On Machiavelli's Literary Message
19 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2011 Last revised: 16 Mar 2021
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
The Machiavellian prince is that most masculine of men who can conquer the womanly Fortuna by beating her and striking her down, but what of the philosopher whose virtu lies not in deeds but rather in words? The paper examines Machiavelli's literary writings to suggest that the philosopher is estranged from and emasculated by the world of politics. In particular, the paper focuses on Machiavelli's Mandragola as an allegorical complement to the political teachings of the Prince and the Discourses; the Mandragola, Machiavelli's comic retelling of the rape of Lucretia, highlights the tension between philosophy and politics. The philosopher is imagined as a procurer, the old prince as a cuckold, and the new prince as a seducer. Which of these three has the virtu best able to subdue fortune and establish a new order is the question we will address. We argue that the philosopher is the most impotent of the three, enjoying neither the eros of conquest nor the glory of empire.
Keywords: Machiavelli, gender, rape, politics and literature
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