Dr. Sexson asked us earlier about the significance of Bottom's occupation of a weaver. My initial reaction was that it seemed appropriate that the weaver is the only character traverse both the world of men and the fairy realm. He is the character that blends the story threads together. But, this explanation seemed to simplistic to me. Snug the joiner could join the stories together, after all.
So, I thought about it a bit and thought of Arachne. Arachne was a weaver in Greek mythology that believed her skill to surpass that of Athena. Athena was outraged, and challenged her to a weaving contest. Arachne, feeling that she had not meddled with the Olympian enough, wove a tapestry depicting embarrassing moments of the gods. Athena, still angry, turns Arachne into a spider in order to punish her hubris.
Now, Bottom does not do anything to bring upon his metamorphosis. He is an unwitting accomplice to Puck's scheme. However, the weaver being turned into something less than human to punish hubris is constant in both stories. The metamorphosis is not to punish Bottom, but instead to punish Titainia. The whole point to the scheme is to embarrass Titania in order for her to give up the changeling. Bottom is convenient to Puck, but Bottom would have been enough by itself to embarrass The Queen of the Fairies. He is dim witted, presumably I attractive, and oblivious to his surroundings. Puck takes things a step further by giving him the head of an ass. Shakespeare gives him the added detail of him being a weaver, perhaps referencing the myth of Arachne.
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