What are the main contrasts and comparisons between Christians and Jews in the Merchant of Venice?
What are the main contrasts and comparisons between Christians and Jews in the Merchant of Venice?
At the time when Shakespeare wrote "The Merchant of Venice" there were not Jews in England. Jews had been Banned from there for 300 years so Shakespeare had no contact with Jewish people. Conflict with Jews, however, was seen as humorous to his audience and they were often used as stereotypical villains because of the ignorance the English people had towards other cultures and races
In "The Merchant of Venice", however, Shakespeare shows the comparisons as well as contrasts between Jews and Christians living together in society.
Antonio and Shylock were used as the main representatives of their faiths. They are both similar in the fact that they are both very wealthy however Antonio's wealth was seen as a gift from God because of his goodness and Shylock's wealth would have been seen as dishonest as he got it through usury, which was forbidden by Christians. Usury was seen as greed as they charged interest on money they leant, it was not in good faith as a bond between two people to ask for something as assurance in case they did not pay back the money on time, they would have been expected to have trust in the person they helped like Antonio did. Antonio leant money regularly, and shared his wealth, without charging interest on it.
Racism appears on either side. Antonio is racist towards Shylock and other Jews although this was accepted in society and therefore could be done more openly.
"Antonio : I am as like to call thee so again,
To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too."
Shylock is also racist towards Christians but he has to be secretive about it at risk of being punished severely.
"Shylock : I hate him for he is a Christian."
The Christian society allowed them to be openly racist were as Jews were oppressed in their opinions.
Shylock and Antonio do, nevertheless, have mutual good qualities. They are both generous with their money, both lend their own wealth to others in the community, although Shylock asked for interest he was still generous enough to lend it in the first place. They both over come their differences to make a deal with each other were Shylock over looked the matter of interest and Antonio asked Shylock to join him for dinner, a polite gesture which was taken badly because of the cultural differences between Jews and Christians.
During the play we see a reversal of roles between Antonio and Shylock. At the beginning Antonio has wealth and power. When he loses this power he is put in Shylocks position where he is weak and the under-dog. When he regains his power he gains mercy and spares Shylock's life as Antonio has experienced how it feels to be in Shylock's position.
"Antonio : To quit the fine for one half of his goods, I am content -"
Shylock however gains power. He had mercy at the beginning, were he forgot what Antonio had done ...
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During the play we see a reversal of roles between Antonio and Shylock. At the beginning Antonio has wealth and power. When he loses this power he is put in Shylocks position where he is weak and the under-dog. When he regains his power he gains mercy and spares Shylock's life as Antonio has experienced how it feels to be in Shylock's position.
"Antonio : To quit the fine for one half of his goods, I am content -"
Shylock however gains power. He had mercy at the beginning, were he forgot what Antonio had done to him and loaned him the money he needed, but when he gets power he is given the chance to take revenge on all Christians and does not miss the opportunity to do so. He loses his mercy after following the example of what the Christians did to him with their power, so he does the same thing to them with his power.
This story-line is appropriate for the Elizabethan audience that would have attended Shakespeare's plays. They would expect the Christian, Antonio, to be the victor. Shylock's demise is linked to him finally getting the upper-hand. He had never been in a position of power before and when he gets there he copies Antonio's example, making him out to be a worse, but expected, villain. Antonio on the other hand learns what it's like to be a victim and only then does he show mercy. We seem to therefore judge Antonio, and all Christians more harshly, as they made Shylock behave the way he did because of their own actions. This would not have been thought by the Elizabethan audience as it was easy to demonise the Jews who they had never met and knew nothing about. As Shylock knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of hardships he should have been more inclined to show mercy as an example to the Christians but he becomes power crazed and seeks to show Antonio what it was like to be a Jew. When Antonio realises what he had put the Jews through, though his personal suffering, he is kind as he knows how it is to be treated in this way. In contrast Shylock knows what it means to suffer but still he uses his power for distress to the Christians and did not learn from his experiences as the under-dog. Antonio and Shylock are similar as well to how they use their power. At the beginning Antonio punishes the Jews, namely Shylock, because of his higher social standing, this is imitated by Shylock, when he gets power he persecutes Antonio, as a way of getting to the Christians.
Shylock makes a famous speech, when confronted with Solerio and Solanio's taunting, about the commonality of Jews and Christians.
"Shylock : If you pick us do we not bleed? If you tickle do we not laugh? If you poison us do we die?"
He talks about the natural afflictions which are suffered by everyone, Jew and Christian alike.
"Shylock : ...warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?
He does this first to gain mutual sympathy. Then he talks about how the Christians make constant attacks on Jews to make them feel guiltily about how they treated his people. Finally he wants to make the Christians understand that the Jewish people will take their revenge because of the many years of maltreatment.
"Shylock : If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
He uses this syllogistic reasoning to get across his point that, as the Christians have hurt them, so that is what the Jews have been taught to do back.
Gratiano's speech at the time of the trial is meant for mocking Shylock. Shylock calls Portia a Daniel, meaning she was very wise in her decisions, but Gratiano is not pleased. Daniel is an Old Testament figure of wisdom for both faiths. Gratiano mocks Shylock for calling Portia a Daniel, because he does not think she is being wise at all as she is telling Shylock he can have his bond.
This proves that both religions have the same backgrounds, both believing the Old Testament. Christians, on the contrary to Jews who believe they are God's chosen people and that they don't have to work to be accepted by God, believe that the Jews rejected God, as they sentenced Jesus to death on the cross, and so God accepted Christians. Gratiano is very hypocritical. Just as the Jews sentenced Jesus to death, he wishes he could down the same to Shylock, forgetting that a moment earlier he was pleading for the life of Antonio.
"Gratiano : In Christening shalt though have ten God fathers;
Had I been judge, thou shouldst had ten more,
To bring thee to the gallows, not to the front."
Showing Gods choosing of the Christians to be the same as if he had chose the Jews, both being as blood thirsty for their enemies as each other.
Jessica's attitude towards her faith shows the similarities between both religions. She willingly switches to Christianity so she can run away with Lorenzo but her actions are not "Christian" behaviour, "Honour thy father and mother", when she more than willingly deserts her father against his direct wishes taking with her his money and a number of valuable jewels, "Though shalt not steal." Switching to Christianity gave her more freedom at the time of Shakespeare's play than being a Jew, she would no longer be mock or ridiculed in the streets, so religion was merely a status symbol than having any great meaning in most of the Characters lives in the Venetian setting.
Shakespeare set his play in Venice as it was a well known trading point and a place where many different cultures mixed. His Elizabethan audience would have seen it as exotic and different. Also the Italian setting was a normal setting for a comedy to take place. It would not have made sense for a play with Jews in it to take place in England as they had been banned from the country and in Venice Jews did have some rights and were not overly persecuted although many individuals did suffer. Venice was a place were Christians and Jews walked side by side without the over dramatisation of the disparities there were between each other. They both shared the same space and were not in exile like in England which focuses more on the differences than the similarities.
Shakespeare tried to show the revolutionary view that Jews and Christians were as bad and as good as each other. This was in contrast to what the audience would have expected, a clean cut line between the Christian "Good Guy" and the Jewish villain. Christians and Jews had a lot in common and still do. The origins of their faith are the same, both believe in the Old Testament scriptures, they both have families and relationships with other people, portrayed by Shylocks relationship with his daughter, Antonio and Bassanio's friendship and Portia's marriage to Bassanio, and they both are affected by the same things, touch, taste, sound, sight, smell. No matter what their religion they are both the same on the outside.
"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, subject to the same diseases healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that."
Stephanie Moore English GCSE Coursework
