In accordance with the depiction of Shylock as the antagonist of this play, his servant, Launcelot leaves for greener pastures (money-wise), considering such actions only necessary (“To leave a rich Jew’s service, to become / The follower of so poor a gentleman”). Also, Shylock’s daughter is seen secretly falling in love with Lorenzo, a Christian, and finally, eloping with him, together with her father’s money. When Shylock realizes the betrayal, filled with self-conflict and loss of security, he rants out, wishing his daughter “were dead at my foot and with the / Jewels in her ear! Would she were hears’d at / My foot and the jewels in her coffin!”
During the play, further unluckiness befalls Shylock. Antonio is unable to repay the borrowed sum as his ships have may have been lost at sea. Although Antonio, with his love and respect for Bassanio, is willing to sacrifice his life for the latter, Bassanio is unwilling for Antonio to carry out the inhumane bond: “having a pound of flesh closest to the heart [of Antonio]”. Further conflict is built up between Shylock and the Christians, as a whole. In a flurry of despair, Shylock demands revenge (he views the Christians as villains), saying:
And so revenge it was. Shylock brought his case to the courts, asking for judgment and justice. However, Portia, now married to Bassanio, attempts to find faults in the bond, through the imploring of Bassanio, indebted to Antonio’s favors. She disguises herself as a lawyer, with Jessica, her maidservant as a clerk, cruelly drawing the argument to Shylock’s favor, then, at the last possible moment, shocking him with a mistake in the bond: That Shylock could only cut a pound of flesh, no more no less, with not so much as a trickle of blood.
The court case comes to a close with Antonio acquitted of the bond, and ironically, even given part of the property, assets of Shylock’s wealth. He is partially relieved and happy with the outcome (“sweet lady, you have given me life and living”), and the relationship between him and Bassanio (together with his wife, Portia), grows. To add to the good news, Antonio is told that three of his ships have come to port full of goods. He has regained his losses, while Shylock, the money-lending merchant, loses all that he has.
Ironically, Portia’s words on arrival in the court (“Which is the merchant here? And which the Jew?”), emphasize an ambiguity as both men, merchants, equate their assets with “life”. MOV’s main character, or hero, could be, on second thoughts, either the selfless Antonio, or Shylock, one that invites sympathy in the audience.
Surely, it is money, above all, that produces conflict and concord throughout the play.
[668 words]
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