merchant of venice essay prejudice

The Merchant of Venice

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Venetians in The Merchant of Venice almost uniformly express extreme intolerance of Shylock and the other Jews in Venice. In fact, the exclusion of these "others" seems to be a fundamental part of the social bonds that cement the Venetian Christians together. How otherwise would the ridiculous clown Launcelot ingratiate himself with the suave Bassanio ? Or why would the sensitive Antonio tolerate someone as crass as Gratiano ? It is possible to argue that Shakespeare himself shares his characters' certainty that the Jews are naturally malicious and inferior to Christians because of Shylock's ultimate refusal to show any mercy at all and, as a result, his pitiful end.

Yet there are also reasons to think that Shakespeare may be subtly criticizing the prejudices of his characters. Shylock's fury comes not from some malicious "Jewishness" but as a result of years of abuse. For example, though he is criticized by Antonio for practicing usury (charging interest on borrowed money) Jews were actually barred from most other professions. In other words, the Christians basically forced Shylock to work in a profession that the Christians then condemned as immoral. Shylock insists that he "learned" his hatred from the Christians, and it is Shylock alone who argues that all of the characters are the same, in terms of biology and under the law. Viewed this way, The Merchant of Venice offers a critique of the same prejudices that it seemingly endorses.

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Prejudice in The Merchant of Venice

• Prejudice in The Merchant of…

William Shakespeare’s satirical comedy, The Merchant of Venice, believed to have been written in 1596 was an examination of hatred and greed. The premise deals with the antagonistic relationship between Shylock, a Jewish money-lender and Antonio, the Christian merchant, who is as generous as Shylock is greedy, particularly with his friend, Bassanio.

The two have cemented a history of personal insults, and Shylock’s loathing of Antonio intensifies when Antonio refuses to collect interest on loans. Bassanio wishes to borrow 3,000 ducats from Antonio so that he may journey to Belmont and ask the beautiful and wealthy Portia to marry him. Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, and knowing he will soon have several ships in port, agrees to part with a pound of flesh if the loan is not repaid within three months.

Shylock’s abhorrence of Antonio is further fueled by his daughter Jessica’s elopement with Lorenzo, another friend of Antonio’s.  Meanwhile, at Belmont, Portia is being courted by Bassanio, and wedding plans continue when, in accordance with her father’s will, Bassanio is asked to choose from three caskets — one gold, one silver and one lead.

Bassanio correctly selects the lead casket that contains Portia’s picture. The couple’s joy is short-lived, however, when Bassanio receives a letter from Antonio, informing him of the loss of his ships and of Shylock’s determination to carry out the terms of the loan. Bassanio and Portia marry, as do his friend, Gratiano and Portia’s maid, Nerissa.  

The men return to Venice, but are unable to assist Antonio in court. In desperation, Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and arrives in Venice with her clerk (Nerissa) to argue the case. She reminds Shylock that he can only collect the flesh that the agreement calls for, and that if any blood is shed, his property will be confiscated. At this point, Shylock agrees to accept the money instead of the flesh, but the court punishes him for his greed by forcing him to become a Christian and turn over half of his property to his estranged daughter, Jessica.

Prejudice is a dominant theme in The Merchant of Venice, most notably taking the form of anti-Semitism. Shylock is stereotypically described as “costumed in a recognizably Jewish way in a long gown of gabardine, probably black, with a red beard and/or wing like that of Judas, and a hooked putty nose or bottle nose” (Charney, p. 41).

Shylock is a defensive character because society is constantly reminding him he is different in religion, looks, and motivation. He finds solace in the law because he, himself, is an outcast of society. Shylock is an outsider who is not privy to the rights accorded to the citizens of Venice. The Venetians regard Shylock as a capitalist motivated solely by greed, while they saw themselves as Christian paragons of piety.

When Shylock considers taking Antonio’s bond using his ships as collateral, his bitterness is evident when he quips, “But ships are but board, sailors but men. There be land rats and water rats, water thieves and land thieves — I mean pirates — and then there is the peril of waters, winds, and rocks” (I.iii.25). Shylock believes the Venetians are hypocrites because of their slave ownership.

