This essay discusses how, in the "Prince", Machiavelli says that "fortune is a lady." "It is necessary," he writes, "if you want to master her, to beat and strike her." (Machiavelli, p.76) In many respects, this statement exemplifies the clash in Machiavelli between "virtu" and "fortuna," which appears to be a conflict between the masculine principles of virility, courage and decisiveness and the feminine principles of caprice and malevolence. 5 pgs. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
