Kiss of the Spider Woman

Kiss of the Spider Woman, novel by Manuel Puig, published in 1976 as El beso de la mujer araña. Mostly consisting of dialogue between two men in an Argentine jail cell, the novel traces the development of their unlikely friendship. Molina is a middle-aged lower-middle-class gay man who passes the long hours in prison by acting out scenes from his favourite movies. Valentín is a young upper-middle-class socialist revolutionary who initially berates Molina for his effeminacy and his lack of political conviction. Sharing the hardships of a six-month prison term, the two eventually forge a strong relationship that becomes sexual. In an ironic role reversal at the end of the novel, Molina dies as a result of his involvement in politics, while Valentín escapes the pain of torture by retreating into a dream world.