Question

Le Guin purposely misleads her reader as to the true identity of the narrator. How does this technique help the reader understand the motivation behind the narrators actions.

Answer 1

Until the very end of the story, we don't get to realize that the narrator is a wolf, and her husband a werewolf. This adds to the suspense of the story, and we eventually get to understand the roots of her behavior: a werewolf is something in between a wolf and a human. Therefore, it is something unclean and uncanny, even from a wolf's perspective. A pack of wolves has to kill him because he, being half human, is dangerous for them. His wife has to be a part of this even though she still loves him.