Analysis

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In The Mandrake, Niccolo Machiavelli is already beginning to develop some of the ideas that would later appear in his more famous work The Prince, especially those of “any means to an end” and human depravity. But Machiavelli chooses to explore these ideas within the context of a comic play, using literary devices like irony and satire as well as plentiful humor and deliberate structures meant to enhance the play’s message and appeal. The result is a satirical romp that, apparently, kept audiences howling with laughter.

Despite the comedy, Machiavelli presents very serious ideas in this play. First, the audience is invited to examine the concept of “any means to an end,” a proposition that the author will later promote in his political writings. The argument is that people may do anything as long as they have some “good” end in mind. Nearly any action may be justified as long as that desire is fulfilled.

In the play, Callimaco goes to great lengths to achieve his desire to have relations with Lucrezia. He deceives people, spends great sums of money, and even decides that he is fine with going to Hell as long as he gets his way. When he gets his way in the end, he confirms that the effort was well worth it.

Friar Timoteo presents a philosophical justification of sorts for this idea when he tells Lucrezia that the good of pregnancy outweighs the evil effect of a man’s possible death or the evil of her unfaithfulness to her husband. Of course, the Friar is trying to calm Lucrezia’s conscience so he can make money, but his arguments sound so plausible that Lucrezia’s own convictions slip, and she agrees to her husband’s plan.

Nicia, too, is caught up in the “any means to an end” trap. He wants a child so badly that he is willing to do anything, even give his wife to another man. Sostrata, likewise, wants a grandchild enough to sacrifice her own daughter to depravity.

Indeed, Machiavelli’s other primary idea in The Mandrake is that of human depravity. Most of the characters are hardly sympathetic to the audience, but while admittedly exaggerated for comic effect, they reveal readers’ own struggles with their human nature. Callimaco, for instance, knows deep down that his desire for a married woman is wrong and that he should fight against the temptation. Yet he allows his passion to overcome his reason, and corruption spreads out from him.

The Friar, of course, is nearly completely corrupt. He is a first-rate hypocrite who presents a holy exterior but beneath the surface is only interested in money. He is also quick to blame others for leading him to “dip my finger in sin” and then fall in all the way. Yet, he plunged into the chaos of his own free will, motivated by his own depraved passions.

The play also shows how even the most virtuous character, Lucrezia, can fall into corruption. Instead of following her conscience and resisting what she knows is evil, she allows herself to be convinced and bullied into sin. Then, when she gives in, she discovers that she enjoys it so much that she gives up her virtue completely and plans a long-term affair with Callimaco. Her corruption is completed.

These characters are, of course, exaggerated for comic effect, and readers must, therefore, think critically about what Machiavelli says about “any means to an end” and human depravity. He is certainly using the literary device of satire, a humorous exposition of human stupidity both in individuals and institutions. In this play, the satire certainly...

(This entire section contains 943 words.)

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covers individuals but also extends to marriage, the church, and doctors.

Machiavelli also employs significant irony throughout the play as the audience knows a good deal more than the characters than they do in some cases. Nicia, for example, is completely clueless about the motives, identities, and even actions of the other characters. He willingly makes himself a fool and a cuckold, and the author uses this as a primary source of humor in the play along with Nicia’s ignorant and often bawdy remarks.

Finally, the form of a play allows Machiavelli an opportunity to explore his chosen ideas and tell a humorous story in a way acceptable and entertaining to audiences. He starts with a prologue that sets the stage, both literally and figuratively, for his project and then introduces his characters, plot, and themes through a set of creative and well-written dialogues and monologues enhanced by a variety of actions (and suggested actions left offstage for the sake of propriety) and costumes, including disguises that emphasize the characters’ mixed motives and hypocritical stances.

Machiavelli makes especially good use of monologues and asides in The Mandrake. Through these, the characters reveal their true natures. Callimaco, for instance, wrestles with his better self and allows his worse self to win. Friar Timoteo excuses himself for his sin by blaming others and reveals his only real motive: money. Nicia shows his foolishness and frustration as well as his silly self-confidence as he is sure that he is perfectly right in his actions while his wife is merely a “rabid little shrew.”

Overall, Machiavelli creates a play that blends the possibility of serious reflection on human nature and morality with a hilarious romp of schemes, deception, and bawdy behavior. His audience is left to determine where his balance lies and what message he intends to relay. His characters seem to get exactly what they want in the end, but readers are to question if what they want is the same thing as what they need.

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