It is in Adam's Rib that Dora-Rouge and Luther come to live. It is in Adam's Rib that Agnes is born and lives her entire life. It is in Adam's Rib that her son Harold is born and then comes to live with his wife -- Bush. And it is to Adam's Rib that Angel returns to meet these women for the first time. So what is behind the name? Within the novel we are not told who gave the land this name, but why would Hogan, as the author of this story, give this name to this land? Although overtly male sounding at first, Adam's Rib actually has very little to do with men. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, the story is told of how Eve was formed from Adam's rib. Adam's rib signifies the formation of woman -- a miraculous forging of womanhood. And that is exactly what Adam's Rib is in Solar Storms; it is the place where each of these strong women truly begins to form their life, to come to see who they really are. It is the place where Angel's eyes are opened, as if in a rebirth and she says that she truly began to see. She began, .
To see that there were three women and myself, all of us on some kind of 3.
journey out from that narrowed circle to our history Only a month earlier I knew none of these women, or even that they existed, and now our lives were bound together by blood and history. (93).
There are references to the Bible throughout Solar Storms, so it is evident that Hogan knows the Bible and chose the name Adam's Rib to intentionally, and yet gently, hint at the character of the land.
Near Adam's Rib is tiny Fur Island. Less symbolic than the name Adam's Rib, the name Fur Island is simply perfect for that piece of land. Fur brings to mind warmth, safety, protection from the surrounding world and of course animals. Fur island has all of these things. We are told that it is here that many animals come when the lake is frozen and then are trapped when the ice melts. Despite its absolutely freezing temperatures, it is in the warmth and protection of Fur Island that Angel begins to feel at peace.
