# Abigail — The Jew of Malta character guide

> Abigail in The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Abigail Father, fair Abigail, gentle Abigail

**First appearance:** 0004-scene-i

## Snapshot

Barabas's devoted daughter, torn between filial loyalty and Christian faith, whose quiet conscience becomes the moral counterweight to her father's escalating cruelty.

## Who they are

Abigail is the one person Barabas genuinely loves, and she loves him back, offering to storm the senate-house and tear her hair over his losses. When her father uses her as bait in his revenge, she is caught between Lodowick and Mathias, then converts to Christianity and enters a nunnery, seeking a life her father cannot touch. Her choices expose the human cost of Barabas's schemes and give the play its sharpest measure of what his vengeance destroys.

## Relationships

### [Barabas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/barabas)

_family_

Abigail is Barabas's daughter, initially loyal but later betrayed by his greed and cruelty.

### [Ithamore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/ithamore)

_psychological_

Ithamore observes and later betrays Abigail, serving as a tool in Barabas's manipulation of her.

### [Mathias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/mathias)

_romantic_

Abigail and Mathias are secret lovers, but their relationship is destroyed by Barabas's scheming.

### [Friar Jacomo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/friar_jacomo)

_psychological_

Abigail confesses to Friar Jacomo, who later becomes a victim of Barabas's manipulation through her.

### [Ferneze](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/ferneze)

_social_

Abigail interacts with Ferneze as a political figure, but their relationship is strained by Barabas's feud.

### [Barabas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/barabas)

_family_

Abigail is Barabas's daughter, initially loyal but later betrayed by his greed and cruelty.

### [Barabas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/barabas)

_family_

Abigail is Barabas's daughter, initially loyal but later betrayed by his greed and cruelty.

### [Ferneze](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/ferneze)

_social_

Abigail interacts with Ferneze as a political figure, but their relationship is strained by Barabas's feud.

### [Ithamore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/ithamore)

_psychological_

Ithamore observes and later betrays Abigail, serving as a tool in Barabas's manipulation of her.

### [Friar Jacomo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/friar_jacomo)

_psychological_

Abigail confesses to Friar Jacomo, who later becomes a victim of Barabas's manipulation through her.

### [Mathias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/mathias)

_romantic_

Abigail and Mathias are secret lovers, but their relationship is destroyed by Barabas's scheming.

### [Ithamore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/ithamore)

_psychological_

Ithamore observes and later betrays Abigail, serving as a tool in Barabas's manipulation of her.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters/abigail
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jew_of_malta_se/characters