蜘蛛の糸 — is 犍陀多 (Kandata) meant to be sympathetic at all, or purely a cautionary villain?

Question

Just finished 蜘蛛の糸 by 芥川龍之介. Kandata's one good deed (sparing the spider) gets him a shot at escaping hell, but he loses it to selfishness almost instantly. Is the story meant to make us feel for him at all, or is he purely a moral warning with no real sympathy intended?

Accepted Answer

There's some sympathy baked in — Akutagawa gives him ONE good deed and a real, dangling chance, which is more mercy than a pure morality tale usually offers. But the ending (Buddha's sad/disappointed expression, not angry) reads more like disappointment in human nature generally than punishment of Kandata specifically. It's less 'villain gets what he deserves' and more 'this is just what people do when given the chance', which is arguably sadder.