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Nathan the Wise
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Themes
Religious Tolerance
The setting of the time of the Crusades presents a collision of three religions and their associated cultures—Christian, Jewish, and Muslim—in the Holy Land, the area surrounding Jerusalem. The Crusades consisted of bitter wars fought over control of this Holy Land, which is a site of historical and spiritual importance to all three religions. Given the conflict-ridden setting, it is all the more remarkable that Nathan the Wise concentrates on the spirit of tolerance for other cultures and religions.
The play does not overlook the conflicts that lay between the three religions, often centered around painful stereotypes, such as when Nathan, as a wealthy Jew, is implied to be one of “the greatest misers” (53) or when the Patriarch, a leading representative of the Christian church, is described as “fat” and surrounded by “pomp” (97). However, its lead characters all connect with others across religious-cultural divides. Nathan and Al-Hafi are dear friends, for example, despite belonging to different religions. Likewise, Saladin spares the Templar’s life despite the fact that the Templar is not only a Christian but also a Crusader and thus ostensibly an enemy. Most significantly, Nathan overlooked the fact that Recha was born a Christian and adopted her. He saw only a child in need, the humanity of the infant who grew into his beloved daughter.
Nathan the Wise also presents a critique of religious dogmatism. The Crusades overall were a time of pitting one religion against another, and strict, unforgiving interpretations of religious guidance, as represented by the Patriarch. As an alternative to dogmatism, Nathan the Wise presents a spirit that celebrates diversity; as Saladin says, “I've never wanted / The same bark to grow on every tree” (104). The Lay Brother—himself a member of the Christian church in service to its leader, the Patriarch, shows that religions do not have to fall into dogmatism. When the truth comes out that Nathan had raised the Christian-born Recha as a Jew, the Lay Brother does not condemn Nathan. Instead, he acknowledges that Nathan had good intentions in seeing the fundamental importance of caring for the girl; as he states, “Children at that age / Need love, if only that of a wild beast, / More than they need Christianity” (114). Nathan the Wise suggests that openness and acceptance, rather than restrictions, are what allows spirit to move through religions and create good in the world.
Alternative Kinships
Nathan the Wise is frequently read in terms of its overt message of religious tolerance. From another perspective, the play can be viewed as a family drama. However, the family it represents is anything but traditional. Nathan’s daughter Recha turns out to be adopted, though Nathan had been raising her as though she were his biological daughter. In fact, after Daja reveals to Recha that Nathan adopted her, he asks her, “Are you not my daughter still?” and she agrees that she is (136). With this remark, the play explicitly addresses the idea that true relationships are built on a foundation of respect and caring actions rather than simple facts of biology.
In another dramatic revelation, the Templar, who was infatuated with Recha, learns that he is in fact her brother. Moreover, in the final scene of the play, Recha and the Templar are revealed to be not only siblings, but also the children of Assad. Assad was the brother of Saladin, and had taken the name Wolf von Filnek as a tribute to the German woman he loved, whose surname was von Stauffen. Thus, Saladin, who had initially spared the Templar’s life because he resembles the deceased Assad, turns out to be the siblings’ uncle. The Templar was given the surname von Stauffen because his mother’s brother raised him.
This complex web of interrelationships, built on assumed identities turned inside out, also suggests that the bonds between these characters form alternative kinships. Non-biological bonds between characters like Nathan and Recha show that families can be built on care and love, regardless of biological heritage. Even when the bonds are biological—such as those between Recha, the Templar, and Saladin—circumstances have led each to develop independently from each other.
Thus, in coming together, the whole of the lead characters is more than the sum of its parts. In the final scene, for instance, Saladin joyfully exclaims to the Templar, “My son! My Assad! My own Assad's son!” accepting him not only as his nephew, but also as a figurative son (141). Nathan the Wise suggests that family, like all forms of relationships, is strongest when built on a foundation of respect for common humanity. The complicated layering of identities and assumed identities provides indirect evidence of how malleable kinships can be, and it suggests that whoever is accepted as one’s family is not necessarily obvious.
Wealth Versus Wisdom
Throughout Nathan the Wise, wealth is pitted against wisdom to explore the contrasts between material value and the value of immaterial knowledge. Even the very title of the play points to this distinction. Nathan, the titular character, is described as wise, as might be expected; yet he is also stereotyped as a wealthy Jew, foregrounding the question of which value—wealth or wisdom—is greater.
The answer to this question is most readily found in Nathan’s interactions with others, such as Saladin. As sultan, Saladin is responsible for the finances of his sultanate. As is revealed in the aftermath of his chess match with his sister Sittah, however, Saladin has woefully mismanaged those finances, and he turns to Nathan for a loan. While Nathan and Saladin have wealth in common, Saladin has shown himself to lack the wisdom for financial prudence, unlike Nathan. When Nathan offers Saladin the loan, he does so willingly and is not compelled by Saladin’s deceit. Instead, he suggests simply that Saladin “could use some of it […] [b]ecause one needs more money when a war / is near” (85). Thus, wisdom emerges as the key element, superior to wealth.
The play does not single out the Islamic sultanate as wrongfully consumed with money; instead, the Christian church is also targeted for this issue. When the Patriarch enters in Scene 2 of Act IV, the Templar remarks that he is “rosy, fat and amicable,” surrounded by “pomp,” and must even “put Saladin himself to shame” (97). The fanfare and Patriarch’s appearance suggest that his ostentatious wealth is ridiculous. While the Christian church, like other institutions in Nathan the Wise, has power and wealth, the Templar sees through these material aspects, ultimately siding with Nathan and Saladin out of a sense of loyalty, despite the religious differences between the three men.
The story of the ring that is at the center of Nathan the Wise is a parable about religious tolerance, but it also conveys a message about wisdom’s superiority over wealth. The sons who fight for the inheritance of the mythical ring represent the struggle for wealth and power, for the “ring of priceless worth” (80). Their father easily creates multiple fakes of the ring to deceive his sons, showing that wealth is superficial. The ultimate moral of the story—as for Nathan the Wise as a whole—is that the wisdom to be tolerant and open-minded is the real thing of value that can be passed down through generations.
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