Introduction : spiders on the wall and elsewhere -- Some basic zoological facts -- Arachnophobia -- Venom and cold intellect : the spider and its web in the European intellectual tradition -- The femme fatale and eroticism -- Oppressive mothers, dreams and Louise Bourgeois -- Spiders in art and caricature -- Myth and folklore -- Urban legends -- Spider goes Hollywood
Summary
Both fascinating and frightening, the spider has a rich symbolic presence in the imagination. At once a representative of death, due to its fangs and dangerous poison, the spider can also represent life and creation, because of its intricate web and females who carry sacs of thousands of tiny eggs. In this wide-ranging book, Katarzyna and Sergiusz Michalski investigate the natural history and cultural significance of the spider. From ancient Greek myth to Dostoyevsky, the authors explore the appearance of spiders in literature and their depictions in art, paying particular attention
