Shylock: Villain or Victim?

Sam Bond

GCSE English Essay/ Coursework 06/01/03

Introduction

In this essay I will look into the question of whether Shylock is villain or victim and then answer it with my own opinion. To do this I intend to examine the following, Shylock and the persecution of the Jews and by focusing on the courtroom scene and the formation of the bond scene.

Previous history

Jews have been previously persecuted even before 1500 in Spain, Rome, France, the Middle East, Western Europe and Austria. They have suffered exile, torture, conversion, been massacred and even had their land Israel taken by the Turks.

The Plot

The plot of this story, ~The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, is as follows; Bassino, a noble Venetian gentleman, has spent all of his money. He wishes to amend his fortunes in order to marry Portia, a rich heiress, who lives in Belmont. He asks his friend Antonio, (the Merchant of Venice) to help him by lending him 3000 ducats. However all of Antonio’s money is tied up in ships trading across the world so he can only offer to use his good name to borrow money for Bassino. Antonio and Bassino approach Shylock, a rich Jew, who agrees to lend the amount but makes Antonio sign a bond known as, “the pound of flesh”, which states that if Antonio does not pay back Shylock in three months, Shylock is entitle4d to cut off a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Until he thought of the bond Shylock was unwilling to lend the money because of the fact that he is a Christian who does not believe in usury. This is today’s equivalent of lending money with interest. As a result he will make no money from lending to Antonio.

Shortly after, Shylocks daughter, Jessica, runs off with most of his money and a Christian Lorenzo, aided by Bassinos friends. Shylock is devastated and hates the Christians even more. This scene shows Shylocks villainous side because of the fact that when he discovers that his daughter and money have gone he is more concerned about his money.

Bassino goes to Belmont and wins Portia’s hand in marriage by choosing the correct casket: a test given to suitors of Portia, (a dying wish of her now dead father). Bassino’s friend, Gratlano, marries Portia’s maid Nerrisa.

Three months pass and a court ...

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Three months pass and a court case is set to deal with the bond, as the money has not been repaid. Portia and Nerrisa, disguised as a lawyer and clerk, go to the court to defend Antonio. Portia cleverly defeats Shylock over the wording of the bond. This scene also portrays Shylock as a villain because of his desire for revenge in the form of the bond, (even when offered more money). Portia finds a legal loophole in the fact t6hat the bond states that only flesh is to be taken and not blood and because Shylock’s action has threatened the life of a Venetian citizen, court action cannot incur the death penalty. Instead Shylock looses halve of his estate and wealth and is forced to become a Christian.

I do not believe that the victim element of Shylock displayed through the persecution of his religion is fairly represented in Shakespeare’s play because there is no description of the limited freedom and small locked away communities Jews were forced to live in at this time. However, there are some ways in which Shylock is fairly represented as a victim. For example, the way he is treated by Antonio who has spat on his coat. This is a scene in the play but is a memory expressed by Shylock. In Act 3, Scene 1, Shylock also states his feelings of hurt relating to what I described as unfairly represented persecution when he states…….”Hath not a Jews eyes?”……….”Hath not a Jews hands, organs, dimensions?”. In saying this he is repeating humanistic nouns and listing similarities between Jews and Christians. Therefore, it is obvious that he resents being treated as an inferior being and sees himself and his religion as equal to that of Christians.

Jews had been treated badly long before1500. In the years 300 – 600 there was violence against Jews in France, Spain and Rome. In 1071 the Turks took Jerusalem and then in1394Jews suffered expulsion from France. The same happened in Spain in 1492. Therefore, Shylocks ancestors have always been treated this way and this is how we know shylock as a victim. However, Shylock has a villainous side. We first see this in the forming of the bond. The name “a pound of flesh” makes the reader/audience doubt this bond is just a merry sport as Shylock states it as. We next see Shylock as a victim when he seems more concerned about his money that his daughter after he has lost both. The fact that his daughter has run off with a Christian to be married increases the hatred he feels towards Christians. In the Courtroom scene we must see most of Shylock’s villainous side. First because even when offered the money, he still wants revenge- almost as if he has no humanity or is blinded by his desperate desire for revenge. Also in reply a to why he wants the flesh he states “to bait fish with, it will feed nothing else it will feed my revenge”. This intention to take life is very unforgiving and unlawful and again shows Shylock as lacking humanity. This is Shylocks most villainous trait as well as his constant repetition of the word ‘revenge’. He also quotes “let him look to his bond” to prove that to take Antonio’s flesh is his right. His love of wealth. Possibly more than the love of his daughter (which is shown when he says “my ducats, my daughter, my ducats”) shows he possibly loves his ducats twice as much as his daughter and is yet another villainous trait.

Conclusion

I believe Shylocks both villain and victim because of the way he is largely represented as both in Act 3 Scene 1, in which we see his villainous and victim sides in the speech beginning “hath not a Jew…”. This speech shows that Shylock has wronged in the form of wanting revenge and has been wronged by being persecuted.