just watched 2 episode of Welcome to Derry, and... I have something to say.
in the second episode (In the first episode, there is also a theme of childbirth, like body horror etc) we saw a scene with ronnie and her mother. in this scene, it skillfully disfigures the image of motherhood and the very association of a mother with something safe. it envelopes the child in a membrane of flesh and imitates repeated birth. then, it tries to return ronny back to the womb, where pennywise is already "sitting".
this is an important detail, as it is not the first time it has been associated with the womb and the feminine principle.
In the films, Pennywise displays a mouth that contains his essence/core, something resembling a womb with many rows of sharp teeth. An entrance leading to devouring/death. In the films and the series, Muschetti establishes a clear association between Pennywise and something womb-like, feminine. An image of predatory motherhood or a reference to "vagina dentata".
what is "vagina dentata"?
vagina dentata (lat. "toothed vagina") - an ancient mythological symbolising archetype, fear of which female sexuality, power and absorption.
(yes, you can joke that the clown has a cunt with light bulbs in her mouth, whatever.)
in horror/thriller films, this motif is used to depict fear of the female body, reproduction, loss of control, return to the womb or rebirth mouth, throat, cave, sewer, crack... these are visual variations of the same image.
In the book, one of its forms is a giant spider. The spider is originally a female symbol. In archaic myths, spiders often represent creation and destruction, fertility and death, motherhood and a trap at the same time.
In the shamanic traditions of the North American Indians, the spider is a kind of guardian of the world order. Its threads are paths between worlds, and the spider itself is a mother connecting life and death.
Therefore, in many cultures, the spider is a symbol of the great mother who weaves life but also devours her offspring when the cycle is complete.
