Although these points, which I have just raised above, seem very clear-cut and decisive there are other points in this scene, which aren’t quite so black and white. Take for example this point. “ He lends out money gratis and bring down the rate of usance here with us in Venice.” This undoubtedly shows us why Shylock hates Antonio so much. It shows that Antonio will give money away freely without having any money having to be paid back through interest. Now when Antonio gives out money like this he is damaging Shylock’s business and his way of life and he is therefore lowering the interest rate. So in his eyes this is unfair competition, as he isn’t using the same rules that Shylock does. At first glance you could say that Shylock is a victim here because after all Antonio is ruining his business. However when you look more closely you could say he is a villain for making him seem like a victim in this case. Because nevertheless Shylock is putting someone down for being a kind, charitable person and therefore I believe he must be a villain because of this, and I believe that is what Shakespeare is hinting at when he makes this point.
Another way of looking at this is that Shylock is a victim throughout this scene, take this quote for example. “ You, that did void rheum upon my beard.” Here Shylock is once again describing how Antonio abuses him and therefore he must be a victim. But maybe he is a victim because he is a villain. For example when Antonio is abusing him maybe it is because he is a villain, therefore his portrayal of a victim and a villain must be intertwined, because I believe if he wasn’t a villain in the first place then he wouldn’t become a victim. So therefore I overall feel that Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock is both as a victim and a villain and that these are views are linked, because he wouldn’t be a victim without being a villain.
All the way through “The Merchant of Venice” numerous characters talk and discuss their problems that they have with Shylock. However, no character has more problems with Shylock than Jessica and this is brought out by Shakespeare in Act 2 scene 3. “Our house is hell.” This is one of the first things Jessica says throughout the entire play and Shakespeare straight away draws us to her feelings towards her father. Clearly Jessica obviously isn’t happy living with her father and therefore this gives us a clear indication that Shylock is the villain, since most children are happy living with their parents.
As well as Shakespeare showing us how Jessica feels about living with her father he also draws attention to her feelings towards his strong and ruthless character. “ But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners.” Here Jessica is really being rather hurtful to her father and is describing how she is totally and utterly different to him. Here we could either consider that Shakespeare is portraying shylock as a victim because he probably doesn’t deserve this sort of behaviour from his daughter; or we could take the point of view that he clearly is a villain because only a person like that could drive a daughter to call her father such distasteful things.
In this scene there are also stages where you can feel very sorry for Shylock and therefore consider him to be a victim. An example of this is, “ She hath directed how I shall take her from her father’s house, what gold and jewels she is furnished with.” As you can see Jessica is planning to steal her father’s prize possessions, even though Shylock has left Jessica in charge of the house and therefore this shows how Shylock trusts her, but in this case wrongly. Therefore in this case Shakespeare is portraying Shylock as a victim because clearly he did trust Jessica and she has betrayed his trust.
Now we come to the scene that never was. The question is why didn’t he have a scene that shows Shylock’s reaction to his daughter leaving him? Instead of doing this Shakespeare portrays his reaction through Solanio, a Christian who is contemptuous of Shylock, and his description. This means Solanio can show his hatred for Shylock and there is great prejudice against him, as he is also laughing at his grief. Therefore Shakespeare, by cutting out this scene, makes us think he is the nasty piece of work, because Shakespeare purposefully leaves out the scene that could be used to make us feel sorry for him, in turn giving us the feeling that Shakespeare’s intention is to portray Shylock as a villain not a victim. However because of this it could also sway the audience to think that Shylock is a victim because he is being made to look like a villain by Shakespeare.
Shakespeare also chooses two Christians, who are friends of Antonio to portray the scene with Shylock. Therefore we are influenced to mock Shylock and laugh at his expense. “ My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian!” Here Solanio is mocking Shylock and in turn making us think that Shylock is mourning the loss of money rather than his daughter, consequently making Shylock seem like the villain. However once again is this just down to Shakespeare? Is it his fault that we see Shylock as a villain and possibly this is Shakespeare reflecting on the time and shows that many people were anti-Semitic.
We can eventually see Shylock’s true feelings to Jessica deserting him. “ She is dammed for it. My own flesh and blood to rebel.” Here Shylock is taking about her daughter and how she has deserted him. This is clearly Shakespeare portraying him as a victim. However, once again is this just Shakespeare showing a victim but ultimately trying to say that Shylock is a villain, because after all, not many daughters will leave their father unless they have been ill-treated.
Next we come to Shylock’s main speech in the play and this is the point at which Shylock tries to redeem himself. However it doesn’t get off to the best start, “ If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.” So here Shylock obviously can’t control his anger about what has just happened to him and in turn shows that he wants revenge on Antonio, in any shape or form. Clearly then Shakespeare is portraying Shylock as a villain. However, Shakespeare does give Shylock a chance and eventually he does redeem himself by showing the punishment he goes through by being a Jew; “ He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked my gains, scored my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies, and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.” This point draws attention to racism shown by Antonio. This is probably Shakespeare showing the attitudes of the time towards ethnic minorities. Therefore, because of this Shakespeare at this point is probably showing Shylock as a victim.
