That's an interesting take I hadn't considered, Chris; I think my reaction to it was also based on something pretty personal. I think what I most reacted to in the story was how it seemed to be a society of introverts, and that I kept finding myself feeling like the story was critiquing that way of living in uncomfortable ways, while simultaneously being aware that this was almost certainly something I was bringing to the story rather than something that Le Guin had really put into it. I was frustrated with the mother and the daughter both (which I think was Le Guin's intent) and also with myself for reacting to the story the way I did. I'm still thinking about all that now, days after I read it.