theme with other themes such as gender conflict, which can be evident in After the Picnic and Summer Solstice. A good example of Nick Joaquin's blending of themes is Summer Solstice, wherein he conflates gender conflict with colonial conflict, noticeable in the assertion of Doña Lupeng in the reclamation of the power of patriarchy by womanhood. Criticism Early Nick Joaquin Tropical Gothic was reviewed in Philippine studies by H.B. Furay, Lourdes Busuego Pabo, and Emmanuel Lacaba. Critics describe this as the end of what they refer to as the Early Joaquin. Attempting to characterize stories of Tropic Goth as what critics referred to as a product of the Early Nick Joaquin would be deceptive for it was written, along with majority of his works, during the thirties. Critics referred to the publication years of 1946 -1966 as most significant in terms of the works produced. They also referred to these years as the time wherein Nick Joaquin was recognized as a first rank writer in the Philippines. Works included in these years include “Prose and Poems” (1952), three stories in the “Free Press” (1965 - 1966) and The portrait of the Artist as a Filipino. Included in the first edition of Nick Joaquin's “Prose and Poems” were the titles “The Woman Who had Two Navels” (1961) and “La Naval de Manila” (1964). Emmanuel Lacaba, member of Philippine Studies, argues that the three Free Press Stories known as “Candido’s Apocalypse”, “"Doña Jeronima”, and “The Order of Melchizedek”, were considered works under the older Nick Joaquin given the gap between these works and the earlier stories of “Prose and Poems”. Despite the gap, Lacaba argues that there is a recurring theme present in the later works of Nick Joaquin. In Emmanuel Lacaba's criticism, he mentions the radical change in language, mainly through the dialogue used. Early Nick Joaquin, as Lacaba described through the example of Tropical Goth, made use of “lush” language as well as “baroque” once the readers get past the words used. Similar cases for “Candido’s Apocalypse” and “The Order of Melchizedek” which show more similarities than differences in the way of sentence patterns used.[9] Critics, such as Furay, define Early Nick Joaquin through his nine stories of Tropic Gothic which emphasizes his talents in Philippine writing in English. Additionally, through the mention of works such as “Prose and Poems” (1952) and the three additional “Free Press stories” (1972), critics