The Merchant of Venice - Shylock - Victim or Villain?
GCSE Coursework
Shylock - Victim or Villain?
Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, one of his romantic comedies, was written in 1596. It deals with a dispute between Shylock, a wealthy Jewish moneylender, and Antonio, a Venetian citizen. The play begins in Venice, where Antonia's friend, Bassanio, needs a loan of 3,000 ducats so that he can court a wealthy heiress named Portia. Not being able to raise the funds himself, Bassanio asks Antonio for a loan. Unfortunately Antonio's wealth is invested in merchant ships that are presently at sea. Despite his wealth being tied up at sea, Antonio agrees to ask for a short term loan of the money from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Shylock has a deep seated hate of Antonio because of the insulting treatment that Antonio has shown Shylock in the past. Although he is reluctant at first, Shylock agrees to lend the money on the basis that if the 3,000 ducats are not repaid within three months, Shylock will take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Despite the harsh terms, Antonio agrees to the contract, confident that his ships, and his wealth, will return before the date of repayment. Just before the wedding of Bassanio and Portia, Shylock discovers to his horror that Jessica, his only daughter, has eloped with a Christian, taking a great deal of his wealth with her. Jessica's husband is Lorenzo, a friend of Bassanio and Antonio; Lorenzo shares their antipathy to Shylock. While his friends are happy in their new marriages, Antonio is worried because he learns that two of his ships have been lost at sea. With the repayment date looming, Shylock is asking for his pound of flesh. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and defends Antonio, successfully arguing that Shylock may have his pound of flesh as long as he draws no blood, as there was no mention of blood in the original agreement. As this would be impossible, and as taking the flesh would have killed Antionio, Antonio wins his case and Shylock is found guilty of conspiring to murder a Venetian citizen. He thus forfeits his wealth as well as the loan. Half of the wealth goes to the city and half to Antonio. In the end, Antonio gives his half to Shylock, on condition that he bequeaths it to Jessica, whom he has disinherited, and he must in addition convert to Christianity. The play ends with all the characters happy except for Shylock who has been humiliated. In this essay, I will consider to what extent Shakespeare portrayed Shylock as a villain or a victim.
In considering Shakespeare's attitude to Shylock, it is necessary to take into account the prevailing attitude of Elizabethan's towards the Jewish people. There was a long standing prejudice against Jews in England. Jews were often persecuted for their beliefs and their riches, and this was true throughout Europe. Jews had been in England for centuries, and had been discriminated against many a time. In 1190 the Jews in York were massacred and in 1290 all the Jews were to be exported. Although these events were happening in England they were common throughout Europe. Although Shakespeare has written about a Jew, there were in fact very few Jews in England at the time. Most people knew about Jews not through personal experience but through the facts and myths that were handed down through generations, and it is probable that Shakespeare had learnt about them in the same way. Historically, Jews in England were not allowed to own land or have professional careers. This, coupled with the fact that Christians were not allowed to lend money with interest, was the reason why many Jews had earned a living by lending money with interest. The Christian attitude to "usury" meant that Jews began to be held in contempt because of their association with money-lending. There is clear evidence in The Merchant of Venice of Elizabethan society's attitude to usury:
Shylock, albeit I never lend nor borrow
By taking nor by giving of excess,
Yet, to supply the ripe wants of my friend,
I'll break a custom.
Antonio's speech here (Act I, scene iii) shows Antonio's attitude to usury. Since Antonio is presented as upright and honourable, the audience would have identified with his views. In contrast to this Shylock explains his view on lending money for profit by quoting from the Bible. Antonio immediately condemns Shylock, saying "the devil can cite scripture for his purpose".
Jews were disliked in Elizabethan times also because religion was extremely important to people at that time. Christians disliked Jews because they blamed them for the crucifixion of Jesus.
As well as ...
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I'll break a custom.
Antonio's speech here (Act I, scene iii) shows Antonio's attitude to usury. Since Antonio is presented as upright and honourable, the audience would have identified with his views. In contrast to this Shylock explains his view on lending money for profit by quoting from the Bible. Antonio immediately condemns Shylock, saying "the devil can cite scripture for his purpose".
