Shylock: Victim Or Villain - The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare

Joe Rice

Shylock: Victim Or Villain

‘The Merchant of Venice’ was written by William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan period .The play is a tragic-comedy written in his second period. It is set in Venice in the late 15th century. In this period, religion is a very big part in people’s lives, with Christianity the most dominant in this area, and people were looked very poor upon for not attending, sometimes even arrested. As a result, Shylock is condemned before the plot has even begun because he is a Jew. At this time in England the Christians hated the Jews, because of their profession of lending money, which the Christians by religion are unable to do. Jews were often forbidden to own land or engage in trade in England so the only occupation open to them was money lending, which they exploited to the full extent.

At this time, there was a great deal of tension between Jews and Christians. For example, the centre of Venice was a Christian community, whereas Jews where excluded to the outskirts. They were portrayed as inferior to Christians. Shakespeare himself took a great risk in writing this play, as he almost shows pity for Shylock, which could have been interpreted wrongly and caused public uproar. Luckily, he was able to create this sense of pity in the public.

Shakespeare uses Venice for two reasons. First of all, in the period that it was written, Venice was a wealthy city, full of commerce, which was a result of trade routes crossing straight through it. This creates an image of trading for the play, which is an apt name for the title, The Merchant Of Venice. Secondly, it could not be set in England as the Jews were a very controversial subject at the time and it would be very dangerous to write a play set in England about this subject. By setting it in Venice, it creates a distance between the audience and the play, while still relating to their lives.

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Shylock is a Jewish moneylender trying to make a living and survive in a country that despises him and alienates him. His first line in the play is ‘Three thousand ducats’. This could be seen as him trying to make a living by the only means possible, or a cold, malicious man only wanting to spite Christians. I feel he fits the latter the best, although it is a result of the first. His cruel treatment and long struggle for a living has forced him to be a ruthless man, with nothing but money at heart. This is demonstrated with his obsession in keeping his house locked up. At one point, he reduces his daughter to tears by striking her for not locking his house. This shows he is interested in nothing but his money and possessions, even when his family are at risk.

After Jessica (his daughter) and Lorenzo flee from Shylock with his possessions, he is left alone with no family, and much of his wealth taken. This is very tormenting for him. He earns pity from the audience when he tells Bassanio that ‘My daughter is my flesh and blood’, meaning that with her gone it is as if a part of him has been taken too. He shows the villain side of him when he screams ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! Only Christian ducats!’ This shows his hatred for Christians, and also shows that cares as much for his money, if not more, as he does for his own daughter.

Shylock’s pleas in Act three, Scene Five, shows him as a victim or constant abuse from Christian’s. ‘What’s his reason? 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’. He is saying that we are all the same, just follow different religions.

Told that his ships have sunk, Antonio is now bankrupt, and by Venetian law must grant Shylock a pound of flesh. In this, the courtroom scene, in Act Four, Scene One, shylock is shown as a villain. As he walks in and places the ‘Scales of Justice’ on the table, a tarnished image of him is created as he begins preparing his knife on his boot. This scene is the last chance he gets in the play to exact his revenge on Antonio, but more specifically, Christians. The court is clearly biased against him right from the start. ‘Go on, and call the Jew into the court’ This shows how biased against him the judge is, referring to him by his religion instead of his name. The judge is influencing the court with his prejudice beliefs to turn them against Shylock. A Christian Court, not a Court of Law, is trying him.

Shylock demands his pound of flesh from Antonio’s body as a result of his failure to pay back the money that he owed after taking a loan. He makes the point that he is legally entitled to this, and is clearly looking forward to it, as he sees it as revenge for the cruel treatment he has suffered throughout his life.

During the trial, sympathy for Shylock is lost as he continues to show no mercy for Antonio with his words and actions. He is just about top cut into Antonio’s flesh when Portia, disguised as a judge, stops him.

She reveals that there is a flaw in the bond. He is allowed his pound of flesh, but states nowhere that he may draw blood, which is forbidden by Venetian law. ‘If thou doest shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are, by the laws of Venice, confiscated unto the state of Venice’. Shylock realises he cannot win and his only plan of revenge has been thwarted. Coincidently, the law also shows how poorly Jews are looked upon, as it says nothing about the shedding of Jewish blood.

Now Shylock faces prosecution, as a law also states that an alien wishing to murder a Venetian must also face trial. Yet again, Shylock is made an outsider in his home.

As a result of this, his possessions are confiscated and he faces execution. Antonio makes two conditions on his life. First, he must become a Christian, and secondly, he must leave all his possessions to Jessica and Lorenzo. Not only does he feel humiliated at being made a Christian by the court, but he also has lost his only friend, Tubal, who walked out as Shylock was about to cut the pound of flesh. His cruel intentions have backfired and he is now left with nothing.

Shylock can be described in this play as both a comic and a tragic. A comic because of his quick-witted responses to the insults thrown at him every day, and a tragic because of the loss of his friend, his daughter and his belongings.

I personally feel Shylock is a victim in this story. A victim of constant abuse and torment that have pushed him to the edge of insanity and have led him to hate the Christians. This hatred for those who are responsible for his misery is, in my mind, often miss-interpreted as part of a cold personality, although quite the opposite is true. He is in fact a quit businessman that only wishes to make a living, but due to his constant torture, has been made into a cold-blooded villain.

The end of the story shows Jessica singing a Jewish song, happy that she has been accepted into the Christian community. This also makes about Shylock; that he has been an out cast all his life, due to his evil ways, not the fact he is Jewish, as Jessica, also a Jew, has been accepted.