Four Ways To Forgiveness - Contents

Contents

The four stories in Four Ways to Forgiveness are based on two planets named Werel and Yeowe, in a distant solar system. These planets are primarily inhabited by humans with slightly blue-tinged dark or light skin, black hair, and dark eyes. The stories start with the Ekumen in contact with both worlds and Yeowe recently freed from rule by Werel. Werel itself has a slave system that is expected to break down soon.

• "Betrayals" - The principal characters are Yoss, an old woman on Yeowe, a retired science teacher who had lived through the War of Liberation and a neighbour, Chief Abberkam, a disgraced leader from Yeowe's war of liberation, an opponent of contact with the Hainish envoys, living in a desolate area of the planet. Abberkam. Abberkam rescues Yoss's pet cat, Gubu, from an accidental fire which destroys her hut; she then moves into Abberkan's house.
• "Forgiveness Day" - Solly, a woman of half-terran ancestry and space-travelling parents, faces problems as Envoy to the small kingdom of Gatay on Werel.
• "A Man of the People" - Havzhiva is a man who grows up on Hain, is educated there and then works for the Hainish embassy on Yeowe. It is the fullest account so far of life on Hain.
• "A Woman's Liberation" - Rakam, a woman born as a slave on Werel, tells of her life and her growing self-awareness.

The second, third and fourth stories have some characters in common. Havzhiva from story three works for Solly from Story Two. He is also the lover of Rakam in Story Four, mentioned but not named in Story Three. Both of them know Dr Yeron, and also Esdardon Aya, 'Old Music'. 'Old Music' is a minor character in Story Two, and the protagonist in the separate short story Old Music and the Slave Women in the collection The Birthday of the World.

The book ends with Notes on Werel and Yeowe, giving details of the two planets and their solar system. Note that this 'Werel' is not the same as the world called Werel in Planet of Exile and City of Illusions.