The Venetians justify their practice of slavery by saying simply, “The slaves are ours” (IV.i.98-100). During the trial sequence, Shylock persuasively argues, “You have among you many a purchased slave, which (like your asses and your dogs and mules). You us in abject and in slavish parts, because you bought them, shall I say to you, let them be free, marry them to your heirs… you will answer, `The slaves are ours,’ — so do I answer you: The pound of flesh (which I demand of him) is dearly bought, ’tis mine and I will have it” (IV.i.90-100). 

Shakespeare’s depiction of the Venetians is paradoxical. They are, too, a capitalist people and readily accept his money, however, shun him personally. Like American society, 16th century Venice sought to solidify their commercial reputation through integration, but at the same time, practiced social exclusion. Though they extended their hands to his Shylock’s money, they turned their backs on him socially. When Venetian merchants needed usurer capital to finance their business ventures, Jews flocked to Venice in large numbers.

By the early 1500s, the influx of Jews posed a serious threat to the native population, such that the Venetian government needed to confine the Jews to a specific district. This district was called geto nuovo (New Foundry) and was the ancestor of the modern-day ghetto. In this way, Venetians could still accept Jewish money, but control their influence upon their way of life.  

Antonio, though the main character in The Merchant of Venice remains a rather ambiguous figure. Although he has many friends, he still remains a solitary and somewhat melancholy figure. He is generous to a fault with his friends, especially Bassanio, which lends itself to speculation as to his sexuality. His perceived homosexuality makes him somewhat of a pariah among his countrymen, much like Shylock.

Shylock’s loathing of Antonio, he explains simply, “How like a fawning publican he looks! I hate him for he is a Christian” (I.iii.38-39). Antonio holds Shylock in the same contempt, trading barbs with him and spitting at him. His contempt for shylock is further demonstrated when he addresses Shylock in the third person, despite his presence.

Antonio’s prejudice is clearly evident when he asks, “Is he yet possessed? (I.iii.61). The word “possessed” is synonymous with the Devil in the Christian world. In his mind, his greed and his Judaism are one, and because Shylock lacks his (Antonio’s) Christian sensibilities, he is, therefore, the reincarnation of the Devil and the embodiment of all that is evil. Images of a dog, which is coincidentally God spelled backwards, are abound. Society must restrain the Jew because he is an untamed animal.

Shylock sees himself in society’s eyes and muses, “Thou call’dst me a dog before thou hadst a cause. But since I am a dog, beware my fangs (III.iii.6-7).” When Antonio spits on Shylock in public, this is perfectly acceptable behavior in a society where Jews are considered on the same level as dogs. Antonio is presented as a “good” Christian who ultimately shows mercy on his adversary, the “evil” Jew, Shylock. By calling for Shylock’s conversion to Christianity, Antonio is saving a sinner’s soul, and by embracing Christianity, he will be forced to repent and mend his avarice ways.  

Most of the women in The Merchant of Venice, true to the Elizabethan time period, are little more than an attractive presence. Despite their immortalization in art, Shakespeare, like his contemporaries, appears to perceive women as little more than indulged play things with little to offer society than physical beauty.

Shylock is devastated when his daughter leaves him to marry a Christian, he regards her as little more than one of his possession, just as he regards jewels and ducats. Portia, though possessing both strength and intelligence, she, too, is inclined to prejudicial judgments. She takes a disdainful view of the lowly class, and dismisses the 3,000 ducats as “a petty debt.”

Although she truly loves Bassanio in spite of his low social rank, Bassanio is initially portrayed as a crass materialist who regards Portia as little more than a prize to be won. Only by marrying her can he achieve any kind of social nobility.

Although Portia plays a powerful role in the play’s climax, she must disguise herself as a man for her words to be taken seriously.  Racial prejudice is also hinted at in The Merchant of Venice.

The Prince of Morocco, though elegant in both manner and dress, has a pomposity which perhaps stems from being a dark-skinned man not altogether accepted in the predominantly white Christian surroundings. The bias of the city-state ruler is evident when during the trial, the Duke of Venice tells Shylock, “We all expect a gentle answer, Jew” (IV.i.34).

The implication is that Christians are the models of gentility and social grace, whereas Jews are coarse in both manner and words.  Is Shylock really the epitome of evil? Over the years, the “pound of flesh” phrase has been interpreted by both scholars and students alike. Author W.H. Auden draws a similarity between Shylock’s demand for payment in a pound of flesh with the crucifixion of Christ.

