Reflections on ethics and censorship in Machiavelli’s theater

Abstract

Human relations are at the center of every moral or ethical choice. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) brings in his theater complex, significant and emotional representations of the human experience. This diversity of themes, actions and emotions contributes to the reflection on his personal choices and the society by the time he lived. Why then was Mandragola (1518), the masterpiece of Italian theater, censored for so many centuries? When there is censorship, it aims to impose a private morality in everyone's space, showing the willingness of a part of the society to assert itself as legitimate representatives of that “truth” which identifies with their beliefs and lifestyle. Ethics, on the opposite, is a search for the truth through reflection and confrontation. Ethics demands freedom of choice for the individual to act according to its concept. If there is no confrontation, there is no possible will. Ethical questioning begins by deconstructing the sacred places of literature and canonical criticism. It is a matter of putting under suspicion the processes of semiotization of reality, which reduce the other to a homogenizing representation. Based on that, this article will present a reflection on the censorship applied by the Church to Machiavelli's theatrical texts, under the allegation that his work would oppose the ideas and concepts disseminated by the institution. It intends to demonstrate that, beyond disagreeing with the content of his works, the objective was to prevent the propagation of Machiavelli's critical vision, even though it had no practical effect on society and human relations.