A very cold planet, trapped in an eternal winter; also, the world is sometimes called Winter.
The people of Gethen - Gethenians - are androgynous. When they enter a state of reproduction (called ''
kemmer'') they sometimes enter it as a man and sometimes as a woman. An individual can both bear and sire children. See
Kemmer.
Gethen's period of revolution is 8401
Terran Standard Hours or .96 of the
Terran Standard Year. The period of rotation is 23.08 Terran Standard Hours: The Gethen year contains 364 days. The year is divided into 14 months of 26 days each. (More on the Gethenian calendar and clock in
The Left Hand of Darkness, p. 302)