Arachne und ihre Schwestern: Eine Motivgeschichte der Spinne von den “Naturvölkermärchen” bis zu den “Urban Legends” (review)

As the title Arachne und ihre Schwestern (Arachne and Her Sisters) suggests, Rieken’s study considers representations of the spider in European traditions, along with the various manifestations of her “sisters” on other continents. Rieken utilizes to some extent the practices of cultural criticism, but his interpretations are informed mainly by psychoanalysis, drawing chiefly from Alfred Adler and Sigmund Freud, but also making use of Carl Jung and Karl Abraham. His cultural history of the spider as motif can be divided into four sections, the first of which offers the reader a short scientific overview of the species diversity, physiology, and behavioral traits of arachnidae. The second section surveys the spider’s appearance in traditional cultures outside of Europe, and the third section treats the European reception of the spider. Popular culture (such as film, advertising, and urban legends) is the subject of the final section.

The zoological discussion of the spider in the first section is appropriately brief and prepares the reader for the tangled web of fact and fiction that surrounds the spider in her cultural representations. The second section’s survey of the spider in tales and myths outside of Europe devotes the most attention to North America and Africa. The chapters on South and Mesoamerica, Asia, and Australia are relatively short (between six and ten pages per continent), and Rieken explains that this disparity stems from the lack of source material available in English and German translation. Rieken’s comparative study reveals that across these varied cultures the spider emerges in similar, ambivalent roles as trickster and culture hero. In addition to be being equally likely to assist as kill a human character, the spider, often taking the form of the witch-like Spider Woman, expresses a suspicion and fear of repressed female power in these societies.

Whereas outside of Europe the figure of the spider is powerful but ambivalent, inside Europe the spider nearly always represents a negative force. The third section of the book establishes the historical foundation of Europe’s spider reception. Biblical references to the spider are rare and employ the image of the spider web to represent isolation and distance from God. In the Germanic tradition, only the Icelandic sagas present clues to the cultural use of the spider; however, since these sagas were not recorded until the thirteenth century, they are unreliable as sources of how early Germanic cultures imagined the spider. The Greeks and Romans offer mainly zoological descriptions, along with speculation on the use of spiders for medicinal purposes and predicting the weather. Ovid, however, tells the tale of Arachne, the weaver whose skill and lack of modesty arouses Athena’s jealousy and rage. Arachne is ultimately transformed into a spider for daring to best Athena in a weaving contest. From this myth European Christians were able to read the tale of a woman who abused her God-given talents through arrogance. Rieken notes that Arachne is an uncommonly gifted woman who amazes and even frightens the power holders who surround her. This aspect of the Arachne myth connects it with the image of the spider as a warning of female power in non-European societies, as well as in later European legends and tales.

Rieken’s examination of the spider in traditional European folk culture focuses on the use of the spider in folk medicine, divination, and in tales and legends. Unfortunately, Rieken’s consideration of European folk culture is largely limited to the German-speaking lands of Europe. A notable exception is his consideration of tales, which includes samples from Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, and Portugal. His study of European legends derives from German-language sources, and he devotes most of his attention to Paracelsus and to Jeremias Gotthelf’s novella, Die schwarze Spinne (The Black Spider).

The urban legends discussed in the final section will be recognized immediately by readers who...