From Shylock's point of view (bearing in mind that he is a very clever man) Antonio coming to him for a favour is an opportunity too good to miss – he see straight away how he can manipulate the
situation to his own advantage. It is clear that Antonio is desperate for Shylock to agree to a loan (in
order to subsidise his friend Bassanio's quest for love); so desperate he would agree to almost any
terms. Shylock, all the time putting on a jovial air of innocence, sets the conditions for the bond: if
Antonio fails to repay him by the prescribed date he must forfeit “an equal pound of his fair flesh, to
be cut off and taken in what part of his body pleaseth Shylock”. The merchant does not see through
Shylock's mask of unconditional kindness and agrees. I believe that Shylock is setting himself up
for disastrous consequences by coming up with such a blood-thirsty bond; he has suddenly raised
the stakes a great deal. Here, it is Shylock's own choices in terms of how to bring about justice for
himself which are pre-empting a spectacular fall from grace if he is serious about the bond (Antonio
is bound to stand up for himself and he is a Christian and therefore he has an unfair advantage in
everything).
It is unclear whether or not Shylock would be prepared to follow through with the terms of his bond
until his daughter, Jessica, runs away from home to marry a Christian. Shylock's reaction to the
news of his daughter's flight is an uncensored fit of pure, yet eloquent, rage and it is as this point
in the play that he delivers his famous 'Hath not a Jew' soliloquy. The combination of coherent
justification for his cause against Antonio (“If a Christian wrong a Jew what should he sufferance
be by Christian example? Why, revenge!”) and his unshakeable stubbornness that “I will have
my bond” quench any doubt, that Shylock will not do everything in his power to take his pound
of flesh. Because Shylock resolves to pursue his bond to the bitter end just after his daughter's
desertion, it might be argued that he was pushed over the edge by uncontrollable circumstances.
However, Jessica left largely due to Shylock's doing: “Our house is hell” she tells Launcelot (her
father's servant) when he is about to leave Shylock's service for good – which can only be Shylock's
fault. Perhaps Shylock has forgotten that it is best to keep one's friends close, particularly at times
of hardship, and it is because he is isolated by society and himself that he becomes so imprudent in
his actions.
Near the dénouement of the play, in the courtroom, almost the entire cast is assembled to discuss
Shylock's bond and pass judgement – a judgement which, ultimately, will always be skewed by
anti-Semitism. Shylock presents his case to the Duke (acting as a judge) seeking justice although
he is unlikely to ever find it in a Venetian court – something Shylock seems to be aware of deep
down (“I follow thus a losing suit against him [Antonio]”). Nevertheless, when offered three times
his money and pressed by Portia to take it – “bid me tear the bond”, she says – Shylock insists on
taking the flesh. This, on behalf of Shylock , is a wrong decision for more than the simple reason
that it is immoral but also because ironically (even though Portia preaches that “the quality of mercy is not strained”) he will never be shown mercy by the Christians for his misjudged attempt on Antonio's life. Therefore, I would say that in the end, and overall, it is the anti-Semitic culture in which he lives that leads to Shylock's downfall. Apparently, it was all right for Christians not to show any mercy and it was just Shylock who did not have the right to be ruthless.
In conclusion, Shylock's unhappy ending is the result of his circumstances and of his choices
(although obviously his choices are made harder for him by his circumstances). I stand by what
I said: I think Shylock is a tolerant individual. The fact the he was in the end forced to become
Christian, in my opinion, epitomises one of the major (maybe unintended) points of Shakespeare's
play which is that being Jewish was not accepted. Whether Shakespeare empathised with Shylock
we cannot know, although I have a strong hunch that he did (otherwise he would not have been
able to write so powerfully from the perspective of Shylock). Personally, I am able to empathise
with Shylock a great deal as I believe that he was put in an impossible position and in the end was
only human. “Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions...” – of course
he has.
