La Mujer Araña is a central character in the 1976 novel El beso de la mujer araña (Kiss of the Spider Woman) by Argentine writer Manuel Puig. The novel depicts the daily conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, Molina and Valentín, and the intimate bond they form.
Molina, a gay window dresser, passes the time by recounting the plots of his favorite films to Valentín, a Marxist revolutionary. One of the films Molina describes is about a Nazi officer who falls in love with a cabaret singer named Leni, who performs a song called "La Mujer Araña" (The Spider Woman).
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Molina is captivated by the elaborate, kitsch staging of the film, especially the scene with the silver paper palm trees and the full moon made of sequins.
The character of La Mujer Araña, with her spider-like costume and seductive song, becomes a symbol that parallels the stories of Molina and Valentín.
Just as the films Molina describes reflect and anticipate the events of the novel, the figure of the Spider Woman represents the blurring of fantasy and reality in the lives of the characters.
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While the novel is set against the backdrop of a repressive military dictatorship in Argentina, the character of La Mujer Araña, like the popular culture references throughout the book, offers an escape into a world of melodrama and romance.
However, the novel ultimately shows how even these fantastical stories are shaped by and reflect the patriarchal societies the characters inhabit.