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The Centipede
Miss Spider is one of the giant bugs that James finds living inside the giant peach. She’s about the size of a child and is frightening for James at first—she’s the first to announce that she’s hungry, thereby making James think that she wants to eat him. In reality, Miss Spider is kind, helpful, and generous. She readily accepts James as the captain of the peach, and she also tells James stories that teach him why it’s important to not make assumptions about people. Since she’s a spider, most people are afraid of her and automatically don’t like her—even though she does nothing but good for the world by catching pesky flies and mosquitos in her web. While the assumptions people make about her are unfair and upsetting, even worse, she suggests, is the ease with which people act violently based on these prejudices. She tells James stories about her father, whom Aunt Sponge washed down the bathtub drain, and her grandmother, who got stuck in the fresh paint of Aunt Spiker’s ceiling and was eventually murdered with a mop. While all the giant bugs on the peach help James learn to be empathetic and approach others with openness and curiosity instead of prejudice, Miss Spider’s stories are perhaps the most meaningful in James’s personal development. Once in New York City, Miss Spider and the Silkworm learn to spin nylon and make a living creating ropes for tightrope walkers.
Miss Spider Quotes in James and the Giant Peach
The James and the Giant Peach quotes below are all either spoken by Miss Spider or refer to Miss Spider. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 13 Quotes
Already, he was beginning to like his new friends very much. They were not nearly as terrible as they looked. In fact, they weren’t really terrible at all. They seemed extremely kind and helpful in spite of all the shouting and arguing that went on between them.
Related Characters:
James Henry Trotter, The Centipede, The Earthworm, The Old-Green-Grasshopper, The Ladybug, Miss Spider
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43
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As James snuggles into the hammock that Miss Spider has just spun for him, he decides that his new bug friends are wonderful, not frightening. At first, James was afraid—when confronted with a group of beings who seemed to defy all rules about how things should be, James panicked. He assumed that the bugs, and Miss Spider in particular, would want to eat him. But now as James gets to know his friends, he gradually comes to see how unhelpful it is to make assumptions about people based on the way they look. Indeed, it’s Miss Spider—the most terrifying-looking one of the bunch—who thoughtfully made James’s bed, a luxury that James never even had when he lived with his aunts. As James makes these connections, he becomes less judgmental and is better able to approach new situations and people (or bugs) with curiosity and a desire to understand.
This is why, later in the novel, James takes his friends’ arguing as opportunities to learn more about them. He breaks up fights between the Centipede and the Earthworm to ask about the Earthworm’s role in the ecosystem, for instance—something he perhaps wouldn’t have thought to do a few hours ago, when it was still unthinkable to him that bugs could be so big and so kind. Friends, he knows now, can come in all shapes in sizes and they can come from anywhere.
Chapter 17 Quotes
“But my dear friends!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, trying to be cheerful, “we are there!”
“Where?” they asked. “Where? Where is there?”
“I don’t know, the Old-Green-Grasshopper said. “But I’ll bet it’s somewhere good.”
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Chapter 18 Quotes
“None of us three girls can swim a single stroke.”
“But you won’t have to swim,” said James calmly. “We are floating beautifully. And sooner or later a ship is bound to come along and pick us up.”
They all stared at him in amazement.
“Are you quite sure that we are not sinking?” the Ladybug asked.
“Of course I’m sure,” answered James.
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“You must be crazy! You can’t eat the ship! It’s the only thing that is keeping us up!”
“We shall starve to death if we don’t!” said the Centipede.
“And we shall drown if we do!” cried the Earthworm.
[...]
“You can eat all you want,” James answered. It would take us weeks and weeks to make any sort of a dent in this enormous peach. Surely you can see that?”
“Good heavens, he’s right again!” cried the Old-Green-Grasshopper, clapping his hands.
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Chapter 19 Quotes
“Is there nothing we can do?” asked the Ladybug, appealing to James. “Surely you can think of a way out of this.”
Suddenly they were all looking at James.
“Think!” begged Miss Spider. “Think, James, think!”
“Come on,” said the Centipede. “Come on, James. There must be something we can do.”
Their eyes waited upon him, tense, anxious, pathetically hopeful.
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Chapter 21 Quotes
“Action stations!” James shouted. “Jump to it! There’s not a moment to lose!” He was the captain now, and everyone knew it. They would do whatever he told them.
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Chapter 25 Quotes
“But what about you, Miss Spider?” asked James. “Aren’t you also much loved in the world?”
“Alas, no,” Miss Spider answered, sighing long and loud. “I am not loved at all. And yet I do nothing but good. All day long I catch flies and mosquitos in my webs. I am a decent person.”
