The Mandrake

Themes in Machiavelli's The Mandrake include: 1) Deception is a valid option if it achieves positive or favored results. This is by far, the main theme of the play. In the story, Callimaco lusts...

Machiavelli's satirical play The Mandrake is, essentially, a story of desire and deception, which typically represents the Machiavellian philosophy that the end justifies the means. To understand...

In the very beginning of the play, we learn about Callimaco. We learn that he was born in Italy, but once his parents died, he was sent to live in France. While in France, a war in Italy destroyed...

Timoteo becomes nothing more than a means to an end because although he is aware of the scheme to make Lucrezia sleep with another man he does nothing to stop it and instead seeks to benefit from...