Solarium is my favorite chapter of the entire novel. In part, this is because I feel that much of the whimsy of the first chapter resurfaces here. In "January Man" (chapter one), there is a sense of mystery which surrounds the House in the Woods. There is a bit of the same that surrounds the vicarage. What's more, Mme Crommelynck is a mysterious figure as well. She offers Jason advice about his poetry. This advice translates into life lessons, in my opinion.
I don't think we see anyone give Jason such extensive advice about life other than Mme Crommelynck. Though she seems to focus on Jason's poetry, one can tell that she is searching to get at a deeper meaning as well. She speaks a lot of beauty. Though she seems to be against Jason using beautiful words in his poetry: "Beautiful words ruin your poetry," she seems to believe that beauty is a positive thing once refined: "A touch of beauty enhances a dish, but you [Jason] throw a hill of it into the pot!" (147).
The entire exchange about beauty interested me because of its contradictions. This advice is coming from a woman who was once beautiful, but now has faded. It is ironic that a crone should be lecturing a young boy about beauty. On the contrary, it seems fitting that someone who has lost her beauty to be the authority about things which are beautiful.
Mme Crommelynck's opinions and theories about beauty seem to be quite complicated, but by the end of the chapter, I felt that they came across beautifully. By Jason's second meeting with her, her temperament seemed to have changed and she was much more likable. Again, the dichotomy between ugliness in beauty is demonstrated by her temperament.
Also, as a side note, Mme Crommelynck is my favorite character from the novel. She is a very rounded character. What's more, we can see her diversity from just one chapter. Jason, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more flat and predictable.
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