The legacy of machiavelli at luigi pirandello’s theater

Abstract

This article intends to analyze the works of Mandragola (1518) by Nicolau Machiavelli and Luigi Pirandello’s L’uomo, la bestia e la virtù (1919), seeking to show that, although in different centuries, the writings of playwrights allow a dialogue in which refers to the use of social masks to cover up his real interest, for example in the figure of the cunning, who uses a potion in an attempt to help the main character solve his problems, and in the use of laughter as a stylistic resource. As in Machiavelli’s work, it is possible to find in the text of Pirandello a satire about the Italy of his time, indicating a series of habits of his society and, like Lucrezia in the work of Machiavelli, Pirandello’s Mrs. Perella disguises his betrayal, and through laughter (or more specifically humorous laughter), the sicilian author directs the public to realize that, regardless of the age, maintaining appearances is more relevant to the maintenance of social status than essence and virtue.