The Jew of Malta

by

Christopher Marlowe

Gold Symbol Icon

Nearly every character in The Jew of Malta lusts for gold, which in the play is symbolic of wealth, power and the greed that often comes along with it. Barabas is the richest Jew in Malta, and even though he is hated in 16th-centry Malta’s anti-Semitic society, he is respected for his wealth. Barabas’s enormous stockpile of gold gives him power in a bigoted society that otherwise dismisses him, and he would rather be hated as Jew than “pitied in a Christian poverty.” Ferneze, Malta’s governor, is also in search of gold to pay the tribute money owed to Selim-Calymath and the Turks, and Ferneze intends to pay using only the gold he exploits from Malta’s Jews. Of course, Ferneze keeps the money he takes from the Jews and never pays Calymath, a greedy decision not unlike how Bellamira (a prostitute) and Pilia-Borza (a thief) plan to extort Barabas’s gold through his Turkish slave, Ithamore. Indeed, most of Marlowe’s characters are motivated by gold, and in their unchecked greed, they will stop at nothing to secure the wealth and power that gold provides.

While his cast of covetous characters suggests that greed is an inherent human trait, Marlowe nevertheless implies that greed and the constant search for gold and wealth is a recipe for disaster that will likely lead to undue suffering, for it is the greediest characters in the play who meet the most gruesome ends. Friars Jacomo and Bernardine condemn Barabas as a Jew, but they try to convert him to fill their parish coffers with gold, and they are ultimately murdered—Barabas and Ithamore strangle Bernardine with a belt, and Jacomo is hanged for the crime. It isn’t long after Pilia-Borza visits Barabas and demands that he “must ha’ more gold” that Barabas murders Pilia-Borza, along with his greedy partners, Ithamore and Bellamira. Even Barabas succumbs to his desire for gold when he schemes with Ferneze to kill Calymath and the Turks in exchange for “great sums of money.” But Ferneze double-crosses Barabas and kills him instead of Calymath, dropping Barabas through his own trapdoor and into the boiling cauldron below. Like the other greedy characters, Barabas’s lust for gold ultimately leads to his untimely death, underscoring Marlowe’s warning against the dangers of greed and humankind’s innate tendency for covetousness.

Gold Quotes in The Jew of Malta

The The Jew of Malta quotes below all refer to the symbol of Gold. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
).
Act 1, Scene 2 Quotes

Barabas: Then Abigail, there must my girl
Entreat the abbess to be entertained.

Abigail: How, as a nun?

Barabas: Ay, daughter, for religion
Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.

Related Characters: Barabas (speaker), Abigail (speaker), Ferneze, Abbess
Related Symbols: Gold
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:

Abigail: Thus father shall I much dissemble.

Barabas: Tush,
As good dissemble that thou never mean’st
As first mean truth and then dissemble it;
A counterfeit profession is better
Than unseen hypocrisy.

Related Characters: Barabas (speaker), Abigail (speaker)
Related Symbols: Gold
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2, Scene 1 Quotes

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!

Related Characters: Barabas (speaker), Abigail
Related Symbols: Gold
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2, Scene 3 Quotes

In spite of these swine-eating Christians,
Unchosen nation, never circumcised;
Such as, poor villains, were ne’er thought upon
Till Titus and Vespasian conquered us,
Am I become as wealthy as I was:
They hoped my daughter would ha’ been a nun:
But she’s at home, and I have bought a house
As great and fair as is the Governor’s;
And there in spite of Malta will I dwell:
Having Ferneze’s hand, whose heart I’ll have;
Ay, and his son’s too, or it shall go hard.

Related Characters: Barabas (speaker), Ferneze, Abigail, Don Lodowick
Related Symbols: Gold
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 2 Quotes

Away, no more, let him not trouble me.
Thou hast thou gotten, by thy policy,
No simple place, no small authority,
I am now Governor of Malta; true,
But Malta hates me, and in hating me
My life’s in danger, and what boots it thee
Poor Barabas, to be the Governor,
Whenas thy life shall be at their command?
No Barabas, this must be looked into;
And since by wrong thou got’st authority,
Maintain it bravely by firm policy,
At least unprofitably lose it not:
For he that liveth in authority,
And neither gets him friends, nor fills his bags,
Lives like the ass that Aesop speaketh of,
That labours with a load of bread and wine,
And leaves it off to snap on thistle tops:
But Barabas will be more circumspect.
Begin betimes, Occasion’s bald behind,
Slip not thine opportunity, for fear too late
Thou seek’st for much, but canst not compass it.
Within here.

