Character Relationship Map: Arachnophobia

Characters

• Ross Jennings (played by Jeff Daniels) — protagonist

  Ross Jennings is a family physician who moves from San Francisco to Canaima to take over a medical practice. After several patients die from spider bites, he investigates the infestation with Chris Co...

• Delbert McClintock (played by John Goodman) — supporting

  Delbert McClintock is the exterminator recruited to help investigate Canaima's deadly spider infestation. He discovers Atherton's body after the first nest is destroyed, helps the Jennings family esca...

• Irv Kendall (played by Roy Brocksmith) — supporting

  Irv Kendall is the mortician who receives Jerry Manley's desiccated body after it arrives in Canaima. The fertile spider escapes from the coffin at his mortuary, is picked up by a crow, and begins the...

• Chris Collins (played by Brian McNamara) — supporting

  Chris Collins is Atherton's assistant, sent to Canaima after Ross Jennings requests scientific help. He participates in the exhumations and autopsies, confirms that the victims died from spider bites,...

• Margaret Hollins (played by Mary Carver) — minor

  Margaret Hollins is Ross Jennings's first patient in Canaima and dies after being bitten by one of the newly bred spiders. Her death is initially treated as a heart attack, but Ross doubts that explan...

• Jerry Manley (played by Mark L. Taylor) — supporting

  Jerry Manley is an American nature photographer who is bitten by a fertile Venezuelan spider while bedridden. The venom causes a severe seizure and kills him, while the spider travels unnoticed in his...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Irv Kendall → Jerry Manley (Professional Mortuary Caretaker) — Irv is responsible for handling Jerry's returned body before the infestation spreads.

  Jerry Manley's desiccated body arrives at Irv Kendall's mortuary, where the spider escapes from the coffin.

• Ross Jennings → Margaret Hollins (Professional Doctor And Patient) — Margaret's death becomes Ross's first medical clue that the town faces an unusual threat.

  Margaret Hollins is Ross's first patient, and she dies after being bitten by one of the new spiders.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Irv Kendall → Ross Jennings (Social Community Connection) — Their local professional roles connect the mortuary incident with Ross's medical investigation.

  Irv operates the Canaima mortuary that receives Jerry's body, while Ross is the town physician investigating the deaths caused by the infestation.

• Ross Jennings → Jerry Manley (Narrative Investigative Catalyst) — Jerry's death indirectly sets the central threat in motion for Ross's community.

  Jerry's body is sent to Canaima after he dies from the spider's venom, and the spider hidden in his coffin initiates the local infestation.

• Ross Jennings → Delbert McClintock (Alliance Investigation Collaborator) — They become practical allies in identifying and eliminating the infestation.

  Ross works with Delbert during the investigation into the lethal spiders. They discover the nest together, and Delbert later rescues Ross from the des...

• Ross Jennings → Chris Collins (Alliance Investigation Partner) — Ross and Chris combine medical investigation with entomological knowledge.

  Ross asks for scientific assistance, and Chris joins him in exhuming victims, performing autopsies, and capturing spiders.

• Chris Collins → Delbert McClintock (Alliance Teammate) — They cooperate as members of the anti-spider investigation team.

  Chris and Delbert join Ross during the town-wide investigation and help locate the spider nests.

Story Analysis

A physician confronts a rapidly evolving spider colony and overcomes his fear to protect his community.

Plot Progression

1. The Coffin Arrives — A prehistoric spider reaches Canaima inside a dead photographer's coffin. Ross begins his new medical life while the spider escapes and establishes a breeding line in the barn.
2. Deaths Without Answers — Several residents die after spider bites, but the deaths are initially mistaken for ordinary medical conditions. Ross becomes suspicious when the pattern continues and the town doctor also dies.
3. The Colony Revealed — Chris helps Ross confirm the bite marks and trace the spiders to the newly discovered species. The investigation reveals soldiers, a fertile queen, and a male leader capable of creating a second colon...
4. Fire In The Cellar — The team finds a nest in Ross's barn, but the male spider kills the entomologist who tries to lure it out. Ross is trapped above a second nest and must overcome his fear to destroy the colony.