Shylocks The Jew

The Mercant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, but there is something about the play that many people disagree on. I have decided to take the task and once and for all determine whether or not Shakespeare was a true conservative anti-semite or if he was just a normal person who embodied moderate views of his time. In examining the character Shylock I have come to my conclusion and in this blog I will enlighten you with my wisdom.
It all started with the church. Of course the church during the Elizabethan age could not have been civil and respected all religions. Instead they had to pick on the little guy, the Jew, and spread rumors about him so people would not like any Jews and would stay faithful to Christianity. They used the argument that Jews killed Jesus a long time ago and so that makes all Jews bad people and we need to disrespect them. The only thing the church didn’t realize then was Jesus was a Jew and all of the people Jesus lived around were also Jews because Christianity did not exist because Christianity stemmed from Jesus after he died. So of course if someone killed Jesus it is only common sense that person was Jewish, but in fact the bible says the Romans killed Jesus; which is actually plausible because crucifixion was a Roman method of execution. Since the church made this excuse to dislike Jews they also made others such as Jews are physically different and things like that. Actually this view still existed recently when the Nazis killed millions of Jews because they were thought to be actually different people who were not genetically the same. I believe the church had the biggest influence on the people because religion was the most important aspect of a good Christian’s life during Shakespeare’s time. To make up such rumors as the “blood libel” and then to expel the Jews from England for three centuries only created a false stereotype that still exists to this day.
I also believe the anti-semetic beliefs of the people stemmed from some jealousy. Christians were not allowed to lend money with interest because it was a sin, and for this reason all of the bankers were Jewish. This made many Jews well off and this most likely made many Christians very angry and jealous.
I am not sure but maybe another factor that made people thinks Jews were different was because of their diet and their prayers. They prayed in Hebrew and did not eat pork. This might have influenced the anti-semetic views in some way just because many people do not like what is different and only like what they think is proper.
Now it is important to discuss the character of Shylock and examine if he is portrayed to support anti-semetic views or if he is just a normal character.
I believe Shakespeare was somewhat of an anti-semetic person. I do not believe his views were right-wing, but I do believe he embodied some anti-semetic traits because it was only natural that he was taught what to believe growing up as a Christian in England. The way he portrays Shylock does not make Shylock look like an all around villain, but more like a very headstrong man who likes to see things through.
Shylock is a well off banker in Venice. He also has a daughter that runs away to be with a Christian man; which shows the viewers it is ok to convert and it is better to be Christian. Shylock only wants what is in his bond and nothing else. He is forced to convert to Christianity. All of these and more aspects of Shylock all have a purpose, but I do not believe the purpose is to create and anti-semetic play. I do believe the purpose is to make Christianity and Christians look merciful and to portray it as the best religion.
Shakespeare may not realize it, but since there was anti-semitism in England that influenced him he does portray Shylock as an unequal at some points, but this can be balanced with other parts. Shylock is mostly referred to as “Jew” and is even demonized. This is anti-semetic but also normal for their time period. Shakespeare also has Shylock say lines that make the viewer think Shakespeare is not putting down Shylock all the time, but just following conformity. Shylock says lines like “does a Jew not bleed” and in that speech Shylock shows the viewer that Jews are the same as Christians.
A key issue is that Shylock loans money and in so is a sinner because he charges interest. I believe Shakespeare is trying to portray an aspect of sin and also an aspect of kindness and the goodness of Christians because Antonio also lends money but without interest. This makes Antonio look like a charitable Christian and especially after Shylock will not accept anything but his pound of flesh, it makes Christians look like better people than Jews.
If the play was like Michael Radford’s film of the play then Shylock is definitely not used to totally put down Jews as a theme of the play. It is somewhat of a propaganda piece for Christianity, but it is also simply a romantic comedy. Shylock is put down just like any character that plays the part of a selfish person or a “Bad” guy but the fact that he is a Jew is only because a Jew fit the part for the character when the play was made.
Overall Shakespeare was most likely not a perfect person with the view that everyone was equal, but I do not believe he is a total anti-semite. The character of Shylock just fits the part because when the play was made Shakespeare incorporated the themes of Jews in the play and if he wanted to he could have made a Christian play that part, but why would he make a fellow Christian look bad when he can make a Jew look bad?
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