Auden wrote, “Christ may substitute himself for man, but the debt has to be paid by death on the cross. The devil is defeated, not because he has no right to demand a penalty, but because he does not know the penalty has been already suffered” (Auden, p. 227).

Shylock regards Antonio as his number one nemesis because of the countless public humiliations he has subjected him to and because Antonio has purposely hindered his business by refusing to collect interest on loans. Would Shylock have demanded a pound of flesh from anyone else in the world but Antonio? Does this make him a bad person or just a human one? By herding the Jews like cattle into the confines of the New Foundry district, aren’t the Venetians symbolically extracting their own pound of flesh from the Jewish people? Why is Shylock singled out for his behavior? Because he is Jewish and therefore incapable of humanity in the eyes of the Christian world?  

III. Conclusion  

Was William Shakespeare a bigot? His perceived anti-semitism in The Merchant of Venice depicts the Elizabethan perception of Jews, a people who were truly foreign to them in both appearance and demeanor. Edward, I banished Jews from his kingdom in the 11th century, however, Jewish stereotypes abound in England throughout the Renaissance.

Although the average Elizabethan had probably encountered only a few Jews in his lifetime, his church sermons condemned them with words like “blasphemous,” “vain,” and “deceitful.” The Christians considered the lending of money to be sacrilegious, but the using of this money to finance their businesses was not. The Merchant in Venice is no more anti-semitic than Christopher Marlowe’s earlier play, The Jew of Malta.

The parallels between Marlowe’s protagonist, Barabas, and Shylock are startling. Marlowe’s play begins with a description of Barabas “in his counting-house, with heaps of gold before him,” discussing with his comrades his world of “infinite riches” (I.i.37). Barabas’ self-serving deception and superficiality are identical to Shylock’s.

Marlowe’s character, Ferneze acts as a self-appointed spokesman for the Christian community when he dismisses Barabas and all Jews with the words, “No, Jew, like infidels. For through our sufferance of your hateful lives, who stand accursed in the sight of heaven” (I.ii.73-75). Couldn’t Antonio have uttered the same words to Shylock? Both authors were products of the Elizabethan world in which they lived, and their writings were bound to be a reflection of their times.

Was Shakespeare an anti-semitic person, or was The Merchant of Venice a piece of timely social commentary? This will be the fodder for much discussion and argument for years to come. There must be a distinction between Shakespeare the writer and Shakespeare the man, and while there may be similarities, they should be regarded as two separate entities. However, when one reads The Merchant of Venice and speeches illustrating the hypocrisy that was so prevalent in Christian society, one can almost sense Shakespeare is satirically winking at us.

Though the world has moved away from the rigid Elizabethan social convention, have times or people really changed? The continued bloodshed in the Middle East, the ongoing struggle for racial equality in Africa, religious strife in Northern Ireland, and the continued practice of genocide in the world suggest otherwise. What about American society? The recent criminal trial and a subsequent not guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson case show that racial lines are still carefully drawn.

Isn’t O.J. Simpson reminiscent of Shylock, an outcast in white, Beverly Hills social strata in much the same way as Shylock was in Venice? His upbringing in the slums of San Francisco made him as foreign to southern California socialites as Shylock was to the Venetian bourgeoisie. Despite being found not guilty by a jury of his peers, he has been ostracized by this society nevertheless, and in establishments where his money was once accepted, he now is not. Pending the outcome of his civil trial, he may lose his money and property as did Shylock.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare articulates the frustrations of the oppressed masses for all time with the words of Shylock. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions — fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you pick at us, do we not bleed?

If you tickle us, do we not laugh? 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 wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The villainy you teach me I will execute” (II.i.55-69). Quite simply, society teaches by example.

Auden, W.H. 1965. “Brothers and Others,” The Dyer’s Hands and Other Essays. New York: Random House.  Charney, Maurice. 1993. All of Shakespeare. New York: Columbia University Press.  

Marlowe, Christopher. Ed. Russell A. Fraser and Norman Rabkin. 1976. Drama of the English Renaissance I: The Tutor Period. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.  

Shakespeare, William. Ed. Kenneth Myrick. 1965. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Signet Books.