Related Characters: Barabas (speaker), Ferneze
Related Symbols: Gold
Page Number: 118-119
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Jew of Malta LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Jew of Malta PDF

Gold Symbol Timeline in The Jew of Malta

The timeline below shows where the symbol Gold appears in The Jew of Malta. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...Who smiles to see how full his bags are crammed.” The Jew, Barabas, obtained his gold through “my means,” Machevill notes, but he asks the audience not to judge Barabas too... (full context)
Act 1, Scene 1
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Barabas enters his counting house, where he is surrounded by piles of gold. He is awaiting the return of his merchant ships, which carry various goods, including Greek... (full context)
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
As Barabas looks around his counting house at his gold, he says that “these are the blessings promised to the Jews.” They are the masters... (full context)
Act 1, Scene 2
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...Jews are not soldiers. Ferneze laughs. Malta is not looking for soldiers—Malta is looking for gold, and Barabas is a rich man. Barabas feigns surprise and asks Ferneze if he is... (full context)
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Barabas is shocked and asks if Ferneze plans to steal his gold on the grounds of religion. No, Ferneze says, he simply plans to take from the... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...Ferneze if he plans to take Barabas’s life, too, since Ferneze has taken all his gold, but Ferneze claims he would never resort to such violence. This, however, does not comfort... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...there is nothing that can be done, but he does have a large cache of gold hidden in the floorboards of his mansion that will go a long way in rebuilding... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...house and ask to be accepted as a nun, so she can get at the gold hidden under the floorboards. “For religion / Hides many mischiefs from suspicion.” Abigail resists. Such... (full context)
Act 2, Scene 1
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...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. (full context)
Religious Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
“Oh my girl, / My gold, my fortune, my felicity,” Barabas cries, holding the bags close to his body, “Oh girl,... (full context)
Act 2, Scene 2
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...exits with Bosco and the knights, adding, “Honour is bought with blood and not with gold.” (full context)
Act 3, Scene 1
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...find the bag full of silver, but Pilia-Borza promises her “the Jew” has plenty of gold. Pilia-Borza broke into Barabas’s counting-house while out walking the night before. A sound scared Pilia-Borza... (full context)
Act 3, Scene 5
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...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... (full context)
Act 4, Scene 3
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...off.” As Barabas reads the letter, Pilia-Borza enters with Ithamore’s second letter. Pilia-Borza demands more gold and tells Barabas that 300 crowns will not be enough. He gives Barabas the letter... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
...he plans to poison the thief, but Pilia-Borza rejects the invitation and again demands the gold. Barabas says he can’t pay him because he has lost his keys, and Pilia-Borza tells... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
Pilia-Borza tells Barabas that he is all talk and no gold, so Barabas reluctantly gives him a handful of coins. Barabas tells Pilia-Borza to take the... (full context)
Act 4, Scene 4
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...to Barabas, but Ithamore says he will drink to Barabas when he sends him more gold. Pilia-Borza asks what Ithamore will do if Barabas does not send the gold, but Ithamore... (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...to Bellamira that they tell Ferneze, but Bellamira says they should wait and get more gold first. “Come gentle Ithamore,” Bellamira says, “lie in my lap.” (full context)
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Anti-Semitism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
Pilia-Borza suggests they send another letter to Barabas with the French musician and demand more gold, but Ithamore says he is done with letters and tells the disguised Barabas to leave.... (full context)
Act 5, Scene 5
God and Machiavellianism Theme Icon
Money and Greed Theme Icon
Betrayal and Revenge  Theme Icon
...group of carpenters busily building a pulley system. Barabas gives the carpenters a pile of gold to split, and they exit having completed their work. The messenger enters and informs Barabas... (full context)