"If you prick us, do we not bleed:" A look at the "others" in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice"

In his review of Janet Adelman’s book Blood Relations: Christian and Jew in “The Merchant of Venice,” Andrew Hayfield points out that the play is often misread or misunderstood. People commonly associate Shylocks’ religion as the outsider quality and with this Hayfield agrees. However, he goes on to say that “theologically, the knowledge that Merchant simultaneously gestures toward and defends against us is that the Jew is not the stranger outside Christianity but the original stranger within it” (413). Which is it? How can Shylock be the stranger inside the Christian faith? No one would deny that Shylock was the marginalized character, but apparently the debate comes to what side of the fence he lies on. Another instance of an outsider in The Merchant of Venice is Jessica, Shylock’s daughter who escapes the Jewish religion through conversion. Finally—depending on interpretation of the character—Antonio represents a marginalized character due to his homosexual intentions.

Much of the play’s action centers on Shylock’s dilemma as the Jewish merchant. Kaplan notes, “The Jew was the primary [religion] other Christians needed to separate themselves from in order to establish an alternative and autonomous religion” (244). The Jewish religion was seen as a threat the Christian world, which leads to the obvious hatred exhibited between Shylock and Antonio. Not until Shylock delivers his famous speech do people begin to relate to his position as the misunderstood, Jewish money-lender:

“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?” (III. I. 44-47).

Shylock’s monologue continues, comparing Jews to Christians. He makes a very real plea for Salerio to understand his position; his religion has brought ridicule and mockery to his life and, by punishing Antonio, he is punishing the Christian religion. That is not to say that some of the punishment is not directly aimed at Antonio, but there is a larger goal behind it all. Because of his marginalized status, Shylock feels he must prove his worth and define his equal status. As Paula Cohen suggests, because of these lines, readers accept that Shylock is “a human being.” He is an outsider character who tries to show why he belongs on the inside, demonstrating proof for Hayfield’s statement.

In Venice at this time, being Jewish was one thing, but converting was a level all its own. Jessica makes a very difficult decision through the course of The Merchant of Venice, placing her in a group of her own. She was a Jewish who chose to convert; in some instances, Jews did not have a choice. Conversion was forced upon them. As Kaplan says, “The choice that the Jews are ostensibly offered in the narrative, either death (disguised as religious freedom) or conversion, amounts to the same thing, as Jewish tradition considers apostasy a kind of death” (248). Jessica represents the idea that Jews could escape persecution by changing to a religion more widely accepted, leaving behind their own beliefs; as a result, she would kill part of herself. In hopes to “end this strife,” Jessica claims she will do what she must to rid herself of her Jewish father, thus also eliminating the Jewish religion (II. III. 19). Mary Metzger states that, “though Jessica clearly prefers a Christian life, she is save not so much by her choice as by Lorenzo’s choice to marry her” (56). Her status as a converted Jew will stay with her even after her marriage. However, she is seen in a different light than her Jewish father (she chose it, he was forced). She exists somewhere in the middle; as long as there are Jews in Venice, the attention will not rest on her.

Finally, depending on interpretation, Antonio could represent a marginalized character in The Merchant of Venice. The idea that homosexuality exists because our culture allows it to exist; what we often forget is this play is centered in Elizabethan culture where homosexuality is viewed differently. A reader focuses on Antonio’s references to love and assume he meant it in an intimate manner. In fact, “had not once a love” is referring to a friend-love (IV. I. 272). However, assuming Antonio was a homosexual and had deep feelings for Bassanio, he would be marked as an outside character. Evidence could point that, since Bassanio did not return these feelings, he marked Antonio as different. For this particular marginalized character, the final decision is based on reader’s preference. For me, I do not feel he had homosexual intentions. Antonio did love Bassanio, but as a best friend—one whom he would do anything for.

The Merchant of Venice provides excellent looks at the marginalized character because two of the central figures (i.e. Shylock and Antonio) fit the criteria. Hayfield mentioned, however, that the misconception falls when one tries to categorize the outsider. This task is difficult to accomplish; in this particular play, the characters can either be accepted or rejected. In fact, as stated by Gary Rosenshield, “the question…is not whether Shylock can become a Christian but whether Antonio can be both a Christian and a merchant; that is, a merchant and not in some way also a Jew” (29). Deciding where the margin is for these characters is what gives this play depth, and as I’ve already mentioned, this decision comes down to a reader’s preference.

Works Cited

Cohen, Paula M. "Shylock, My Students, and Me: What I've Learned from 30 Years of Teaching The Merchant of Venice." American Scholar 79.1 (2010). MasterFILE Premier. 4 Oct. 2010.

Hadfield, Andrew. Rev. of Blood Relations: Christian and Jew in "The Merchant of Venice", by Janet Adelman. Comparative Drama (2009): 412-14. MasterFILE Premier. 4 Oct. 2010.

