Shylock: Victim Or Villain?
Unit 1 Shakespeare Merchant Of Venice Alex Cook Feb 2004
Shylock: Victim Or Villain?
In Shakespeare's time (1290, after race riots) Jews were totally banned from living in this country. In some cities (including Venice) Jews lived in ghettos, locked at night. Worldwide Jews were portrayed as wrong doers and bad people; is Shakespeare's piece inciting this anger or quelling the fire. Is Shylock a Victim Or Villain? I feel that in this play (is it really a comedy?) Shakespeare portrays Shylock as both victim and villain, but on balance If I were producing or acting this play I would show shylock as a martyr to his cause as he deals with an immense amount of suffering and the Christians seem to be very spiteful towards him throughout.
Shylock is victim to more than simple abuse and mockery however; he's also subject to emotional abuse from Jessica his own daughter, the main example of which is when she elopes with Lorenzo her Christian lover. This causes great strain to Shylock because he is everything he is against his own "flesh and blood" running off with a Christian. However it is when she takes all his gold and jewels with her this hurts him the most, the way she goes behind his back with his own servant, Lancelot Gobbo, helping her steal them. Then he hears rumours of how she is squandering the money from them, which disturbs him more because it is more important.
Shylock's feeling is made even worse and increases the audience's sympathy of shylock through Portia. Antonio's fiance, Portia, from Belmont dresses up as Dr. Balthazar, with help from her waiting maid Nerissa. She then enters the court scene as this learned doctor to extract her bent justice upon shylock. She strings him along letting him believe that he shall have his justice, and then cruelly at the last minute when his knife is at Antonio's heart, she stops him. She then uses the law to confiscate all his goods and leaves his life hanging in the hands of the Duke, Duke of Venice, without out even a drop of mercy shown towards the Jew.
Antonio shows generosity in his Christian business of lending money with out taking interest, this contrasts with Shylock's business of usury when he takes interest, this in conflict with the religion of Christianity, and this affects Shylock's business as people select not to use him over Antonio. He is a strong character and does no flinch when his life is about to be taken in the court scene.
Early in the play, act one scene three, Shylock quotes scriptures to back his cause, because a Jew has done this Antonio spites him saying,
" The devil ...
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Antonio shows generosity in his Christian business of lending money with out taking interest, this contrasts with Shylock's business of usury when he takes interest, this in conflict with the religion of Christianity, and this affects Shylock's business as people select not to use him over Antonio. He is a strong character and does no flinch when his life is about to be taken in the court scene.
Early in the play, act one scene three, Shylock quotes scriptures to back his cause, because a Jew has done this Antonio spites him saying,
" The devil can quote scripture for his purpose, an evil soul, producing holy witness, is like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart"
This shows they are mocking him and creates sympathy towards him from the audience and reader. This is responded to by Shylock's most famous speech where within he quotes
" You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine"
Which shows how badly Christians and others mistreat him and his race in an everyday situation, like on the rialto, the Venetian stock market.
The question raised by the Duke, in act four scene one, outlines the intentions and hatred of the court for Shylock,
" How shall thou hope for mercy rendering none."
This prepares the reader and audience for when the court does give no mercy or very little to the hew. Shylock seems to want to blame all his losses on Antonio and extract all revenge and malice upon him, but the Jew cannot see that Antonio is not to blame for the loss of his daughter and is blinded by hatred.
I think that a number of acts of cruelty towards shylock influence whether the reader sees him as a victim or villain. These acts are particularly bad in the court scene the worst act of victimisation towards shylock comes from Portia. In act four scene one starting on line 317 after she has just proven that the Jew cannot withdraw his forfeiture he tries to take the money instead, but Portia knowing full well the consequences of her actions proceeds to say
" He shall have nothing but the penalty".
