Quibbling over Shakespeare's Characters - Portia & Shylock

Something I found interesting about the first act of The Merchant of Venice is Portia’s characterization, which is demonstrated in the predicament regarding her marriage.  It is very evident that Portia isn't exactly content with her father’s method of choosing a husband for her, and yet she is willing to go along with it, despite the fact that her father is deceased and no longer holds authority over her.  Nerissa tells her that her father was a virtuous man and that “holy men at their death have good inspirations,” referring to the lottery idea he devised to choose the proper husband for her (1.2.24-25).  The method behind it seems rather simple - her suitors will choose one of three caskets, one being made of gold, one made of silver, and the third made of lead.  One of them contains a portrait of her, and whoever chooses the casket with her picture within it (most likely the lead one) will marry her.  Her father’s assumption when he makes this arrangement is that the man who chooses the correct casket will be the one who truly loves his daughter, not seeking the wealth, but rather her love (which would suggest the lead casket contains her photograph).  However, this grand scheme leaves no choice up to Portia, who can neither choose who she likes or dislikes.  She says to Nerissa with much disdain, “So this is the will [wish] of a living daughter curbed by the will [testament] of a dead father” desiring to be in control of her life, but revealing her lack of strength and ambition to challenge her father's will (1.2.21-22).  I know the time period for this play definitely reflects the idea of the husband of the household being in charge of family matters, especially their daughters’ futures, but I do wonder why Portia doesn't try to take hold of her life when she is given the opportunity to do so, especially since she finds each suitor (excluding Bassanio) detestable in one way or another - the Neopolitan prince who talks too much of his horse, the brooding County Palatine, and the French lord, Monsieur le Bon, who she describes as being “every man in no man” and even going so far as to say that if she were to marry him she should marry twenty husbands (1.2.35-36, 40, 50, 52-53).  Her unhappiness with her father’s arranged method of having her wed must not be as strong as her compulsion to remain loyal to him.  I have my hopes that Portia will break away from the mold of the societal expectations of females for her time era, but only time will tell.  

As for Shylock, he seems to be have been crafted from the old stereotypes surrounding people of the Jewish faith, especially in their emphasis on monetary importance.  When Shylock says that Antonio is a “good man” Bassanio interprets him as meaning a person with a good head on his shoulders.  Shylock mocks Bassanio and answers “My meaning in saying he is a good man is to have you understand me that he is sufficient [of adequate wealth]” (1.3.13-14).  When Antonio first enters the scene we learn that Shylock hates him for being a Christian, but mostly because he lends out money for free, which brings down the rate of interest for the people of Venice (1.3.37-40).  It makes me wonder if Shakespeare was anti-Semitic or if he just wanted to depict the beliefs and prejudices of that time period as realistically as possible.  It seems a bit overdone in my opinion, but I want to know what someone else thinks about it.