In approaching "Mandragola" through the political analysis, Lucrezia has been viewed as the "Italy" to be conquered. Her defeat is generally viewed as the fall of a virtuous rule by corrupt means or the upheaval of an ignorant reign to ensure a more stable order. As a virtuous woman, Lucrezia surrenders her virtue not to the charming Callimaco but to the treachery of Timoteo, the corrupt friar, and the stupidity of her husband. Being so, she has the same name as the wife of Collatinus, a character of virtue in Machiavelli's Republic Rome. She also holds the same title as the Lucretia of Ancient Rome who brought kingly rule to end by succumbing to violence. Others rebuke, believing Machiavelli's Lucrezia physically and metaphorically becomes the "mother of a new line of rulers in Florence." Callimaco's quest for power through the conquest of Lucrezia is what lends an underlying drama to the comedic theatrical "Mandragola".