Rulag
Rulag is Shevek’s mother and a respected engineer.
The book
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeRulag is Shevek’s mother and a respected engineer. She leaves when work takes her elsewhere and does not return to raise him, believing that social need and vocation must come before family attachment. When she meets the adult Shevek, she offers help but cannot understand the emotional damage caused by her absence. Later she strongly opposes opening Anarres to Urras and confronts Shevek’s allies. She is alive when he departs, and her response to his return is unknown.
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