The Baby of Mâcon

A period when religious and civic authorities dominate public life and entertainments are tightly policed. Famine and scarcity press on the community, heightening the stakes of every spectacle. The events unfold as a brutal public drama where moral boundaries are tested and exploited.

The town of Mâcon in Burgundy serves as the central setting, where famine and a longstanding disposition toward superstition create a tense backdrop. The narrative frames the city as a stage for miracles, curses, and the crowd's appetite for sensational events. The arrival of a noble Medici court elevates the town’s theatre to a conduit for political power and social control.

⚖️ Power

Power is wielded as currency: the Daughter coins influence through a fabricated miracle, while the Bishop and Cosimo use legal and social mechanisms to legitimize brutality. Patrons, clergy, and officials channel public fear toward private gain. The play becomes a tool to regulate behavior and extract benefits from vulnerable people. The conclusion reveals how authorities justify atrocity in the name of order.

💰 Greed

Greed drives the plot as wealth is sought through fertility blessings, potions, and the selling of sacred tokens. The Father profits from miracle cures, and the Daughter monetizes the Child’s ‘powers’ to acquire livestock and riches. Religious rituals are repurposed as commercial opportunities, while the town tolerates exploitation as long as it brings fortune. The story exposes the moral cost of avarice in a closed community.

🎭 Performance

The theatre functions as a battleground where stagecraft collapses into real violence. The crowd, including the Medici court, treats the Child’s fate as entertainment and profit. The distinction between performance and reality blurs as consent and coercion become indistinguishable on the canopy bed scene. The ending acknowledges the performers as complicit in the social spectacle.