Friar Jacomo Character Analysis in The Jew of Malta

Friar Jacomo is a member of one of the Christian monasteries in Malta, and after Barabas engineers the deaths of Lodowick and Mathias, Abigail appeals to Jacomo to join the nunnery for real as penance for her sins. Like Friar Bernardine, Marlowe implies many times that Jacomo ignores his vows of celibacy and regularly has sex with the Catholic nuns, and Jacomo frequently disregards his other priestly oaths as well, such as his vow of poverty. After Abigail joins the nunnery, Barabas blames Jacomo for her betrayal and swears revenge. Barabas promises Jacomo that he will join his parish and donate his fortune to the church coffers, but then Barabas and Ithamore strangle Friar Bernardine and frame Jacomo for his murder. Jacomo is ultimately hanged, and like Bernardine, he serves to embody religious hypocrisy and greed.

Friar Jacomo Character Timeline in The Jew of Malta

The timeline below shows where the character Friar Jacomo appears in The Jew of Malta. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

As Barabas and Abigail talk, Friars Jacomo and Bernardine pass by with two nuns and the Abbess on their way to the... (full context)

As Abigail and Barabas exit with the Abbess and Friars Jacomo and Bernardine, Don Mathias, a local Christian, enters. He is shocked to see that Barabas’s... (full context)

...she cries that there is no love left in the world. Ithamore enters with Friar Jacomo, interrupting Abigail’s dirges. She dismisses Ithamore and wastes no time telling Jacomo that she wishes... (full context)

Jacomo is confused, especially since Abigail only recently decided that the nunnery was not for her.... (full context)

...last saw Abigail, and Ithamore claims he saw her earlier in the day with Friar Jacomo. (full context)

Barabas is certain that Jacomo is to blame for Abigail’s conversion. Abigail has definitely joined the convent, Ithamore confirms, but... (full context)

Jacomo and Bernardine enter. Jacomo says that all the nuns are sick, and no medicine will... (full context)

...but he is excited to find Barabas “and make him stand in fear of [Bernardine].” Jacomo enters and tells Bernardine that all the nuns are dead and that they must bury... (full context)

...no. He is only sad that she lived as a Christian. Barabas claims to smell Jacomo and Bernardine as they enter. “God-a-mercy nose,” Ithamore says and suggests they leave, but the... (full context)

Bernardine and Jacomo begin talking at once and Barabas keeps interrupting them. When the friars mention Abigail, Barabas... (full context)

...Bernardine, so Barabas quickly changes his tactics. “Oh holy friars,” Barabas says to Bernardine and Jacomo. Barabas asks if it is too late to convert to Christianity and unburden his soul... (full context)

Jacomo and Bernardine immediately begin to bicker over Barabas. “Oh good Barabas come to our house,”... (full context)

Alone, Barabas hatches a plan to kill both Bernardine and Jacomo. Abigail clearly exposed Barabas’s involvement in Mathias and Lodowick’s deaths in her confession to Bernardine,... (full context)

...Barabas and Ithamore prop Bernardine up on his staff, and leave him standing there for Jacomo to find. (full context)

Jacomo enters soon after and finds Bernardine standing alone in the dark. Seizing the opportunity to... (full context)

...religion filled with murderous friars, and Barabas says Ithamore has a good point. Barabas tells Jacomo that he will remain a Jew after all, and then he tells Ithamore to take... (full context)

Ithamore enters, talking about Jacomo’s death. The friar was unexpectedly calm during the execution, and after his prayers, he practically... (full context)