Is Shylock A Villain Or A Victim?

The Merchant of Venice was written by William Shakespeare, towards the end of the 1500’s. When it was written it was supposed to be a comedy but now it is often considered as one of his problem plays. It is set in the Italian trading city of Venice. The main story line is that Bassanio, good friend of Antonio and a Christian, needs some money to be able to woo a woman that he wishes to marry. However he had a very poor credit rating in Venice so he had to ask Antonio the merchant of Venice and a Christian, for help. Antonio goes to Shylock, a money lender and a Jew, to organise this. However Shylock decides that instead of wanting interest on the money, if Antonio cannot pay it back in time then Shylock would be able to take a pound of flesh from wherever he wanted on Antonio’s body. There were many reasons for this such as Shylock wanted his revenge against Antonio for ruining some of his business deals, he wanted to fight back against the Christians for the way they treat the Jews and he was generally a very eccentric man. Antonio agreed to this thinking as he did that there was no way that he wouldn’t be able to pay back Shylock, Bassanio didn’t like this because he knew it would be his fault if Antonio couldn’t pay him back. As in all of Shakespeare’s problem plays there is always a small bit of comedy and a small bit of tragedy, not completely one or the other, so someone ends up in a predicament, and obviously this time it is Antonio. All his ships were sunk and he was not able to pay. However most Shakespeare’s comedy/tragedy plays have a slightly happy ending so Antonio does manage to get out of the contract with help from Bassanio’s new wife Portia.

During this time things were very different in the way Jews were treated within society. By 1100, there were many Jewish communities all over Europe, including many in Britain. But Jews were always classed as a lower form of society. At the time Christians were not allowed, by their religion, to lend money at an interest. So because Jews didn’t have to obey these rules, and because the Christians were chosen ahead of them in all the other jobs, they mostly all became money lenders. The Christian church taught people that Jews should be hated because of their religion, and that Jews should not be allowed to have Christian servants and should have to wear different clothes. This of course led to other Christians following the example set by the church and began to hate and abuse the Jews. They began to spread lies about the Jews, such as they murdered Christian children in their feast of Passover and that they used blood in their bread-making. This eventually drove the Jews mad and in York in 1190, they had a mass suicide after they had been attacked by a mob of Christians. After many kings had put huge taxes on the Jews, it was Edward I who finally expelled most Jews from Britain, and Britain was the first country to enforce the wearing of identification badges for all Jews. The hatred of Jews was quick to spread. During the plague it was Jews that were accused of poisoning wells. The hatred of Jews or anti-semitism as it is known has a long and ugly history.

The Jewish theme is very strong in this play, but to understand it fully you have to have knowledge of the state of Venice itself.

Venice was one of the most powerful trading cities in the world. It was renowned for the quality of its law system; foreign traders could rely on being treated fairly. Unlike most places Venice did not follow the tradition that Jews should be thought of as a lower class in society, and they were given certain legal rights, as long as they paid for them. The Jews were allocated a district within Venice, where they ...

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The Jewish theme is very strong in this play, but to understand it fully you have to have knowledge of the state of Venice itself.

All these things increase the effect the play will have on the reader, however the character Shylock adds a very interesting twist to the whole story.

There are many reasons that Shylock could be thought of as a villain, firstly the main reason is that he does want to kill Antonio, “let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me,” “If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him,” this is showing that Shylock is actually quite a sadistic man, he could have just charged an extortionate amount of interest, but instead he makes a deal that wont really benefit him apart from him being able to kill Antonio.

He is always saying that he will get revenge on the Christians, “Revenge! If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why revenge.” This shows that he will go to any lengths to get revenge on the Christians, and seeing as Antonio is a Christian, it is the perfect opportunity.

He is also cunning and devious in the way he does business, “Yet his means are in supposition, he hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to the Indies. I understand, moreover, upon the Rialto, he hath a third in Mexico, a fourth for England, and other ventures he hath squandered abroad……Three thousand ducats – I think I may take his bond.” “So keen and greedy to confound a man.” He obviously knows what he is doing and sees this as a good opportunity to kill Antonio at last.

These are not the only reasons that Shylock is thought of in this way.

When his daughter runs off he seems more worried about the money she has taken than her, “My daughter! My ducats! My daughter! O my Christian ducats. Justice, the law, my ducats, and my daughter! A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter,” “I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear, would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin,” this shows that he doesn’t feel for anyone even his own daughter, over his money.

Also,He laughs when he finds out Antonio’s ships have sunk, “I am very glad of it – I’ll plague him, I’ll torture him – I am glad of it,” this shows that he doesn’t care if someone else’s business has been ruined, as long as he gets what he wants.

He doesn’t show the slightest bit of mercy towards Antonio who actually hasn’t done anything wrong. “I have possessed your grace of what I purpose, and by our holy Sabbath have I sworn to have the due and forfeit of my bond. If you deny it, let the danger light upon your charter and your city’s freedom!” this shows that he doesn’t care about what he does or about what other people think of him as long as he gets what he wants.

That he sharpens his knife on his shoe during the trial, as if to say to Antonio that before long he will be dead, and does not allow him to have a surgeon because it is not in the bond. “Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?” to which Shylock replies “To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there!” He seems very arrogant and overconfident, in himself.

However also there are many reasons why Shylock can be thought of as a victim in the story. He is constantly discriminated against because he is a Jew, “he hath laughed at my losses, mocked my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my enemies; and what is his reason? I am a Jew.” This shows us that even though he actually hasn’t done anything wrong he is hated by the Christians, including Antonio, just because he is Jew. “Hath not a Jew…hands, organs, senses, if you prick us do we not bleed?” Lots of repetition is used in this passage to try and press the point even more. He does not understand why the Christians mistreat the Jews as they do and is annoyed by this.

Antonio himself is always lending people money with no interest, so that they can pay back Shylock. “He lends out money gratis, and brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice.” This shows that Antonio is sullying his business and lowering the rate of borrowing in Venice. Therefore the mistreatment of Shylock and other Jews is enlarged and the tension between the two social groups.

His own daughter runs away with a Christian, Shylock’s biggest enemies. “I say my daughter is my flesh and my blood.” He is very upset when his daughter runs off with a Christian, firstly because she ran off with a Christian, and lots of his money and also because Jessica was the only family that Shylock had after his wife had died, meaning that he is left completely alone in the world without any relatives.

Shylock gets his business ruined by the outcome of the trial. “For half thy wealth, it is Antonio’s, the other half comes to the general state.” This shows that Shylock has come off a lot worse from the trial than anyone else, and all he was doing was sticking to the agreement he and Antonio had made.

Another outcome of the trial is that he must convert to Christianity, “Two things provided more: that for this favour he presently become a Christian.” He is forced to change his religion, something completely unheard of nowadays, and all because of a deal he made with Antonio, which Antonio agreed to completely.

There are reasons to suggest that Shylock is a villain and that he is a victim, but there is no clear outcome from the facts. I think that if Shakespeare had created him as just a villain or just a victim he wouldn’t have got the desired effect from the audiences, that they didn’t know whether to like him or hate him.

By Steve Jones