Misogynist or Rhetorician? Machiavelli's Writings and Hegemonic Masculinity in Renaissance Florence

Abstract

Niccolò Machiavelli’s works are often interpreted as having misogynistic undertones and being of a chauvinistic nature. In this paper I will examine how Machiavelli’s writings are much more complex than simply being “products of their time,” and through a multi-faceted analysis of both his political works and comedies, it is demonstrated that he held a nuanced and complex understanding of gendered relations in renaissance florence. Through a holistic survey of Machiavelli’s works and sources that well represent Renaissance society, Machiavelli is understood to utilize gendered rhetoric to incite political action to recover a corrupted Italy. Additionally, his works can be seen as an effort by the author to assert his own masculinity by rising to a certain political status through authorship. If seen as a performance to demonstrate his own masculinity, Machiavelli’s works take on a much more complex role both in the author’s own life and the lives of Florentines around him.