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Merchant of Venice: Possession and Human Property
The Merchant of Venice is an interesting story revolving around love, greed of money and property as well as resentment among the religious races. In most cases, plays are developed to depict the real life issues taking place at that particular time when it is set. This play is developed in normal events that happen among people in difficult times, which depicts the play as a real story happening in people’s lives. In The Merchant of Venice, the topic of possessions and human property is used to show how people interact with others and money to show how differences arise. Shylock and Antonio are enemies because of money issues and, Bassanio and Antonio are real friends, but Bassanio has other self-interests in Shylock, where he relies much on him for money, and seeks to woo Portia for her wealth (Shakespeare 45). The topic in of possessions and human property in this play is used to criticize the negative issues that happened during this time, such as lending money on interests where two religions differed concerning this issue. It is used as a means of sending a message to the people concerning their greed for money, to a point of valuing it more than other important matters in life such as love. Possessions and human property in this play were significant topics in portraying the value different people within the society at this particular time held to property as well as social interactions.
As the play starts, we see Antonio a man in melancholy and do not know why. His friends Solanio and Solario suggest that the sinking of the ship in the sea with all his investments must have caused his sadness. Anybody could feel sad by the thought of loosing investment (Janik 25). However, when Bassanio enters, we see a different man who is in debt but wants more money in order to woo Portia, a richly left heirless in order to get her money. Though this is not shown as the primary interest when we are first introduced to him, through his character in other scenes, we are able to realize his first interest was money, although he falls in love with her later. He intends to repay his debts with money he will get after wooing Portia. This serves to illustrate how Bassanio valued money before love where his first interest was money before love for her. He had not made any effort that a man in love does in order to woo her considering he had only visited her place once. When referring to her while talking to Antonio, he refers to her as a rich heirless, showing his concern for money (Janik 34). This is a depiction of not only that era, but also the modern times where people marry for money.
Further, the topic has been used to criticize the Jews who lend money on interest at that time when it was so hated among the Christians. This created quite an enmity and resentment between Shylock and Antonio. Antonio, being a Christian was merciful and lent people money without asking for interest. Shylock, no the other hand conducted a thriving business from interests gotten from lending money. The fact that Antonio was lending money without interest made Shylocks business go down, hence the enmity. Today, money has created more rivals that friends since every person is driven by their greed. At that time, this topic made quite a big significance in criticizing those who lent money on interest, which showed their greed and served to show how greed can have consequences.
In addition, it served to develop what happens in life when we value possessions and money than love and mercy to others. Shylock valued money more than anybody else did and at the end of the play we see him loosing everything he ever valued including his daughter and a ring he held so dear. This depicted the attachment people hold to material possessions to a point of failing to appreciate other more important issues in life are lost leaving us in much worse situations. In the play, this made it look quite real considering many have been in such situations where their obsession for a particular possession leaves them damaged emotionally when they loose it. This was a critique of those in the society to reconsider their value for possession. Without the topic, there could not have been a base upon which people would interact to show how enmity, friendship, and love comes about as well as consequences of holding possessions and property so dear.
Several interactions come about in the play because of possessions and human property. Without love for money by Shylock and Antonio would not have been depicted as enemies. Their interaction was created by different perception concerning money and property. Their hatred and resentment for each other was built on this topic. In much the same way, Bassanio’s love for Antonio was built the same way where he much relied on him for financial purposes rather than for real friendship (Shakespeare 67).
In addition, Bassanio borrows money for wooing Portia, where he reckons that he needs to go in style. It does not occur to him that Portia can love him without money of showing a style, and views money as the means to being loved. It is also important to note that all the suitors who came were wealthy, illustrating that to earn the love of a rich woman money was the means, hence Bassanio needed to borrow money to make an impression. Further, he told Antonio to consider it an investment since he knew that upon wooing Portia successfully, he would have all her money and would be rich. In this the point, it is evident that the topic signifies how people use property to get what they want, even though it may not be the right.
