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Kiss Of The Spiderwoman By Manuel Puig

1379 Words6 Pages

Kiss of the spiderwoman, written by Manuel Puig, is about two prisoners Valentin and Molina, hold in a Argentinean prison in the late seventies. The story is developed through an extended dialogue between the two prisoners. Molina is a middle aged man who was arrested for molesting a child even though this was not the true reason. In the late sixties this accusation was often used for plebeians who did not fit in society, like molina, who is a homosexual. Molina passes the time as he retells films to his prisonmate, Valentin. Valentin originates from the middle-class and is caught in the political struggle of Argentina in that period. They develop a bond during the oppressive forces they experience in the prison, and this lead to their own …show more content…

Indeed in Valentin’s morphine dream, which closes the novel, Molina – as seductive, though nurturing spider woman – is inescapably caught in an essentialist web of gender: unable to move.”[13]
The films are evidence of their control over an individual through their power to decide the appropriate behaviour of an individual. This is represented by Molina’s description as a female, and Valentin who cannot surrender to the seduction of Molina and keep his political ideas. The spider woman is not a metaphor of an character but rather of society as a whole. Society creates a web of standards that is fed to the characters and related again through the stories of the films.

In conclusion, Kiss of the Spider Woman is not a story about a story of gay love but it is still a tale of seduction. Valentin and Molina develop their affection but the real story is on how they are both seduced by the stereotypes and expectations of society. The Spider Woman weaves a web around each individual and decides their role in society and how they have to fit in. Kiss of the Spider Woman is, ultimately, the explanation on how each of us is caught in the web of standards and

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