53 pages • 1 hour read
Silvia Moreno-GarciaThe Seventh Veil of Salome
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Joe Kantor”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, cursing, substance use, and sexual content.
Joe Kantor, a former Hollywood screenwriter, is being interviewed for a documentary. He thinks back to 1955 and recounts working as a writer for a film called The Seventh Veil of Salome, directed by Max Niemann. At this time, Hollywood was controlled by several powerful film studios, and film projects based on biblical stories were popular. Kantor recalls learning that Niemann had finally cast an actress in the lead role of Salome and getting his first glimpse of her. He was struck by the young woman’s beauty and charisma, which made her perfect for the role of “temptress and vestal maiden in one” (4). Joe alludes to a tragedy that would eventually befall her.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Salome”
The narrative moves to Galilee (a region part of present-day Israel and Lebanon) in about 30 CE. Salome is a princess from the Herodian dynasty, who rule as client kings of Rome. She lives in the lavish royal palace with her mother, Herodias, and her stepfather, Herod Antipas (referred to as the tetrarch, or king). The marriage between Herodias and Herod is marred by scandal because they were both initially married to other people but left their respective spouses to be together.
Herodias complains to her daughter about a local preacher named Jokanaan, who is publicly criticizing the royal family. She suggests that Salome could intercede with Herod and persuade the king to punish Jokanaan. Salome is uncomfortable with the idea that the king would be inclined to listen to her in particular. Salome is beautiful and accomplished, and there is much discussion at court about what marriage would be most strategic for her. Salome herself is not satisfied with any of the suitors; rather, “men [are] a pastime to her; she collect[s] them like other women collect[] strings of pearls” (8).
Salome leaves the palace to go to the local market, accompanied by Marcellus (a young Roman man with whom she previously had a dalliance). They happen upon Jokanaan preaching in a city square, and Salome stops to listen. Unexpectedly and immediately, Salome falls in love with Jokanaan, who is young and handsome.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Cathy Shaughnessy”
Cathy is a former neighbor of Nancy. She is also being interviewed for the documentary and explains that in 1955, she and Nancy lived in the same Hollywood apartment building and were both struggling actresses. Cathy defends Nancy, claiming that the other woman was a talented actress who deserved to have been cast as Salome. She explains that Nancy’s father tried to set his daughter up as a child actress but was not successful. After a hiatus in her adolescence, Nancy returned to Hollywood in her twenties but struggled to launch her acting career.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Nancy”
In 1955 Hollywood, Nancy has been sleeping with a man named Pierce Pratt, who works in the casting office at Pacific Pictures (the studio producing The Seven Veils of Salome). She hopes that, in exchange for her sexual favors, Pierce will help her secure the role of Salome; Pierce reassures Nancy that he will put in a good word. After her encounter with Pierce, Nancy gets a call from her casual boyfriend, Benny, a well-connected drug dealer whom Nancy dates occasionally. He invites her to bring some friends along on a triple date, and Nancy reluctantly agrees.
On the date, Nancy meets Jay Rutland, one of the men joining her and Benny. To her surprise, Jay is young, handsome, and well-educated; he explains that he comes from a wealthy family and has recently graduated from Princeton but has come to California to work as a musician. After the dinner, Benny complains that Nancy was flirting with Jay. She denies this but secretly heads to the house Jay is renting and has sex with him.
