The author reviews the symbolic meanings of the spider culled from mythology and folklore. In addition to symbolizing the oral aggressive mother, it has such

meanings as creator of the world, a maternal protector of the son against the hostile father, and a dangerous phallus inside the mother. There is reference to Bristowe who believes that Little Miss Muffet was the daughter (Patience) of a sixteenth century physician, Thomas Muffet, who admired spiders and frequently used them in pills and ointments for his child's ailments.