Psychology of: Spiderleg by Bramblefire

bramblefire analyzes Spiderleg’s character throughout the series.

Hello, everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve posted an article and a think a new series of articles would be a cool idea. I’ve decided a way to do that would be to talk about the psychology of different Warriors characters. Keep in mind these articles are not designed to defend terrible cats it is designed to explain them. Without further ado, let’s discuss Spiderleg and how he treats his kits.

Spiderleg to start this article off doesn’t have the best life, to begin with. His parents keep having kits and he quickly found himself pushed to the side. He doesn’t know how to deal with this and tries to distance himself. Eventually, he falls somewhat in love with Daisy but he doesn’t want to get close to her. He ignores her and is shocked to learn she is having kits. Spiderleg never really had the chance to mature and he is not ready to become a father. Spiderleg also is covered in Clan duties so in his mind, he has no time to raise kits. Part of Spiderleg also believes that Dasiy should raise the kits as in his life it was Ferncloud’s job to raise the kits. When the kits were born Spiderleg viewed himself negatively. He had no idea how to be a good father and he believed that his kits wouldn’t like him and they would only be hurt by him. Due to Spiderleg’s forced growth from having to help raise his siblings, he was very immature and it showed in his behavior toward his own children. He finds it threatening to bear the responsibility and extensive care that kits require and might have even come to resent his offspring because of it. It is also possible that Spiderleg found it difficult to love another as he felt like he had never been loved much before. Spiderleg also lost his brother at a very young age. From Firestar’s Quest, it can also be inferred that they were close and Shrewpaw’s death could have scarred the young tom. Since he never learned to cope with his trauma, he struggled to care for his kits properly. He didn’t want to do what his parents did to him but in trying hard to avoid it, he only digs himself in deeper. He ends up doing what he feels his parents did to him and he is unable to right the wrongs right away.
Spiderleg’s breakup with Daisy was also disastrous. Spiderleg wanted to be recognized as a great warrior but he was unable to get his clan’s full respect as they viewed him as a bad father. Spiderleg also still has feelings for Daisy, but his own pride doesn’t allow him to act on them. He is also unable to connect to his kits as they hate him as well for good reason. In their minds he abandon them, and in a way they are right. However, Spiderleg never stopped caring. Spiderleg tried desperately to feel loved but in the end, he lost his mate, his son, and his daughter. Spiderleg, while he doesn’t show it completely is devasted that his son has died. In Bramblestar’s Storm, he tries to get closer to Daisy but she rejects him. Spiderleg is reasonably hurt, but he listens to her wishes. By acting this way, it is made clear that he still loves her dearly and wishes that she did too. In conclusion, Spiderleg was unable to connect with others because of his own insecurities and it ended up being his tragic downfall. By the end of his life from his perspective he had lost everything. He was hated by his mate and almost his entire family either hated him or was dead. Despite wanting to be mates again with Dasiy he knew she would never want that and Spiderleg died alone, lost in his own struggles.