The Covetous Knight is a complex play that cannot be defined in simple terms. An important factor that is a supreme theme throughout the piece is of money. Albert lacks money, the Jew who is a usurer, and the Baron who has money and chooses not to aid his son or even repay his own debts. Money’s role becomes most important in the relationship between father and son. (Evdokimova, 156) In Scene II, the Baron’s monologue serves to stress his wealth, his stingy attitude, and his distress about who will take over his kingdom and inherit his money. The Baron feels deceived by his own son, which leaves him weary of his future and cautious that his son would betray him. The Baron expresses his feelings for his son in these few lines:
“A raving madman and a spendthrift youth,
The comrade of licentious debauchees!
Before I’m cold, he’ll come! He’ll hurry down,
With all his crew of greedy sycophants,
To enter these serene and silent vaults.
He’ll rob by corpse and, when he has the keys,
He’ll cackle as he opens all the chests.”
(Evdokimova, 314)
The Baron feels his son’s youth serves as judgment impairment, giving the Baron heightened fears of what would happen upon his death bed. He recognizes that within moments of discovering his father’s death, Albert would strip his father of every worldly possession and treasure he once owned and would foolishly waste it all away. This introduces Pushkin’s ideas into the relationship between father and son as well as his thoughts on human nature. The Baron sees his wealth as a source of power, and this power allows him to thrive and “rule the world.” (Evdokimova, 163) Yet ultimately, the Baron finds his defeat when he is murdered by his own son and loses his ability to defend and rule the world.
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