The Merchant of Venice - Jessica - Victim or Villain?

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                                 3/10/04        

Jessica - Victim or Villain?

At the time the play was set Jews were considered ‘second class’ citizens in Venice despite the fact that Venice was famous for its quality of justice.

There was a lot of prejudice against the Jewish minority and they were even forced by the government to obey special laws. These consisted of wearing distinctive clothing such as coloured arm bands, not being able to be involved in trades such as the military, the government and guilds and most of all they were forbidden to retaliate in any circumstances to the way Christians treated them. These meant that most Jews lead a very restricted lifestyle and were often singled out from the rest of the Venetian citizens.

The history of Jews around the world is a very cruel and complex one. Jewish persecution dates right back to the middle ages. The Christian church thought that they should be despised for rejecting Jesus. They began spreading rumours about Jews killing children at pass over and using their blood to make unleavened bread. During the fourteenth century, Europe was gripped by fear of the Black Death. Christians did not miss this newfound opportunity to spread anti-Semitist ideas, they accused the Jews of poisoning wells and so anti-Jewish stereotypes were reinforced.

Jessica is the daughter of the Jewish moneylender Shylock, he as good as imprisons her is his huge but bleak house treating her harshly. She get a bad reputation through having Shylock as her father, and the fact that she is a Jew means she is subjected to prejudice from the Christians that live in Venice giving her a very low status in society.

Jessica would have been expected to be loyal to her father and withhold their Jewish religion. She should respect him as any daughter should respect their father and marry who their father thought to be a suitable suitor. I think she is in a very similar position to Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont who is bound to her father will and can not marry a husband her own choice.

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Jessica appears to detest living in her fathers house ‘Our house is hell’ this shows that although they are very rich, she does not enjoy living in a house that is bleak and lonely, and once Launcelot has left she feels her life will be hell living alone with her father. Shylock does not appear to treat Jessica very well ‘ what Jessica! – What sleep, and snore, and red apparel out. Why Jessica, I say!’ This shows that he is a very short-tempered man and does not think it is wrong to shout and order his daughter ...

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