4 THE FAITHFUL READER in love at first sight, Charlotte chooses to love Wilbur despite knowing his bad qualities and not seeing his physical ones. Charlotte also chooses friendship with Wilbur despite their differences. Charlotte is cleverer and smarter—she has more “know-how”—than Wilbur. Wilbur is fearful; Charlotte, cool and collected. Yet as far as Charlotte is concerned, Wilbur is terrific and sensational. The beauty in her friendship of choice is that it doesn’t matter what others think, only the opinion of the friend. Additionally, the spider and pig form a friendship out of mutual respect for the other’s good qualities. The spider is proud to know that Wilbur isn’t a quitter, demonstrated through Wilbur’s trying to “spin a web” for the first time. Wilbur is modest, unspoiled even by fame. Charlotte loves this purity of heart (Proverbs 22:11), and she can love it in part because her own heart is kind, loyal, affectionate, skillful, and true. Finally, Charlotte serves Wilbur even when she herself is tired, and she serves him faithfully until her death. The ultimate act of true friendship is sacrificial love. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Throughout the tale, Wilbur doesn’t appear to serve Charlotte to the same degree. However, by the end of Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur exclaims that he would gladly give his life for Charlotte. And he does, in a way, fulfill that desire. The rest of his life is spent befriending Charlotte’s children and grandchildren. That selfless gift isn’t death, but a life spent in enjoyment of the other and for the sake of the other. The Beauty Friendship Lends to a Life of Necessity Eventually Wilbur looks past Charlotte’s beauty and cleverness and instead sees the virtue in Charlotte’s way of life. Charlotte lives according to nature and necessity. Charlotte loves Wilbur in part because his smelly pen and stale food attract the flies she needs to survive (much to Wilbur’s disgust, since he cannot stand killing). There is a utilitarian aspect to her friendship. Yet there are also limits to the role that necessity plays in our life. The spider’s understanding of both the compulsion and limits of necessity ground her friendship with the pig. Charlotte expounds:
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