the story is the final fruition of the implicit threats Tenar unwittingly experienced her whole life:
Abandoning tradition means you will die.
Abandoning tradition also means that you are responsible for the destruction of tradition itself!
The story also reminds me of the famous line from Leonard Cohen’s song, Hallelujah:
“There’s a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
Tenar had to experience profound brokenness before another “light” (via Ged) could enter her life. In my own experience, whenever my defenses are feeling impervious, that’s usually a sign something’s about to crack. Likewise, whenever I’m feeling broken, that’s usually a sign that help is on the way.
The key ingredient to this alchemy of personal growth is relationship – Tenar, like all of us, needs to grow in relationship with a trusted other. She also needs to give that relationship time; her deep trust in Ged could not happen overnight.
A final thought on this book and the process of self-exploration:
Recently I found an amazing short video on shadow work from therapist Gwen McHale. In it, McHale explains that shadow is a natural part of life, that basically “If we exist, we have a shadow.”
She the says what most of us don’t realize is that our shadow - which is often wrapped up in layers of shame - is also where we find our deepest gifts, power, and beauty. AKA, the treasure buried within our labyrinths. And our fears about being monstrous persons? Well, those are just stories that prevent us from looking within.
Thanks for reading, and best of luck on your own journey of self-exploration!
Let’s keep the conversation going below!
Are you a fan of Ursula K. LeGuin?
Do you have other fantasy authors/titles you recommend?
Do you have any hints as to what your own “hidden treasure” may be?
Do you have inner work or shadow work experiences you’d like to share about?