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Sex as a Weapon: The Politics of Desire in Machiavelli’s "La Mandragola"
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Abstract:
Harvey Mansfield has argued that despite the prominence of sex as a central plot device in Machiavelli’s Mandragola, it is not a play about eros. He is correct in this regard: insofar as love enters into the plot, it seems to do so only as a derivative of the baser passions. However, desire in Mandragola exercises a tremendous force, and it is not, end of the day, without reference to love. This paper argues, then, that although the Mandragola is not a play about eros in the classical sense, it is certainly a play that explores love and desire, and one that reveals something about the place of these in politics. It argues that although love in the Mandragola seems to be debased, it remains as powerful and politically relevant a force as forms of love that point to something higher. This baser love disarms those who are vulnerable to their desires and so provides arms to those who possess the virtù to manipulate those desires. Insofar as it can be wielded as a weapon, then, love becomes a political tool, one that I will argue is, for Machiavelli, a potent accessory to virtù. The paper examines Machiavelli’s treatment of love and desire in the Mandragola within this context, and considers what insights this yields into the interplay of desire and virtue in his political teachings.
Most Common Document Word Stems: lucrezia (123), virtu (111), machiavelli (82), lucretia (68), callimaco (65), charact (58), love (55), desir (51), stori (50), nicia (46), seem (45), virt (42), brutus (41), mandragola (38), play (37), feminin (36), one (36), transform (35), ligurio (35), roman (31), woman (31),

Author's Keywords: Machiavelli, Mandragola, virtue, eros	Convention Convention is an application service for managing large or small academic conferences, annual meetings, and other types of events! Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! Click here for more information.
Association: Name: American Political Science Association URL: http://www.apsanet.org
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Connors, Catherine. "Sex as a Weapon: The Politics of Desire in Machiavelli’s "La Mandragola"" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC, Sep 01, 2005 <Not Available>. 2008-10-09 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p41722_index.html>

Connors, C. A. , 2005-09-01 "Sex as a Weapon: The Politics of Desire in Machiavelli’s "La Mandragola"" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC Online <PDF>. 2008-10-09 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p41722_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Review Method: Peer Reviewed Abstract: Harvey Mansfield has argued that despite the prominence of sex as a central plot device in Machiavelli’s Mandragola, it is not a play about eros. He is correct in this regard: insofar as love enters into the plot, it seems to do so only as a derivative of the baser passions. However, desire in Mandragola exercises a tremendous force, and it is not, end of the day, without reference to love. This paper argues, then, that although the Mandragola is not a play about eros in the classical sense, it is certainly a play that explores love and desire, and one that reveals something about the place of these in politics. It argues that although love in the Mandragola seems to be debased, it remains as powerful and politically relevant a force as forms of love that point to something higher. This baser love disarms those who are vulnerable to their desires and so provides arms to those who possess the virtù to manipulate those desires. Insofar as it can be wielded as a weapon, then, love becomes a political tool, one that I will argue is, for Machiavelli, a potent accessory to virtù. The paper examines Machiavelli’s treatment of love and desire in the Mandragola within this context, and considers what insights this yields into the interplay of desire and virtue in his political teachings.

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