Focus on Spider (Bourgeois) and explain the Symbolism.
Among scholars, the spider is thought to be a symbol of Bourgeois' mother, who was a weaver and a tapestry restorer. One scholar in particular, Mieke Bal, even went so far as to posit that the figure of the spider is a direct metaphor for her mother's care and protection with regard to family life. As a child, Bourgeois worked in her mother's shop and was tasked with drawing in the missing elements of worn or damaged tapestries. The incomplete fabrics on and in the cage are thought to be symbolic of that element of her childhood. Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois' long time assistant, said that this piece was representative of a place where she felt safe: surrounded by the spider as her mother and the tapestries that reminded her of her childhood. Gorovoy also says that the artist treasured these memories, especially those of her mother, and is aiming to preserve them with this piece. Bourgeois would later expand upon these themes of motherhood and her portrayal of spiders with her 1999 sculpture Maman, which she expressly described as "An ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver... Spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother."
Mieke Bal Maman