“Spiders and Webs in American Literature”
From Jonathan Edwards to Jorie Graham, spiders are strikingly present in American literature. The purpose of this article is first to show how that theme may have become something of a national tradition as very different writers, all of them careful observers of aranae, answered one another through...
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| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/5506 |
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| author | Vincent Dussol |
| author_facet | Vincent Dussol |
| author_sort | Vincent Dussol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | From Jonathan Edwards to Jorie Graham, spiders are strikingly present in American literature. The purpose of this article is first to show how that theme may have become something of a national tradition as very different writers, all of them careful observers of aranae, answered one another through the years. It is very likely that the attention paid to spiders by American authors was increased by those Native American myths in which spiders are a central figure. More than occasionally, on the female side of the American counter-culture, especially among its feminist and lesbian exponents, simple activists and creative writers have harnessed the symbolic power invested in the spider by Native Americans.There may be deeper reasons accounting for American authors’ fascination with spiders. The country’s phobia of disunion is one; a nation of settlers’ acute consciousness of the precariousness of its occupation of the territory is another. In demonstrating outstanding skills for adjustment to unknown places, spiders epitomize a form of identity permanence. The predominantly positive character of spider symbols in American literature will occasionally be inverted. Following the national logic of checks and balances, any web covering the whole of the United States will tend to come under suspicion.This study ends with an inventory of cultural productions linked with spiders and webs and whose Americanness is yet to be clearly determined. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6a2008f78bbf4e69bf7ceb540dc46f75 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj-art-6a2008f78bbf4e69bf7ceb540dc46f752025-01-30T10:45:02ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662021-02-01210.4000/transatlantica.5506“Spiders and Webs in American Literature”Vincent DussolFrom Jonathan Edwards to Jorie Graham, spiders are strikingly present in American literature. The purpose of this article is first to show how that theme may have become something of a national tradition as very different writers, all of them careful observers of aranae, answered one another through the years. It is very likely that the attention paid to spiders by American authors was increased by those Native American myths in which spiders are a central figure. More than occasionally, on the female side of the American counter-culture, especially among its feminist and lesbian exponents, simple activists and creative writers have harnessed the symbolic power invested in the spider by Native Americans.There may be deeper reasons accounting for American authors’ fascination with spiders. The country’s phobia of disunion is one; a nation of settlers’ acute consciousness of the precariousness of its occupation of the territory is another. In demonstrating outstanding skills for adjustment to unknown places, spiders epitomize a form of identity permanence. The predominantly positive character of spider symbols in American literature will occasionally be inverted. Following the national logic of checks and balances, any web covering the whole of the United States will tend to come under suspicion.This study ends with an inventory of cultural productions linked with spiders and webs and whose Americanness is yet to be clearly determined.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/5506Native AmericansBestiaryEshlemanlesbian movementspidersthread |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Dussol “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” Transatlantica Native Americans Bestiary Eshleman lesbian movement spiders thread |
| title | “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” |
| title_full | “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” |
| title_fullStr | “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” |
| title_short | “Spiders and Webs in American Literature” |
| title_sort | spiders and webs in american literature |
| topic | Native Americans Bestiary Eshleman lesbian movement spiders thread |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/5506 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vincentdussol spidersandwebsinamericanliterature |