Textiles and Tales

A.S. Byatt elucidates the connection between spinning, weaving, and thread to stories in her June 21 article in The Guardian. From Greek myths to African folkstories, thread and weaving (in all its various forms) are present in stories. Ariadne helped Theseus find his way through the labyrinth by way of a thread; Arachne incured the wrath of Athena and was transformed into a spider, cursed to spend the rest of her days weaving; Lady of Shalott was entranced to spin all day and watch the world through her mirror, until she spied Lancalott, fell in love with his image, turned to see him in the flesh and died in pursuit.

The article at The Guardian introduces an exihibit opening in Compton Verney, which clearly I can't go to, but the article was so full of wonderful vignettes and analysis of the history of thread and literature, that it's worth reading even if you are stuck in Atlanta, Georgia with no hope of seeing one lick of the exhibit. More here.