Carl Character Analysis in Tropic of Cancer

Carl is one of Henry’s good friends, a fellow expatriate. Along with Boris, he is the only one of Henry’s friends whom Henry respects for his literary mind. Nevertheless, Carl resents the expectation to actually write anything; he wants to be a writer without writing. In this he reflects an aspect of Henry’s artistic identity: a tension between the creative urge (and the desire to think of oneself as an artist) and the disdain for work of any kind. Unlike the rather stoic Henry, however, Carl constantly complains about everything, and he expresses vague desires to go back to America. Like many of Henry’s friends, Carl is a callous womanizer. Toward the end of the novel, Henry returns to Paris to find that Carl has gotten himself in potential legal trouble with the parents of his last girlfriend, who was underage. Carl believes he successfully deflected the father, however, by having volumes of classic literature open on his table that won the man’s sympathy. His seduction of the rich older woman Irene is uncharacteristically faltering, but he turns it into material for great stories that enrage Van Norden and leave it unclear what actually happened between them.

Carl Quotes in Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer quotes below are all either spoken by Carl or refer to Carl . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Literature and Artistic Freedom Theme Icon

).

"I hate Paris!" he whines. "All these stupid people playing cards all day... look at them! And this writing! What's the use of putting words together? I can be a writer without writing, can't I? What does it prove if I write a book? What do we want with books anyway? There are too many books already..."

Related Characters: Carl (speaker), Henry Miller

Page Number and Citation: 40

Explanation and Analysis:

"That guy," he begins, meaning Carl, "that guy's an artist. He described every detail minutely. He told it to me with such accuracy that I know it's all a god-damned lie... but I can't dismiss it from my mind. You know how my mind works!"

Related Characters: Van Norden (speaker), Henry Miller, Carl

Page Number and Citation: 95

Explanation and Analysis:

"I try all sorts of things," he explains to me. "I even count sometimes, or I begin to think of a problem in philosophy, but it doesn't work. It's like I'm two people, and one of them is watching me all the time. I get so god-damned mad at myself that I could kill myself... and in a way, that's what I do every time I have an orgasm. For one second like I obliterate myself. There's not even one me then... there's nothing […] It's like receiving communion.

Related Characters: Carl (speaker), Henry Miller

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

But do you know what saved me? So I think, at least. It was Faust. Yeah! Her old man happened to see it lying on the table. He asked me if I understood German. One thing led to another and before I knew it he was looking through my books. Fortunately I happened to have the Shakespeare open too. That impressed him like hell. He said I was evidently a very serious guy.

Related Characters: Carl (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 233

Explanation and Analysis:

Carl Quotes in Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer quotes below are all either spoken by Carl or refer to Carl . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

"I hate Paris!" he whines. "All these stupid people playing cards all day... look at them! And this writing! What's the use of putting words together? I can be a writer without writing, can't I? What does it prove if I write a book? What do we want with books anyway? There are too many books already..."

Related Characters: Carl (speaker), Henry Miller

Page Number and Citation: 40

Explanation and Analysis:

"That guy," he begins, meaning Carl, "that guy's an artist. He described every detail minutely. He told it to me with such accuracy that I know it's all a god-damned lie... but I can't dismiss it from my mind. You know how my mind works!"

Related Characters: Van Norden (speaker), Henry Miller, Carl

Page Number and Citation: 95

Explanation and Analysis:

"I try all sorts of things," he explains to me. "I even count sometimes, or I begin to think of a problem in philosophy, but it doesn't work. It's like I'm two people, and one of them is watching me all the time. I get so god-damned mad at myself that I could kill myself... and in a way, that's what I do every time I have an orgasm. For one second like I obliterate myself. There's not even one me then... there's nothing […] It's like receiving communion.

Related Characters: Carl (speaker), Henry Miller

Page Number and Citation: 105

Explanation and Analysis:

But do you know what saved me? So I think, at least. It was Faust. Yeah! Her old man happened to see it lying on the table. He asked me if I understood German. One thing led to another and before I knew it he was looking through my books. Fortunately I happened to have the Shakespeare open too. That impressed him like hell. He said I was evidently a very serious guy.

Related Characters: Carl (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 233

Explanation and Analysis: