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Shakespeare presents Shylock as both a villain and a victim in 'The Merchant of Venice'. To what extent is this true? Shylock is shown as a villain because he has attempted to kill Antonio, he's abused Jessica's freedom and cares more about his money than his daughter. He is, however, presented as misunderstood and a victim, because not only is he physically abused in the text (he is spat on and kicked), his business is undermined, and he is an alien in his own city. A modern audience would not understand Shylock's personality as well as an Elizabethan audience, or at least as Shakespeare would have seen Shylock, because the racial tensions between Christians and Jews at Shakespeare's time have been mostly resolved, and because it was written for an Elizabethan, Christian audience.
Consequently, it shows Christians in a forgiving light, in that their actions against Shylock, the Jew, are largely exonerated, both morally and in the courts. Jews in Elizabethan times were generally thought of as murderous, sometimes accused of poisoning wells and wiping out whole (Christian) villages at once. One of Shakespeare's contemporaries, the playwright Christopher Marlowe, portrayed one of his Jewish characters, Barabbas, as a villainous, well-poisoning murderer. Shakespeare however, presents Shylock as 'a villain of circumstance', he presents Shylock's motivations as well as his transgressions.
Typically, Shylock is an traditional Jew-character, a Jew attacking a Christian. Untypically, the Christian attacked first with his spitting and kicking. A modern audience would most likely blanche at the blatant racism in 'The Merchant Of Venice', but in Elizabethan England, 'Jew' was a word associated with 'criminal' and 'murderer' and so they would be treated as a criminal or murderer was treated. Shylock sees an opportunity, and it could be interpreted that he seems to orchestrate a method to murder Antonio within the law. Shylock is spiteful towards Jessica, he tells her to 'stop [his] house's ears, 's he is not allowed to look at or hear the merriment outside, possibly because it's made by Christians, or possibly because of the sexual immorality of a Christian masque; a Christian masque was an event where Christians wore masks and commited acts they would be frowned on for, if they were out of mask.
While censoring his child's sexual / religious exploration is not specifically an evil act, even by today's standards, it could suggest that he cares more about his Jewishness and his standards than about raising a well rounded daughter. His faith gains, ultimately, a higher priority than his daughter, and, since he is Jewish, he would be seen as loving the devil more than his daughter. An orchestration of the bond to kill Antonio is not Shylock's only possible motive. Actors who have played Shylock have seen many different motives for the bond. One interpretation is that Shylock treated the bond as a joke, making fun of Antonio with the feebleness of the bond.
Because of Shylock's earlier admission that he hates Antonio because he's a Christian, and then says, 'I would be friends with you, and have your love, ' a blatant lie, and an example of dramatic irony (It could be that Antonio believes Shylock is truly repentant), supporting the interpretation that Shylock set up an elaborate scheme, intending full well to kill Antonio. The abuse suffered by Shylock however, outweighs much of his abuse given. Antonio is the most prominent Christian in this story, and is also the most prominent abuser of Shylock. He kicks, spits, and attacks his business openly. While this may seem an odd choice for a hero, he is seen as a fighter in a crusade against Jewish infidels, another example of how a modern audience wouldn't see a motivation in 'The Merchant of Venice', but an Elizabethan audience would, because most Christians at the time thought usually was a mortal sin that could not be forgiven. Thomas Wilson wrote this about usually in 1572, 'a sin directly against all law, against nature and against God.
And what should this mean, that instead of charitable dealings and the sue of alms, hardness of heart hath now gotten place, ' dismissing it as a livelihood based on greed. He also said that 'men have altogether forgotten true lending and given themselves wholly to live by foul gaining, 's having that he believed that lending could only be lending, not a way of gaining money from a friend. Christians and Jews have always been at odds with each other, because of the Christian belief that Jews crucified Jesus. There have been fights between Jews and Christians, and at one point, Jews were actually banned from England.
Antonio is presented as a sensitive character, shown by his sadness, and also as a good, generous man, because he lends Bassanio money. With lending having been established in the audience's mind as associated with good, Shakespeare then presents the money lender, who profiteers from the established 'good'. Shylock is not a tolerant parent, when it comes to Jessica discovering new things. She lives a sheltered existence, she knows not of the masques, or any part of the outside world. This makes it a surprise when she runs away from Shylock, and shows us that she is brave against the unknown. Shylock seems more upset at his money's loss, '"A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, Of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter!" , but that doesn't seem to be his main reason for anger.
The characters who re-informed the interpretation that Shylock is more worried about his money are Solanio and Solanio, as they discuss it later, doing impressions of Shylock screaming for his money. However, they are not an unbiased source, as they helped Jessica escape and are Christians, and therefore probably dislike Shylock. Shylock seems hellbent on keeping Jessica Jewish; he wishes she were 'dead at [his] feet with a jewel in her ear, ' an earring being a Jewish tradition, and declares her 'damned' for leaving him and robbing him. His reference to two 'precious stones' could in fact mean Jessica and her Jewishness, essentially the two 'precious stones' in Shylock's life, since his wife Leah died. Shylock does not look for Jessica, and her running away probably fuelled his hatred for Antonio, symbolically draining 'the last dram of mercy' from Shylock, and leaving him only one choice, to kill the Christian he sees as responsible for his problems. When Jessica runs away, Shylock's world is destroyed.
His two 'constants' have left him, his money and his family, and the audience is shown Shylock's weakened state, in the cruel mockery by Salerno and Solanio. Jessica had every right to leave, but the robbery diminishes all traces of sympathy from her, and transfers it to Shylock. Shylock, in the trial scene, refuses to show mercy for Antonio, despite the pleas of everyone in the court. This could be because of his mind's addled state, and all the losses piling up on him, or it could be Shakespeare's conforming to the Jew's traditional reputation. His praising of Portia when he believes she has admit defeat, 'O learned judge!' shows that he is excited about killing Antonio, not just looking forward to enjoying the closure of losing everything, but looking forward to the act of killing another human, but there is the dramatic irony of the audience knowing that the lawyer is actually Portia, and she would never let Shylock damage a friend of Bassanio's. At this point, he seems to have lost all respect for everything, and is destroying everything he is able to, and finds that the closest thing to him is Antonio.
When Shylock is beaten however, he is forced to change his religion, and the destruction of his life is complete. If he truly believed in the Jewish faith, he would have accepted death, rather than accept Christ. Added to this will be the exclusion from the Jewish community, and all who could help him, and would understand his need to damage Antonio, yet also his non-acceptance into Christian society, as converts were regarded as social lepers. He resignedly says 'send the deed after me, I will sign it' and leaves. The Christians show no mercy when they have a Jew held in their sway, and the only Christian who shows mercy, ironically, is the one who first abused Shylock.
Antonio saves Shylock from death, and gives Shylock the share of his money that was awarded to him, back. No character, is truly good / bad in Shakespeare. Antonio saves Shylock's life, refuses to take his possessions, and signs a potentially fatal bond with Shylock for his friend. However, he also racially abuses Shylock, tries his very best to ruin him, and forces him to convert from his religion, his most prized possession. Jessica robs her father, trades her dead mother's possessions for monkeys, and leaves no explanation. She's also sheltered from every part of life but her own.
Next to the vast array of characters and motivations in Shakespeare, Shylock's murderous streak doesnt seem too bad.
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