Pondering the Shadow Self in the Story of Earthsea

My 1976 Pencil Sketch of Ged from the Earthsea Saga

I made a sketch depicting an important scene from the book. It's funny that as I look back on the sketch, I remember nothing about that aspect of the story. Until I researched the Earthsea* story plot online, I had forgotten that this is a prelude to one of the most central themes of the book. That only by accepting one's "shadow self" and acknowledging it as part of oneself is one able to overcome it and to heal hurts caused by it. That might be an oversimplification but it's more than I ever pondered when I made the sketch. At this point in the scene I depict, the shadow self is a 'reverse twin' of Ged. Its form changed dramatically during the course of the account.

*The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula Le Guin

This blog post by a Psychotherapist explains (in a lengthy article) more about Ged's naming of his shadow self.