Related Posts

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• Merchant of Venice: Shylock Analysis

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1. Shakespeare ( AQA GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

The Merchant of Venice question is part of Paper 1, Section A of your GCSE. For this, you are required to write one essay-length answer to one set question. This can seem daunting at first, but this page contains some helpful information, and links to more detailed revision note pages, that will enable you to aim for the highest grade. This page includes:

• A summary of The Merchant of Venice
• A brief overview of what is required in the exam

The Merchant of Venice characters

The Merchant of Venice context

The Merchant of Venice themes

The Merchant of Venice quotes

Top tips for the highest grade

The Merchant of Venice summary

The Merchant of Venice was written by William Shakespeare during the late 16th century. It depicts the story of Antonio, a merchant from Venice, who fails to repay a substantial loan borrowed from a Jewish moneylender named Shylock.

It is classified as a comedy and is similar to other romantic comedies by Shakespeare. The play is largely known for its dramatic scenes and for the character of Shylock. Shylock is renowned for demanding a "pound of flesh" as retribution. The play also includes two famous speeches: one from Shylock about the nature of humanity and Portia's speech on mercy. It contains many of the typical conventions of comedy such as marriage, misconception, and disguise and gender. For more on the conventions of tragedy, see The Merchant of Venice: Writer’s Methods and Techniques page. 

The play is about Antonio, a merchant, who owes money to Shylock, a vindictive moneylender. Antonio borrows the sum on behalf of his friend, Bassanio, to woo and marry a woman named Portia. After Antonio's trading ships sink, he cannot repay the debt, prompting Shylock to demand a pound of flesh as per their agreement. However, Portia, disguised as a man, intervenes during the trial and saves Antonio. As a result, Shylock is instructed to convert to Christianity and Antonio recovers his wealth from his sunken ships. For a more detailed summary, please see The Merchant of Venice: Plot Summary page . 

How is The Merchant of Venice assessed in the exam?

• Your GCSE Paper 1 requires you to answer two questions in 1hr 45min. That means you have approximately 52 minutes to plan, write and check your Merchant of Venice essay
• Paper 1 is worth 64 marks and accounts for 40% of your overall GCSE grade
• The Merchant of Venice essay is worth 34 marks in total, because it also includes 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Section A of Paper 1 contains The Merchant of Venice question and you are required to answer the one available question on the play
• Your question will also include a printed extract of about 25 lines from the play
• It is a closed-book exam, which means you will not have access to a copy of the text (other than the printed extract) in your exam
• The question will require you to analyse and write in detail about an aspect of The Merchant of Venice
• Your answer will need to address both the extract from the play that you will be given, and the play as a whole

For a much more detailed guide on answering The Merchant of Venice question, please see our revision notes on How to Answer the Shakespeare Essay Question .

The characters you should focus on when revising The Merchant of Venice are:

When considering a Shakespeare play or any other text, it is crucial to remember that characters are intentionally crafted by the writer to serve a specific purpose. In many cases, these characters embody certain concepts or beliefs, and the writer, such as Shakespeare, uses them to reflect on and examine these ideas. For more details on how Shakespeare uses his characters in The Merchant of Venice, please see The Merchant of Venice: Characters revision notes page. 

Understanding what context actually is can be tricky at GCSE. Examiners understand context not as historical information, or biographical facts about a writer, but as the ideas and perspectives explored by a writer through their text. Therefore, The Merchant of Venice context you should explore in your essay response is not information about medieval Italy, or facts about William Shakespeare, but ideas about:

• Prejudice and intolerance
• Love and friendship in the Elizabethan era
• Wealth and power

Lots of these ideas and perspectives are universal, so your own opinions of them are valid and will be rewarded in an exam. For a detailed breakdown of the contextual topics listed above, see The Merchant of Venice: Context page. 

Understanding the themes that Shakespeare explores in The Merchant of Venice is one of the best approaches any student can take when revising the play. This is because to get the highest mark on your exam, you need to take what examiners call a “conceptualised approach”: a detailed and perceptive exploration of Shakespeare’s ideas and intentions. The main themes explored by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice are:

• Justice and mercy
• Love and friendship

Shakespeare explores numerous other themes in The Merchant of Venice beyond those mentioned above and you are encouraged to examine these themes too. However, the above list makes a great place to start and detailed breakdowns of each of these themes can be found on The Merchant of Venice: Themes page.  

