Maquiavelli and the woman. A state of question

Abstract

This article will examine the current state of the question on interpretations carried out since the 1980s by North American political science regarding “the women question” in Machiavelli. It will be argued that the three decades worth of analyzed texts on the subject will fit into two possible hermeneutical paradigms. A first one established by Hanna Pitkin since 1984 showing an essentialized genre conception according to which Machiavelli would have been a misogynist with a view on politics with no room for women or femininity, and another which we called protoconstructivist forefronted by Arlene Saxonhouse since 1985 according to which Machiavelli would have paved the way for a fluid conception of gender, thus allowing for the emergence of new ways of thinking about politics and genre. Notwithstanding Pitkin’s work’s unquestionable value for authors pertaining to both paradigms, it will be concluded that the widest and most useful array of interpretations for application on current political challenges will correspond to the works ascribed to Saxonhouse’s paradigm.