there's a really good paragraph about how tenar has had a life defined by the power of men. first she is told she is nothing - the most dehumanizing thing one can be called in the world of earthsea, where names give something a form. then she must conform to patriarchy once she is old enough to marry and have kids, doing everything in service to them. finally, she travels all the way to stay by the side of a dying man and wait for another to come. her whole life seems to be defined by the decisions of men. despite all of this, however, she still has her name. a name that was given to her by her mother, outside of the influence of patriarchy. if a name is the most important thing in this world, then so too does tenar's name make up who she is. she is defined as "tenar" - an individual, a fully realized person - not by the actions made by men in an attempt to control her life. she whispers "i am tenar" to herself to remember that she is something, that her very existence is more important than what the patriarchy at large has done to her... her mother's simple decision of giving her child a name matters more than all of the power of men in the world.