To the extent that this play, The Jew
of Malta, is a revenge tragedy, one
should examine the relationships among
desire, trust, and betrayal in order to
understand the play more fully.
One of Tennessee Williams's characters in Camino Real famously says: "We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal." Such a lesson could serve many characters well in The Jew of Malta. One encounters issues of trust and efforts of scheming at every turn of the play, and thus there are plenty of opportunities for betrayal, which becomes common. Barabas largely serves out the betrayals, and he himself is betrayed in various forms at least three times. In this world, trust leads to betrayal; is this a problem of personal ethics, religion, or human nature?
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