Although you are given credit for including quotations from The Merchant of Venice in your answer, it is not a requirement of the exam. In fact, examiners say that “references” to the rest of the play are just as valid as direct quotations: this is when students pinpoint individual moments in the play, rather than quoting what the characters say. In order to select references really successfully, it is extremely important that you know the play itself very well, including the order of the events that take place in the play. This detailed act-by-act breakdown of the plot will help you to revise the chronology of The Merchant of Venice.

However, it can also be useful to revise a few – very well selected –  quotations from the play that can be used in a variety of essays on different themes and characters. Luckily, we have made that selection for you! For a ‘translation’ and detailed analysis of each of these quotations, see The Merchant of Venice: Key Quotations page.

Please see our revision pages on the Shakespeare exam for guides on:

• Structuring The Merchant of Venice essay
• The Merchant of Venice methods and techniques
• How to include context in The Merchant of Venice essay
• Understanding The Merchant of Venice mark scheme
• A Shakespeare model answer

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Merchant of Venice

Venetian prejudice christophe dorsey-guillaumin.

Enter the Jew. In this way does Shakespeare usher the character Shylock into his play The Merchant of Venice, and here begins the greatest controversy that plagues this work. The Elizabethan era, the time in which Shakespeare lived, was a time brimming with hostility toward Jews. Elizabeth's own court doctor, a Portuguese Jew, was condemned to death (unjustly, history says) after rumor spread that he might assassinate the queen. Shakespeare's own peer playwright, Christopher Marlowe, had already written The Jew of Malta, a play full of prejudice and stereotypes - the main character, Barrabbas, named after the infamous serial killer in the Bible, is one of the most bloodthirsty and heartless characters in literature of that time period, and not incidentally, he is a Jew. The Merchant of Venice is also a seemingly very anti-Semitic work. Shakespeare displays anti-Semitism in his play through the terrible things he writes for the Jew to say, what he has other characters say about this Jew and conversely about the Christians, and in the very way he chooses to portray the Jewish culture.

Shylock the Jew says many things that appall the audience. To what likely would have been (in the time of Shakespeare) an audience almost...

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• > Shakespeare Survey
• > Prejudice and Law in The Merchant of Venice

Book contents

• Frontmatter
• Shakespeare and the Eighteenth Century: Criticism and Research
• Daddy’s Girls: Shakespearian Daughters and Eighteenth-Century Ideology
• Shakespeare and Clarissa : ‘General Nature’, Genre and Sexuality
• Early Georgian Politics and Shakespeare: The Black Act and Charles Johnson’s Love in a Forest (1723)
• Race Mattered: Othello in Late Eighteenth-Century England
• From Pericles to Marina : ‘While Women are to be had for Money, Love, or Importunity’
• ‘A Thousand Twangling Instruments’: Music and The Tempest on The Eighteenth-Centruy London Stage
• Double Falsehood and the Verbal Parallels with Shelton’s Don Quixote
• Eighteenth-Century Performances of Shakespeare Recorded in the Theatrical Portraits of the Garrick Club
• Eighteenth-Century Editing, ‘Appropriation’, and Interpretation
• Shakespeare Survey : Beginnings and Continuities
• Destined Livery? Character and Person in Shakespeare
• Prejudice and Law in The Merchant of Venice
• ‘Many A Civil Monster’: Shakespeare’s Idea of the Centaur
• Shakespeare’s International Currency
• Repeopling the Globe: The Opening Season at Shakespeare’s Globe, London 1997
• Shakespeare Performances in England, 1997
• Professional Shakespeare Productions in the British Isles, January–December 1996
• TheYear's Contributions to Shakespeare Studies: 1 Critical Studies
• 2 Shakespeare’s Life, Times, and Stage
• 3 Editions and Textual Studies
• Books Received
• Index to Volume 51
• General Index to Volumes 41–50

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2007

• Shakespeare and Clarissa: ‘General Nature’, Genre and Sexuality
• From Pericles to Marina: ‘While Women are to be had for Money, Love, or Importunity’
• Shakespeare Survey: Beginnings and Continuities

The legally institutionalized prejudice seen in The Merchant of Venice is repulsive from a modern perspective. I will argue that this play portrays deeply ironic images of social prejudice that offended Elizabethan standards of decency and fairness as well as ours. Paradoxically, these contemporary Elizabethan standards come into focus when the play is viewed from a perspective involving legal history, for they in fact trumped the prejudicial laws of Shakespeare's time.

