Summary: Act I, scene iii
Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, agrees to loan Bassanio
three thousand ducats for a term of three months. Bassanio assures
Shylock that Antonio will guarantee the loan, but Shylock is doubtful because
Antonio’s wealth is currently invested in business ventures that
may fail. In the end, however, Shylock decides that Antonio’s guarantee
of the loan will be sufficient assurance, and asks to speak with
him. When Antonio arrives, Shylock, in an aside, confesses his hatred
for the man. Antonio, Shylock says, is a Christian who lends money
without interest, which makes more difficult the practice of usury,
in which money is lent out at exorbitant interest rates. Shylock
is also incensed by Antonio’s frequent public denunciations of Shylock.
Antonio makes it clear to Shylock that he is not in the habit of
borrowing or lending money, but has decided to make an exception
on behalf of his friend Bassanio. Their conversation leads Antonio
to chastise the business of usury, which Shylock defends as a way to
thrive.
As he calculates the interest on Bassanio’s loan, Shylock
remembers the many times that Antonio has cursed him, calling him
a “misbeliever, cut-throat, dog / And spit upon [his] Jewish gaberdine”
(I.iii.107–108). Antonio
responds that he is likely to do so again, and insists that Shylock
lend him the money as an enemy. Such an arrangement, Antonio claims,
will make it easier for Shylock to exact a harsh penalty if the
loan is not repaid. Assuring Antonio that he means to be friends,
Shylock offers to make the loan without interest. Instead, he suggests,
seemingly in jest, that Antonio forfeit a pound of his own flesh
should the loan not be repaid in due time. Bassanio warns Antonio
against entering such an agreement, but Antonio assures him that
he will have no trouble repaying the debt, as his ships will soon
bring him wealth that far exceeds the value of the loan. Shylock
attempts to dismiss Bassanio’s suspicions, asking what profit he
stands to make by procuring a pound of Antonio’s flesh. As Shylock
heads off to the notary’s office to sign the bond, Antonio remarks
on Shylock’s newfound generosity: “The Hebrew will turn Christian;
he grows kind” (I.iii.174). Bassanio remains
suspicious of the arrangement, but Antonio reminds him that his
ships will arrive within the next two months.
Read a translation of
Act I, scene iii →
Analysis
Shylock is an arresting presence on the stage, and although
Antonio may be the character for whom the play is named, it is Shylock
who has come to dominate the imaginations of critics and audiences alike.
Shylock’s physical presence in the play is actually not so large, as
he speaks fewer lines than other characters and does not even appear
in the play’s final act. However, in many ways, the play belongs
to Shylock. The use of a Jew as the central villain was not unknown
to Renaissance comedy, as evidenced by The Jew of Malta, a
wildly popular play by Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe,
which revolves around a malevolent, bloodthirsty Jewish character
named Barabas. Shylock, however, differs in that his malice seems
to stem, at least in part, from the unkindness of his Christian
colleagues. Exactly how to read Shylock has been a matter of some
debate, and even the most persuasive scholars would be hard-pressed
to call him a flattering portrait of a Jew. One could certainly
argue, however, that Shylock receives far less of a stock portrayal
than what was common in Shakespeare’s time, and that, given the
constant degradation he endures, we can even feel something akin
to sympathy for him.
At the heart of any sympathy we might feel for Shylock
lies the fact that the bonhomie and good nature that so mark Antonio’s appearance
with Bassanio disappear, and his treatment of Shylock is unexpectedly
harsh and brutal. Even though Bassanio and Antonio require a favor
from Shylock, Antonio’s is still a tone of imperious command, and
his past, present, and future attitude toward Shylock is one of
exceptional contempt. Shylock vividly illustrates the depth of this
contempt, wondering aloud why he should lend Antonio money when
Antonio has voided his “rheum,” or spit, on Shylock’s beard, and
he kicked Shylock as he would a stray dog (I.iii.113–114).
The repeated mention of spittle here sharply differentiates Antonio’s
Venice, where even shipwrecks seem like spice-laden dreams, from
Shylock’s, where the city is a place of blows, kicks, and bodily
functions. Without these details, Antonio’s haughty attitude toward
Shylock could easily be forgiven, but the very visceral details
of spit and kicks show a violent, less romantic side to Antonio,
and our sympathies for him cannot help but lessen.
Shylock is noticeably different from Shakespeare’s other
great villains, such as Richard III or Iago, in several ways. In
the first place, these other villains see themselves as evil, and
while they may try to justify their own villainy, they also revel
in it, making asides to the audience and self-consciously comparing
themselves to the Vice character of medieval morality plays. Marlowe’s
Jew, Barabas, is a similarly self-conscious villain. Though the
Christian characters of The Merchant of Venice may
view Jews as evil, Shylock does not see himself in that way. His
views of himself and others are rational, articulate, and consistent.
Also, Shakespeare’s other villains are generally more deceitful,
passing themselves off as loving and virtuous Christians while plotting
malevolently against those around them. Shylock, on the other hand,
is an outcast even before the play begins, vilified and spat upon
by the Christian characters. Shylock’s actions are relatively open,
although the other characters misunderstand his intentions because
they do not understand him.
Indeed, Shylock understands the Christians and their culture much
better than they understand him. The Christian characters only interact
with Shylock within a framework of finance and law—he is not part
of the friendship network portrayed in Act I, scene i. Though Bassanio
asks him to dine with them, Shylock says in an aside that he will
not break bread with Christians, nor will he forgive Antonio, thereby
signaling his rejection of one of the fundamental Christian values,
forgiveness. Shylock is able to cite the New Testament as readily
as Jewish scripture, as he shows in his remark about the pig being
the animal into which Christ drove the devil. Antonio notes Shylock’s
facility with the Bible, but he uses this ability to compare Shylock
to the devil, who, proverbially, is also adept at quoting scripture.
As we see more of Shylock, he does not become a hero or a fully
sympathetic character, but he is an unsettling figure insofar as
he exposes the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of the Christian
characters. Shylock never quite fits their descriptions or expectations
of him. Most significantly, they think he is motivated solely by
money, when in fact his resentment against Antonio and the other
Christians outweighs his desire for monetary gain.
