The Good and the Bad

For the sake of this post, I am going to focus mainly on the beginning of the first scene of act four, where the viewer sees Shylock preparing to take the pound of flesh from Antonio, despite the fact that Bassanio has double what Antonio owes him for Shylock. It seems that the principle is the thing here for Shylock, and it also makes it appear as if the man wanted to take a pound of flesh from Antonio all along. It makes Shylock out to be the villain, being that he refuses to shake the bond and grant any form of mercy to Antonio despite the fact that he had lost everything before. Graziano says of Shylock after watching him sharpen his blade on his shoe: “Not on thy sole but on thy soul, harsh Jew,/Thou mak’st thy knife keen. But no metal can…/half the keenness/Of thy sharp envy [malice]” 4.1.123-135. The contrast to Shylock’s soul and his malice is interesting, because isn’t the soul what is equated to religion? It is possible that here they are equating his wickedness to the fact that he is a Jew.

Shylock’s wickedness continues as the scene goes on and a disguised Portia enters the scene, pretending to be a judge in attempts to get Antonio free of this bond he is currently caught up in. She speaks to him, trying to convince him to cut the bond, but he does not give in to her reasoning, which is often quite clever indeed. Portia asks whether or not he has a surgeon to stop Antonio’s bleeding, and he says he does not which leads Portia to ask him if he do it for charity, Shylock answers: “I cannot find it. ‘Tis not in the bond.” 4.1.257. This shows Shylock as a person who cares only for the bond and the deals that he makes, rather than focusing on the actual person before him who has lost everything due to his ships sinking.

Meanwhile, Antonio manages to, though Shylock was about to kill him by taking a pound of his flesh, get the fine he would have suffered reduced and get half of it in a trust for Jessica and Lorenzo for after Shylock’s death. This paints out Antonio to be the hero. Shylock must basically get rid of all of his fortune—which the viewer  has seen to be very important to him—due to the fact that the bond has been broken after he was seeking to take Antonio’s life. Antonio, though he was nearly killed moments ago by Shylock before Portia’s reasoning saves him, is the kind and caring man who only wants to help reduce the fine, because that is what he must do, even if there is a bit of a second motive in it being that he helps get half of it secured for his friend who has married Jessica.

Though earlier in this play, Shylock seems to be the victim to Antonio, it appears as if Shakespeare has turned the tables on this sympathy that the viewer might have been gaining for Shylock. In the beginning, Shylock accuses Antonio of calling him a dog and spitting on him, to which Antonio does not deny and in fact states he would do again, and yet now he is reducing a fine on Shylock’s welfare even after Shylock attempted to take his life. Shakespeare seems to really want to kill any feelings the viewer may have garnered for Shylock in order to paint  Antonio as the hero here, and really get the point across that, as discussed in class on Friday, the Christians in this play are the generous ones, that would give up all for another man.

Finding Happiness

As The Merchant of Venice comes to an end it is my first instinct to deem this a happy ending. It appears at first glance that everyone is reunited with their lover and Antonio’s ships and wealth is saved. Yet, I really question why everyone in the final act has a love interest to reconnect with except for Antonio. As highly as Bassanio talks about Antonio’s character and wealth, Antonio in the end is left to rejoice in his riches alone. It really makes me question the emphasis of money and how it does not always bring happiness upon people. Throughout the entire play the characters were so consumed with the bonds and material possessions they had or did not. At the same time, it was those same bonds and material possessions that caused everyone the most stress and ultimately risked people’s life and well-being. It caused husbands to give up their sacred rings and quarrel with their wives and a Jew to give up his assets and cease practice of his religion. It’s important to take note that everyone was just happy to have their loved ones by their side. As couples begin to depart Antonio is then left in the scene alone almost like a third wheel. To lay with his treasures does not compare to lying with someone who loves you. Michelle’s post emphasizes on the importance of friendships and relationships in the play. This final scene really exemplifies that. Money and wealth can only go but so far but it is the bond- not the certificate of debt but the attachment/connection amongst people, that in the end means the most.
Another thing about the final scene is there is no real mention or physical presence of Shylock. This also contributed into my early happy ending thought. Without Shylock’s physical presence it is almost forgotten that he exists. I wonder if that was done on purpose. I feel like if Shylock was brought into the scene the stark contrast between his demise and everyone’s happiness would cause audiences to cast him almost as a victim. As I evaluated everyone’s gladness I had to stop and really think about what was happening to the “villain”. Shylock was really stripped of his possessions but more importantly his livelihood. Again Shakespeare is showing that it is not worldly objects that bring contentment. I don’t even think Shylock even realized how much his property held no true value. When the Duke states Shylock’s initial punishment Shylock claims that they might as well take his life since it has no real meaning without his estate. Nevertheless, when Antonio offers a portion of Shylock’s estate back in exchange that he convert to Christianity the real meaning of life gets put into perspective not only for Shylock but for the audience as well. Again, Shakespeare is showing how unimportant physical things are. Shylock is left with no assets and his livelihood taken away while Antonio is left with all his ships intact, and the both men don’t quite seem as happy as everyone else.