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Act 1, Scene 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Jew of Malta, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God and Machiavellianism
Religious Hypocrisy
Anti-Semitism
Money and Greed
Betrayal and Revenge
Summary
Analysis
Barabas enters with a light. It is night, and he is creeping around his old mansion in the dark. He cannot believe that he has lost everything, and he again laments his plight and Ferneze’s cruelty. The Jews have seen much darkness, Barabas says, and his own world will remain dark until he sees Abigail again. Suddenly, Abigail appears at a window—she has found Barabas’s hidden gold. “Receive thy happiness,” Abigail says as she throws several bags down to Barabas.
Abigail’s reference to Barabas’s gold as his “happiness” again implies that Barabas values his gold above nearly everything else, except, perhaps, for Abigail. Barabas’s claim that his world will be dark until Abigail returns suggests she is the most important thing in his life; however, Barabas easily puts Abigail puts at risk (if she is caught throwing down the gold, she will likely be severely punished), which suggests Barabas’s gold is really what matters.
Themes
Literary Devices
“Oh my girl, / My gold, my fortune, my felicity,” Barabas cries, holding the bags close to his body, “Oh girl, oh gold, oh beauty, oh my bliss!” Abigail tells Barabas to gather his bags and be gone. The nuns will soon rise for the first prayers of the day, and they will find his presence suspicious. Barabas agrees and blows a kiss to Abigail. As he exits, Barabas asks Apollo to bless Abigail and says, “Hermoso placer de los dineros (beautiful pleasure of money).”
As Abigail throws down the gold, Barabas starts out talking about her, but he quickly switches to talking about his gold. In this way, Barabas conflates his love for his daughter with his love for his gold, suggesting that he loves his gold as much, if not more than Abigail. Even Barabas’s prayer to Apollo (which is doubly interesting given Barabas’s Jewish faith) begins with Abigail but ends with reference to his money.
Themes
