Self-Transformation Through (Dis)Illusion in Tom Robbins's Skinny Legs and All

Summary The self-transformation necessary for reconfiguring a new humanity involves developing a complex relative autonomy, engendered by a thoroughgoing critique of the existing "veils of illusion" that have brought us to the brink of global disaster. While there is ample philosophical resource material to support this argument, purely philosophical texts are notoriously difficult to read and tend to circulate within a limited field of initiates. Good literary works, by contrast, have the engaging power of narrative that philosophical texts lack, and for this reason, when approached critically, provide a better vehicle for the wider dissemination of philosophical ideas. My overt aim in this article is to show, through analysis and amplification, that the underlying philosophical purpose of Tom Robbins's novel Skinny Legs and All (1990) is to present precisely the above-mentioned argument concerning self-transformation. My ulterior motive here is obedience to the philosopher's imperative to antagonise (sting) humans into critical self-knowledge.