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A character in The Dispossessed

Ambassador Keng

Keng is the Terran ambassador to Urras.

The book

Cover of The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
The DispossessedUrsula K. Le Guin, 1974

Two opposed societies reveal how revolutionary ideals can harden into conformity without becoming simple villains.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Keng is the Terran ambassador to Urras. Earth’s ecological and political devastation shapes her judgment: she sees Urras’s fertile beauty more vividly than Shevek does, even while understanding its violence. She grants him refuge and agrees to transmit his theory to every connected world. Her decision prevents A-Io from taking exclusive possession of it. She remains at the embassy after arranging his return.

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