The daughters of Arachne. Cut and confection of a myth. From Velázquez to Carmen Martín Gaite through Louise Bourgeois.

Abstract

This paper dives into the mythical figure of Arachne (the weaver who dared to challenge a goddess trusting her confidence in her own talent), and thus try to build a whole cobweb linking this classical fable to the constant figure of the woman artist or woman artisan (if there ever was a difference). We will start defining anthropologically the traditional deities which have the spider as an ancestral symbol and will try to extract which of their features have transcended from being beliefs to becoming part of our western culture. We will also reflect on how the myth was transformed by the demystifying effect imposed during the Baroque era, thanks to the famous painting by Velázquez, and, by using contemporary artists as examples, we will reflect on the traces of the arachnid myth. Henceforth, we will try to establish an interpretation where patience and communicability are boasted as proper “arachnid” elements.