Solaris

In Solaris, Dr. Snow refers to Dr. Sartorius as a “Faust in reverse,” as the physicist is “looking for a cure for immortality” (184). This is a reference to Wolfgang Goethe’s classic play Faust, often considered the greatest work of German literature. Snow calls Sartorius a “reverse Faust” because while Faust, a fellow scientist, seeks immortality, Sartorius seeks to kill the seemingly immortal visitors. Faust strikes a bargain with Mephistopheles, the devil, that allows him to experience various pleasures. He eventually falls in love with a woman named Gretchen, who ends up languishing in prison. Similarly, Kris falls in love with Rheya but cannot free her from Solaris, the source of her life. Both parallels demonstrate the human desire to control, The Limitations of Human Intellect.

Finding himself restricted by Communist rule after World War II, Lem knew to hide his political and philosophical statements from censors. Thus, Solaris and Rheya can be read as references to his home country of Poland. Solaris’s ocean mirrors Poland’s natural beauty and the planet’s resistance against its own red sun mirrors the historical resistance against the Communist party—referred to as “Reds.” As for Rheya, her death at 19 mirrors the death of Poland when it was overwhelmed by Nazis roughly 20 years after gaining independence.