Jews were disliked in Elizabethan times also because religion was extremely important to people at that time. Christians disliked Jews because they blamed them for the crucifixion of Jesus.
As well as having their ideas formed by history, Shakespeare's audience would have had their perception of Jews influenced by two recent events. One was the execution of Roderigo Lopez, a Portuguese Jew who was Queen Elizabeth's doctor, in 1594. He was accused of trying to poison the Queen and was hanged, drawn and quartered. He was not known to be a Jew (officially Jews were still banned from being in the country) until he was tortured. Like many Jews living in England, he practiced Christianity in public and Judaism in private. The case was very famous and caused anti-Semitic views to increase in the late sixteenth century. The other was the writing of the very popular play by Christopher Marlowe, The Jew of Malta. As someone working in the theatre, Shakespeare probably saw this play, first performed in 1589 and revived immediately after the execution of Lopez. It has as its villain a Jew who is a money lender and a murderer; in fact Barabas even poisons a whole nunnery. This may have influenced Shakespeare to have a Jew as a villainous character in one of his plays. Shakespeare was good at giving his audience what they wanted. In order to be a successful theatre owner and businessman, this would have been important to him in order to make money. For instance, he made King Richard in Richard III into a villain as this would be popular with Queen Elizabeth (Richard III was killed by her grandfather Henry VII in order to take the throne). If Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock is as a villain, this would have been popular with Elizabethan audiences for this is how many people saw Jews. The fact that Shylock is a villain and Shylock is a Jew are inseparable in the eyes of the audience. He is rarely called by name but referred to as "the Jew", often with a derogatory adjective included.
Shylock is presented as a villain and a hypocrite right from the beginning of the play. In Act I, scene ii, his asides show what he really thinks, demonstrating that he is a hypocrite, as he says the opposite to Antonio's face. The two people who know Shylock best in the world, his daughter and his servant, both show their dislike of him. Jessica says that home is "hell" and that she is "ashamed to be my father's child", while in Act II scene ii, Lancelot Gobbo, his servant, describes Shylock as mean and "the very devil incarnate." If these two people who know him well see him as wicked, then the audience is being invited to share their views. If his daughter and his servant who know him so well think badly of him, should we not do the same?
There is a theme in The Merchant of Venice of identifying Shylock as a devil, which would have had a greater impact in Elizabethan times than now. Throughout the play Shylock is represented by Shakespeare as the devil. Lancelot Gobbo identifies Shylock as "a kind of devil", "the devil himself" and "the very devil incarnation". Even Shylock's daughter, Jessica, says that Shylock's house is "hell". The Christian's also identify Shylock as a devil. Solanio says "the devil...in the likeness of a Jew" and Bossanio agrees with statement by calling Shylock a "cruel devil". Shylock is also compared to the devil by Antonio, "The devil can cite scripture for his purpose". The Elizabethan audience would have been shocked by this as religion was taken very seriously in this era. By associating Shylock with the devil, Shakespeare has managed to portray him as a villain in the eyes of his audience.
However, Shakespeare makes Shylock into a very human character and we often feel sympathetic towards him. Throughout the play Shylock has some key speeches which make us fell like he is a victim. Throughout the play we learn of Shylock's encounters with Christians, that he was frequently spat upon, mocked and rejected. He was not seen as an equal in society. For instance in Act 1, Scene 3, when Shylock remembers things that Antonio has said to him
"You call me a misbeliver, cut-throat dog,
And spet on my Jewish gabardine..."
At several points in the play, Shylock says something which makes us feel sympathetic towards him, but straight after this change in feelings he usually says something which makes all pity vanish, and he's presented as a villain once again. An example of this is found in Act 3, Scene 1. Solanio and Salarino are in a street when Shylock enters. Straight away they begin mocking him about Jessica leaving home, and this leads Shylock to say:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons...
In this speech Shylock is saying that he is the same as every other man, and that he feels the same pain and needs the same food to stay alive. Shylock then continues to change our feelings about him, and we begin to recognise him as a victim. Then in his last sentence he says
The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.
