Claire’s husband and a judge in downtown Manhattan. He is well-respected in the legal community and is a relatively good judge despite his rather jaded, discouraged approach. He believes deeply in order and greatly respects the law. These days, though, his primary concern seems to be getting through each day, efficiently hearing and sentencing one case after another. Unlike Claire, he does not wish to talk about his son’s death.
Judge Solomon Soderberg Quotes in Let the Great World Spin
The Let the Great World Spin quotes below are all either spoken by Judge Solomon Soderberg or refer to Judge Solomon Soderberg. 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:
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Book 3, Chapter 9
Quotes
His fellow judges and court officers and reporters and even the stenographers were already talking about it as if it were another of those things that just happened in the city. One of those out-of-the-ordinary days that made sense of the slew of ordinary days. New York had a way of doing that. Every now and then the city shook its soul out. It assailed you with an image, or a day, or a crime, or a terror, or a beauty so difficult to wrap your mind around that you had to shake your head in disbelief.
Related Characters:
Judge Solomon Soderberg
Related Symbols:
The Tightrope Walk
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Soderberg glanced at Tillie Henderson as she was escorted out the door to his right. She walked with her head low and yet there was a learned bounce in her gait. As if she were already out and doing the track… Her face looked odd and vulnerable, and yet still held a touch of the sensual. Her eyes were dark. Her eyebrows were plucked thin. There was a shine to her, a glisten. It was as if he were seeing her for the first time: upside down, the way the eye first sees, and then must correct. Something tender and carved about the face… Her face seemed for a second almost beautiful, and then the hooker turned and shuffled and the door was closed behind her, and she vanished into her own namelessness.
Related Characters:
Tillie Henderson, Judge Solomon Soderberg
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Judge Solomon Soderberg Character Timeline in Let the Great World Spin
The timeline below shows where the character Judge Solomon Soderberg appears in Let the Great World Spin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book One, Chapter 2: Miró, Miró, on the Wall
One morning on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Claire Soderberg prepares to host a group of women. Her husband Solomon, after bringing her breakfast in...
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...like. She applies her makeup and chooses a dress. Again, she thinks about her husband Solomon. She thinks about when she first met him at Yale, when he had a full...
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...air. Claire wishes momentarily to be somewhere else, someplace where she could be close to Solomon and Joshua. She realizes that, though Marcia’s flustered state ushered the women smoothly into the...
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As she tells the women about Joshua and about Solomon and about how hard it was to hear about her son’s death, Claire realizes what...
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Book Three, Chapter 9: A Part of the Parts
...and the officers and the reporters and the stenographers—speak excitedly about the tightrope walker. Judge Soderberg considers to himself the way that New York has a way of presenting extraordinary events...
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Judge Soderberg does not witness the walk, which upsets him greatly. He misses it by the smallest...
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...who has been arrested and will be tried in their precinct. Much to his delight, Soderberg is on duty for the day, and it is possible he will receive the walker.
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For the most part, Judge Soderberg’s days are dreary and discouraging. He feels beaten down by the constant flow of criminals...
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Judge Soderberg considers how he used to think he would be a “paragon of virtue” in the...
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Judge Soderberg is sure he will get the tightrope walker, but he calls the D.A.’s office to...
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Judge Soderberg goes to Harry’s, his favorite restaurant, where he orders wine and talks to Harry, the...
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At the same time, however, Judge Soderberg believes in the Vietnam War, maintaining that it was started in order to protect the...
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When Soderberg returns to the court, a line of defendants walk through the door. Among them is...
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The first defendants on Judge Soderberg’s list are Jazzlyn and Tillie Henderson. He observes the two prostitutes as they come to...
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Judge Soderberg begins reviewing the case, proud of his sharp efficiency. He hopes that the reporters in...
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...has decided to take full responsibility for the robbery that she and Jazzlyn committed, Judge Soderberg dismisses Jazzlyn’s case, and she is free to go. She kisses her mother on the...
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Judge Soderberg orders Jazzlyn to put the shirt back on. She refuses, and then Soderberg asks the...
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As the hearing continues, Judge Soderberg turns his attention to Tillie, the remaining defendant. She mouths off to him, calling him...
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...length of time her lawyer had estimated she would receive). She speaks up but Judge Soderberg threatens to increase the sentence to twelve months. Meanwhile, Corrigan tries to make his way...
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Judge Soderberg waves the court officer over to him and whispers about getting the tightrope walker up...
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Book Three, Chapter 11: All Hail and Hallelujah
...nearby, looking for impressive markings that might indicate their value. They examine a portrait of Solomon, making fun of it; Janet moves her hand up and down along Soderberg’s thigh as...
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Later that night, Solomon comes through the front door. He has been out celebrating a triumphant court case at...
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Claire follows Solomon down the hall. He returns after a moment and apologizes to Gloria for being terse....
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