A Meeting

In a last-ditch effort to put my paper together, I took Kaleigh’s advice and met with Professor Hutchins on campus, where I again learned how many people are better qualified than I am. He brought up several interesting points. I won’t go into too much depth in an effort to get to some more writing on my paper:

1. The view of Jews in The Merchant of Venice is mostly based on stereotypes. The Jews had been kicked out of England in Shakespeare’s time, and it’s unlikely that he ever met anyone who openly confessed to being a Jew.
2. There’s a ton of Greek mythology in Merchant that can lead you to believe that even Shakespeare held a somewhat sympathetic view toward Shylock (and women and homosexuals, for that matter).
3. The court scene shows the insufficiency of the law. Mercy is what saves people.
4. A lot of the other (more minor) character relationships are troublesome as well. Jessica is an outsider brought into a new world, with her main draw being that she could steal her father’s gold (which she has already done). Antonio and Portia seem to be fighting for Bassanio’s affection. The power plays of the women with their husbands are disquieting.