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Chapter 37 Quotes
“Don’t be frightened of us, please!” James called out. “We are so glad to be here!”
“What about those others beside you?” shouted the Chief of Police. “Are any of them dangerous?”
“Of course they’re not dangerous!” James answered. “They’re the nicest creatures in the world! Allow me to introduce them to you one by one and then I’m sure you will believe me.”
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Miss Spider Character Timeline in James and the Giant Peach
The timeline below shows where the character Miss Spider appears in James and the Giant Peach. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 11
...as big as a large dog. There’s an Old-Green-Grasshopper sitting on a stool, a giant Spider sitting next to him, and a Ladybug on her own chair. On a sofa sits...
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After a moment, the Spider asks James if he’s hungry. James says nothing and the Centipede remarks that James looks...
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Chapter 12
...the peach tree when a tiny green crystal wriggled past him. The Ladybug and Miss Spider shout that the same thing happened to them, while the Earthworm says he swallowed three...
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Chapter 13
Within moments, Miss Spider creates the first bed with her thread. It hangs from the ceiling like a hammock,...
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...again, louder. James is confused. He looks around and sees the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the Ladybug, Miss Spider, and the Earthworm snoring. James asks if the Centipede is talking to him, but the...
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Chapter 17
...in bare feet, so the Ladybug asks everyone to help with the Centipede’s boots. Miss Spider weaves a ladder so they can reach the ceiling. After a half-hour, they’re ready. One...
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Chapter 18
...going to die. The bugs panic—the Centipede can’t swim with his boots on, while Miss Spider, the Ladybug, and the Glow-worm can’t swim at all. Calmly, James says that nobody has...
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...Earthworm and with the Centipede, who insists that they’ll either drown or starve. When Miss Spider asks if she can just eat a tiny bit of the peach, James notes that...
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...remarks that the peach is better than aphids, which is all she’s ever eaten. Miss Spider concurs; this is better than a fresh-caught fly. But the Centipede sings that he’s tasted...
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Chapter 19
...their meal, the Centipede points to a “funny thin black thing” in the water. Miss Spider and the Ladybug notice that there are several. The Earthworm cries that they must be...
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Chapter 20
...as much string as James wants if they wake up the sleeping Silkworm downstairs. Miss Spider says she can also make string. She assures James the string will be thick and...
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...to be on the peach. At this, the Earthworm becomes hysterical. The Centipede and Miss Spider say they’ll respect the Earthworm as a martyr for the rest of their lives as...
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Chapter 22
...gulls. Inside the peach’s chamber, the Glow-worm lights the room so the Silkworm and Miss Spider can spin their thread.
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Chapter 23
Everyone runs to the top of the peach. The view is so magnificent that Miss Spider pulls the Centipede into a dance. Even the shy Glow-worm and the quiet Silkworm watch...
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Chapter 25
The Centipede notes proudly that he’s a pest; nobody loves him. James asks Miss Spider whether people love her. She sighs as she says that nobody loves her, even though...
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...as a cat,” but the peach made her thinner than any diet would have. Miss Spider loves the song and asks for one about Aunt Spiker. With a grin, the Centipede...
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Chapter 28
...have a problem: the peach is headed right for the arch and the ropes. Miss Spider, the Earthworm, and the Ladybug all panic. James shouts for everyone to hold on as...
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Chapter 29
...aghast that the paint dried so fast, but James notes that “rainbow-paint” dries quickly. Miss Spider says she hates paint. The last time Aunt Spiker painted her kitchen, Miss Spider’s grandmother...
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Chapter 30
Everyone listens, but the voice is too far away to make out properly. Miss Spider cries that it’s a Cloud-Man come to get them, while the Earthworm says, “It came...
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Chapter 31
...whoosh above and see something large and bat-like. The creature cries and flies away. Miss Spider moans that she wants morning to come soon. James points to the horizon, where the...
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Chapter 37
...the Centipede nor the Old-Green-Grasshopper know why the first responders are so upset. When Miss Spider joins them at the edge, the head of the fire department blanches. Miss Spider asks...
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...and, breaking into song, he introduces the Centipede, the Earthworm, the Old-Green-Grasshopper, the Glow-worm, Miss Spider, the Ladybug, and the Silkworm. As he introduces each bug, James shares something good that...
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Chapter 39
...makes women’s face creams. He acts in commercials for the creams. The Silkworm and Miss Spider learn to spin nylon thread and make ropes for tightrope walkers, while the Glow-worm replaces...
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