In his review of Tom Robbins’s Skinny Legs and All entitled “Through Salome’s Veils to Ultimate Cognition”, Tom Clark expressed his dichotomy of opinions regarding the author’s style and also the author’s message. Although I agree with Mr. Clark in several aspects, I believe he overlooked the true significance of Skinny Legs and All.

Clark accurately described Robbins as an extremely clever writer, but unfortunately also one whose uncertainties of tone and stylistic overreaching affect nearly every page. (9)

Robbins's main characters, both animate and supposedly inanimate, journey through this book down a path like no other. The author flashes from one setting of “human” characters to return to the predicament of his animated inanimate characters. That in itself is commonplace. However, when we revisit our primary players, they are usually in an improbable location and situation. The reader is rewarded with an explanation if he or she continues on patiently. It’s rather like a “carrot and stick” approach to captivate the reader’s interest, although I’m sure that on occasion, both the horse and the reader gave up. The tone of the characters is also difficult to ascertain, but after a while you realize that it is not a maintained feature. For example, one of the human characters, Ellen Cherry Charles, can be on the brink of committing an orgasmic assault on her very willing doorman, Raoul, when a relatively minor distraction obliterates it from her mind. However, her ambiguity of direction and emotion does serve to reveal the character’s insecurities and indecisiveness.

In his review, Clark discussed Robbins’s use of language as follows:

"His prose, often brilliant, seems bound to draw attention to itself in the most demanding of ways; particularly overloaded with startling or cute analogies, it sometimes slips on its own stretched comparisons and falls on its face." (9)

For the most part, I agree with Mr. Clark; but I am unsure of exactly what “falls on its face” -- the prose in its individual meaning or as a contribution to the progress of the story as a whole. In regard to Robbins’s analogies, the word “brilliant” is insufficient to describe his talent. For example, he referred to Ellen Cherry’s expressionless face as being “blank as a paraplegic’s dance card” (Robbins 244). Ellen Cherry’s entrance into the New York art world was thought of as “entering a peacock through its rectum” (177). In pondering the name of Nebuchadnezzar, Robbins wrote, “A swarm of killer bees let loose in the halls of the alphabet” (105). Robbins clearly does not view the world from the perspective of the masses. I imagine that, in formulating his analogies and metaphors, Robbins employed a trampoline suitable for Paul Bunyan and, naturally, blessed with the ability of locomotion to attain atmospheric heights in order to connect distant ideas into one expression of the superlative. As a reader, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the visual rides. On the occasions that I did not enjoy the visual rides it was because Mr. Robbins chose to utilize descriptions that tend to offend the gastronomic peace in the world. Without citing a particular quote, the effect of those descriptions is identical to that of the classical little boy whose sole purpose in finding a live bug is to cause a startled reaction in a little girl. I agree with Mr. Clark in that the work was demanding because we were continuously forced to return to the body of work only to disembark on another visual ride shortly thereafter. In this vein, the work may “fall on its face” if it fails to maintain the reader’s involvement in the story. In the latter half of the book, this problem is not as prevalent because the reader has had an opportunity to develop a relationship to, if not a vested interest, in several of the characters (Clark 9).

Robbins is definitely a wordsmith of superior ability. In his review, Clark suggested a connection between the main character, Ellen Cherry Charles and the character, Leigh-Cheri, from a previous work of Mr. Robbins (Clark 1). I disagree with Mr. Clark in his comparison of the two characters except for the fact that they are both very sensual females. I note the phonetic commonality of “cherry” in both names. The term “cherry” has long been used to refer to the intact hymen of the virginal female. It is not that his characters are virginal in their sexuality. It is that they are a virgin canvas upon which he will paint their personalities. Mr. Robbins continually seems to amuse himself with words throughout this book. For instance, the character Spike Cohen changed his name from Joshua Cohen because he did not want to bear a name with negative significance. However, he chose a relatively nondescript name that seemingly had no purpose. A spike is a firm rod similar to an erect penis. Of all the men Ellen Cherry lusted after or the men that longed for her, “Spike” Cohen was her only partner in passionate intercourse other than her husband. Ellen’s mother was named Patsy. A patsy is a person who is victimized or used a conduit for another’s bidding. We are constantly reminded of Patsy’s victimization because her husband Verlin had prevented her from becoming a dancer. Verlin ignored Patsy’s affair with Reverend Buddy Winkler, but used her close relationship with Buddy to provide him with a connection to a man of God. Buddy was lustfully preoccupied with Ellen Cherry’s life, and justified his omnipresence in Ellen’s life as a result of his friendship for her mother Patsy. Additionally, when Ellen Cherry is purchasing paints of every color imaginable, she buys “dorian gray” (Robbins 369). Dorian Gray is the title of a play by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde wrote the play, Salome, wherein Salome performs Wilde’s interpretation of the Dance of the Seven Veils. Mr. Robbins has injected much humor into his use of words.

In referring to the Dance of the Seven Veils, Clark acknowledges that it is a “dance of ultimate cognition” and that Robbins preaches “ultimate cognition” (1, 9). He even refers to the veils as “legendary”, but makes no effort to describe or expound on the author’s portrayal of the individual veils (1). Clark is cognizant of the political purpose, and indicates his disappointment when he refers to the scene surrounding and including the dance as a “wet firecracker of an intended climax” and when he concludes “this whole unwieldy planetary redemption project continually beckons and gestures, but never actually goes” (9).

