The Corruption And Immorality Of The Catholic Church

Machiavelli’s La Mandragola is a satire which focuses on major flaws in the world: the corruption and immorality of the Catholic Church. La Mandragola describes a great, wise, and virtuous woman, Lucrezia, who is turned sour and spoils. Lucrezia is manipulated by men to adhere to their wants and needs and, in the end, she becomes what every husband fears—unfaithful. This is very comparable to the behavior of the Catholic church during the same period; thus, Machiavelli thought to draw a parallel between the two. Many times throughout history and literature the Roman Catholic church has been referred to using feminine pronouns, so it would only make sense for a woman to symbolize the church—Lucrezia. The parallel between Lucrezia and the†¦show more content†¦Madonna Lucrezia, in La Mandragola, is the epitome of every man’s dream for a wife. â€Å"And he named Madonna Lucrezia, wife of Messer Nicia Calfucci, and he heaped such praise on her beauty and her manners that he amazed every last one of us, and in me he aroused such desire to see her,† said Callimaco (Machiavelli). Although Lucrezia was loyal, holy, wise, and virtuous, she has yet to produce an heir for her husband. This inability to bear a child is not to any fault of her own because her husband is older and thus infertile, but this problem goes unacknowledged. Because of this problem, and the willingness to do anything for it to be fixed, she and her husband become susceptible to the cunningness of others. First, her husband, Nicia, is made a fool when another man, Callimaco, convinces him that he has a concoction to solve infertility. Similarly, infertility was the grounds on which Lucrezia Borgia’s first marriage was annulled; but in fact, the marriage was no longer beneficial to her father Pope Alexander VI (Drees). However, there is one downside. The first man to sleep with Lucrezia after she has taken the elixir will die, so Nicia agrees to let another man lie with her first. Lucrezia, being her virtuous self, needed to be convinced to go through with the plan by her confessor, who is also corrupted and paid to tell her this act would not be sinful. â€Å"As for whether the act is a sin, that’s easy: because it is the will that sins, not the body; and it’s a sin ifShow MoreRelatedThe Catholic Church And The Middle Ages1283 Words   |  6 PagesTHE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE MIDDLE AGES I wanted to do this research paper on the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages because the church has always fascinated me. 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