Anti-Semitism and The Merchant of Venice

My previous blog already shed some light on the situation and idea of anti-Semitism in the Merchant of Venice. Upon researching this topic more on Sterling’s website, I have come to understand that in Elizabethan anti-Semitism, the other religions simply thought that Jews were evil and their main goal was to get many Jews converted to Christianity so that they can be saved and made better people because then they would be forgiven for their sins. Because there were such strong feelings of anti-Semitism in Venice, we see the hatred, and perhaps even envy of some Jews. Because some Jews were allowed to make loans and do anti-Christian things often causing them to gain wealth, many other religions considered them cheaters or dishonorable.

Shakespeare’s intentions are very unknown in his creation of Merchant of Venice. Did he simply attempt to convey an accurate depiction of anti-Semitism in Venice, or was he himself writing a biased and anti-Semitic play based off of his own views? Shylock’s negative, and cruel portrayal also complicates the situation because in a way he supports the negative views people have of Jews by being selfish, heartless, cruel, and the “bad” character. In making Shylock this way, was Shakespeare trying to make other people share his perhaps anti-Semitic beliefs or just trying to portray the real world?

My belief is that Shakespeare was not extremely anti-Semitic, he was just creating an accurate situation with the only point of view and perspective he was familiar with. The fact of the matter is that anti-Semitism was in fact a huge part of life at that time, and it could not simply be ignored by even the best of authors. So I believe Shakespeare tried his hardest to create an accurate and understandable perspective for his audiences.

However, at some points Shylock is depicted as an evil man by Shakespeare. This view of Shylock supports anti-Semitism in a way by backing up the stereotype. The stereotype of a Jew in that time period was an evil, money obsessed and greedy person who blatantly challenges God and Christianity. Because the Jews were able to be money-lenders and receive profit and wealth through that because of their religion, they were often criticized and deemed dishonorable. The clear lack of tolerance for Judaism in this time period shows not only how religious differences play a role but also beliefs. Stirling’s website also defined the differing views on the responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus (http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/7221/). The religious intolerance and hatred essentially stems from this issue. Then power and money that Jews poses put fuel on the fire.

Because Shakespeare so accurately displays these differences and hatreds, he comes off as the anti-Semitic one. Though we will never be able to know for sure on Shakespare’s actual feelings towards Judaism, there can be several conclusions that can be made. One conclusion is that Shakespeare was indeed anti-Semitic and was portraying his own beliefs. In this case, the downfall of Shylock in the end would be his way of making the Jew come out last to portray the weakness and eventual failure of the Jewish people. Shakespeare then showed how he could be forgiven and could regain some power through converting to Christianity (which clearly depicts Christianity as the superior religion and belief system).

The other conclusion is that Shakespeare was not anti-Semitic himself, but was just trying to create an accurate representation. Many scholars believe this point of view such as Cohen when he said, “It is as though The Merchant of Venice is an anti-Semitic play written by an author who is not an anti-Semite - but an author who has been willing to use the cruel stereotypes of that ideology for mercenary and artistic purposes” (http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=772). This is perhaps the most widely believed in concept because Shakespeare is recognized as an amazing author and few would dare accuse him of being prejudice. I found myself in this position as a Shakespeare fan. However, I do still believe this conclusion because anti-Semitic comments are not consistently in all of his plays. If these anti-Semitic views were really his own, there would be traces of them through out his other works. The evidence is just not there often enough in his other plays to support the accusations of the anti-Semite Shakespeare.

Upon watching the movie, I also had feelings of pity for Shylock when he was spit upon and disrespected constantly. Did Shakespeare really want us to feel pity for how things ended up for Shylock and instead of hate him, understand why he must have the outlook and tough exterior he has to protect himself from anti-Semitism and prejudice? I think Shakespeare was simply attempting to shed light upon why the Jews had to behave the way that they were sometimes stereotyped as to simply survive. With the conflict between Christianity and Judaism originating over the debated crucifixion of Christ, we can see how religion can be held so strongly to individuals that issues happening before their lifetimes are still affecting them. These differences in beliefs created a huge separation between the peoples and I believe Shakespeare was simply attempting to depict this rift between the peoples of both religions. However, some people today still believe that this play unfairly depicts Jews and reflects badly upon Shakespeare himself (http://www.jewishmag.com/119mag/shakespeare/shakespeare.htm). In the end, I wish Shakespeare could just come back and tell us his true beliefs, but I suppose this would make it too easy. So through all my research, I am sticking with my original point of view that Shakespeare himself was not anti-Semitic. Maybe this is because I cannot picture such an author and impact on literature to be prejudice and anti-Semitic. But I truly believe he wrote this play the way he did to make a statement and create an understanding of the people and situations of his time, especially the Judaism/Christianity debate. (985)