In the updated approach to Shakespeare of his provocative book Kill All the Lawyers? , a practising American lawyer Daniel J. Kornstein advises Shylock to appeal against Portia's judgement. And he makes frequent reference to modern legal doctrines, often specifically American, to show how these have evolved or advanced since Shakespeare's time. Yet Kornstein sometimes discusses issues and principles which have persisted in the Anglo-American legal tradition since Shakespeare's time, which may guide us to the shared social and moral vocabulary of Shakespeare and his age.

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• By B. J. Sokol
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• Book: Shakespeare Survey
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• Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521632250.013

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Merchant of Venice — Discrimination in The Merchant of Venice, a Play by William Shakespeare

Discrimination in The Merchant of Venice, a Play by William Shakespeare

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Prejudice In Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice Essay Example

Throughout William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, multiple aspects of prejudice can be seen from various viewpoints. The meaning of prejudice is preconceived perception which is not founded upon justification or on actual experience. Maya Angelou's quotation defining prejudice is, "Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible." Angelou’s quotation regarding prejudice, translates to the prejudgment established well before relevant material has been obtained or analyzed, rendering it insufficient or fictional evidence. A significant theme of this play, as well as the major conflicts that emerge, are based upon characters which are racially prejudiced and discriminatory. By incorporating characters of diverse cultures in his play, Shakespeare reveals how most people hold prejudiced attitudes about any culture, religion, and ethnicity that is not their own. And by demonstrating how many conflicts, bias views can create in one's life, he proceeds to show the wrong side of prejudices. There are a variety of different behaviors that demonstrate the forms of prejudice in this play, as many prejudicial characters are prejudice to those of a different origin and have different perspectives as them. There are several biases, behaviors, and values that indicate this predominates: firstly, Portia is racially prejudiced towards her suitors who have dark complexions, this attitude of prejudice can be seen with the Prince of Morocco, secondly, Lancelet has prejudiced thoughts about Jewish people, and this behavior is evident when he makes a joke regarding Jessica’s past religion, and Jewish father, and eventually, Antonio is religions-wise prejudice towards Shylock due to his own beliefs of Shylock's religion, and ethnicity, this prejudicial behavior of Antonio is demonstrated throughout the whole play specifically through the way Antonio talks and behaves with Shylock. 

Although Portia is attempting to be the least problematic person with appearances in this play, and is polite to people regardless of gender, race, culture, and religion, her character is also very dishonest, and she is secretly prejudicial and oppressive to those who are not of her own nationality, this is demonstrated by Portia's behavior towards the Prince of Morocco. Portia is, in general, very prejudicial to all her love interests, and cries to Nerissa about the weak characteristics each of them has, she is particularly prejudicial to the Prince of Morocco, as she argues, even if he behaves wonderfully, she still will not be interested in him due to his dark complexion. When the Prince of Morocco arrives and meets Portia, he assures her that she should not be displeased by him or be prejudice against him, as he has the same blood as a man with the fairest skin. Portia then begins to tell him that she does not pick a suitor based on his appearances, in reality she is not driven to choose her own husband at all. When the Prince of Morocco agrees to the terms of Portia's lottery and selects a casket, but fails and leaves, Portia is quite pleased, since her prejudice to those of darker complexions, would not have enabled her to have a successful partnership with the Prince of Morocco. The prejudice feature of Portia is confirmed when the Prince has departed, and she states, "A gentle riddance! Draw the curtains, go. / Let all of his complexion choose me so" (2.7.86-87). Which clearly indicates that she wishes for any suitor with his complexion to make the same selection as him. As mentioned, the whole time that the Prince of Morocco is present with Portia, she is unable to see past his complexion, and her prejudicial characteristic is making her insensitive to the positive attributes about him, and, with Portia as an illustration of prejudices, Shakespeare attempts to remind the reader how prejudicial perceptions can blind an individual to the positive side and make the individual concentrate on the negative side. 

