Ivanhoe

Unhappy Isaac finds his imprisonment much less agreeable than the Saxons. Guards throw him into a deep, dank prison cell decorated with a rusty fire grate and the moldering bones of other unlucky captives. But, imprisoned, Isaac regains some of the calm he has lacked in other circumstances. Templeton speculates that the Jewish people, so harassed and oppressed on all sides in this era, eventually became used to a certain amount of violence and terror. Moreover, Isaac possesses the “unyielding obstinacy […and] unbending resolution” of his people. Carefully folding his clothing to protect himself from getting dirty, Isaac sits in a corner of the cell and waits with composure for more than three hours.

At the end of that period, Reginald Front-de-Boeuf and Sir Brian’s two “Saracen slaves,” dressed like butchers, enter the dungeon. Stripped of his armor and clad only in a simple leather jerkin, Front-de-Boeuf looks even more intimidating. The arrival of these three grim figures so terrifies Isaac that he cannot even offer the humble bow he knows he owes the baron. As one of the servants places a scale at Isaac’s feet, Front-de-Boeuf demands 1,000 pounds sterling, or its equivalent in gold, as ransom for his freedom. He ignores Isaac’s plea of poverty, citing common knowledge about Jewish people’s wealth and their obstinate tendency to cling to their money. If Isaac refuses, the baron threatens, he will die a slow and painful death in that place.

At another command from Front-de-Boeuf, the two servants kindle a fire beneath the grate in the corner of the room, and Front-de-Boeuf threatens to have them roast Isaac alive. Front-de-Boeuf ignores Isaac’s appeal to his humanity and pleas for mercy. He suggests that Isaac will soon regain his wealth through bilking other Christians. Finally, he signals to the servants to strip Isaac. Desperate, Isaac says he will raise the money. Front-de-Boeuf promises that he will remain imprisoned until every last ounce has been weighed out right there on the prison floor.

As Front-de-Boeuf doggedly presses Isaac for the ransom, Isaac tries to bargain for Cedric’s and Rebecca’s freedom. Suddenly, the baron interrupts, saying he assumed Rebecca was Isaac’s concubine, so he gave her to Sir Brian as the spoils of conquest. Isaac’s enraged and horrified cries fill the dungeon. He throws himself at Front-de-Boeuf’s feet, begging the baron to take anything he wants as long as he protects Rebecca’s honor. Front-de-Boeuf expresses astonishment over a Jewish man showing love for something other than his “money-bags,” and he promises to remember that they love their children, too, in the future. For now, he claims, he can do nothing to change Rebecca’s fate. A horrified Isaac swears he will not give Front-de-Boeuf so much as a penny unless his daughter is released unharmed.

Front-de-Boeuf asks if Isaac will even face death for Rebecca, and Isaac swears he will. The baron orders the servants to strip the old man and chain him to the grate. But before they can do so, they hear a commotion at the gate and voices within the castle calling for Front-de-Boeuf.