Element Of Commodification in Christopher Marlowe's The Jew Of Malta : A Marxist Analysis of the play
Keywords:
Commodification, capitalism, profit, immorality, human life, commodity, temporal objectives.Abstract
This article aims at analyzing Marlow’s play The Jew of Malta in the light of Karl Marx’s theory of commodification. For a capitalist, everything is sellable and being dealt in terms of money whether it is country, religion, human life, love or blood relation. Barabas, the money lender and main protagonist of the play is a true reflection of this capitalistic approach. He is devoid of human passions and does not follow any morality. He is ready to sacrifice his daughter Abigail for materialistic gains and he uses her just as a tool for his beneficial moves. In this regard, he does not spare even his loved ones. Such things as friendship, love, country, religion, and human beings are being dealt by him only in terms of monetary value. This study explores how this process of commodification occurs throughout the play which ends with the death of many important characters including Barabas himself. This play The Jew of Malta depicts the cruel and selfish approach of capitalists who have just artificial and fickle relations with other people. Barabas’s character presents modern man’s true picture that prefers his wealth and gold to human life, and other passions like love, patriotism, and faith etc. He uses them just as a commodity when needed, in order to secure his mundane and temporal objectives. This is qualitative research. Moreover, it is thematic analysis of the text The Jew of Malta.
Key Words: Christopher Marlow, The Jew of Malta, Commodification
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