This view continues. “ 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, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?” Here Shylock is definitely showing his sensitive side, explaining how Jews and Christians may be different in themselves and their cultures, but they are the same creatures on Earth. Here he is appealing to the common humanity, he looking at the ideas of pain and sensitivity and overall Shakespeare is portraying Shylock as the victim of this racism.
However once more Shakespeare can’t keep up this pity for Shylock and once again he comes out as the villain. “ A diamond gone cost 2000 ducats.” This shows how he cares more about a ring going missing than his daughter, so clearly this must mean he is a villain because no good father would ever think this. Then we come back to his relationship with Antonio and his anger, which he has towards him; “ I am very glad it. I’ll plague him, I’ll torture him, I am glad of it.” This once again shows his villainous side as he is obviously bloodthirsty and all he wants is revenge on Antonio. “ For were he out of Venice I can make what merchandise I will.” Once again Shylock suggests that all he wants to do is kill Antonio and take his pound of flesh. So in this instance Shakespeare is most definitely portraying Shylock a the villain as he is blood thirsty, wanting death and more.
Finally we come to the last part of the play where we can analyse which side of Shylock Shakespeare is portraying. In Act 4 Scene 1 we are witnessing the trial between Shylock and Antonio, however it doesn’t get off to the best start for Shylock. For the Duke is supposed to obviously be impartial in these situations, however in this case he isn’t as he refers to Shylock as a cold, emotionless human. “ I am sorry for thee. Thou and come to answer a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch. Uncapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy.” Here the Duke is describing Shylock as a beast and is definitely biased towards Antonio. So for this reason Shakespeare must be portraying Shylock as a victim. However this could also be Shakespeare hinting at the fact that Shylock is a villain because clearly no judge would be this impartial unless there was an appalling man on the firing end.
After this little spatter between the Duke and Shylock, Shakespeare brings us back to the main focus of the case and the forfeit between Shylock and Antonio. At first Shakespeare doesn’t portray the good side of Shylock but instead shows how Shylock is a ruthless businessman. “ You’ll ask me why I rather choose to have a weight of carrion flesh than to receive three thousand ducats. I’ll not answer that but say it is my humour.” Here he is saying that all he wants is this flesh because it will please him, clearly this must be Shakespeare portraying him as a villain because no sympathetic man would want such a thing of another human.
This case gets worse for Shylock as he continues to press the matter for his pound of flesh. “ Why dost thou whet they knife so earnestly?” Here Bassanio is asking Shylock why he wants this flesh so badly and doesn’t really want the money being offered. So in this instance we can once again see how Shakespeare has portrayed him as a bloodthirsty villain who won’t stop until he gets Antonio. Shylock then tries to defend him self by saying. “ An oath, an oath! I have an oath in heaven.” Shylock insists that he doesn’t want thrice the money which has been offered to him, but instead just wants his pound of flesh so he can fulfil the oath that he made with heaven. Here Shakespeare is describing how Shylock is making this decision just by involving religion. However I also believe that Shakespeare had an underlining meaning for this because I think he wants to show Shylock prizing flesh over money even though he prized money over his own daughter. Clearly this shows him as a villain.
Finally we see how Shakespeare wants to ruin the day for Shylock again, and he does this by including Portia in the case. “ Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge, to stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death.” Here Portia is asking Shylock whether he will have a doctor standing by, when he takes the flesh. However Shylock won’t agree to this. “ Is it so nominated in the bond?” Shylock in this case is arguing that a surgeon isn’t part of the deal so therefore he doesn’t need one, clearly showing him as a cold emotionless villain. However this stance backfires on Shylock as Portia makes the point that. “ This bond doth gives thee here no jot of blood.” Portia here is arguing that Shylock can’t spill any blood when he takes the pound of flesh, as it also, isn’t in the bond. She also adds by saying that if he does shed any blood then all his lands and goods will be confiscated under the laws of Venice. Then Portia goes onto say that Shylock can’t even have three times the money, which he was promised in the first place and instead must take the forfeit. “Soft, no haste, he shall have nothing but the penalty.” Overall I believe that this isn’t Shakespeare trying to make us see Shylock as the victim of this court case but instead make us mock him and ridicule him for losing both his forfeit and his pound of flesh. And this probably is Shakespeare trying to convey a morale that a ruthless man will never prevail. This trial eventually gets worse for Shylock as he has to plead for his original money and has to plead with the Duke, “ Give me my principal, and let me go.” Shylock is on his last legs mercifully bleeding to just get his money and leave. So in this trial Shakespeare portrays the fall of Shylock, from a strong, ruthless and charismatic man to a man who is willing to grovel and who has nothing left in his life.
Overall in “The Merchant of Venice” Shakespeare portrays various sides to Shylock’s character. He portrays his ruthless and cruel side which overall makes us see him as a villain. He also shows us his sensitive side, a caring father who really does love his daughter, which ultimately makes us see him as a victim. However overall I believe that Shakespeare portrays Shylock predominately as a villain and he probably does this do convey the true feelings of people to ethnic minorities during the time.