In every single episode,we are witnesses of the power play displays between House and Cuddy,the employee against his employer.In real life,this kind of juxtaposition would never occur because the employer is the master of his domain and won't tolerate any questioning of his or her authority.But,House Md is not just an ordinary show but depicts life in the most blunt manner(references to naturalism) and criticises many aspects of it such as authority power.This artigo will compare two profound despotic governing modelos as described por Tomas Hobbs in "Leviathan" and Nicolo Machiavelli in "The Prince"(II Principe) with the two lead characters,House and Cuddy.Just wanted to say that the following opinions about power are not my personal belief.

All credit goes to Mr Hobbs,Mr Machiavelli and Mr Shore.
author's note:Leviathan is a mythological sea monster in Jewish folklore.


In "The Prince",Machiavelli describes the qualifications that a 'prince',a leader must have in order to maintain the power of his domain.He must be ruthless,resourcefull and always alert,constantly observing the landscape of his domain and ready for hunt.House is the personification of the 'prince'.House is the king of his domain,his diagnostic department with the ducklings,old and new being his subordinate subjects of the society called PPTH.House is a sadistic,selfish,absolute and deceiptful ruler who has his own view of life.His lema is "The end justifies the means".As a true "prince",House is constantly on his guard in order to meet any enemy on battlefield whether they are his subordinates(his teams),his counselors(Wilson and Cuddy) or an exterior enemy who is jeopardising his reign over his principality(Vogler,Tritter).Thus,the prince/House is an agressive type of a despot who doesn't rely on fortifications of any kind or the help of others which ultimately would be his downfall.

House never cares about his reputation because simply it isn't a crucial element in order to obtain his power.But,if there was a choice between a good and a bad reputation,the clear winner would be the notorious one.House never wants to play the "good cop" as this strategy would lead to distraction and chaos in society(Everybody lies,so do the patients not revealing crucial elements of their health).As Machiavelli said "a man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruins because people are not good".This is why House is time and again mocking Wilson's and Cameron's perception of life that good deeds are always rewarded because simply everyone deep inside is damaged and rotten having interior motives.A fine example of this statement is "Games".Wilson makes a false,deadly diagnosis but instead of the patient feeling gratitute for his life,he ends up suing Wilson.

House wants to be feared but surprisingly is feared and loved at the same time as all dictators are(for a while).It is better to be loved and feared as commitments made in fear are kept out of fear whereas commitments made in peace are not always kept in adversity.House wants to be cruel to his team in order to maintain unity in his domain as it's the only way he can command his "troops" and simultaneously win their absolute respect.The Survivor arc is a proof of the above statement.By offerring them immunity or the chance to pick the two runner-ups for departure,House causes a deep sense of fear in his team in order to disorientate them from the true villain and turn everyone against each other,prolonging his dominance.In reference to his relationship with his employess,House is everything but generous.Wilson has repeatedly advised him to be mais lenient towards them,make them feel content about their hard work to no avail.If a prince/House is overly generous to his subjects and fratenising with them,elevating them to the same level with him,he will cause a lack of appreciation towards his face which will his power over them(Family and Foreman)causing an uproar in his kingdom(all three ducklings finally abandoning him at the end of s3).

Last but not least,a wise prince must have a select group of advisors(Wilson and Cuddy) to lead him to the road of truth.It might seem that House doesn't give a dime about their opinion but in numerous cases,the answer to solving his patient's mystery laid in the words of his two friends.But the morality of his advisors clashes with his immorality.A prince must be above reproach which in House's case isn't entirely correct.His two advisors constantly advise him to go down the path of virtue and righteousness not only on a professional but also a personal level.Despite their pleas,the prince in order to maintain his dominance and self-respect,requires to do immoral actions in order to achieve his goals(Do I really have to elaborate on this?).However,ultimately society reaches the end of its tether causing the undoing of the cruel dictator(Tritter,court and persecution).





On the other hand,Cuddy is the example of what Tomas Hobbs called a "dictator with good intentions"(Leviathan).Cuddy is ambitious,smart and an idealist but when necessary takes cares of her subordinates enforcing obedience to them.House correctly noted that Cuddy sees the world as it is and how it could be.A Leviathan's primal goal is not to gain power,prolonging their reign but with their actions to set society in a orb that will eventually lead them to prosperity.
Leviathan/Cuddy is a force which must invoke fear and awe to the subjects of her domain in order to maintain the thin line between cannibalism(not literally) and order in an environment which is absolutely hostile.The patients are subjects to the carnage of ruthless doctors who in order to reach their goal,the correct diagnosis,would take any measures,deliberately forgetting any rule of morality.Everyone remembers at what extent did Foreman went into in order to save lives(patient at mercy County and the little boy in Family)Therefore,Cuddy is there to prevent a civilised sociey turning into a mob of savages like masterfully depicted in Wiliam Golding's novel "The Lord of the flies".


Cuddy has been heavily criticised for her one-dimensional character,especially back in season 1.Despite being a constant pain in the behind of her subjects(House),Cuddy as a true leader sees the bigger picture which is the well-being of the patients and tranquility in her domain(PPTH).A Leviathan is everything but aggressive,is a calm force who offers a false idea of freedom to her subjects.A leader must know how to indulge her subordinate's desires(Cuddy plays this game with House stupendously) without possing her beliefs making them believe that they are atuação under free will.But,when necessary,will take matters in her hands(Fetal Position/Cuddy's juxtaposition with the ducklings about the treatment of the patient).

A Leviathan yearns for the respect of its subordinates that initially comes out of fear but progressively turns into admiration for the accomplishments of their leader.Therefore,reputation is an esential element in order to obtain power.Cuddy rewards her doctors in order to maximise their individual prosperity which eventually turns into no geral, global welfare for all society.Nevertheless,under no means does this mean that there is a chance of socialising with her inferiors despite Cuddy's desire to become a part of society as she knows that if this happens,it will cause a shift in the delicate and fragile relationship of employer-employee causing the collaption of the foundations of her domain ruining all her attempts for dominance.In referrence to the relationship with her advisors(House and Wilson),Cuddy seeks help in order to remind others that despite the fact that she is an elected dictator for the general good,she still is one of them.This is why Cuddy constantly tries to meddle in House's cases so she can take a real taste of medicine.


The primal difference between these two power modelos is the way they perceive their subordinates(patients) and exert power on them to reach their goal.A prince believes that the ultimate goal be achieved under all costs even if it means resorting to inhuman measures(Who's your Daddy?,Games,etc) in comparison with the moral high grounds of a Leviathan.Both of them seek the prosperity of their subjects but with the difference that House has slipped away from his initial goal,indulging his own vanity(All in) which has turned him into the doctor we have learnt to amor and loath.Cuddy has never lost track of her goal but often ruminates over the privileges of "plain" people to have a normal life without responsibility.This is why Leviathans always step aside from power leaving behind them chaos.Nevertheless,both Cuddy and House are despotic,in their own,unique way and constantly have to work in order to maintain their power which disociates them from society,therefore they will end up all alone like true leaders.But as a wise man once said,a true leader never strives from their goal(even if it has ramifications on a personal level),it is not enough to do the best of what we have but what is necessary.

In concluson,these two forms of power are so different in essence that any possibility of coexisting is impossible.It will be very interesting to observe how House and Cuddy will cope under the same roof(House's office) in the future episodes.The only thing we can do is await and "Let them have Cake" or let us have the cake and sit down and watch who will prevail.Will the monster(leviathan) eat up the cruel prince or will the prince slay the "bad" monster?