That attempted rape scene was really cringey and really out of character for the protagonist, and didn’t seem to fit in with the plot much at all.

And yes, the ending is pretty weak. It’s really more of a setup for the next installment of the Hainish series, The Left Hand… As is the weak opening chapter, which apparently was a carryover linking to the previous novel. I guess you don’t need to read them in order because each one is a self-contained novel. But it is annoying of her. I’m not going to read all seven or eight of them!