The Jew of Malta - Themes.

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The Jew of Malta : Themes.

A theme is a central, unifying idea. As the characters pursue their ambitions, a larger problem emerges. Many literary works share common themes and core ideas. As a literary device, theme allows the author to show and reveal all facets of human nature and human suffering. By promoting thought, interpretation, and analysis, this improves readers' enjoyment and understanding of a literary work. These are the common themes in Christopher Marlowe's 'The jew of Malta',  

Money and Greed.

Oh my girl,
My gold, my fortune, my felicity;
Strength to my soul, death to mine enemy;
Welcome the first beginner of my bliss:
Oh Abigail, Abigail, that I had thee here too,
Then my desires were fully satisfied.
But I will practise thy enlargement thence:
Oh girl, oh gold, oh beauty, oh my bliss! 

                                                                    - Barabas

Most of the characters in Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta are driven by money and greed in some way. The protagonist of the play, Barabas, is described as a man "who smiles to see how full his bags are crammed," and Marlowe suggests that Barabas obtained his money through Machiavellianism (a reference to the corrupt practises of Niccol Machiavelli, an Italian diplomat from the 16th century) to satisfy his unchecked greed. Money is also at the heart of the Maltese governor, Ferneze's, problems with the Turks, as well as the huge tribute payment Malta owes the Ottoman Empire.

Marlowe hints that greed is a genetic human tendency in The Jew of Malta, but he ultimately argues that greed and jealousy is a selfish and foolish mindset that does not pay off and often leads to pain.

When Barabas is first introduced, he sits in his counting-house among his piles of gold and jewels.

Barabas describes....

And in his house heaps of pearl like pebble-stones,

Receive them free, and sell them by the weight; 

Bags of fiery opals, sapphires, amethysts, 

Jacinths, hard topaz, grass-green emeralds,

Beauteous rubies, sparkling diamonds.” 

Barabas' laundry list of riches indicates he isn't content with just a little money, his fortune reflects his unstoppable greed.

Despite the occurrence of greed in The Jew of Malta, Marlowe implies that greed is a dangerous and sometimes fatal human trait that only leads to further pain and suffering. When Malta's Jewish community learns that Ferneze intends to tax them in order to pay Turkish tribute, they immediately ask the advice of Barabas, a man whose "policy" and Machiavellian dishonesty are well known. 

Barabas says, 

"Nay, let 'em combat, conquer, and kill all,

So they spare me, my daughter, and my wealth." 

Barabas is unconcerned about the other Jews, and he is willing to sacrifice their lives to safeguard his own money.

While Marlowe certainly condemns the greed that drives his characters, he also argues that such selfishness is a typical human trait, and that money is often treasured above even the most precious things.

 

Betrayal and Revenge.

In Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta, betrayal arises. Ferneze, Malta's governor, betrays the Jewish community by unfairly seizing their wealth to pay homage to the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, Barabas, the play's protagonist and Malta's richest Jew, betrays his fellow Jews by fighting for his own happiness and money while ignoring theirs. 

Barabas even betrays his own daughter, Abigail, by plotting the death of her love, Don Mathias, and Ferneze's son, Don Lodowick. Barabas is also betrayed, first by Ferneze and later by Ithamore, his trusty Turkish slave, who sells Barabas for wealth and the affection of Bellamira, a prostitute Ithamore lusts after. The drama is also full with vengeance, as each character who has been wronged seeks revenge on those who have harmed them. Both Ferneze and Mathias' mother, Katherine, vow to avenge their boys' deaths, but their efforts lack in compared to Barabas' rage, which quickly gets out of hand.

Barabas promises Mathias that he will ultimately be allowed to marry Abigail. 

“Thou know’st, and heaven can witness it is true,” 

 

Barabas tells Mathias and Mathias agrees.

“that I intend my daughter shall be thine.”  

 

“Ay, Barabas, or else thou wrong’st me much.” - Mathias

Of course, Barabas cares very little if he wrongs Mathias or Abigail, and he easily betrays them when he later engineers the duel between Mathias and Lodowick, which kills them both and breaks Abigail’s heart. Revenge is also prevalent in The Jew of Malta, indicating that revenge is as common as the betrayal that leads to it. Ferneze seizes Barabas' money. Barabas swears revenge.  

Barabas says, “whose heart I’ll have;  Ay, and his son’s too, or it shall go hard.”

Barabas desires Ferneze to promise the recovery of his fortune in writing or by handshake. Barabas also wants Ferneze's son, Lodowick, to propose marriage to Abigail in order to facilitate Barabas' plan to kill Lodowick and avenge the loss of his riches. In other words, Barabas' mention to Ferneze and Lodowick's "hand" and "heart" reflects his desire for vengeance. When Katharine and Ferneze discover Mathias and Lodowick dead, they think their sons were killed in the duel and decide to take their own vengeance.

Katharine says to Ferneze,

 “Hold, let’s enquire the causers of their deaths, That we may venge their blood upon their heads.” 

For Katharine and Ferneze, there is no justice for their sons’ deaths without revenge.

 

Religion

If thou rely upon they righteousness,
Be patient and thy riches will increase.
Excess of wealth is cause of covetousness:
And covetousness, oh, ‘tis a monstrous sin.

                                                            -  Ferneze.

In The Jew of Malta, Christopher Marlowe suggests the importance of God's will; nonetheless, his play is critical of religion and religious theory, particularly Christianity. Marlowe's portrayal of religion lacks morals, good will, and righteousness. Religion, on the other hand, is filled with hatred, dishonesty, and hypocrisy in The Jew of Malta. When the Turks arrive in Malta under threat of war to collect the tribute money owed to the Ottoman Empire, the Maltese government uses the island's Jewish population to pay the country's debt, all in the name of Christianity. 

Religion is not a motivation for Marlowe's characters to behave morally, it is a means to an end that permits them to behave as they wish. Finally, he claims that religion is a means for gaining power and fortune, not a guidance for morality and virtue.A Christian who exploits and oppresses another, according to Barabas, can never claim morality, and they can never be rescued and live immortal life in paradise by command of their own Christian religion. Marlowe emphasises the hypocrisy of a religion that claims morality yet uses the same religious theory to justify immoral behaviour through Barabas' biblical allusion.

Religious hypocrisy is exemplified further by the actions of Jacomo and Bernardine, two Catholic friars who continually disregard their holy vows in favour of personal wants. When Abigail, Barabas's daughter, asks Jacomo and Bernardine to join the convent.

When Abigail joins the nunnery, Barabas poisons her and the rest of the nunnery for betraying her conversion. But before she dies, Abigail reveals her faults to Bernadine, including Barabas' involvement in the deaths of Abigail's love, Don Mathias, and Ferneze's son, Don Lodowick. Bernardine later breaks the confessional seal and reveals Abigail's confession, he disregards his vows when it benefits him personally, emphasising religious hypocrisy in The Jew of Malta and representing the religious hypocrisy that Marlowe suggests is common among real-life religious leaders.