In addition, Shakespeare extends this idea of prejudice in his play as he exposes how Lancelet talks to, and teases Jessica about her religion and nationality. Lancelet's character is humorous, and he likes to make himself a comic, but a few of his jokes prove that he is prejudicing Jews, and that he is also racist. Although Lancelet does not like to associate with Shylock, he speaks and jokes with Jessica, and makes a few remarks about Jessica's background that prove his prejudice thoughts about Judaism. Lancelet informs Jessica jokingly, that children are punished for the sins of their fathers, and he says that he's concerned about her, as he thinks that Jessica is going to hell, and he tells her that he believes there's only one hope for her. As Jessica asks him what hope he is talking about, Lancelet says, “Marry, you may partly hope that your father got you not, that you are not the Jew’s daughter” (3.5.10-11). And what he means by his statement is that Jessica can only hope that Shylock is not her true father, that her mother may have fooled around, and that she is not the daughter of “the Jew.” Despite Jessica's attempts to stay away from Shylock, to change her religion from Judaism to Christianity, and to marry Lorenzo, a Christian, she still experiences prejudice against her, only because of her background and her Jewish father. By saying how Jessica would go to hell, not because of her sins, but because of her fathers, who is a Jew, and by referring to Shylock as "the Jew," Lancelet reveals that he is anti-Semitic, and that he has religious prejudiced thoughts towards the Jewish community. In conclusion, Lancelet proves himself religious prejudicial when he jokes about Judaism with Jessica and is judging her based on her background and her Jewish father, and not based on who she is as a person, with this illustration, Shakespeare demonstrates how Christian characters, such as Lancelet, use the religion of the Jewish people and make jokes about it, utterly disrespecting it, and having prejudiced thoughts about it. 

Moreover, Antonio, a Christian, is religious prejudiced towards Shylock only because he is a Jew and has a history, religion, and background different from him, not because of Shylock as a human, and this prejudicial attitude of Antonio is proved through his words and actions towards Shylock. Shylock refers to Antonio directly, informing him that Antonio mistreats Shylock because of his religion. This argument occurs when Bassanio requests for a loan from Shylock, using the credit of Antonio. Shylock hates Antonio because of Antonio's prejudice towards him, and because he doesn't like the way Antonio does business. The difference in opinion between Antonio and Shylock sparks Antonio's cruelty towards Shylock and, in return, Shylock's hatred for Antonio. The idea that Antonio is blind to the insensitivity and indignation of his religious slurs is evidenced by the intolerance that is common to their society. Antonio's prejudice to Shylock is evidenced by the fact that Shylock reminds him of all the wrongs he has done to him by insulting his business, calling him a dog, spitting on his Jewish clothing, and kicking him, to which Antonio replies, "I am as like to call thee so again, /To spet on thee again, to spurn thee too" (1.3.140-141). And what Antonio means is that he's going to call Shylock the names again, spit on him, and criticize him again, which simply demonstrates the racial prejudice he has for Jewish people. To conclude, Antonio displays his religious prejudice to Shylock by his actions and his comments to him, and all their dispute is that Antonio is prejudicing Shylock, and Shakespeare, including a character like Antonio in his play, shows the reader how many complications prejudice can bring to one's existence. 

In summary, this play reveals the prejudices individuals carry and how their lives and the lives of those in their society are influenced by it. It shows the many effects of putting labels on people that are different from the standard of society. Shakespeare demonstrates how characters like Portia see themselves as superior to anyone else in society, and have prejudiced thoughts about people that are different from them in nationality or race, how characters like Lancelet are religiously prejudiced, and see all religions that are not their own as a joke, and eventually, characters like Antonio who are religiously prejudiced, and utter hurtful things, and cause trouble just because they dislike the religion of others. No matter what form of prejudice one may have, biases blind a person to facts, and prejudging someone on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality and religion, will make an individual construct an image in their heads, which is not valid in most situations. Overall, by seeing the diverse characters in this play, their different perspectives and the difficulties they encounter, one can see the many negative implications that come with being prejudicial to what is considered "different" from the "normal" in a community.  

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / The Merchant of Venice / Prejudice Towards Women in the Book “The Merchant of Venice”

Prejudice Towards Women in the Book "The Merchant of Venice"

• Category: Social Issues , Literature
• Topic: Gender Discrimination , The Merchant of Venice , William Shakespeare

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