Chapter 5 Summary: “Isadora Christie”
Isadora, another documentary interviewee, worked as the director’s assistant to Max Niemann during the filming of The Seventh Veil of Salome. Isadora recounts that even after the prominent male roles had been cast, Max drew out the process of casting Salome, insisting on someone different from the usual Hollywood starlets. While Isadora was vacationing in Mexico, she was struck by Vera Larios, a young woman working as a receptionist. Isadora decided to arrange for Vera to travel to Hollywood and meet Max.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Vera”
The narrative returns to the 1955 timeline. Vera has grown up in Mexico City in the shadow of her prettier and more charismatic younger sister, Lumi. Her mother nurtured hopes that Lumi would become an actress, but Lumi disappointed the family by choosing to marry young and start a family instead. After Vera was spotted by Isadora, she and her mother, Lucinda, traveled to Los Angeles, where they are now staying with Vera’s aunt and cousins. On the day of her audition, Vera and Lucinda go to the Pacific Pictures studio together. Vera auditions, drawing on her love of music (especially opera); even though she has limited experience with acting and dance, she impresses Max Niemann. After Vera explains her understanding of Salome’s motivations and passions, Max decides to cast her in the role.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Salome”
In ancient Judea, the king’s birthday is approaching. Salome’s cousin, Agrippa, will be coming to attend the celebrations. Josephus, one of the king’s chief advisors, consults with Salome: He tells her that having Jokanaan arrested would be a mistake since he is popular with the common people. Josephus also cautions Salome not to become too interested in Jokanaan, as he has noticed that she frequently goes to hear him preach.
Later, while Salome is dining with her mother and stepfather, Herodias begins complaining about Jokanaan. Herod thinks Jokanaan is harmless, and Salome pipes up to agree: “Jokanaan is a swindler and best ignored” (46). The atmosphere between Herod and Herodias remains tense, especially when Herodias mentions the impending visit from Agrippa and the possibility that Agrippa might one day marry Salome. Herod doesn’t like or trust his nephew, and he is unhappy about these suggestions.
The next day, Salome leaves the palace and goes to watch Jokanaan preach. Afterward, she follows him back to his home and tries to warn him that he is endangering himself by openly criticizing the royal family. Jokanaan calmly tells her that he must speak the truth and that he is not afraid of naming the misdeeds of Herod and Herodias. Salome senses that Jokanaan is attracted to her, but he avoids her touch and tells her that it would be sinful for the two of them to touch or kiss.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Pierce Pratt”
During the filming of the documentary, Pierce Pratt, a casting director at Pacific Pictures, thinks back to his impressions of Nancy. He believes that Nancy was reckless and did not take acting seriously enough, attributing her lack of success to these factors. He also found Nancy to be volatile and capable of being vindictive and cruel, and he was suspicious of Benny, Nancy’s boyfriend. Pierce comments on his surprise that Nancy was previously married before coming to Hollywood.
Chapter 9 Summary: “Nancy”
In the 1955 timeline, Nancy has learned from Pierce that she has only received a small part in the film. She feels angry and betrayed, especially because she led her father to believe that she was going to be cast in the starring role as Salome. She is particularly angry because Vera, who is Mexican and unknown, has been cast in this role instead.
Benny approaches Nancy, complaining that she has been distant and that he has heard rumors that she is seeing Jay Rutland. Benny’s allusions to a more serious relationship prompt Nancy to think back to her short-lived marriage: When she was 18, she married a local boy and attempted to be a housewife, but she quickly became bored and resentful. When Nancy learned that her husband was unfaithful to her, she left him and returned to Hollywood, determined to build a successful acting career. Nancy dismisses Benny’s concerns and later goes to see Jay. Jay seems increasingly put off by Nancy’s erratic behavior, but he is still sexually attracted to her.
Chapters 1-9 Analysis
The Seventh Veil of Salome is a historical novel that features two main timelines with distinct but analogous storylines. Moreno-Garcia sets part of the novel in 1950s Hollywood, which is sometimes referred to as part of the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. (Other contemporary works of historical fiction, such as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, also depict this era.) Motion pictures with sound began to be produced in 1927; five major studios quickly came to the fore and became the producers of most Hollywood films. Under the so-called “studio system,” these studios controlled everything from film production to the theater chains where the films would be screened. Most major stars signed contracts with studios, which could be lucrative but also entailed a loss of creative and even personal control (studios could control significant aspects of a performer’s life under the terms of a contract). A 1948 Supreme Court ruling on antitrust laws led to the gradual erosion of the studio system throughout the 1950s and 1960s as more and more Hollywood stars chose to work independently. The Hays Code, or Motion Picture Production Code, was also in effect between 1934 and 1968 and severely controlled what could be depicted or alluded to onscreen.
