Character Relationship Map: The Mandrake

Characters

• Lucrezia (played by Rosanna Schiaffino) — protagonist

  A beautiful and devout woman married to Nicia. Initially resists the mandrake treatment plan but is eventually persuaded by her mother and a friar to consent. She later enjoys a secret encounter with...

• Ligurio (played by Jean-Claude Brialy) — supporting

  A manipulative advisor with strong influence over Nicia. He devises the mandrake cure strategy for Callimaco, ensuring the notary's compliance and protecting his honor during the scheme.

• messer Nicia Calpucci (played by Romolo Valli) — supporting

  A wealthy but foolish notary married to Lucrezia. Convinced of his wife's infertility, he agrees to the mandrake treatment and facilitates Callimaco's disguised entry into their bed, unaware of the tr...

• Sostrata (played by Nilla Pizzi) — supporting

  Lucrezia's mother. She collaborates with the friar to persuade her daughter to undergo the mandrake procedure, leveraging her religious devotion to secure her agreement.

• Siro (played by Armando Bandini) — supporting

  Callimaco's servant who assists him in his romantic endeavors and helps execute the elaborate plan to win Lucrezia's affection.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Sostrata → Lucrezia (Family Mother) — Sostrata is Lucrezia's mother and uses maternal influence to change her daughter's decision.

  The plot explicitly identifies Sostrata as Lucrezia's mother. Sostrata helps persuade Lucrezia to accept the mandrake treatment.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Siro → Sostrata (related)
• Lucrezia → Siro (related)
• Siro → messer Nicia Calpucci (related)
• Siro → Lucrezia (related)
• Sostrata → messer Nicia Calpucci (related)
• Sostrata → Siro (related)
• Sostrata → Lucrezia (related)
• Siro → Lucrezia (Narrative Indirect Facilitator) — Siro contributes to the plan that brings about Lucrezia's secret meeting with the disguised lover.

  Siro assists the scheme whose stated objective is to enable the secret encounter with Lucrezia.

• Ligurio → Lucrezia (Conflict Manipulator) — Ligurio indirectly pressures Lucrezia through a fabricated cure and a larger deception.

  Ligurio devises the false medical strategy that is used to persuade Lucrezia to undergo the mandrake procedure.

• Ligurio → Siro (Alliance Co-conspirator) — They support the same romantic scheme, although Ligurio is the strategist and Siro is the servant assisting its execution.

  The plot states that both Ligurio and Siro help execute the plan designed to bring about the secret encounter.

Story Analysis

A deceptive cure transforms an impossible courtship into a secret encounter and changes Lucrezia's desires.

Plot Progression

1. A Desire Takes Root — The young man learns about Lucrezia, returns to Florence, and falls in love with her. Her resistance creates the first obstacle to his desire.
2. The Mandrake Deception — Ligurio and Siro help construct a false medical explanation involving a mandrake infusion. The supposed poison creates a dangerous condition that makes the scheme appear necessary.
3. Faith Under Pressure — Lucrezia initially refuses the plan because of her devotion and moral principles. Sostrata and religious arguments gradually overcome her resistance.
4. The Nighttime Stratagem — The lover adopts a beggar disguise and is brought into Lucrezia's arms through the carefully arranged deception. The scheme reaches its decisive encounter.
5. A Changed Desire — The secret encounter succeeds, but Lucrezia wants more than the brief meeting that was originally arranged. Her changed attitude provides the final resolution.