The Sol of Tropic of Orange

One of the most interesting characters in Tropic of Orange is one whose perspective isn’t part of the main narrative. Sol embodies several themes of the novel, including the movement from south to north, the elongation of time and place, the mélange of races, and the centrality of the orange. In the opening chapter, Dona Maria calls Sol “a true mixture,” and like many of the other characters in the novel his race is the product of interracial parents (7). Unlike the other characters, though, Sol is the only one completely unaware of his internal contradictions, and whether or not he is actually a true mixture is determined by those around him, outside his control.

Sol also seems to be connected in a profound way to the dividing line Rafaela notices: “She followed Sol who seemed to be following a path of his own, but upon closer inspection, he was tracing the path of a very thin but distinct shadow” (13). He appears to be intimately in tune with the invisible forces that Rafaela notices, seemingly tracing his own path but actually being governed by the path of the line. We see that Sol probably follows this line throughout the entire novel, such as when Rafaela relinquishes him to Arcangel’s care near the end. Arcangel carries the line with him northward as Sol knowingly or unknowingly follows. It would be enlightening for Yamashita to provide glimpses into Sol’s perspective to see if he does in fact see the line at all times, but that would deviate from the cartography of the novel.

Sol is also tied to his namesake, the sun, and its movements. When the sun is highest in the sky at noon and there are no shadows on the ground for Sol to trace, he goes into a fit. Sol is not “interested [in a rainbow], and he was getting heavier ever step” (69). Without the shadows for Sol to run along, he does not want to walk at all. A good part of Rafaela’s chapters are devoted to describing how Sol walks and how much he does it, so out of all the characters the path that Sol takes may be the most important, out of his control or not.