ly in a position of importance during this time period, and for a woman to reach such a position, it would have to result from dire straights where female rule was the only way out. A contemporary example shows the mother of Louis XIV as the temporary ruler of France, but wrapped around the finger of a male cardinal, who quietly ruled behind the scenes. One of his more subtle creations would later be the French Academy, the powerful critic of Corneille's work. Machiavelli continues, "she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous..." which creates an image of slavery between the male and female partner in the relationship. And lastly, as if to twist the knife inside the modern woman just a little more, he says that a woman is therefore "a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her." There are few women in modernity who would venture to accept that statement with any validity, and none who would appreciate the implications it has on the male psyche. Clearly, a woman was an object of lust wrapped in a perpetually misbehaving child during Machiavelli's time.
             While the world of Corneille would not be so harsh against women, his portrayal of the supporting female role would earn him a great deal of criticism. The love interest, or rather lust interest of Don Rodrigue, Chimène, is portrayed as a strong and bold woman who has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Chimène appears to hold the same level of honor and duty as any of her male counterparts, which both shocked and angered the French Academy, who presided over the literature of the time and set the standards for writing theater in France. We see that
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