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dickensI think I first encountered the idea of 'true names' in A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Leguin. She is by no means the only author to use the it. It is the powerful and (I thought) nifty notion that everyone has a name (usually received at puberty) that describes exactly who they are; but the name must be hidden lest someone control you with that knowledge.
As a teenager, having shall we say, an rich imagination and a pallid social life, I thought a lot about what my name would be in a world that worked that way. I think that the idea was attractive because identity still felt a bit fluid.
Something I read, I don't recall what (or even if it was fiction or non-fiction) made me re-examine the idea. It no longer seems so shiny. It not only denies change, it denies the possibility of change.
From this side, to say to a teenager 'This is who you are. Forever.' seems more like a curse than a gift. Very GATTACA.
As a teenager, having shall we say, an rich imagination and a pallid social life, I thought a lot about what my name would be in a world that worked that way. I think that the idea was attractive because identity still felt a bit fluid.
Something I read, I don't recall what (or even if it was fiction or non-fiction) made me re-examine the idea. It no longer seems so shiny. It not only denies change, it denies the possibility of change.
From this side, to say to a teenager 'This is who you are. Forever.' seems more like a curse than a gift. Very GATTACA.
