Shylock blames Antonio for all his problems and is bitter about the manner of which he has been treated in the past. Through the bond, Shylock feels he will be able to become Antonio’s equal. ‘It will feed my revenge, if it will feed nothing else.’
Shylock is portrayed is portrayed as a stereotype, a typical wicked Jew with a black beard and a skullcap. He has most definitely an obnoxious element contained in his personality. However, Shakespeare has given him human feelings and allows him to speak sensitively in place of the play. This is displayed in Act 1 Scene 3: ‘Fair sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last, you spurned me such a day, another time you called me dog; and for these courtesies, I’ll lend you thus such moneys?’ the audience can now see beyond the alienated stereotype has been established as. Empathy is also earned by Shylock from the audience later in the scene, where he gives a passionate speech. ‘Hath a Jew not eyes? Hath a Jew not hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?’ ‘If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?’ As soon as the audience start to sympathise with Shylock the tone of the play then changes to show a more villainous side to the Jew.
Jessica, the daughter of Shylock is most disrespectful to her father. However she is somewhat justified in her behaviour. Shylock is portrayed as an egotistic man concerned with only monetary gain often at the sacrifice of others. The moneylender takes his love of money to such an extreme, that it permeates his daily life as well as the life of his family. We first witness an interaction between Shylock and Jessica in Act 2 Scene 5. During this scene Shylock orders her about as if she was a servant: ‘hear you me, Jessica, lock up my doors...’ ‘Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter my sober house.’ He does not express any concern for his daughter’s well being but only cares for the well being of his house. The fact that Shylock orders his daughter about displays that he does not respect her.
In addition Shylock sees Jessica as a commodity, vital to continuing the family name, she becomes just like the jewels and gold he owns, another possession he can keep locked away. He does this by exiling her inside the house, assuring she will not be sullied by Christian suitors. A resentful Jessica will not be imprisoned while her true love is waiting for her. She both despises and feels sorrow for her father. In this part of the play the audience’s compassion lies with both Shylock and Jessica. The audience also sympathises with Jessica when she is totally controlled by Shylock and feels trapped. ‘A lack, what hideous sin is it in me to be ashamed to be my father’s child, but though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manner.’
When Jessica successfully elopes with her Christian lover Lorenzo, stealing her father’s gold and jewels, Shylock is equally upset about the loss of his money. The Jewish father then cries in the streets of this event. ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice The law! My ducats and my daughter.’ The audience do not know what Shylock is more upset about! However Shylock is shown pity upon as Jessica is his only family and he is not a popular character in the play. Gradually everyone abandons him including his servants.
In contrast to Shylock’s villainous acts, there are many places in the play where Shakespeare vindicates him.
When we are first introduced to Shylock in Act 1 Scene 3 we learn of the harsh treatment and abuse he has received at the hands of Christians. ‘You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine...’ This gives the audience an idea of why Shylock is a bitter and malevolent character. Furthermore modern day audiences would sympathise with Shylock at this point of the play. When a poignant speech is given by Shylock later in the scene, ‘Fair sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last, you spurned me such a day, another time you called me dog; and for these courtesies, I’ll lend you thus such moneys?’ Antonio remains unmoved and says he would call him this again.
However Shylock’s anger is mainly focused on Antonio, although several people also behave in a hostile manner towards him, for example Salerio and Solanio. Antonio does nothing to absolve himself in the eyes of a modern day audience. He openly behaves in an abusive way and condescends Shylock throughout the play. This shows a victim. Furthermore Shylock endures many Anti-Semitic comments and the majority of Venetian Christians refer to him as the “Devil.” Salerio and Solanio are constant tormentors of Shylock and choose to mock him at every opportunity. ‘As the dog Jew did utter in the streets.’ They seek to torment him when he is most vulnerable, for example when Jessica has eloped with Lorenzo they taunt him about his losses: ‘That’s certain, I for knew the tailor that made the wings she flew withal.’
Tension brews as we are primed about the vulnerability of Antonio's ships from Salarino's comment about the harm a wind too great might do at sea which is reinforced when Shylock talks of pirates - and then there is the peril of waters, winds and rocks. From then on the bad news dribbles in at intervals: Salarino tells Solanio of the loss of a vessel of our country richly fraught in Act 2, scene 8 - but we do not yet know that this is one of Antonio's ships; by Act 3, scene 1 rumours of more wrecks are circulating - but it is not until Act 3, scene 2 that we know for certain that every one of Antonio's fleet has been lost.
Although he has an arguably unhealthy thirst for revenge, we can sympathise with Shylock because it is human nature to want revenge when you have exploited. Shylock then goes on to make a passionate speech biased on equality, which evokes the audience’s compassion. ‘Hath a Jew not eyes? Hath a Jew not hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?’ ‘If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?’ The play then reaches its highest point of tension leading to the court scene.
The laws at the time of when the play was written were highly in favour of Christians. Jews had limited rights and they could not claim a true citizenship in
any country. They were dependent on the mercy of the society they occupied. From the very moment Shylock enters the Venetian court he faces an unfair trial. The judge is also biased as he orders Shylock to come in: ‘Go on, and call the Jew into the court.’
The Jewish usurer is very ingenuous in the way that he believes that he can take on the Christians and win when the foundation of the Venetian law is designed to serve in the best interest of Christians. However in this scene Shylock is both portrayed as a victim and a villain. His obsessive hatred towards Antonio now becomes apparent. In Act 3 Scene 3 his repetition of ‘I’ll have my bond’ shows him to be openly aggressive and he warns those who have treated him as a ‘dog’ to ‘beware of his fangs!’ Shylock loses sympathy from the audience by his words and actions. He takes out his blade and starts sharpening it on his shoes. Even when the obstinate usurer is offered three times the money, he is still adamant for the pound of flesh. Even when the court pleads for mercy, Shylock remains unmoved. It is this that shows him to be both an extremely callous and ruthless man.
In contrast to the behaviour of Shylock, Antonio surrenders and by accepting his fate he earns sympathy from the audience. ‘Let him done, I’ll follow him no more with bootless prayer.’ However for a dramatic effect, just as Shylock is about to claim his pound of flesh, Portia in the form of a lawyer announces that there is a flaw in the bond. Shylock can only have the pound of flesh if it is taken without a drop of blood. Of course this is impossible so Shylock has lost the case. He then shows himself to be an arrogant person when he demands mercy even though he could render none himself. ‘You take my house when you do take the prop, that doth sustain my house; you take my life when you do take the means whereby I live.’
Shylock’s punishment is overly harsh with Antonio forcing him to convert to Christianity. Shylock’s life is spared but he may be better off dead because he has nothing to live on and all his wealth has been distributed among his sworn enemies. Although Shylock pursues his revenge fervently he still has the audience’s sympathy because of the unfair trial and harsh chastisement he receives. It strikes a modern day audience as grossly unfair because of the extent to which Shylock is punished not because of his crime but due to his race. He is clearly a victim of the Christians’ intolerance of other races.
In conclusion, I feel that ultimately Shylock is a villain. The way he treats those he is close to, for example his daughter Jessica exposes his vindictive and evil character. He lets his lust for vengeance engulf all other aspects of his life and his complete lack of mercy towards Antonio renders him a villain in the eyes of the audience. We can only guess the way in which Shakespeare intended Shylock to be shown. I feel that Shakespeare intended Shylock to be a victim, he was created to challenge the pre-conceptions and ideologies of the Elizabethan era. However, personally that is not productive for us to categorise Shylock as either victim or villain. Through Shylock, Shakespeare explores the way in which the line between the oppressed and oppressor cannot be clearly distinguished.
