Intro
A chapter of Stephen Greenblatt’s Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare is dedicated to Christopher Marlowe’s play The Jew of Malta. It’s a play about a rich Jewish merchant in Malta called Barabas, whose wealth is confiscated by the Christian rulers of Malta in order to pay a tribute to the Turks. Barabas, understandably, gets pretty mad about all his money being stolen, and seeks revenge on the rulers of Malta. But, unfortunately, things don’t end up so fab for him.
Greenblatt was interested in how Jewish characters—and specifically Barabas—are represented in this play. Anti-Semitism goes way back, and in Elizabethan England people were pretty darn anti-Semitic. There were loads of stereotypical depictions of Jewish people. So, the question that Greenblatt set out to answer is: to what extent does the play challenge the anti-Semitic values of Renaissance England? And to what extent does it uphold them?
Let’s look at an excerpt from the play below. In it, Ferneze, the Christian governor of Malta, is coming with his knights to inform Barabas and other Jewish merchants that they’re confiscating their money.
Quote
FIRST KNIGHT. Tut, Jew, we know thou art no soldier:
Thou art a merchant and a money'd man,
And 'tis thy money, Barabas, we seek.
BARABAS. How, my lord! my money!
FERNEZE. Thine and the rest;
For, to be short, amongst you't must be had.
FIRST JEW. Alas, my lord, the most of us are poor!
FERNEZE. Then let the rich increase your portions.
BARABAS. Are strangers with your tribute to be tax'd?
SECOND KNIGHT. Have strangers leave with us to get their wealth?
Then let them with us contribute.
BARABAS. How! equally?
FERNEZE. No, Jew, like infidels;
For through our sufferance of your hateful lives,
Who stand accursed in the sight of heaven,
These taxes and afflictions are befall'n,
And therefore thus we are determined.—
Read there the articles of our decrees.
OFFICER. [reads] FIRST, THE TRIBUTE-MONEY OF THE TURKS SHALL ALL BE LEVIED AMONGST THE JEWS, AND EACH OF THEM TO PAY ONE HALF OF HIS ESTATE.
BARABAS. How! half his estate!—I hope you mean not mine.
[Aside.]
FERNEZE. Read on.
OFFICER. [reads] SECONDLY, HE THAT DENIES TO PAY, SHALL STRAIGHT-BECOME A CHRISTIAN.
BARABAS. How! a Christian!—Hum,—what's here to do?
[Aside.]
OFFICER. [reads] LASTLY, HE THAT DENIES THIS, SHALL ABSOLUTELY LOSE ALL HE HAS.
THREE JEWS. O my lord, we will give half!
BARABAS. O earth-mettled villains, and no Hebrews born!
And will you basely thus submit yourselves
To leave your goods to their arbitrement?
FERNEZE. Why, Barabas, wilt thou be christened?
BARABAS. No, governor, I will be no convertite.
FERNEZE. Then pay thy half.
BARABAS. Why, know you what you did by this device?
Half of my substance is a city's wealth.
Governor, it was not got so easily;
Nor will I part so slightly therewithal.
FERNEZE. Sir, half is the penalty of our decree;
Either pay that, or we will seize on all.
Analysis
In analyzing the play, Greenblatt comes to the conclusion that The Jew of Malta both affirms and undermines anti-Semitic stereotypes. We see anti-Semitic stereotypes all over the above passage. Barabas, as a Jew, is referred to as a “money’d man.” Ferneze says Jews are “infidels” who lead “hateful lives” and who are “accursed.” Ideas about Jews being money-hungry infidels were pretty widespread during the Renaissance.
But Greenblatt also makes the point that, while the depictions of Jews aren’t very flattering in this play, neither are the depictions of the Christian characters. Ferneze and his knights accuse Barabas of being “money’d” and imply that he cares only about money, but Ferneze himself is there to steal Barabas’ money! In other words, Ferneze, the Christian governor of Malta, is a total thief. He’s accusing Barabas of behavior of which he himself is guilty. Does something smell like hypocrisy around here?
So on one level, the play reflects anti-Semitic ideas that were widespread during the Renaissance. On another level, the play suggests that the “Christians” are no better than the Jews that they despise. The “Christians” are more “Jewish” (in an anti-Semitic sense) than the Jewish characters. While the Christians don’t come off looking so hot, the problem, as Greenblatt points out, is that Marlowe’s play ultimately leaves these anti-Semitic stereotypes in place. Tah-dahh!