Feminist Interpretations of Niccolo Machiavelli (Re-Reading the Canon)

438 Pages·2004·4.49 MB·English

by  Maria J. Falco

FEMINIST
INTERPRETATIONS
OF
Niccol`o machiavelli
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r e - r e a d i n g t h e c a n o n
NANCYTUANA,GENERALEDITOR
Thisseriesconsistsofeditedcollectionsofessays,someoriginalandsomepreviously
published,offeringfeministre-interpretationsofthewritingsofmajorfiguresinthe
Westernphilosophicaltradition.Devotedtotheworkofasinglephilosopher,each
volumecontainsessayscoveringthefullrangeofthephilosopher’sthoughtand
representingthediversityofapproachesnowbeingusedbyfeministcritics.
Alreadypublished:
NancyTuana,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofPlato(1994)
MargaretSimons,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofSimonedeBeauvoir(1995)
BonnieHonig,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHannahArendt(1995)
PatriciaJagentowiczMills,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofG.W.F.Hegel(1996)
MariaJ.Falco,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryWollstonecraft(1996)
SusanJ.Hekman,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMichelFoucault(1996)
NancyJ.Holland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJacquesDerrida(1997)
RobinMaySchott,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofImmanuelKant(1997)
CeleineLeonandSylviaWalsh,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofSorenKierkegaard(1997)
CynthiaFreeland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofAristotle(1998)
KellyOliverandMarilynPearsall,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofFriedrichNietzsche
(1998)
MimiReiselGladsteinandChrisMatthewSciabarra,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofAyn
Rand(1999)
SusanBordo,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofRene´Descartes(1999)
JulienS.Murphy,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-PaulSartre(1999)
AnneJaapJacobson,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofDavidHume(2000)
SarahLuciaHoaglandandMarilynFrye,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryDaly(2000)
TinaChanter,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofEmmanuelLevinas(2001)
NancyJ.HollandandPatriciaHuntington,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMartin
Heidegger(2001)
CharleneHaddockSeigfried,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJohnDewey(2001)
NaomiSchemanandPegO’Connor,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofLudwigWittgenstein
(2002)
LyndaLange,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-JacquesRousseau(2002)
LorraineCode,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHans-GeorgGadamer(2003)
LynnHankinsonNelsonandJackNelson,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofW.V.Quine
(2003)
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F E M I N I ST
I N T E R P R E TAT I O N S
O F
niccol`o machiavelli
EDITED BY maria j. falco
The Pennsylvania State University Press
University Park, Pennsylvania
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
FeministinterpretationsofNiccolo` Machiavelli/editedbyMariaJ.Falco.
p. cm.—(Re-readingthecanon)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-271-02388-0(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN0-271-02389-9(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Machiavelli,Niccolo`,1469–1527.
2. Feministtheory.
I. Falco,MariaJ. II. Series.
JC143.M4F462004
320.1(cid:1)092—dc22 2004043860
Copyright(cid:1)2004ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
PublishedbyThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress,
UniversityPark,PA16802-1003
ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPressisamemberoftheAssociationof
AmericanUniversityPresses.
ItisthepolicyofThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPresstouseacid-freepaper.
PublicationsonuncoatedstocksatisfytheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Material,ANSIZ39.48–1992.
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Per due donne bellissime:
Firenze, ‘‘La Citta` del Fiore’’ e
New Orleans, ‘‘The City that Care Forgot’’
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Contents
PrefacebyNancyTuana ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1 TheModernityofMachiavelli 39
DonaldMcIntosh
2 MeditationsonMachiavelli 49
HannaFenichelPitkin
3 Niccolo` Machiavelli:WomenasMen,MenasWomen,and
theAmbiguityof Sex 93
ArleneW.Saxonhouse
4 RenaissanceItaly:Machiavelli 117
WendyBrown
5 TheRootof theMandrake:MachiavelliandManliness 173
MaryO’Brien
6 FortuneIs aWoman—ButSoIs Prudence:Machiavelli’s
Clizia 197
CatherineH.Zuckert
7 MachiavelliandtheCitizenshipofCivicPractices 213
R.ClaireSnyder
8 TheSeriouslyComedic,orWhyMachiavelli’sLucreziaIs
NotLivy’s VirtuousRoman 247
MelissaM.Matthes
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viii Contents
9 Rhetoric,Violence,andGenderinMachiavelli 267
CaryJ.Nederman andMartinMorris
10 BeyondVirtu` 287
JohnJunchollShin
11 Machiavelli,CivicVirtue, andGender 309
VesnaMarcina
12 Rethinking Machiavelli:FeminismandCitizenship 337
JaneS.Jaquette
13 MachiavelliandFeministEthics 367
AndreaNicki
AppendixA Summary ofLaMandragola 387
AppendixB Summaryof Clizia 397
SelectedBibliography 407
Listof Contributors 409
Index 411
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Preface
Take into your hands any history of philosophy text. You will find com-
piled therein the ‘‘classics’’ of modern philosophy. Since these texts are
oftendesignedforuseinundergraduateclasses,theeditorislikelytooffer
an introduction in which the reader is informed that these selections
representtheperennialquestionsofphilosophy.Thestudentistoassume
that she or he is about to explore the timeless wisdom of the greatest
mindsofWesternphilosophy.Noonecallsattentiontothefactthatthe
philosophersareallmen.
Thoughwomenareomittedfromthecanonsofphilosophy,thesetexts
inscribethenatureofwoman.Sometimesthephilosopherspeaksdirectly
about woman, delineating her proper role, her abilities and inabilities,
her desires. Other times the message is indirect—a passing remark hint-
ingatwomen’semotionality,irrationality,unreliability.
This process of definition occurs in far more subtle ways when the
central concepts of philosophy—reason and justice, those characteristics
that are taken to define us as human—are associated with traits histori-
cally identified with masculinity. If the ‘‘man’’ of reason must learn to
control or overcome traits identified as feminine—the body, the emo-
tions, the passions—then the realm of rationality will be one reserved
primarily for men,1 with grudging entrance to those few women who are
capable oftranscendingtheirfemininity.
Feminist philosophers have begun to look critically at the canonized
textsofphilosophyandhaveconcludedthatthediscoursesofphilosophy
are not gender-neutral. Philosophical narratives do not offer a universal
perspective,butratherprivilegesomeexperiencesandbeliefsoverothers.
These experiences and beliefs permeate all philosophical theories
whethertheybe aestheticorepistemological,moral ormetaphysical. Yet
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