Of the Tarantulas

Guilherme Pontes: Von den Tarantein, 

Also sprach Zarathustra (2024)

Woodcut and silkscreen on paper (45 x 32 cm) [1]

 

 

I. 

 

There are, apparently, over a thousand species of tarantula, including some spiders that are merely pretending to be tarantulas or are commonly mistaken as such. And they live in various types of natural habitat in warm regions all over the world.

 

Some people keep them as pets. But most people want to keep them as far away as possible and regard these large, hairy, eight-legged creatures as the stuff of nightmares. They even have downward-facing fangs that can inflict painful puncture wounds - like vampires! 

 

And of course, all tarantulas are venomous.  

 

I don't know if Nietzsche was an arachnophobe, but Zarathustra certainly had issues with tarantulas ... 

 

II.  

 

Zarathustra is acutely aware of the dangers when dealing with venomous spiders. He knows they have venom glands within their jaws and he knows also what is hidden within their souls: the desire for revenge.

 

But even Zarathustra, for all his caution, is eventually bitten on the finger by a tarantula and has the black scab to show for it, illustrating how hard it is not to fall victim to those full of poison and ressentiment when one spends time in their company. 

    

 

III. 

 

Of course, Zarathustra is not speaking about actual spiders, that live underground in deep burrows. 

 

The tarantulas to whom he refers live in caves and castles and walk on two legs. They spin lies rather than webs. And they delight in trolling those who gaily teach a philosophy of innocence and forgetfulness: soured self-conceit and repressed envy bursts forth from their words like a type of madness. 

 

They may resemble inspired men and creative artists, but it is not courage that fills their hearts, but malice: "'Revenge rings in all their complaints, a malevolence is in all their praise; and to pass judgement seems blissful to them.'" [2] 

 

Ultimately, says Zarathustra, these spider-people are "'of a bad breed and a bad descent'" [3] and it's best to avoid their company - and certainly never trust them; for they will always bite you in the end and make you just another manic participant in their crazy dance [4].     

 

 

Notes 

 

[1] This mixed-media artwork by Guilherme Pontes forms part of a larger visual series inspired by Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. It is available on select fine art print platforms and curated gallery sites, including meisterdrucke.com 

 

[2] Nietzsche, 'Of the Tarantulas', Thus Spoke Zarathustra, trans. R. J. Hollingdale (Penguin Books, 1969), p. 124. I have slightly modified the translation.  

 

[3] Ibid.

 

[4] I'm referring here to the southern Italian folk dance, la tarantella, characterized by a fast upbeat tempo and accompanied by tambourines. The dance was originally symptomatic of a peculiar medical condition known as tarantism, which baffled doctors but was believed to result from the venomous bite of a wolf spider (Lycosa tarantula). 

      Zarathustra declares at the end of his discourse on tarantulas: "'Truly, Zarathustra is no veering wind nor whirlwind; and although he is a dancer, he is by no means a tarantella dancer!'" See Zarathustra, as cited above, p. 126.