Initially her response is to demean him and ask about his manhood. She suggests that he is childish, saying that "the very eye of childhood that fears a painted devil." Her second response was to cover him.
Explanation:
She chides him by suggesting he has given in to cowardliness.
She goes even further and suggests that his behavior would appear appropriate for an old woman,telling tales around the fire, than for a man.
She reminds him of his place and of the actions expected of him
She makes excuses
She faints assuming here that he talks and blunders in his explanations about why he killed the guards out of guilt.
I believe Dante’s universe is orderly in a way that punishment for sins corresponds to the actual sinful act. What these sinners did to other in life,they expected themselves in death. Hope this helps
