Play Review: The Merchant of Venice is one of the most striking examples of "of its time" I've ever read; this is comedy? The play itself is quick, easy, and enjoyable. I read for plot, wondered what might happen next in the twists and turns -- it seemed almost like a novel. The more I read Shakespeare the easier he is to comprehend. I've become accustomed to his poetic, metaphorical language. Once again Shakespeare creates indelible female roles, Portia being one of his best: strong, intelligent, and riding to the rescue with her brilliant "quality of mercy" speech, saving all the men. But once again in Shakespeare we have a woman whose marriage is held hostage by her father, even after his death. Portia knows she's more clever than all her suitors, regretfully telling her future husband: "I was the lord/ of this fair mansion, master to my servants,/ Queen o'er myself," but now all that will be his. Jessica must also be an incredible role to play in its complexity, an actor deciding how to play being torn between two worlds ("what a heinous sin is it in me/ to be ashamed to be my father's child," described by her lover as "wise, fair, and true"). It's far from clear that Jessica will ever be accepted by the Christian world.
But I'm delaying the inevitable, the strongest role in the play, and the elephant in the review. When reading novels I understand the societal influences of its time, recognize what would be unacceptable today, and can enjoy the book despite elements I couldn't tolerate in a contemporary book. But The Merchant of Venice seems mean-spirited, even for 1596. I can make excuses: Shakespeare apparently never met a Jewish person (Jews being expelled from England in 1290); the prejudice against Jews was common and accepted; good Christians were not to charge interest on loans; Elizabethan Christians were obsessed with converting the Jews (as represented in the play -- two of three Jewish characters are converted); and Shylock is allowed to provide some part of his side of the story. But on balance the scale still tips to the wrong side. Antonio is presented as a paragon of virtue, but he hates Jews, calls Shylock a dog, disparages his religion, kicks him, spits in his face. Shylock says (without dispute) that Antonio "hath disgraced me ... laughed at my losses ... scorned my nation ... heated my enemies -- and what's his reason? I am a Jew." This is not how a "good" Christian treats a fellow human. Shylock notes that the Christians, being slave-owners, have unclean hands. To justify his revenge upon Antonio, Shylock makes his famous speech: "Hath not a Jew eyes ... if you prick us, do we not bleed ... if a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge ... the villainy you teach me I will execute." Which could be Malcolm X and Ta-Nehisi Coates talking about the chickens coming home to roost. For me, every time Shylock is referred to as "the Jew," with or without other epithets, it's like a small slap in the face. (Portia's suitors come in for additional arrows.) At the end Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity (as his daughter did voluntarily). He also loses half his property to Antonio. The punishment seems cruel, but he was willing to kill Antonio in forfeit of his debt. Death for a debt (even contractually) seems barbaric, but this dramatic choice by Shakespeare also has the despicable smell of blood libel in Shylock's demand for a pound of flesh, and subsequent denial of a drop of Christian blood. Although The Merchant of Venice was written in his time, we read Shakespeare in our time, and cannot simply ignore what we know, cutting out conscience, ethics, and morals like Shylock's pound of flesh. Of course Shakespeare wrote his plays in savage times, when the horror of bear-baiting was considered good entertainment. But being of our time we can also recognize what I believe is Shakespeare's gentle and generous portrayal of Antonio's unrequited love for Bassanio. The Merchant of Venice is a play I greatly enjoyed, despite, except for, what was inextricably, regretfully, painfully, of its time. [4½★]
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