Most of the times, people are not able to see their mistakes until corrected by another person, in this play, the topic on possession and human property acts to highlight what people do and do not realize it is wrong, or to show them what they do to others in their usual daily activities. Shylock may not have realized that his obsession for money may have hurt others until such a play was put up. This served to display a real picture of people, encouraging them to change their ways that may not be good. In addition, it portrays both sides of the issue, where one is able to see their victim, and put the person in the shoes of the victim to have a glimpse of what it feels or looks like to be on the receiving edge. Both Antonio and Bassanio could not have thought they would be in the kind of positions they found themselves in. Antonio entered into the contract without a second thought because of his pride and thinking that there was no way he could have failed to pay the loan while Shylock never thought he could loose his much treasured business and possessions to his worst enemy (Janik 68).
It never occurs to people that what one really resents would come to their aid later. Antonio never thought that for once he would have to take a loan from Shylock, whom he resented with all his heart, to a point of ridiculing him even in the market and spitting on him. On the other hand, Shylock never thought or even dreamt becoming a Christian or giving his whole wealth to a Christian, but it happened. In addition, due to obsession with property, shylock never thought he would ever need to have love from anybody, considering he was always concerned with his ducats. Once he lost everything, he longed for her daughter, where he mentions oh his Daughter, oh his ducats after they were gone. This further illustrated his love for money, which in this statement; his daughter was the same value as his money.
The topic also illustrated a balance in the society where despite bad people being there, there are those who hold right virtues. In addition, the topic signified other sides of people they choose to ignore and hide until something happens. Shylock never showed any love for anything else except money, until we see him for the first time lamenting about his ring given to her by Jessica’s mother, which Jessica sold. It shows that he valued the ring more than money, which was the first time to show love for other possessions.
The most significant aspect of this topic is illustrating the difference between the virtues of Christianity, which are viewed as the right ones while those of Jews are depicted as evil. The Christians advocate for mercy and compassion to everybody and requires people to be merciful to others. On the other hand, Jews are viewed as ruthless and lacking mercy. At the court, Portia asks of Shylock to show mercy on Antonio but is consistently resistant to this idea and demands to have his bond of one pound of flesh from him, which would mean an outright death. He does not show any care that Antonio would die, but is only interested in having his bond that means death for another person. More so, this is a depiction of his value for money than human life. He goes on to sharpen his knife. However, when about to cut the pound of flesh, things turns out the opposite and most unexpected way. This is pure depiction of lack of value for life and ruthlessness of the Jew (Janik 123).
On the other hand, after Portia manages to turn the case against Shylock, when he is asked to cut the pound of flesh without pouring blood, which was not stated in the contract, he asks to have his money. He realizes he cannot have his bond and results to the money offered. However, the court does not grant him that right, gut declares he conspired to take the life of a Venetian citizen, and he is asked to give out half of his wealth to the state and half to Antonio. Despite not showing mercy for Antonio, Antonio does show mercy for him by letting him retain his part of the wealth. However, this comes with a condition that Jessica and Lorenzo will be named as the heirs of his property, and he converts to Christianity. This was mercy in deed considering he could have been executed for being found guilty of conspiring to take the life of another person. The topic manages to show Christians as merciful to others even after they have not been merciful to them (Shakespeare 45).
Another significance of the topic of possession and human property was to show that evil exists with obsession of property and money as well as other possessions. Moreover, the topic illustrates how good always rises over the evil, where we finally see Shylock defeated by the good virtues of Christianity. As the beginning scenes of the play, we see how Shylock has been evil and unfair to others, including his own daughter who manages to run away and convert into Christianity. Shylock is depicted as a very evil person with a lot of greed for money as well as ruthless, which are all virtues of evilness (Shakespeare 121). On the other hand, Antonio is depicted as the good person, merciful, generous as he lends money without asking for interests and treats no one unfairly. The topic serves to illustrate the two virtues at war with each other where both this men representing the two sides enter into a contest with each other. Shylock manages to enjoy victory for as while when Antonio loses his merchants in the sea and puts him in the court to claim his bond. Everybody expected he had won when he was allowed to take the pound of flesh only the case top turn against him in the last minute where he asked to shed no blood, and neither should he cut more or less then a pound of flesh. At this point, evilness has been defeated, and goodness triumphs over.
In the whole play, the topic on possessions and human property has been significant in illustrating what people do for their obsession with the property. The play may have been imagined, but it presents the real society as it was during then. Just like other plays, this play has used this topic to illustrate the issues discussed above, which was its purpose or significant.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. London: OxfordUniversity, 1750. Print.
Janik, Vicki K. The merchant of Venice: a guide to the play. Washington, DC: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
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