The Giant Spider

Other times, other fears: in 1850-1851, Charles Rambert used allegorical prints to denounce social scourges such as usury, slander, drunkenness, and duelling. In this scene, almost sensual in its florid setting, the spider with a swollen belly literally sucks the fluid out of the young man hanging between its legs. A figure of greed that arouses instinctive and universal repulsion, magnificent specimens of giant spiders haunt fantasy, from Tolkien to Rowling.