Meaning he shall have no money instead and nothing instead, this means that he must either take the bond, of which the penalty is loss of lands and goods to the state, or if he does not want to do such the penalty for seeking to take the life of a Venetian is loss of all his possessions and land. This ties shylock up in a dilemma; during this time when Shylock is trying to wriggle out of the situation Gratiano is mocking him all the while. He repeats Shylocks words of praise towards Portia in a mocking tone,
"A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!"
Followed by a blunt insult directed at him,
"Now, infidel, I have you on the hip."
Which creates an anti-Semitic feel about the courtroom. Shylock later tries to leave with nothing clearly fed up of being humiliated in front of everyone
"I'll stay no longer in question"
This is however a ripe opportunity for Portia to show her flash of evil, she then goes on to tell the Jew that
" The law hath yet another hold on you."
She then takes all his money and informs him that the duke has the option to have him killed or not. This is followed by yet another cheap shot at shylock by Gratiano saying that he should beg the right to hang himself but he cannot afford it so he'll be hung at the state's expense.
This such behaviour is echoed earlier on in the scene and book and Gratiano is the worst for these such offences, on line 138 of this scene he is seen to call the Jew an "inexorable dog" to his face, creating much anger throughout.
Shylock does not make his situation any better and a number of acts mockery and smugness make his situation worse by provoking the Christians, which later comes back and haunts him. The worst act in this scene is when he decides to sharpen his knife on the sole of his shoe on line123 when asked,
"Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?"
He answers
"To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there"
Talking about Antonio, he clearly shows he is very confident in his case. This fun and hatred is again symbolised later when he insists on cutting the flesh from nearest the heart as it is stated in the bond. Line 255 when Shylock is asked if he has a surgeon nearby to stop Antonio from bleeding to death he simply retorts
" Is it so nominated in the bond?"
Knowing full well his own intentions to kill Antonio and shows his lack of mercy. He shows this lack or mercy and reveals his goals at the start of the scene when he turns nine times the amount owed down,
" I would not draw them: I would have my bond."
This act alone signifies his aims to kill Antonio no matter what, this on its own angers the Christians and stirs up hatred towards him.
However at the end of act four when Shylock leaves the courtroom he is clearly a broken and shattered man and Shakespeare uses a number of dramatic devices to hint at his despair and to arouse some audience sympathy, though the amount will be decided by the producer and actor. When shylock says,
" I am content"
In reply to Portia's question he shows his feeling and this would be spoken slowly and smoothly showing his anguish and that he is a broken man and has not a gram of energy left. He has no energy left because he has put all his energy into having justice and now after all he has been through he is a broken man. He then begs to go and says,
" I am not well, send the deed after me, and I will sign it"
This shows that he sees the deed as no longer relevant in view of his suffering and is feeling unwell mentally and physically, because he has suffered so much. Then on Shylock's final exit some productions performed have shown his feeling by the way he leaves; in Laurence Olivier's famous production, he played Shylock and on his final exits he omitted a long wounded animal scream, this is not set in stage direction in Shakespeare's piece. However producers may use this scream to gain sympathy from the audience because it is omitted in such a way to show how he is a wounded broken man.
On the other hand Shylock slightly redeems himself throughout this scene, he shows the Christians and more importantly the audience and reader that he is not so much a villain as he is a victim. This first comes apparent at the beginning of the court scene when he states all he is wanting to do is be an upright citizen who abides by the law, and that all he is doing is carrying out a forfeiture of a legal bond. He says all he is doing is carrying out a forfeiture of a legal bond. He says all he wants is justice and the law,
"I have possessed your grace of what I purpose, and by our holy Sabbath have I sworn"
This shows that Shylock is a religious man and all he wants is justice carried out. He shows he is a man of integrity by stating throughout this entire scene
"I stand here for the law"
And
"I crave the law"
This shows he is no villain and has been victimised by these Christians who shall not let him carry out the law and have justice. The last part of this scene shows shylock leaving the courtroom with nothing, a broken man, victim to this Christian cruelty, he shows that he has feeling and is hurt deeply with emotion when he says
"I pray you give me leave from hence, I am not well."
