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Released five years after the publication of the scandalous Tropic of Cancer , the autobiographical sequel Tropic of Capricorn maintains the controversial narrative about freedom and eroticism but without repeating the formula.
Tropic of Capricorn keeps sexuality and eroticism at the forefront, but it is not simply a repetition of the themes and style presented in Tropic of Cancer . Through an even denser and more subjective narrative, Henry Miller unravels his past in New York during the 1920s—before he set off for Paris and made the French capital his own private party. The work is not libertarian like Tropic of Cancer . On the contrary, in it, sex seems more like escapism than celebration, an escape from a cruel and oppressive reality. But, even pessimistic, the extreme situation seems to call for a reaction, which, as we know, would come with the trip to Paris.
In this work, Miller, in his arrogance and kindness, is even more honest with human nature. He states: "(...) I seemed completely indifferent: most children rebel, or pretend to rebel, but I didn't give a damn. I was a philosopher when I was still in diapers. (...) I'm even a little worse, because I saw more clearly than they did, and yet I remained powerless to change my life. (...) They were always urging me not to be too tolerant, sentimental, or charitable. Be firm! Be tough!, they warned me. Fuck it!, I told myself, I'm going to be generous. Flexible. Merciful. Tolerant, caring. In the beginning, I listened to everyone to the end; if I couldn't give someone a job, I gave them money, and if I didn't have money, I gave them cigarettes or courage."
With autobiographical touches, the story is set in the 1920s and recounts a past permeated by existential considerations and shades of gray, from lack of work and money to a hateful job.
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