The Real Valley Of The Dolls By Tom Robbins

Caleb Micheli
Professor Teresa Howell
English 101
20 November 2014
Review
The Real Valley of the Dolls, by Tom Robbin is a humerous story that actually raises interesting questions of the past and present sexuality of man. Robbins and two of his friends, Alexa and Jon, take the reader on a trip to a place called North canyon, somewhere between Winnemucca and Las Vegas, which to reach you have to travel down the loneliest highway in the world, Highway 50. It is a short story that mixes both humour and the sexuality of past and present civilizations.
In The Real Valley of the Dolls Robbins refers to North Canyon as being “rather vaginal in shape, terminating in a scooped out basin . . . those so inclined could read uterus or womb” (510).The

Spirituality and sexuality are compared in the canyon side by side. Robbins recalls feeling “somewhat sexy and somewhat religious, feeling a little like laughing and a little like weeping” (511). Did he get in touch with his feminine side while experiencing these surroundings? Or was Robbins overwhelmed by the ancient drawings of female

“One of the few archaeologists to give North Canyon more than a passing nod has estimated it could maintain a vulva in fairly good condition for about five centuries. Shelly Winters, eat your heart out’” (511).
When referring to primitive cultures vs. the European invaders, and the oldest petroglyph on the site being “pecked at by a white man . . . A figure on the boulder. A Caucasian figure. A male figure.” it was as though he were describing rape and dominance, which again contrasts with sex as pleasurable. Whenever a male action or symbol is described Robbins uses harsh words such as “pecking” (513), and “invading” (514); yet, for the most part, feminine actions or symbols are more inviting. Cradle, glisten invitingly, merry saline humidity, and perpetual smile (512-513), are but a few