University of Tasmania
Browse
whole_ScottMargaret1978_thesis.pdf (13.13 MB)

The murderous Machiavel

Download (13.13 MB)
thesis
posted on 2023-05-27, 18:08 authored by Scott, MD
The thesis is intended primarily as an examination of the earlier Machiavels from their first appearance in The Spanish Tragedy and The Jew of Malta, through to 1604, which is probably the year in which Othello and The Malcontent were composed. It is also intended to prepare the ground for a more exhaustive study, which, in moving on to a scrutiny of the Jacobean Machiavels, might bring out certain contrasts between the early type and the later one. In Chapter One the question of whether the Machiavels have anything in common with Machiavelli or with the political exemplars of The Prince and The Discourses is raised. Despite the widespread belief that the Elizabethans possessed little firsthand knowledge of Machiavelli and that the Machiavel embodies the distortion of Machiavellian theory presented in Gentillet's Contre-Machiavel, an examination of the evidence suggests different conclusions. It appears that a number of editions of Machiavelli' works were available in the sixteenth century; Elizabethan prose commentary reveals, often a detailed knowledge of Machiavellian theory; beneath the sensational, legendary accretions there lies in both the prose and the drama an apparently informed and thoughtful critique of Machiavellianism in which the principal charges are those of atheism, amoral egoism, destructiveness and cunning. In Chapter Two the substance of these charges is scrutinised. Some examination of The Prince and The Discourses suggests that the Elizabethans were wholly justified in interpreting Machiavelli's works as they did. In the remaining four chapters the Machiavel is shown to be a peculiar type of villain, characterised by qualities which are essentially those inherent in Machiavelli's doctrines. By examining a wide range of characters and by drawing comparisons between the genuine Machiavellian and other figures, cast in different moulds, the central characteristics of the type are gradually defined. It is shown that although the Machiavel does not always reject God explicitly he is always the materialistic enemy of the God-centred world in which, commonly, the Elizabethan dramatist places him. Despite some apparent affection for others or sudden recantation, the Machiavel while he remains true to type, is an egoist, dedicated to the ruthless and amoral pursuit of personal power and gratification. He is a destroyer of life and of order in the mind, the family , the state and the universe. Finally, in his \politic\" cunning he employs reason in a limited but lethal fashion. Always in the earlier plays the Machiavel is eventually defeated by the forces of righteousness but at the same time he can be understood only when he is recognised as an embodiment of the real and massive threat to Christian civilisation which the Elizabethans discerned in the doctrines of Machiavelli."

History

Publication status

  • Unpublished

Rights statement

Copyright 1978 the author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). Thesis (PhD) - University of Tasmania, 1978

Repository Status

  • Open

Usage metrics

    Thesis collection

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC