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Christine Liu

ENG 473

Professor Bjork

14 October 2007

The Bogeyman and the Pound of Flesh: Empathizing with Villainy in The Merchant of Venice

When Antonio and Bassanio propose to borrow the sum of three thousand ducats from

Shylock, he responds by saying, “You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog, / And spit upon my

Jewish gabardine, / And all for use of that which is mine own. / Well then, it now appears you

need my help” (1.3.107-110). This statement sets the tone for all of Shylock’s choices and

actions for the rest of the play. It is clear that he harbors a strong resentment towards the

Christians in Venice, and Antonio in particular, because of all the hatred and contempt he has

had to endure from them all his life. Thus, when the opportunity arises, Shylock takes extreme

measures for revenge against Antonio and becomes the villain of the story. However, he does so

within the scope of the law, so much so that the court cannot find any reason not to allow him to

take his revenge until Antonio is let off on a technicality. Although Antonio and Bassanio are the

heroes of the play, it is not difficult for the reader to sympathize with Shylock’s losses and

misfortunes. In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare has created a character who is not simply a

villain; rather, he is a man with very human characteristics and motivations, and although his

actions may be interpreted as cruel and villainous, audiences can often empathize with Shylock

because his motives for doing what he does are not entirely unreasonable.

Shylock’s acts of villainy stem from the absence of love and respect from those around

him. He reminds Antonio that he has spat on him and called him a dog, and Antonio

unremorsefully responds that he would gladly do so again (1.3.125-126). Even though Shylock
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has something that Antonio desperately needs, Antonio is unwilling to show the slightest

kindness or humility to him. Shylock can't resist bringing up old grievances, but Antonio makes

no effort to hide his contempt. Shylock originally suggest that “I would be friends with you, and

have your love, / Forget the shames that you have stained me with, / Supply your present wants,

and take no doit / of usurance for my moneys” (1.3.133-136). However, Antonio brushes off his

offer of friendship, saying that lending at interest is more appropriate between enemies. It is after

this exchange that Shylock proposes the “merry sport” (1.3.141) of taking a pound of flesh as

payment for the loan. This pound of flesh symbolizes Antonio’s heart and his love. Because

Antonio would never give his “heart” or his friendship to Shylock voluntarily, Shylock resorts to

taking it by force.

He appears to hold a particular grudge against Antonio more than any of the other

Christians. He states that “If I can catch him once by upon the hip / I will feed fat the ancient

grudge I bear him” (1.3.41-42). It is clear that he has suffered Antonio’s hate for a long time, and

his ultimate wish is to be accepted as an equal in Venice, or at least to be treated as such. In his

speech to Salanio and Salerio, Shylock says,

“If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? If we

are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrongs a Christian,

what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrongs a Jew, what should his

sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I

will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction” (3.1. 55-61).

In this passage, Shylock reveals his desire to be seen as an equal by arguing that Jews and

Christians share the same traits that make them both human, and asserts that they should be

equals under the law and under basic human decency. He recognizes and acknowledges his own
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villainy in taking revenge against Antonio, but he is a villain created by the cruelty of the

Christians.

As an ostracized Jew and a money lender by profession, Shylock has been forced, by a

society to which he cannot gain entrance, to view most things in purely monetary terms.

However, Shylock reveals that the things he considers most important cannot be given a

monetary value. When he learns that Jessica has used his ring to purchase a monkey, he

responds, “I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor. I would not have given it for a wilderness of

monkeys” (3.1.101-102). When the Duke tries to persuade him to take the payment instead of

Antonio’s flesh, he stubbornly and adamantly responds, “You’ll ask me why I rather choose to

have / A weight of carrion flesh than to receive / Three thousand ducats. I’ll not answer that, /

But say it is my humour” (4.1.39-42). Just as he, by lending money at interest, has broken the

Renaissance taboo of making something that is inanimate breed, Shylock is also subconsciously

doing the same with the pound of flesh he demands from Antonio. Neither Antonio nor the

pound of flesh itself will be able to give Shylock the friendship and acceptance he craves once

they are separated, but Shylock is willing to accept the physical object as a substitute for the

intangible things that he truly wants. In this way, the pound of flesh is worth more to Shylock

than the three thousand ducats.

Shylock’s demand for the pound of flesh closest to Antonio’s heart is also significant in

that by the time of the trial, Shylock himself is no longer able to love. His own heart was

essentially stolen by the Christians when his only daughter Jessica robbed him and ran away with

Lorenzo. As Shylock states to of the pound of flesh he so desires, “If it will feed nothing else it

will feed my revenge. [Antonio] hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at

my losses, mocked my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends,

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heated mine enemies, and what is his reason? – I am a Jew” (3.1.45-49). Shylock feels that he is

justified because the pound of flesh he is taking from Antonio is payment for his personal

transgressions and therefore rightfully his. Shylock has given more than three thousand ducats to

Antonio and Bassanio; they and their friends have taken his daughter, his hopes at happiness, and

even his dignity, and he asserts this point by stating to the court,

“The pound of flesh which I demand of him

Is dearly bought. ‘This mine, and I will have it.

If you deny me, fie upon your law:

There is no force in the decrees of Venice.

I stand for judgement. Answer: shall I have it?” (4.1.98-102)

Shylock has to appeal to the law because that is the only place in which he can be treated as an

equal. Portia urges Shylock to show mercy, but this is ironic in that Shylock himself has never

received mercy from the Christians in Venice, and he therefore cannot give something that he

has never had. He has never been treated as an equal by Antonio or any of the other Christians in

Venice, and he relies upon the court to grant him the payment which he believes he rightfully

deserves from them.

Shylock is a complex character whose deep desire for revenge clouds his judgment and

ultimately results in the loss of his money, his dignity, his daughter, and his place within the only

community that accepts him. He methods are admittedly brutal and cold-hearted, as he wants to

take Antonio’s life as revenge for personal affronts and repeatedly turns down offers of

repayment, but he himself has never experienced anything but brutality and cold-heartedness

from the same people who condemn him. Shylock is not a completely sympathetic character, but

neither is he the stereotypical Renaissance bogeyman.

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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen

Greenblatt. First Ed. New York: Norton, 1997. 1090-1144.