Machiavelli as a dramatist

There have been much discussion about how his plays are used as a vehicle to display his political philosophy.^[1] Mansfield believes that it is related to a general theme of Machiavelli's, that out of evil may come good.^[9] Machiavelli, having lost the one vocation he understood, turned to writing, the closest thing to being in office he could now experience. In his writing he drew from his years of experience and understanding of the working of a successful "prince."^[10] The Prince, published in 1513, was a how-to book on securing and maintaining political power. According to historian Leo Strauss, Machiavelli did not censor his methods and was honest in his political advice, earning him an infamous reputation.^[11]

Friar Timoteo maintains a personal justification for his actions, blatantly disregarding the shame of his decisions for the financial benefits of the deal. In this way, Friar Timoteo is being self-deceptive. He swears by his innocence, with the rationale that sin is contingent on the presence of bad intentions in committing an act. He concludes that since he has ‘good’ intentions, he is therefore free of sin.^[12][13]

Frate Timoteo's character is dramatic because he undermines the expectations that both the audience and the theatrical characters have for him. He tricks the audience with the irony of his character; his familiar title ‘friar’ leads the audience to assume that he will act a certain way, but in reality he acts contrarily to those assumptions. In the play, Friar Timoteo takes advantage of Lucrezia's trust in his dependability, and leads Lucrezia to believe that his opinion of the plan is genuine and valid.^[14]

Some theorize that Callimaco is Machiavelli's described leader in The Prince as he follows what is natural to man, to rule, to attain things, and to consolidate power through scheming social and political structures. Just as the passion to rule is common in man, it is an allegory to Callimaco's sexual conquest of Lucrezia. Some argue against this theory, revealing that seduction is not simply a symbol for conspiracy, but that "seduction is seduction to Machiavelli" who believes the two are "virtually interchangeable phenomena".^[15]

In approaching Mandragola through the political analysis, Lucrezia has been viewed as the "Italy" to be conquered.^[16] Her defeat is generally viewed as the fall of a virtuous rule by corrupt means or the upheaval of an ignorant reign to ensure a more stable order. As a virtuous woman, Lucrezia surrenders her virtue not to the charming Callimaco but to the treachery of Timoteo, the corrupt friar, and the stupidity of her husband. Being so, she has the same name as the wife of Collatinus, the man who, with Brutus, helped defeat the Tarquin, thus founding the republic in Rome.^[17]