Cash Rules Everything Around the Merchant of Venice

The first Act of the Merchant of Venice quickly introduces us to the main characters and gives us an idea of the plot, although we’re still pretty much in the dark. The details of Portia’s test still aren’t too clear, so we’re made to focus more on the characters. The two most interesting characters, Antonio and Shylock, appear to be the main focus of the story overall.

Antonio’s a remarkable character simply because we don’t know all too much about him. The opening scene has his friends speaking for him, and through this, we learn of his wealth, his virtue and his dedication to his friends. Antonio and Bassanio have a distinct bond, one that appears to be deeper than that of Antonio and Graziano, for example. Bassanio has no issue asking for money from Antonio to fund his scheme, and Antonio has no issue giving it to him: “I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it,/And if it stand as you yourself still do,/Within the eye of honour, be assured/My purse, my person, my extremest means/Lie all unlocked to your occasions” (1.1.135-139). Their friendship is one that is rarely seen outside of literature, and it appears that Antonio hasn’t heard that you shouldn’t loan money to your friends. I’m anxious to see how this will turn out for the two, and if their friendship will stand against the troubles that are about to arise.

Shylock’s character is undeniably tied directly to money. His speech is calculated and professional, and he seems to always be verifying the tenets of some unseen deal, as if he’s constantly wary of being caught in a bind and getting screwed. Shylock’s infatuation with money, as well as the presence and importance of money in the lives of all the characters in the play, become a central theme of the story. I couldn’t help but recall the opening lines to the Kurt Vonnegut novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: “A sum of money is a leading character in this tale about people, just as a sum of honey might properly be a leading character in a tale about bees.” The money acts as a separate entity that influences characters on its own. No one character truly has a control over it, despite what Antonio says about not being concerned with his finances. I haven’t read Merchant of Venice before, but it’s pretty obvious that the money is going to complicate matters extraordinarily.

Aside from his infatuation with money, Shylock was particularly interesting to me for another reason: After some research (read: Wikipedia), I learned that typical portrayals of Shylock have changed drastically over the years. Initially, he would be played by a clown, to be seen as a greedy fool. This image evolved to a more devilish figure, tempting and damning the other characters by dangling the money over their head, like a dog reaching for scraps. It was only fairly recently that Shylock has been viewed as a more sympathetic character. Could this be tied to the fact that the Jewish faith has become less demonized as the world has grown more secular? As tolerance has become more important in our global society, the image of the Jewish people has typically moved from one of wicked outcasts in a Christian world to a mostly peaceful religion that has really gotten the short end of the stick over the years. My view might be influenced by the fact that I myself am a Jew, but regardless of personal beliefs, it’s very interesting to examine not only how Shylock has evolved over the years, but why he has gone through these changes. Hopefully we will explore this further in class.