This backdrop is key to the novel, as Moreno-Garcia combines specific historical events and details with fictional characters and events. Pacific Pictures is a fictional studio, and The Seventh Veil of Salome is a fictional film. However, the novel also includes references to “those sword-and-sandal flicks that were terribly popular back in the day” and to historical stars such as Gregory Peck and Jayne Mansfield (2), situating its fictional elements within real cultural terrain and thus facilitating the novel’s exploration of issues like racism and sexism within the film industry.
A combination of nostalgia, ambiguity, and foreshadowing leads to a dark and moody tone right from the start of the novel, and narrative structure plays a key role in this. The events that unfold in Hollywood are conveyed through a mixture of retrospective and third-person narration. The novel incorporates a frame narrative, in which minor characters such as Joe Kantor and Max Niemann are interviewed about the making of the film; these characters narrate as they recall events from decades earlier. This narrative device contributes to suspense and foreshadowing because characters are aware of the violent events they are building up to recounting. For instance, Joe intertwines his first memory of Vera with foreshadowing of some unspecified grief to come: “[I]t’s a tragedy what befell her” (4). The remark also serves as a red herring, as it would seem to imply that Vera, not Jay, died.
In a similar vein, the frame narrative device of interviews for a documentary (also utilized in other novels about the entertainment industry, such as Daisy Jones & The Six) invites questions about multiple perspectives. The various characters provide different and often competing accounts of what they perceived to be happening in the lead up to the tragic climax of Jay being shot and killed. They are also describing these events in the context of the knowledge of what later happened, and their memories may be biased or unreliable. This narrative structure is particularly noteworthy in a novel that engages with history, celebrity, and infamy: Moreno-Garcia recounts the stories of two women (Nancy and Salome), one fictional and one historical, who are seemingly responsible for violent acts, but the novel also invites readers to reflect on many different versions of their stories.
Indeed, the film featured in the Hollywood narrative is itself one of many interpretations of the story of the ancient princess Salome, which is recounted in the Christian Bible and has a significant cultural legacy. The Bible, ancient historical sources, and later works of art tend to depict Salome from a male point of view, often characterizing her as a temptress or a woman who uses her sexuality to ensnare a man into doing her bidding. The film, written and directed by men, seems like it will perpetuate this trend, once more focusing on Salome’s seductive appeal. Moreno-Garcia, however, undercuts this tendency by including a historical narrative focused on Salome’s experiences. This second historical narrative subverts traditional cultural expectations of who Salome was and why she demanded the execution of Jokanaan. The mere fact that Moreno-Garcia reimagines Salome via the novel medium is significant: Literature is not a visual medium and is therefore less likely to be centered around the display of a woman’s body (visual art, stage performances, and film have often utilized Salome’s story as a pretext for eroticizing the female form, particularly during the climactic dance sequence).
Nevertheless, the novel echoes some aspects of prior adaptations—in particular, Oscar Wilde’s play Salome, which introduced the name Jokanaan for the man more commonly known as John the Baptist and depicted Salome falling intensely in love with the young preacher. Wilde contributed significantly to the cultural mythology around Salome by imagining her as a woman acting of her own volition, though his interpretation also presents her as acting out of jealousy and spite when Jokanaan spurns her (biblical accounts of these events do not mention Salome’s motivation for requesting the death of John the Baptist and often focus on Salome’s obedience to her mother, who instigated the plan). Moreno-Garcia’s Salome is an agent in her own right, but she is also at the mercy of powerful forces, including her own emotions. As soon as Salome sees Jokanaan she “[is] pierced by the sword of love […] and [gives] her heart to a beggar preacher” (12). The language of piercing suggests that the passion Salome feels for Jokanaan is painful and doomed to lead only to suffering; it also foreshadows the eventual violence set in motion by their fatal encounter. This first encounter thus strongly introduces themes of Fated Love Despite Obstacles and the Consequences of Women’s Ambition and Desire.
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By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
