Arachno-Lit

It is questionable, said Pliny the Elder, as to whether the spider which lives behind your car mirror ever 'goes for a wander', as you put it. If it lives behind the mirror, it probably just comes out to check its web and then goes back in.

Therefore, he continued, the spider would be unlikely to become confused because of the mirror. It would emerge and see its web, which would not look like a double web from its point of view. It would then see its victim, should there be a victim, as a single entity. It would not see its own reflection at all.

Your reasoning is correct, Pliny, I replied. As far as it goes. But when the spider turns around to go back behind the mirror, having dealt with its victim, should there have been a victim, it would be then that it would be most likely to become confused. My goodness! It's a lot further home than I thought! it would be thinking. Do you not agree?

Yes, said Pliny, I do agree with that. But it is not what you were arguing yesterday.

No, it isn't, I conceded. But it is interesting how much we can learn from spiders and their behaviour. There are many cultural depictions of spiders in literature, for example.

I suppose you are referring to the spider of Robert the Bruce, said Pliny, or the famous Greek spider princess Arachne. Or perhaps the African spider god Anansi, the well-known comic book character Spider Man, or the spider heroine in Charlotte's Web. Or possibly you refer to Shelob, in Lord of the Rings, Aragog in the Harry Potter story, or the famous 'big spider' in Little Miss Muffett? Or that one called Incy-Wincy?

Well, Pliny, you are very well-versed in arachno-lit! But no, I had in mind my favourite reference to a spider in all of literature, which is from Roadkill by Kinky Friedman.

Roadkill! You surprise me!

Aha! but wait till I tell you what it is. I admire it very much. Kinky is in his office thinking about whether he will take on a case. He is a private detective. He looks up at a framed photograph of Father Damien on his wall. This is the Father Damien who spent 16 years working in a leper colony. Kinky sees a spider making its way slowly across the glass of the photo frame, which reflects the light from the street outside his office. Sometimes I am like Father Damien, he thinks to himself, and sometimes I am more like that spider.

Is that it? asked Pliny.

Yes, it's quite profound, don't you think?

No, I don't, said Pliny. But perhaps it has lost something in the telling.