Solaris Identity Quotes

Here it sounds like Kelvin is capable of distinguishing the image from the person. Later, though, he's going to get confused. And maybe we are, too; after all, what do we see of Sartorius except this story about him? Maybe Kelvin is already mistaken in thinking that there's a real Sartorius behind the image.

This is only the first exact replica we see in the novel. Kelvin thinks the replica helps him know where he is; Earth is a guide to space, what you've left behind you tells you where you are. It doesn't exactly work out that way for him, though. Watch that last replicated step there, Kelvin—it's a doozy.

Kelvin has ejected Rheya into space, and he's congratulating himself on having rescued the real Rheya, who is in his head. But is there a real Rheya in his head? His memory of Rheya isn't any more real than the simulacra Rheya—in fact, they're the same real, since the simulacra is based on his memory. Kelvin is patting himself on the back without being sure which is his real back.

Human beings aren't entirely in control of their heads; thoughts scurry out. Which means, on Solaris, that "a normal man" isn't just a normal man; he's also that odd thought, over there, hiding under the desk or just out of sight beyond the viewfinder. If your thoughts aren't yours, then who are you? A bug-eyed alien, as it turns out.

Snow is saying he could be a visitor himself. It's interesting that he refers to himself here by his nickname, Ratface. Maybe Ratface and Snow aren't the same person; maybe Ratface came on the station and eventually was replaced by, or turned into Snow. Think about a comic book for a second: Is the Superman in the first panel the same as the Superman in the second panel? You are you now, but is the you tomorrow still you? Even without an alien ocean to intervene, Superman replaces himself. Maybe you do, too.

One identical dead ex-wife in your room is disturbing, but two is downright horrifying. The key here is probably that the two dresses show that Rheya is replaceable or replicable; she's not one person, but a hollow form. As mentioned before, it's the uncanny valley thing again: people who are almost but not quite people are the scariest people in the world.

If a copy is better than the original, is it still a copy? Or is it instead more real than the original? In this case, it's worth noting, the copied Rheya is the only Rheya we know; we never meet the original Rheya, and Kelvin hardly mentions her. So in terms of the novel, too, the fake Rheya is more real than the "real" Rheya.

Is Kelvin dreaming this, or is Gibarian there as a ghost, or as a visitor? It's never exactly clear. Either way, it's true that Gibarian is a puppet; he's a character in a book after all. He doesn't realize it, though. Do you?

Rheya is despairing because she's realized she isn't real; she's just a hollow shell meant to deceive. That's the truth. But it's also the truth that people actually feel that way; Rheya could be describing a state of depression, of alienation from the self. Feeling unreal is one way real people feel. Again, Rheya feels more real as a character in part because she is able to articulate these feelings of unreality. The less real she feels the more real she feels.

Snow is referring to the time the fake Rheya came to the station and Kelvin killed her. But he could be just as easily referring to the time Kelvin left Rheya and she committed suicide. It's not just Rheya who comes back again and again; it's Kelvin's tragic relationship with her that repeats. It's like he's running the memory through his head over and over.