In culture and society, the dynamics between members of a family often help to shape and mold an individual as an adult, for better, or for worse. Through this, we can either judge an individual for being the way they are and blame their upbringing and family, or try to understand by examining the individuals’ family relationships and why the individual has either succeeded or failed. In “The Merchant of Venice,” Shakespeare provides two examples of father-daughter relationships that serve on opposite ends of the spectrum, Portia and her father, and Jessica and Shylock.
In examining the relationships, the connection between Portia and her father is not exactly perfect, but it seems to be the more stable of the two in Shakespeare’s play. Since he has passed, he makes it in his will for Portia to marry someone that deserves her, as she is too beautiful, rich, and wise to be taken with someone not as well-suited. Through this comes the test of Portia’s love through the process of elimination of the inscriptions on the caskets. Portia’s character shows that although she is a free-spirit who can think for herself, she has a certain respect for her father and his wishes that is instilled within her.
Although Jessica could be described as an ultimate free spirit, her actions and attitude toward her father and his wishes are radically different from Portia. Shylock has provided Jessica with a lifestyle that could be deemed very comfortable, and although Shylock can provide for Jessica financially, he does not provide the emotional support that would make their relationship stronger. Shylock shows little love and affection towards his daughter, and as a result, she lies to Shylock, steals from him, and eventually runs away from Shylock. Conclusively, Shylock feels taken advantage of and betrayed, but with that there seems to be an overwhelming belief that he is equally, if not more upset that his ducats are missing as well.
3 comments:
This is a good contrast. I think the reason that Shylock even has a daughter at all is that it's just another way for Shakespeare to show us (or convice us) that Shylock is a nasty person and he deserves what he gets in the end. I try to sympathize with him when he discovers Jessica's run off with his money because she IS his daughter and I believe he is sad that she has run away. She even trades her mother's ring for a monkey! Jessica is certainly not the picture of purity herself.
I found the topic of your blog very interesting, and it was a topic that I never really focused on while reading the play. I think the observation that you made about Shylock not being able to provide the "emotional support" that Jessica needed is very true. And I think that maybe that could have contributed to her decision to run away with Lorenzo, because he gave her the emotional support and attention that she was missing from her father. I also agree with the fact that you said Shylock was equally as concerned with his daughter missing as he was with his ducats missing.
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