How Corruption Trumps Honor In Lucrezia's '

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Recommended: Women during the Renaissance era

She is introduced as gracious, honest, and virtuous. Never in a million years would Lucrezia even think about dishonoring her husband, Nicia. However, her unbothered lifestyle is interrupted upon the arrival of a young man, named Callimaco. His desire for Lucrezia leads to a series of events that completely catches Lucrezia off guard. With the help of the people she trusts the most: her mother, confessor, and husband, she is effectively raped by Callimaco. The control she once had is taken from her. This event drastically alters her initial characteristics to a more inapt, acquiescent, and immoral persona. Lucrezia’s change of sight is significant to me because it illustrates how corruption trumps honor. Lucrezia shifts from gracious to inapt.

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