All pity has now gone, as he has just said that he wants revenge, and he's only doing what the Christians have taught him. Although we no longer see him as a victim, he still cannot be seen as a total villain. He is only giving the Christians back what they have given him for a long a time, and we can understand his want for revenge knowing how much the Jews have been persecuted in Europe.
Although Shakespeare has portrayed Shylock as a human, with flaws the same as everyone else, he is only referred to by name six times in the whole play. Most of the time he is referred to as "the Jew" or "the dog Jew". Sometimes Shylock is not even given a human name and is simply called "dog". He is being compared to an animal, and by doing this Shylock loses his dignity as a human being and is portrayed as a victim. The Christians in the play however are always referred to as "the Christian" or by their name. This gives the impression that the Christians are better than everyone else. The trial scene at the end of the play also shows this. Shylock has dared to try and shed a drop of Christian blood, and he is severely punished for this, with the loss of his religion, wealth and dignity.
Although being a Jew was probably enough to portray Shylock as a villain, Shakespeare has also turned Shylock into a money lender. This profession was hated by many people as the Jews charged interest. His profession is extremely important to Shylock and money is usually at the top of his priorities. Shylock's reasons for agreeing to the bond with Antonio become apparent in Act 1, Scene 3.
I hate him for he is a Christian:
But more for that in low simplicity
He lends out money gratis.
We can see from this that although Shylock hates Antonio because he is a Christian, it is more professional jealousy that drives Shylock to agree to the terms. Shylock knows that with Antonio gone his business will increase. In this scene the audience perhaps hates Shylock more because he is only interested in his wealth than because he is a Jew, and Shakespeare has portrayed him as a regular villain instead of a Jewish villain. The audience again sees the importance of Shylock's wealth when his daughter elopes with most of his riches.
My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!
Although Shylock's thoughts are of his daughter he seems more upset about the fact that his wealth has gone. I think that Shakespeare had meant Shylock to be portrayed as a villain in this scene. The audience can see how little attention Shylock gives to his daughter. They would also be glad to see Shylock, a person who has become rich off other people's money, lose the two things that are most important to him. But Shylock also shows some human qualities in this scene. He shows emotion at his daughter's disappearance and is sad at the loss of his wealth. We learn later in the play that Shylock used to be happy until his wife died. Jessica reminds him of his wife and so the audience can feel for Shylock in his pain at losing his daughter.
By the end of the play Shylock is ready to fulfil his bond. Despite the fact that his fortunes are tied up at sea, Antonio doesn't show any reluctance in offering to lend money in his name for Bassanio. When Bassanio visits Shylock regarding a loan Shylock is at first reluctant to lend the money until he hears that it's in Antonio's name. When Antonio enters Shylock says, to himself,
'Curs'd be my tribe
If I forgive him!'
Shylock knows that Antonio's ships, and therefore his fortune are tied up at sea, and he is reluctant to lend the money. He brings up what happened in the Rialto,
'Fair sir you spat on me on Wednesday last,
You spurn'd me such a day, another time
You call'd me dog: and for these courtesies
I'll lend you thus the monies.'
Antonio doesn't apologise for these remarks. Instead he says that he is likely to do it again. It is Antonio, not Shylock that first suggests a bond. When we realise that it was Antonio who suggested the bond we can realise Shylock's reasons for wanting to fulfil his bond, it's his legal chance to get revenge. I think that Shakespeare wants us to be on the Christian's side as all the characters in the play are against Shylock, even his fellow Jew's.
Throughout the play Shylock is very careful with his money, as we can see when he tells Jessica to be careful when he goes out. It seems out of character for him to lend 3000 ducats, a large sum of money, to someone who most probably wouldn't be able to give it back. It is Shylock's lust for revenge that drives him to do this, and although revenge is usually a villainous quality we can also see the side of Shylock the victim. Antonio has spat on him and called him names and it seems only natural that Shylock would want revenge for this. It is because of the years of victimisation that the reader can feel for Shylock and his quest for revenge.
