Abstract
In his paper, "The Arachne Myth in Oral and Written Literature," José Manuel Pedrosa explores the folktale about a person who prides himself being the most intelligent individual and whom the gods punish with a metamorphosis into spider. Pedrosa discusses similar myths in existence in modern oral traditions and in literary works such as the Bible, Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Quran, and García Márquez's masterpiece Cien años de soledad. The universality of the myth is underlined by the existence of a folktale registered among the Bubi people of Equatorial Guinea. Not known about it until the twentieth century, the oral transmission or survival of this tale proves of extraordinary importance and the reason why the Bubi text may be considered a rare record and a true jewel capable of providing valuable information about the folk myths and basic beliefs that have inspired many geniuses of Western literature.
Recommended Citation
Pedrosa, José Manuel.
"The Arachne Myth in Oral and Written Literature."
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
7.1
(2005):
<https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1253>
This text has been double-blind peer reviewed by 2+1 experts in the field.
The above text, published by Purdue University Press ©Purdue University, has been downloaded 5406 times as of 03/26/24. Note: the download counts of the journal's material are since Issue 9.1 (March 2007), since the journal's format in pdf (instead of in html 1999-2007).