Paper Topic:

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN - By Manuel Puig

24 May 2008

Comparison and Contrast of the Novel and the Film The Kiss of the Spider Woman

The novel The Kiss of the Spider Woman ' by Manuel Puig is about Valentin Arregui and Luis Molina who are inmates in a prison cell Valentin is a journalist who has been imprisoned due to his revolutionary activities and who has been tortured so the government can extract information about his leftist group . Molina , on the other hand is a window dresser who has been jailed due to his homosexual activities and who

has been retelling stories that he saw in the movies to Valentin all throughout the story for entertainment

The same story has been translated into film and like any other translation the original is either highlighted or obscured by the adaptation . Indeed , the film The Kiss of the Spider Woman ' directed by Hector Babenco has assumed authorial control from the novel because of its imaginative enhancement of the scenes , characterization , point of view , and visual language which are non-existent in the original work

Since the film is adapted from the novel , the similarities that exist between the two versions include the elements of setting characters , plot , and style . The setting of the novel and the movie is inside a South American prison cell . Likewise , both the novel and the film present the same main characters who are Valentin and Molina and the same minor characters who are the Warden , Marta , Leni , a German Officer , the Spider Woman , and Gabriel . Moreover , the same plot summary is seen in the two versions . There also similar stories which Molina narrated . These stories are about a Mexican movie , a Nazi movie and the story of the Spider Woman . In addition , the style of using dialogue in the novel is generally utilized in the film

Furthermore , the novel and the film talk about parallel themes on escapism , fantasy , homosexuality , political activism and prison life The film and the novel both show that Molina uses the stories to escape the harsh reality of being in prison . In the film , Molina says Why should I think about reality in a stink hole like this ? And why should I get more depressed than I am ' In Molina 's stories , he fantasizes to be the woman protagonist . He even reiterates I am a woman . I have everything a woman has and more ' This leads to the theme on homosexuality . The novel and the movie show how homosexuals like Molina feel about society 's acceptance of them . The film and the novel also focus on political activism which is represented by Valentin and his ideas on a revolution that will change the world . He says Social revolution , that 's what 's important , and gratifying the senses is only secondary ' in the novel . Both versions also illustrate the life of a prisoner which includes torture , eating awful prison food , and limited freedom

However , despite the aforementioned similarities between the novel and the film , the differences stand . These include the opening...

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