Social Satire in the Mandrake Root
Social Satire in The Mandrake Root
Comedy is not always made for simple entertainment, but can also be used to present social criticism. Social satire does just that, it disguises a social critique with humor, sarcasm, and wit. Machiavelli uses social satire as a form of high comedy in The Mandrake Root. The idea that all humans are self-interested and the corruption of the Catholic Church are two prominent issues Machiavelli sheds light on. The Mandrake Root is a high comedy because it uses satire for social evaluation. Every character wants and desires something or someone by the end of the play. It starts with a love story, Callimaco lusts over beautiful Lucrezia. Only problem is that Lucrezia is married and the scheming begins. Ligurio, a former marriage broker, is hired by Callimaco to come up with a plan to get Lucrezia. Nica is Lucrezia’s husband and they have been trying for a baby boy with no success. Callimaco and Ligurio come up with a plan to trick Nica into letting another man sleep with his wife. Callimaco pretends to be a doctor and tells Nica if Lucrezia drinks a potion that she will be able to become pregnant with a boy. Callimaco also states that the first person to a sleep with a woman who has consumed this potion will die the very next day. Nica agrees to this plan and now just has to convince his wife to agree to the plan. With the help of their priest, Timoteo, they are able to convince Lucrezia it is the right thing to do. Timoteo is granted money for his favor of “forgiving” Lucrezia of any future sins. Lucrezia follows through with the potion, Callimaco in disguise is chosen to be the sucker that “dies” for sex with Lucrezia, and Nica now believe he will have his first-born son. The play is a tangled web of lies that begin with the root of self-interests in each character. Machiavelli wants to make a point that not just some human beings but all humans have self-interest as motivation to their actions. He uses such extremes as
Comedy is not always made for simple entertainment, but can also be used to present social criticism. Social satire does just that, it disguises a social critique with humor, sarcasm, and wit. Machiavelli uses social satire as a form of high comedy in The Mandrake Root. The idea that all humans are self-interested and the corruption of the Catholic Church are two prominent issues Machiavelli sheds light on. The Mandrake Root is a high comedy because it uses satire for social evaluation. Every character wants and desires something or someone by the end of the play. It starts with a love story, Callimaco lusts over beautiful Lucrezia. Only problem is that Lucrezia is married and the scheming begins. Ligurio, a former marriage broker, is hired by Callimaco to come up with a plan to get Lucrezia. Nica is Lucrezia’s husband and they have been trying for a baby boy with no success. Callimaco and Ligurio come up with a plan to trick Nica into letting another man sleep with his wife. Callimaco pretends to be a doctor and tells Nica if Lucrezia drinks a potion that she will be able to become pregnant with a boy. Callimaco also states that the first person to a sleep with a woman who has consumed this potion will die the very next day. Nica agrees to this plan and now just has to convince his wife to agree to the plan. With the help of their priest, Timoteo, they are able to convince Lucrezia it is the right thing to do. Timoteo is granted money for his favor of “forgiving” Lucrezia of any future sins. Lucrezia follows through with the potion, Callimaco in disguise is chosen to be the sucker that “dies” for sex with Lucrezia, and Nica now believe he will have his first-born son. The play is a tangled web of lies that begin with the root of self-interests in each character. Machiavelli wants to make a point that not just some human beings but all humans have self-interest as motivation to their actions. He uses such extremes as