What I see in The Merchant of Venice

【Abstract】After reading the Merchant of Venice, most readers may consider Shylock as a mean and selfish man who deserves a ruth punishment. However, I hold a totally different idea that he should not be treated as it is in the novel. In the following text, I give some analysis of the novel and show my opinion for Shylock.

【Key words】Christian, Jew, forfeit, mercy

The Merchant of Venice, as we know, is one of the masterpieces of Shakespeare. It mainly tells a story that Shylock, a Jew, insisted on cutting a pound of flesh from Antonio who had had a contract with him. And all these problems were caused by Bassanio who intended to marry Portia and borrowed money from Antonio.

This play was finished in 1596. In fact, any literary works cannot be separated with its contemporary background. The 16th century was a period of the breaking up of feudal relations and the establishing of the foundations of capitalism. Apart from these, renaissance prevailed, too. Progressive thinkers maintained humanism and held their chief interests in man, his environment and doings and bravely for the emancipation of man from tyranny of the Church and religious dogmas. Just at that period, the Merchant of Venice was written, so in my opinion, Shakespeare who held a spirit of humanism not only intended to criticize the cruelty of Shylock-the character he created in the play, but also gave his sympathy to the Jew for they severely suffered both political and religious persecutions at that time in England.

Here, I also want to talk about Jew living in 16th century. Jews were considered as the sovereign's chattel or possessions, heavily taxed, and severely restricted in their way of life. As nonbelievers in Christ, they were despised by Christians and treated accordingly. They were falsely accused of poisoning wells and causing the plague, and even of ritual murder.

Now let's move on to the complex, compelling and controversial character-Shylock. After reading the Merchant of Venice, lots of people may give a negative appraise to Shylock and regard him as a selfish, mean and cruel usurer just because he required interests from borrowers and firmly charged a pound of flesh of Antonio as his forfeit. Well, maybe little cruel, but why being not reasonable? He just carried out his contract, didn't he? Why don't people take those humiliations and persecutions he had suffered into account as in act one scene three he had mentioned? "... You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gabadine, All for use of that which is mine own..."

About Shylock's "cruelty", I have a different view and first I'd like to share few famous lines that Shylock said in the Merchant of Venice, which touched me a lot.

"To bait fish withal. If it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my loses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies, and what's the reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hand, 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 cooed by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you trickle 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. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me. I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. "

As far as I can see, here are some reasons not to be ignored for why did Shylock want to revenge so much. First, compared with Shylock's charging interest from borrowers, Antonio's not charging behaviour made Shylock a meaner and a villain. Second, the humiliations and persecutions Shylock, the Jew has been suffered for a long time forced him to strengthen his eager of revenge. Last but not the least, the elopement of Shylock's daughter with a Christian has been the last straw: he wouldhave his revenge against the Christian by the forfeit owned him by Antonio. So from this point of view, Shylock was sort of a victim and a prey as a result of religious discrimination and persecution.

Another different point is about "mercy". As we know in the famous court scene, all the people at present appealed mercy from Shylock to Antonio."How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?" (by Duke of Venice). But did any Christian show his mercy to Shylock when he suffered humiliation? Did the Duke of Venice show any mercy to Shylock when he gave his court verdict to him? Did Antonio show any mercy to Shylock when Portia asked him for advice? Do you think "He presently become a Christian" is fair and merciful for Shylock? Don't you think converting a Jew who believed Islam to Christ is much more cruel than confiscating Shylock's goods? Christian whose mouth was full of mercy gave not a single tiny mercy to Shylock, it was a little satirical, wasn't it?

So to sum up, for a Jew, living in a Christian country at that time was hard. He had to suffer many restrictions, discriminations and persecutions. Some superficial unreasonable conduct is acceptable after we take some social and religious background into account and analyze thoroughly. Only criticizing Shylock is not fair and not objective, in effect, Shylock is sort of a victim and a prey as a result of strict religious discrimination and persecution.

作者简介：涂莉媛，现在内蒙古大学。