Image 1 of 1
Program Notes
This piece is a tribute to the book Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin. It takes place in a world where magic is real, but its themes are prescient for the real world too. The story follows a widow, Tenar, who takes in a young child, Tehanu, and raises her as a daughter. The book starts very tragically with Tenar finding the child mistreated, pushed into a fire, and left for dead. This piece starts the same way, with the flickering of flames underscoring a mournful melody.
As we read the book further, we are grappling alongside Tenar as she asks questions like “how can this happen?” Not only how could individual people do such evil, but how do we live in a world where such evil can be done? And what can we do for the child? What could be enough to right that wrong? The title of the piece comes from the most heartbreaking line in the book, when the protagonist is thinking that the harm done to the child has created a deep chasm nothing can fill. Not even their love for each other is enough fill the depth. It can only form a bridge; a bridge of spider web.
We can’t do enough, but we must do what we can. Children in our own nation and all over the world are suffering because of individuals who do evil deeds in a world that allows evil to be done. For many, no act of goodness can ever truly fix the harm done. But spider silk is strong. We must take action. We must do what we can, even if it’s not enough.