Joaquin's works on these stories found in Tropical Goth reveal the use of primordial and pagan symbols. There is a fixation towards brute and the cult. Critics mention that while there are theological levels present in these stories, these were more at the folk level than dogmatic and were more reflective rather than perspective. These were then referred to as reflections of the theology of culture.[9] Ethical aspects Different Analysis of Nick Joaquin's work, mainly “The Woman Who Had Two Navels” and stories from “Tropical Gothic”, have led critics to mention the theme of individual free will as seen in the emphasis of choice and free will in the mentioned stories. This is found, in what critics refer to, as Joaquin's level of morality which they mention as what makes his stories expressively theological.[9] History or time A theological theme revealed in the Early Joaquin works is the emphasis on history and time. These are evident, according to critics, in works such as “May Day Eve”. “Guardia de Honor”, and “The Order of Melchizedek” and while not as obvious, were present as thematic backgrounds in “Doña Jeronima”, “The Legend of the Dying Wanton”, “The Summer Solstice”, and “The Mass of St. Sylvestre”. This theme comes in the form of fixation with time and patterns of recurrence as described by critics as nostalgia, which is said to show emphasis on the past. Critics make a connection of this theological reality used by Nick Joaquin to reflect Philippine culture and the intermingling of Christian and pagan values.[9] Rejection of colonial self According to critics, Nick Joaquin is said to be a writer who sees the essence of being Filipino in the return to the Filipino's pre-Hispanic past. National identity is a very important topic for Nick Joaquin as evident in his works such as La Naval de Manila, After the Picnic and Summer Solstice. Noticeably in his works namely After the Picnic and Summer Solstice, the recurring theme of the rejection of the colonial self can be seen in the conflicts of the protagonist such as Chedeng, from After the Picnic, to reject Father Chavez's white-ego-ideals. In Chedeng's attempt to assert one's identity through rejection of the colonial self-imposed by society, she is confronted into choosing whether she would obliged with the white-ego ideal which asserts her security or rejection of the white-ego-ideal. Nick Joaquin also, every now and then, motleys this