blog post 3/18

On p.245, the mentioning and the use of the female identification term “her” was used by Gently. Did the cold weather and mental fatigue finally cause the narrator to lose his mind? Or was the term “her “purposely given to the sledge due to the reason that it has help add relief on his journey through the icy terrain? In addition is it possible “her” was a reference to Gently’s traveling partner, Estraven? Since Estraven was in kemmer at the time and had taken up the female Getheriean form. Also was Gently practicing an old tradition of naming items people may love or treasure? In today’s world many people give names to their boats and airplanes due to the reason they enjoy them. Could another reason for Gently’s mentioning of “her” be a desire to be with a women? Since Mr. Ai has yet to meet a woman from his world for many years, he might be suffering from loneness and that the out burst of “her” may have been a long hidden desire.