In response to Mr. Clark’s bland reference to the veils, he merely acknowledges their legendary existence. Therefore, I am not able to agree or disagree with him on the veils. However, I have attempted to understand each of them and paraphase them in my own words as follows:

The first veil represented the illusion created by patriarchal religion. Its existence denied the reality that the world is almost entirely sexual in its processes. Insecure males, who were threatened by the perception of female dominance, sought to suppress feminine influence and sexual fire by serving a male god and declaring any female activity short of modesty to be hedonistic (Robbins 403).

The second veil governed the illusion that human beings consider themselves superior to plants and animals; and, on the basis of that authority, feel that they can reign over the destiny of flora and fauna. The realization that humanity is an intrinsic function of nature who itself holds the key to successful coexistence (404).

The third veil signified the illusion that the problems of humanity could be solved by political, rather than philosophical, means. The seductive nature of political solutions aroused the desires of the greedy to justify the conservation of their valuables and the desires of self-righteous to hold fast and not rethink their positions (405).

The fourth veil represented the illusion that religion was the answer to a supreme being. The truth, as it unfolded, revealed that the superior force in life was nature. Further, nature was in a constant state of its own evolution and its flexible responsiveness to life’s needs. Religion sought to define the world in a singular, time-constrained sense of values which denies the true existence of nature (407).

The fifth veil was the illusion that money had value. When this veil fell, it was realized that money was a measurement of value assigned to a need or desire. The irony is that objects measured in abstract values have their worth subordinated to that of the abstraction (408).

The sixth veil represented the illusion that today must be spent preparing for tomorrow and learning the lessons of yesterday. The truth exposed today as the day of judgment, and the future will never arrive (409).

The seventh veil created the illusion that religious prophets could define the parameters of your life so as to be in compliance with the wishes of the Divine. The true revelation is that each individual must create their own unique “relationship with reality, with the universe, and with the Divine” and reap their rewards or suffer their consequences in accordance with their own participation in those relationships (412, 413).

In reviewing additional outside sources that cite the Dance of the Seven Veils, veils in general, and the Veil of the Temple, I have arrived at several conclusions. The original Bible story of Salome made no reference to her Dance of the Seven Veils; however, it provided fertile ground for authors to develop the performance in that setting. Oscar Wilde dramatized his version of the dance in his play, Salome. I believe he is the originator of the dance in that particular form which includes the seven veils. Others believe his work to be a composite of his predecessor’s works. That is partially true. Since the 11th century, people have expounded upon Salome’s role in the beheading of St. John the Baptist. Early representations only gave her hip movements. Subsequent versions had her performing acrobatics (Salome 690). The meaning of the seven veils as portrayed in Oscar Wilde’s version may be concluded from a passage in his 1881 poem entitled, The Dole of the King’s Daughter, which states:

The sins on her soul are seven,
The sin upon his is one. (Wilde 1)

The sins that are seven must be in reference to the seven deadly sins - gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and wrath. Mr. Robbins incorporated a reference to these sins in a thought contemplated by his character Patsy. When she was “reflecting upon her own transgressions”, she pondered, “Of all the Seven Deadly Sins, lust is definitely the pick of the litter” (Robbins 94). The modern day popularity of Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils is due to Richard Strauss’s opera, Salome, which is based on Oscar Wilde’s play.

Returning to Mr. Clark’s views and in light of my own efforts, I must disagree with his description of the climax as a wet firecracker. The climax is the fruit the book has borne after an arduous labor. The message is a philosophical work of art that describes a comprehensive constitution for all of humanity and inhumanity. The fact that there is no planetary redemption is disappointing; but, if there had been such a redemption, it would have the reduced the book’s political and philosophical value by making it just a fantasy. There was a redemption not seen in the book. It was on the part of the reader with an open mind. No one is so enlightened that they could not derive benefit from the seven ultimate cognitions.

In conclusion, I, as did Mr. Clark, have a dictomy of an opinion of his review and the book. I concurred with his opinion of Robbins’s style and tone, but disagreed with his assessment of the book’s message which I thought to be profound. Robbin’s book was overwhelming. It could easily be three books: one on the world’s best metaphors, another on animate inanimates, and another on philosophy. It’s difficult to distinguish between irrelevant nuances and the necessary pieces of a philosophical puzzle until we arrive at the ultimate cognition. The philosophical message is too beautiful, concise, and fraught with purpose to conceal it behind 399 pages of obstacles. It should be rewritten in a form that is more accessible to the general population of humanity, not just the literary elite.

Works Cited Clark, Tom. “Through Salome’s Veils to Ultimate Cognition.”
Rev. of Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins.
Los Angeles Times Book Review 15 April 1990: 1, 9.

Robbins, Tom. Skinny Legs and All. New York:
Bantam Books, 1990.

Salome. Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem: 1972 ed.

Veil. Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem: 1972 ed.

“Veil of the Temple.” New Catholic Encyclopedia. Palatine, Illinois:
Jack Heraty & Associates, Inc., 1981 ed.

Wilde, Oscar. “The Dole of the King’s Daughter.” Poems.
Boston: Robert Brothers, 1881. On-line ed.:
Columbia University, Academic Information Systems (AcIS),
Bartleby Library (publication@columbia.edu) 1993.

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