Alienness/The Other
The planet as well as the ocean-being Solaris are about as strange as strange gets for Kris and the team. The image of strangeness, of alienness, of being "The Other", is a recurring image in the novel. This image ties in with images of isolation as the crew members are not only physically or locationally isolated but are estranged from one another by the emotional/mental baggage they carry but also the sudden emotional turmoil that the Visitors create in them. The Visitors themselves are a fantastic physical manifestation of otherness on Solaris. The Visitors manifest as female and/or of different cultures or ethnicities, a stark contrast from the patriarchal, ethnically homogenous, monocultural mini-society of the Solaris Space Station.
Isolation
One of the most prevalent images is isolation. Narratives of isolation can be found all through the novel and in various iterations. There is the literal isolation of the planet Solaris, a distant planet, far away from any Earth-based space station or remotely familiar human civilization. The human expeditionary team likewise exists and operates in a state of isolation: most of them operating as lone contributors of their study endeavors, rarely working together as an actual team. The protagonist, Kris Kelvin, also lives a life of near complete isolation. His wife, his only real companion kills herself, leaving him alone to nurse a deep pain that few can ever really understand.
Introspection
Narratives of introspection and contemplation abound in the novel and this comes as no surprise: since the expedition crew find themselves with so much time alone there is really little else to do on Solaris apart from gather data and ruminate upon one’s life. The sudden appearance of the Visitors makes the act of soul-searching all the more profound for the crew, as now are now literally being visited by their deepest, most closely guarded fantasies and/or fears.
Retrospection/Flashbacks
Retrospection/Flashbacks are critical to the narrative and are also a frequently encountered image. The protagonist, Kris Kelvin, is for the most part a blank slate who, true to the scientist that he is, reports events that happen upon the strange planet with a disengaged scholarly manner. Nothing is known of him apart from his profession and he only ever really begins to become more well-rounded as character during the flashbacks of his past or in explanations of how his past affects his decisions in the present.