Metzger, Mary. “’Now by My Hood, a Gentle and No Jew’: Jessica, The Merchant of Venice, and the Discourse of Early Modern English Identity.” Modern Language Association 113.1 (1998 January): 52-63. JSTOR. 18 November 2010.

"Religion." The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts. William Shakespeare. Ed. M. Lindsay Kaplan. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. 241-310.

Rosenshield, Gary. "Deconstructing the Christian Merchant: Antonio and The Merchant of Venice." Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies 20.2 (2002): 28-52. Academic Search Premier. 4 Oct. 2010.

Shakespeare, William. “The Merchant of Venice.” David Bevington, Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 25-119.

"So be the will of a living daughter curbed / by the will of her dead father." Gee, that's rough...

Fathers and daughters share a very special bond, one that is not easily broken. Shakespeare does a great job demonstrating the unique bond shared between a dad and his daughter in The Merchant of Venice, as well as his other works. The major difference, however, is the way Shakespeare portrays more in each relationship. Each pairing can be viewed differently based on the perspective: either the father or daughter. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare provides two examples: Portia & her father and Jessica & Shylock.

Because of Portia’s unique situation, it is hard to completely understand how she and her father communicated. While Portia, in her opening scene, complains about her father’s sentencing, Nerissa “sees things in a more positive light” (Lucking 359). Nerissa states that Portia’s father was “ever virtuous, and holy men at their death have good inspirations” (I. II. 21-22). The lines provide examples of how Portia’s father was merely trying to do what he felt was best for his daughter (as many fathers would do), but his plan did not work to her liking. Portia would have liked the decision to choose her husband, but because of her father’s will, she “cannot choose one nor refuse none” (I. II. 20).

During the rest of the play, little is said about Portia’s father; however, from what is displayed within the second scene, the audience gathers that Portia’s father was simply trying to protect her. His intentions were good, but the results did not work in Portia’s favor. Or did they? She still was able to marry a man she had some feelings for Bassanio, a man “worthy of thy praise” (I. II. 88). This father/daughter relationship is complicated because, by Portia’s father leaving behind his will, he takes away Portia’s. As Patricia Green states, “respecting the good judgment of parents” (64) becomes an important theme in this complex relationship. Perhaps Portia’s father is criticized for being too loving; that is one way to look at it.

On the opposite spectrum are Jessica and her father, Shylock. These two have a relationship that is also hard to follow, and even harder to classify. As Anita Sherman puts it, “Shylock’s single-minded pursuit of the bond, like an onslaught of tunnel vision, makes sense if construed as a symptom of strategy of a large-scale avoidance—avoidance of the knowledge that with Jessica gone, his whole world has fallen away” (278). Shylock is portrayed as the villain in the story, and as a neglecting father to Jessica. Even after the audience discovers Jessica’s departure from her father, Shylock is reluctant to act. Jessica claims that she is “a daughter to his [Shylock’s] blood…not to his manners” (II. III. 17-18).

Where does Jessica stand on all this, then? Jessica wishes to leave her father’s Jewish ways for that of her husband-to-be, Lorenzo. Once she successfully escapes her father’s house, she swears to “become a Christian” (II. III. 20), a task she thinks would come about quite easily. She sees as an escape from two different prisons—metaphorically. Jessica even goes as far as to say she is a “Jew’s daughter” (III. V. 24-25) showing that her relationship with Shylock is based more on titles than affection. The relationship between this father/daughter pair is never truly resolved in the play. In fact, as far as can be told, the two only share one scene—Act 2, Scene 5—which comes after Jessica has revealed she plans to escape. In this scene, Shylock had a chance to express his emotions for his daughter, and instead, he references the Christian way. Jessica ends the scene and her relations with her father in two important lines: “…if my fortune be not crossed, I have a father, you a daughter, lost” (II. VI. 55-56).

Father/daughter relationships in The Merchant of Venice are hard to define. On one side, there is a relationship where the daughter is ruled by her dead father’s good intentions; on the other side, a daughter who wants to escape her father’s way of life. Both pairs show how extreme the emotions can get, and neither demonstrates the typical loving relationship, perhaps because there is no typical father/daughter relationship. Shakespeare does a great job showing off every side of the story about what people would expect, which makes the story that much better.

Works Cited

Adelman, Janet. “Her Father’s Blood: Race, Conversion, and Nation in The Merchant of Venice.” Representations. (2003 Winter): 4-30.

Green, Patricia. “The Merchant of Venice: A Tragicomedy.” Lesson Plan. Houston Teachers Institute, Houston.

Lucking, David. “Standing for Sacrifice: The Casket and Trial Scenes in the Merchant of Venice.” University of Toronto Quarterly. (1989 March 1): 355-375. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

Shakespeare, William. “The Merchant of Venice.” David Bevington, Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 25-119. Print.

Sherman, Anita. “Disowning Knowledge of Jessica, or Shylock’s Skepticism.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 (2004 Spring): 277-295. JSTOR. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.