Machiavelli, in Chapter 19: That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated, stresses the importance of avoiding doing things that will make the populace hate and hold contempt for the Prince. He presents various strategies to help said Prince avoid gaining the people’s ire. One such way is by having a Messer Remirro de Orco to be, “laid in two in pieces on the public square.” The scapegoat is an essential part being to a true Machiavellian leader, but it can be utilized poorly. The mark of a good ruler is the ability to know when and how to use their de Orco.
In the Prince, Machiavelli retells the story of Cesare Borgia or Duke Valentino. The Duke is a man that controls his own fate and makes plans to counteract Fortuna. As Machiavelli says …show more content…
In the tale, a knight rapes a maiden and is awaiting punishment in King Arthur’s court. The Queen, Guinevere, steps in and asks for the knight’s life. Arthur stepped back and allowed Guinevere to decide the man’s fate. Guinevere grants the man death if he cannot discover what all women want. This puts the man’s life into the hands of the women he previously disregarded. Guinevere used the de Orco method with some slight tweaking. The situation could be played out in two ways; the knight could either learn his lesson or he could not. Either way, he will have to spend the whole year at the mercy of women. They have the choice to disregard him or lie to him, and he is powerless to do anything about it. Guinevere plains to make an example of rape knight and does so beautifully. His punishment is a power play on Guinevere’s part. If she just executed him on the spot, he would not have known what it is to be powerless. It would have been a swift end that people would have probably forgotten about in a week or so. Guinevere instead draws his punishment out and which in turn makes this situation a big deal. She allows this knight to get metaphorically raped for a year by women of all sorts by placing his fate into their hands. It is a humiliating punishment that lasts, and wherever this night goes so does his story. This punishment works because it is public and masquerades as an act of mercy. By doing this Guinevere can enact justice while still being able to keep her image of mercy intact. This kind of finesse is what Machiavelli is all about because the people now know what will happen when they cross that line. Guinevere has shown that she can be merciful, but that does not mean she is weak. Machiavelli would
In the Prince, Machiavelli retells the story of Cesare Borgia or Duke Valentino. The Duke is a man that controls his own fate and makes plans to counteract Fortuna. As Machiavelli says …show more content…
In the tale, a knight rapes a maiden and is awaiting punishment in King Arthur’s court. The Queen, Guinevere, steps in and asks for the knight’s life. Arthur stepped back and allowed Guinevere to decide the man’s fate. Guinevere grants the man death if he cannot discover what all women want. This puts the man’s life into the hands of the women he previously disregarded. Guinevere used the de Orco method with some slight tweaking. The situation could be played out in two ways; the knight could either learn his lesson or he could not. Either way, he will have to spend the whole year at the mercy of women. They have the choice to disregard him or lie to him, and he is powerless to do anything about it. Guinevere plains to make an example of rape knight and does so beautifully. His punishment is a power play on Guinevere’s part. If she just executed him on the spot, he would not have known what it is to be powerless. It would have been a swift end that people would have probably forgotten about in a week or so. Guinevere instead draws his punishment out and which in turn makes this situation a big deal. She allows this knight to get metaphorically raped for a year by women of all sorts by placing his fate into their hands. It is a humiliating punishment that lasts, and wherever this night goes so does his story. This punishment works because it is public and masquerades as an act of mercy. By doing this Guinevere can enact justice while still being able to keep her image of mercy intact. This kind of finesse is what Machiavelli is all about because the people now know what will happen when they cross that line. Guinevere has shown that she can be merciful, but that does not mean she is weak. Machiavelli would