Setting

Physical setting

The short story “The Rule of Names” by Ursula K. Le Guin is set in the fictional universe of Earthsea, on Sattins Island, during a sunny period in December.

The references to the physical setting of Earthsea indicate that it is formed of islands and water which are divided into regions like ‘Outer Reach’, ‘North Reach’, ‘East Reach or ‘West Reach’. 

The setting of the village is described on several occasions: “Then he went down to the village. (…) he passed them in the narrow street between houses with conical, overhanging roofs like the fat red caps of toadstools.”; “…there in the wintry sunlight, sheep and children around her, a leafless oak above her, and behind her the dunes and sea and clear, pale sky.” 

These depictions of the physical setting suggest ...