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Act 3, Scene 4
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
Ferneze enters with Martin Del Bosco, several knights, and a Turkish bashaw. Ferneze warmly welcomes the bashaw and asks what brings him to Malta. “The wind that bloweth all the world besides, / Desire of gold,” the bashaw answers. Ferneze pretends not to know what the bashaw is talking about. There are no gold mines in Malta, Ferneze says, the bashaw will have to go to India for that. The bashaw corrects Ferneze and says that he was sent by Selim-Calymath to collect the tribute money. Ferneze’s 30-day grace period is over.
Of course Ferneze knows that the bashaw has come to collect the tribute money, he is simply stalling because he has no intention of paying and plans to betray the deal Malta has with the Turks. The bashaw’s claim that “desire of gold” is the wind that blows “all the world” certainly seems to be true in The Jew of Malta, yet Marlowe also implies that such unbridled greed does not pay and often leads to loss and pain.
Themes
Ferneze promptly informs the bashaw that he will not pay the tribute money to Selim-Calymath and the Turkish Empire. Furthermore, Ferneze says, the “heathens” are not welcome in Malta, and he expects them to exit the port so Malta’s merchants can return to their business. Very well, the bashaw says. Since Ferneze has broken the league and refuses to pay the tribute, he can expect Selim-Calymath himself to come and destroy Malta. The bashaw bids Ferneze goodbye and exits. Ferneze turns to the knights and tells them to ready the men of Malta. They will welcome Calymath and his war.
Ferneze is obviously talking about the Turks when he says the “heathens” are not welcome in Malta, which is likely a dig at the Turks’ Muslim identities. As a Christian island, Malta views the Muslim Turks as outsiders (just as they view the Jews), which further highlights religious strife in the play and reveals the Christians’ hypocrisy. As Barabas points out earlier, it is a Christian mantra to forgive and have tolerance, and the Maltese Christians observe neither.
Themes
