Red Lotus Of Chastity Analysis

Devasmita and the nun, two characters in Somadeva’s “The Red Lotus of Chastity”, employ the same concept from Machiavelli’s “The Prince”. Both Devasmita and the nun attempt to follow Machiavelli’s concept of being a lion and fox. However, only Devasmita succeeds in being both animals while the nun is merely a power hungry lion trying to dress up in a fox costume that did not fit.

In the Middle Age, many writers on political power had stressed the ethical side of a prince’s activity -- how a ruler ought to behave based on Christian principles. Machiavelli rejected this approach. From Machiavelli’s point of view, a prince’s attitude toward power must be based on an understanding of a human nature, which he believed was basically self-center. He wrote, “One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers,

The end justifies the means, for the reason of the state; the state is to be worshipped. (http://www.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/TYBA%20study%20material/Politicals%20Sci.%20-%20V.pdf). For Machiavelli whatever brings power is success, the prince cannot be bound by moral and religious ideals. The prince must be both a lion and a fox the fox have foresight, the fox can see the trap, but the fox can be savaged by the wolf, the lion cannot see the trap, but he can kill the wolf. So it is better to be both the lion and the fox. The ruler must possess the bravery of the lion and the cunning of the fox. Double standards in politics are necessary one set of rules for the individual, a ruler may be sly, deceitful, and ruthless.

"Machiavelli identifies the interests of the prince with the interests of the state." He felt that it was human nature to be selfish, opportunistic, cynical, dishonest, and gullible, which in essence, can be true. The state of nature was one of conflict; but conflict, Machiavelli reasoned, could be beneficial under the organization of a ruler. Machiavelli did not see all men as equal. He felt that some men were better suited to rule than others. I believe that this is true in almost any government. However, man in general, was corrupt -- always in search of more power. He felt that because of this corruptness, an absolute monarch was necessary to insure stability. Machiavelli outlined what characteristics this absolute ruler should have in The Prince. One example of this can be seen in his writings concerning morality. He saw the Judeo-Christian values as faulty in the state's success. "Such visionary expectations, he held, bring the state to ruin, for we do not live in the world of the "ought," the fanciful utopia, but in the world of "is". The prince's role was not to promote virtue, but to insure security. He reasoned that the Judeo-Christian values would make a ruler week if he actually possessed them, but that they could be useful in dealing with the citizens if the prince seemed to have these qualities. Another example of Machiavelli's ideal characteristics of a prince

The nun acted like a fox to undo the chastity of Devasmita. The nun chose to act like a fox to deceive Devasmita and make her trust her. She wants to seduce her to bed with the merchant’s sons. The Machiavellian concept of being a fox and lion means to succeed in a battle you have to know who are you dealing with like a fox and act aggressively like a lion to frighten them. “Since, then, it is necessary for a prince to understand how to make good used of conduct of the animals, he should select among the fox and the lion, because the lion cannot protect himself from traps and the fox cannot protect him self from the

Two characters in “Red Lotus of Chastity” Devasmita and the Nun, both have some similarities with Machiavelli’s concepts in “The Prince”. Through the narrative, both characters strive to follow Machiavelli’s concept of being the fox and the lion. However, in the turn of events, only Devasmita is victorious in being both the fox and lion while the nun is portrayed as a power greedy lion dressed in a fox clothes. The Machiavelli concept of being a lion and fox means that to attain victory in the battlefield, one must be deceitful, cunning and strong like both animals. “One should therefore select either being a fox or the lion because the lion cannot protect itself from traps it encounters, and the fox which cannot protect itself from wolves” (2528 Prince). The explanation of this according to Machiavelli is that one has to have the instincts and strength of a lion to guard themselves from outside invasion with sheer force and power. However, in an unfortunate turn of events and the encounter be one of intellect, one should be able to quickly adapt thus possessing the

Machiavelli says that a ruler must be a combination of a fox and a lion. A ruler needs to have the cunning mind of a fox but also needs to have the strength of a lion so that he can destroy anyone who opposes him.

Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and

Machiavelli concentrated more on the way things should be and how to manipulate them for his own personal gain rather than for the betterment of the state. He was well-known for being a political thinker who believed that outcomes justified why things happened. A key aspect of Machiavelli’s concept of the Prince was that “men must either be caressed or annihilated” (Prince, 9). What Machiavelli meant by

Back in the monarchy day, where an entire nation is rule by a person, either a King or a Queen. People assuming that every single ruler have to be kind and set a good example to their people. However, in the four excerpt of the “Prince”, written by Machiavelli Niccolo, a diplomat and political theorist, to send a message to Lorenzo de’ Medicito on how to be a successful prince. Machiavelli express in an understand tone that to be a good ruler it is necessary to be both evil and good by using a compound-complex sentence with negative adjectives, reality example and visuality imagery.

In The Prince, Machiavelli’s primary focus is on how a prince should act when exercising his political power. Machiavelli argues that a prince should first separate his public and private life. Therefore, a prince must be willing to deceive his people in thinking he is the best suited leader. Although a prince may need to act immoral at times, he must not abuse his power. A prince must only practice acts of manipulation, coercion, and deceit, to protect his power.

Before comparing the two characters to Machiavelli’s Prince, we must understand Machiavelli’s views on the subject. In chapter XVII Machiavelli stats that it is good to be both loved and feared but that combination is rare to exist in one person. So instead he says “that every prince ought to

Niccolo Machiavelli, a political philosopher and diplomat during the Renaissance, wrote based on his belief as result of incidents he had actually experienced. "His works often contrast two forces: luck (one's fortune) and character (one's virtues)."p.35 Machiavelli's writings on "The Qualities of the Prince" focus on advise for monarchial leaders to follow in order to keep their power. Machiavelli's main theory is that princes should retain absolute control of their territories, and they should use any means, and do what ever it takes to achieve this goal. The adjective "Machiavellian" has become despised and it is used to describe a politician who manipulates others in an opportunistic and deceptive way.

When a prince is in need of force, he must channel his inner beast. Machiavelli believes that it is good to be both a fox and a lion, but it is wiser to be a cunning fox because lions are stupid. Machiavelli says, “It is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify wolves… Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about… He who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best.” What he means is that foxes are cunning and smart enough to get out of traps, but they are not able to defend themselves against wolves. Lions on the other hand are perfectly capable of keeping the wolves at bay, however they are susceptible to traps He says that lions are stupid as where foxes are cunning and thus it is better to be a fox. As a fox, the prince would know when and where to keep his promises as long as it still benefits him.

Machiavelli in his work informs the prince that even if he does possess certain qualities he shall always appear to his followers as retaining all of these qualities as shown in the following quotation “A prince, therefore, need not necessarily have all the good qualities I mentioned above, but he should certainly appear to have them… He should appear to be compassionate, faithful to his word, kind guileless, and devout… He should not deviate from what is good, if that is possible, but he should know how to do evil, if that is necessary” (Machiavelli 57). Machiavelli highlights that image is extremely crucial for rulers and they must alter the perceptions of their people in regard to him in order to appear in control at all times for the purpose of maintaining and sustaining control. This idea is overturning