From their first appearance in Robin's hotel room, plants and other "earth flesh," like fungi come to symbolize Robin's untamed nature (38). Like Robin, plants can delight with their beauty but can also grow out of control. As an early marker of Robin’s tendency towards excess, the potted plants in her room are so numerous and have become so overgrown they seem to threaten the walls of the room, much in the same way Robin's desires threaten to break open the confines of her everyday life. References to the cycle of decay present in a forest's undergrowth are representative of the "undergrowth" of queer and non-gender conforming communities that the society of the era might judge as indicating moral and cultural decay, but to which Robin is attracted.

Costumes play an essential role in highlighting how characters in the novel disguise themselves, and how the line between costumed identity and authentic identity is often blurred. The circus performers Felix befriends are clear examples of how costumes first donned as part of a theatrical act can over time be absorbed as an inextricable part of their character. Frau Mann, a trapeze artist, “seemed to have a skin that was the pattern of her costume [.