Mandragola Analysis

Considered revolutionary for the time it was produced due to its outlooks on the Catholic Church and on the concept of human sexuality, Niccolò Machiavelli’s Mandragola satisfies the desires and wishes of each character in the play while also revolutionizing the role that the Church has on politics and private matters in society. By the time the play finished, all characters have received what they worked for through their participation in the scheme. In the end, Messer Nicia received an heir and Lucrezia’s mother Sostrata received a grandchild, while Callimaco finally slept with Lucrezia, an arrangement which resulted in him becoming Messer Nicia’s “close friend” (53), where they would “be able to come together at any time and without any suspicion” (53), a relationship which provides her a young lover and a change from her husband. In addition, Ligurio was paid while Frate Timoteo received money as a part of his bribe. Overall, the means by which the scheme happens successfully results in the domination of science over religion, making love and human sexuality more of something that simply needs satisfaction as part of human nature
This cure is a potion, since, as Callimaco claims, “there’s nothing more certain to make a woman pregnant than to give her a potion made from mandragola to drink” (25). This reference of the mandragola refers to the biblical story of how Rachel asked for mandrakes since she was barren at the time, but did not have any children as a result. However, with this new story, Machiavelli presents an alternative where people can have power over the divine acts of God, allowing women like Lucrezia to have children when she wants to, instead of waiting for God to provide her a