53 pages • 1 hour read
David LissThe Coffee Trader
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Religion and Hypocrisy
The Coffee Trader is strongly influenced by the religious overtones of its setting in 17th century Europe. Several of the main characters—Miguel, Daniel, Hannah and Alferonda—are of Portuguese Jewish descent, and while all experienced life during the Inquisition, they were each affected in unique ways. Miguel and Daniel’s family converted to Christianity (“Conversos”) as ordered by the Inquisitors under penalty of death. Daniel, like their father, embraced the new religion, but Miguel joined a group of “Secret Jews,” including the Alferonda family, which studied Jewish law in clandestine synagogues. Hannah’s family, also among the New Christians, embraced Christianity so fully that Hannah grew up unaware of her Jewish ancestry.
In Amsterdam, the Jews are free from the tyranny of the Inquisitors, but their lives are controlled by religion to varying degrees. Those who desire to be part of the Jewish community must abide by the (often arbitrary) law of the Ma’amad, the ruling council, and those who disobey its orders are excommunicated, a devastating punishment resulting in a complete lack of support system and self-identity. Fearing this possibility, many Jews refuse to question the Ma’amad’s authority.
Though Daniel is not a devout Jew by any means, muttering his way through his obligatory prayers, he aligns himself with Parido, a prominent member of the Ma’amad, to benefit from his power. In fact, the Ma’amad’s influence is so great that Daniel puts his allegiance to Parido above his loyalty to his own brother, much to Miguel’s dismay.
Daniel’s attitude toward religion highlights his hypocrisy and stands in sharp contrast to Miguel’s views. With Miguel, there is “delight in his utterances, as though he were remembering something wonderful each time he said the prayers” (44). However, Miguel also has an individualistic and rebellious streak that causes him to question the Ma’amad’s laws when he believes them to be unjust. Miguel even accuses the Ma’amad of resembling the Inquisitors, the very group that the Ma’amad is supposedly protecting the Jews from, with its scare tactics and arbitrary laws.
Nevertheless, Miguel understands the importance of the Ma’amad’s protection. Without it, he would be shunned and unable to trade successfully at the exchange. Therefore, he pushes back against the Ma’amad’s authority only to a point, not to the extreme where he would risk permanent expulsion from the community.
Alferonda also sheds light on the Ma’amad’s hypocrisy. He was excommunicated for his brokering for the Tudescos, who are Jewish but poor and therefore considered undesirable by the Ma’amad. Though not particularly religious, Alferonda is deeply affected by the punishment, which effectively turns him into an outcast. In fact, Alferonda blames the Ma’amad for his turn to a life of crime: “They chose to treat me like a villain. What choice did I have but to become one in earnest?” (68).
Hannah is in the unique position of only recently discovering that she is Jewish, yet by marrying Daniel she is thrust into the position of a traditional Jewish housewife. She struggles with all the accompanying rules, such as serving the correct food and covering her hair at all times. As a lonely outsider, she is susceptible to manipulation by Annetje, who convinces her to worship in the familiarity of a Catholic church. Though this initially comforts Hannah, she is constantly apprehensive about being discovered, which would mean certain excommunication.
The Distinction Between Deception and Trickery
In The Coffee Trader, the art of deception is practiced by many of the characters, though with various motives. Like other Jews in Lisbon during the Inquisition, Miguel pretended to embrace the New Christianity in public while studying Jewish law clandestinely. As a “Secret Jew,” he became very skilled at appearing to be something he is not: “He had thought nothing of being one thing while making the world believe he was another. Deception, even self-deception, came far too easily” (6).
This skill proved useful when he arrived in Amsterdam and began trading on the exchange. A trader must be able to hide some information from those he wishes to do business with if he hopes to earn a profit. Thus, as Miguel lays the groundwork for his plan, he withholds information or tells outright lies. Of all his deceptions, the greatest is Miguel’s lie to keep Geertruid from discovering his true plan to cancel his European agents, thus leaving her share in ruins.
Hannah is another sympathetic character with an ability to deceive. As a dutiful Jewish wife, Hannah is expected to keep house and observe Jewish law, but instead she regularly sneaks out with Annetje to attend Catholic Mass, a transgression that she knows would cost her and Daniel their place in the Jewish community. Hannah demonstrates a consistent desire to be true to herself, such as when she tells Miguel that she believes women should be allowed to learn and to read. Yet she also lies for her own benefit, as when she promises not to tell Miguel about seeing Geertruid: “As she said the words, she knew she lied and felt a strange new pleasure at how easily the lie came” (203). Later, she demonstrates an even greater capacity for lying when she claims Miguel is the father of her child.
Geertruid, along with Hendrick, earns her living through common thievery. Miguel discovers that the first time he met her, she deceived him with her ruse about a ship attacked by pirates. However, the real deception that Miguel suspects her of, that she is plotting to ruin him financially, turns out to be untrue. Geertruid may be a thief and a scam artist, but her willingness to deceive does not run as deep as some of the other characters, as she is not willing to sell out her friend Miguel.
The author draws a distinction between deception as a kind of emotional betrayal and trickery used for financial gain. Alferonda is a trickster, as learned from his father. Miguel is also aware of the distinction and hopes to become a trickster like his hero Charming Pieter, rather than a common liar.
By the end of the novel, most of the characters have demonstrated some level of deception, with the exception of Parido. This is ironic because Parido is the man Miguel most suspects of manipulation, believing at every turn that Parido’s words are false and that he is manipulating the market in order to ruin Miguel. Finally, Miguel discovers that Parido has been sincere all along, and as such has been less of a villain than Miguel himself.
Religion’s Influence on Traditional Gender Roles
In 17th-century Europe, gender roles were largely dictated by culture and religion. Sephardic Jews, or Jews from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), held extremely traditional views of women. Hannah is an example of a Sephardic Jewish woman, or she becomes one when she marries Daniel and she discovers her family’s true religious background. As a Jewish housewife, Hannah must fulfill two jobs: taking care of all the household duties and providing her husband with sons. Hannah cannot read or write, as only the men have the opportunity to study.
Because Hannah was not raised as a Jew, these conventions feel particularly stifling to her. She questions why these rules exist, though never in the presence of Daniel, to whom she maintains her expected appearance of dutiful wife. However, she points out to Miguel that women in the Tudesco, or Ashkenazi Jewish, community are permitted to become literate. Ultimately, Hannah finds it impossible to live her life as an obedient Jewish housewife. When Daniel grants Hannah a divorce and she is free to marry Miguel, she cautions Miguel that she will not obey him in all things, but “I will obey you a little” (364).
By contrast, as a Christian Dutch woman, Geertruid enjoys more social freedom than Hannah. She is permitted to socialize in taverns, drink, smoke, and dance. Additionally, as a Dutch woman she is allowed to participate in commerce. Miguel notes that her actions would have be impossible for a woman living in Portugal, but here in Amsterdam her behavior is “hardly shocking” (15).
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