Commentary Par XVIII 64-66

Beginning with Scartazzini (DDP Scartazzini.Par.XVIII.64) and Poletto (DDP Poletto.Par.XVIII.64-69), some readers have turned to Ovid for a source for this blush in Arachne's face (Metam. VI.45-49).  The scene is a troubling one: Athena appears (first disguised as an old woman) to accept Arachne's challenge to a contest in weaving.  When the goddess reveals herself, the other mortals present show reverence, except for Arachne, whose involuntary blush is only momentary, and quickly fades, like the red sky at dawn.  For a similar blush on the part of Beatrice, see [Par XXVII 31-34].  Picone (Pico.2002.5), p. 272, points out that the figuring element and the thing figured are reversed in Dante's use of the passage, reflecting an even more significant reversal, from a negative experience (Arachne's transformation into a spider) to a positive one (the letter M's transmutation into a lily and then an eagle).

For some resonances of this Ovidian moment, see, among others, Barolini (Baro.1987.1) and Macfie (Macf.1991.1).