All of the play’s characters view shylock as a greedy, clownish, Jewish stereotype. This is mainly because he is a Jew living in a “Christian” society and also because he is a moneylender riddled with greed. He was once even referred to as “the devil”. The fact that all of the play’s characters see Shylock as a villain makes it difficult for the reader to see him as anything else. Though the play does show an apparent change in Shylock from villain to victim it is still uncertain what he actually is.
There are many aspects that portray Shylock as a villain. The fact that he lives in a Christian society, yet still he has a deep hatred of Christians and in particular Antonio is the most obvious aspect:
“How like a fawning publican he looks/ I hate
him for he is a Christian”
His hatred for Antonio is shown at the end of the play when his intent on Antonio’s life is shown as well as his desire for revenge:
“I will have my bond”
At the beginning of the play his devious and cunning side is portrayed when he hides his hatred for Antonio behind his proposed friendship. His cunning side is again portrayed at the end of the play when he expects to be shown mercy by the Christians yet he has shown no mercy to them:
“You take my house when you do not take the prop/ they doth sustain my house; you take my life/ when you do not take the means whereby I live.”
Finally the treatment he gives his daughter Jessica portrays him as a villain. He forces his Jewish religion upon her yet does not seem to care about her well being. This is shown when she runs away from him and his only concern is his slight loss of wealth that she had taken from him.
Despite these dominant aspects that portray Shylock as a villain, he is sometimes shown only to be a victim. His strong hatred for Antonio and Christians could be seen as just a human flaw, caused by the great torment he suffers at Christian hands. He often has to defend his Jewish beliefs and is a social outcast because of them:
“If you prick us do we not bleed?”
Solanio and Solerio mock him at every opportunity, due to their racist views, particularly when his daughter runs away taking some of his wealth.
At the end of the play when Shylock is forced to lose all that he has worked for, including his religion, he is most definitely seen as a victim of Christian prejudice. These events also show that Shylock is not the only character plagued with greed and revenge.
Ultimately, I think Shylock was intended to be a villain simply because there was no other character who could have taken the needed role. However, I also think that Shylock’s oppressed status as a Jew shows the racism and prejudice that occurred in a Christian society as well as challenging the pre-conceptions and ideologies of Christian rule at that time.
