Argumentative Essay

Argumentative Essay

Essay 1)

Kiss of the spider woman

Introduction

Kiss of the Spider Woman is Manuel Puig's fourth and best known novel. It was first published in Spanish in 1976 as El beso de la mujer arana, then translated and published in English in 1979. Puig became most popularly known to the English-speaking public for the critically acclaimed 1985 screen adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sonia Braga. Kiss of the Spider Woman focuses on two characters: Valentin, a Marxist revolutionary, and Molina, a homosexual window-dresser, who share a prison cell for six months. Molina passes the time by telling Valentin the stories of his favorite movies in great detail. Valentin at first reluctantly listens to Molina's narration of these tales of melodramatic romance, criticizing Molina for indulging in escapist fantasies rather than in political activism.

Background

The way the author tells it gives the reader an idea of the character's personality, the reader can see that Molina seems to describe her clothes in a way that gives the impression he is a follower of fashion. The reader can also get an idea of Valentin through his response, 'Look, remember what I told you, no erotic descriptions. This isn't the place for it.' (2010:4). To Valentin, the female is being sexualised and his response gives the impression he is either 'up-tight' about female eroticism or he does not approve of the way Molina is describing the woman. The example I used of Molina discussing a woman in the film also brings to light the way women (gender) were represented in films.

Even though I have wrote their names in my analysis, the truth is that Puig still has not named the characters who are talking, there is a lack of a narrator, authoritative viewpoint or explanation of the voices. The story is being told in the first person so there are limited viewpoints. Because the story is two characters speaking to each other, and there's no other narrative, the narrative is broken.

According to Ronald Christ and his interview with Manuel Puig, Puig discusses the use of dialogue in his novel; he says 'the dialogue was the real vehicle of the narration, that dialogue where what isn't said is very important' (1990:2). Not only is the story moved along by the two characters talking but it is interrupted by lists, reports, songs, dreams and letters. Before it is revealed about Molina's betrayal there is a report giving information about Valentin and Molina's background, why they were put in prison, also it gives information as to where the prisoners are 'Ministry of the Interior of the Argentine Republic. Penitentiary of the City of Buenos Aires' (Puig 2010:148). Puig put the reader in a place at the start of the novel, giving nothing away about the circumstances but he reveals a small amount of information (the report) just before something of great significance is about to happen. Doing this draws attention to the importance of the conversation between the warden and ...