From the beginning of the trial scene we know that there's no chance that Shylock is going to win his case, and it's no surprise when he loses. Shylock loses everything of importance to him, his wealth, his daughter, his dignity and he is forced to convert to Christianity. Shakespeare knew that his audience would be happy seeing a villain falling. But despite the determination Shylock shows in fulfilling the bond, when he loses everything we can still feel sorry for him. Shylock is forced to change his religion and Shakespeare's audience would have sympathised with this, as the play was performed only a few years after the reformation. During the reformation Christians were forced to change their denomination. The Christians had mocked him, and as he says
The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.
After focusing on the play, I think that Shakespeare meant to portray Shylock as a villain overall, while still giving him some human qualities in order to make the audience think about why he is a victim too. He is not portrayed as a character totally without emotions. We can understand his need for revenge, and we can feel sympathy towards him as we are shown the reasons for him becoming a villain. However, today, in the post holocaust era we see Shylock as more of a victim, as we have more sympathy towards racial abuse and we live in a multi cultural society. The play is an important piece of literature as from it we can learn abut the Elizabethans' attitudes to Jews and how they were regarded in that era as sub-human. Today, I think, we see more of the victim in Shylock than Shakespeare intended, because of our recent history and cultural influences.
But there are many instances in the play in which Shylock's villainous side comes through and we cannot pity him. In almost every long piece of dialogue by Shylock there is a reference to money, showing that Shylock seems to care more about his money than anything else. When his daughter leaves home, stealing all his jewels and money she was left to protect, his first reaction is:
'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!'
Although he first thinks of his daughter, thoughts about his money aren't far behind, and he only seems concerned with his wealth being stolen and the fact that it's a Christian she has chosen to run away with. Shylock saw Jessica as something that belonged to him and kept her in the house. When leaving for a dinner party he tells her to lock all the doors to keep his money safe, he doesn't give a second thought about Jessica. When Jessica runs away Shylock doesn't think about her reasons for running away. He is more interested in his material possessions.
There is a lot of hate by both Shylock and the Christians during the course of the play. The different religions seem to have less to do with it than professional jealousy.
'I hate him for he is a Christian:
But more for that in low simplicity
He lends out money gratis'
Shylock says this in Act 1, Scene 3. He seems more upset that Antonio lend out money with no interest, therefore losing Shylock trade than the fact that Antonio is a Christian. Shylock is ruthless in his quest to make more money. When he learns that Antonio's ships are lost at sea, his first reaction is that of pleasure
Despite the fact that his fortunes are tied up at sea, Antonio doesn't show any reluctance in offering to lend money in his name for Bassanio. When Bassanio visits Shylock regarding a loan Shylock is at first reluctant to lend the money until he hears that it's in Antonio's name. When Antonio enters Shylock says, to himself,
'Curs'd be my tribe
If I forgive him!'
Shylock knows that Antonio's ships, and therefore his fortune are tied up at sea, and he is reluctant to lend the money. He brings up what happened in the Rialto,
'Fair sir you spat on me on Wednesday last,
You spurn'd me such a day, another time
You call'd me dog: and for these courtesies
I'll lend you thus the monies.'
Antonio doesn't apologise for these remarks. Instead he says that he is likely to do it again. It is Antonio, not Shylock that first suggests a bond. When we realise that it was Antonio who suggested the bond we can realise Shylock's reasons for wanting to fulfil his bond, it's his legal chance to get revenge. I think that Shakespeare wants us to be on the Christian's side as all the characters in the play are against Shylock, even his fellow Jew's.
Throughout the play Shylock is very careful with his money, as we can see when he tells Jessica to be careful when he goes out. It seems out of character for him to lend 3000 ducats, a large sum of money, to someone who most probably wouldn't be able to give it back. It is Shylock's lust for revenge that drives him to do this, and although revenge is usually a villainous quality we can also see the side of Shylock the victim. Antonio has spat on him and called him names and it seems only natural that Shylock would want revenge for this. It is because of the years of victimisation that the reader can feel for Shylock and his quest for revenge.
Christopher Mulready 11G2