In the End, We're All Victims and Villains

After Friday’s class, and discussing all of Act I, it got me thinking about the character of Shylock. When I read through Act I, I was very positive that Shylock was the victim in the play and that Antonio was definitely the villain. I was so sure; that I did not think anyone could change my mind. But throughout the discussion in class, I began to question myself. I started seeing things and aspects of the characters I did not notice when I read it on my own. The characters of Antonio and Shylock became confusing to me. The question is, was I wrong in my first view of both these characters?
Antonio is obviously very anti-Jewish, but as I read more of the play, I begin to see that it is a very anti-Semitic play full of many Anti-Jew quips and statements. One example is Lancelot who states, “Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnation” (2.2.21-22). Lancelot is a servant of Shylock and doesn’t like the fact that his master is a Jew. I cannot keep speaking against Antonio and hating him saying he is so prejudice when plenty of other characters are. I was speaking for Shylock, thinking he was the victim, but now I’m not sure anymore. He is just as prejudice as everyone else in the play is. To go back to Act I, Shylock states in a short monologue “I hate him for he is a Christian,” (1.3.37). One could make the excuse that he hates them for hating him first. Antonio does treat him like a dog, and he admits it when Shylock confronts him. Antonio seems proud of it, but Shylock seems just as prejudice as everyone else. Shakespeare does not seem to be portraying either of these characters in a good light.
What really works in my opinion is how three-dimensional both characters are. Neither of them are good people, but neither are terrible people either. As I mentioned they are both prejudiced people and Antonio treats Shylock terribly. But in the end Antonio lends money with no interest. He is happy when it comes to giving out money. If someone needs money, he is the one to go to. But when it comes to Shylock, who I thought was the victim at first, he expects to take interest with the cash. It does not come cheap with him, and when Antonio is helping Bassanio get money, he makes a deal with Shylock…who tells Antonio that he’ll kill him if he doesn’t get the money in time plus interest.
To add, the more I read, the more I realize the entire play is anti-Semitic. Antonio is just a character, but it seems the whole play seems to fall into that. It seems that being Jewish is just looked down upon by everyone in this play, even by the Jewish characters. One woman Jessica, who is actually Shylock’s daughter, says:
“If though keep promise I shall end this strife,
Become a Christian and thy loving wife” (2.3.19-20).
It seems that Jessica, a Jewish woman, would even rather be Christian so that way she can marry the man she loves and to become a good wife. Does she not believe that a Jewish woman can make a good wife? This is just an example to show how Antonio isn’t the only anti-Jew character of the play…so maybe he isn’t as bad as he seems. He does seem to always want to help out his friends. He is putting his life on the line so Bassanio can get Portia, the woman he desires. But here is another thing; is he doing this because he wants to be a good friend or because Antonio is looking for adventure? I find it interesting that an answer can’t be made up about this, because Antonio is actually mostly absent in these two acts. I wonder if Shakespeare did this on purpose to add a deeper mystery with him.
But we do get more insight into the life of Shylock. This adds to the three-dimensionality of the characters, because we learn that he is a loving father with a daughter. But with the opening of Act III, Shylock shows his dark side:
“…Let him look
to his bond. He was wont to me unsurer: let him look to his
bond. He wont to lend money for a Christian courtesy: let
him look to his bond” (3.1.39-42).
Shylock is pretty much promising that he will act through with his promise to Antonio and he will take what rightfully is his: Antonio’s flesh. After demanding Antonio’s flesh, can one really state that he is the victim and Antonio is the villain?
So who really is the good person of these two? After all this writing, I still cannot answer, and I think that is what is so wonderful with this play. Both characters are fully developed characters that have both good and bad in them. They each are helpful, but they are both prejudice and even somewhat deadly. This isn’t a black and white play where you can rightfully say who is good and who is bad. Both characters fall into a grey area…and I think that is part of what makes this play work so well. When Shylock refuses to listen to Antonio’s pleading, it’s because Antonio has treated him so badly for long, so Shylock is vengeful, like any real person would be. It works very well, that there is no villain or victim in this play, because after all in life, who can rightfully say who is what?