Themes

Christianity vs. Judaism

An underlying issue throughout this play seems to be the battle between the faiths. Jews are painted to be Satan-like, evil characters, while Christians are the more loving, merciful characters. This antagonism against the Jews was probably reflective of the time, especially since in the Elizabethan period, anti-Semitic sentiments, and religious intolerance in general, were high. The source of much of the conflict within the play seems to be rooted in the money lending practices of the Jews. In order to make a profit, and also to protect themselves, the Jewish money lenders charged interest. Due to this, Shylock was widely regarded as money loving and selfish. The Christians felt that their exercise of not charging interest and risking losing their money for the "love" of their brothers was more compassionate and God-like. All in all, the Christian characters seek to prove their Godliness over the Jewish character the entire duration of the play. It seems that the Christians feel themselves to be more in line with God's word, and the Jews also feel themselves to be more in line with God's word, with neither being able to decide who gets to be right.

"A man reaps what he sows," (Galatians 6:7 NIV)

There were several instances in which spiteful acts were repaid with, or attempted to be repaid with, equally unpleasant consequences. Primarily, Antonio's near death experience can be equated to the way he treated Shylock before and after the deal concerning the loan was made. It was stated that Antonio was guilty of being hateful toward Jews. In Act 1, scene 3, Shylock reveals how "like a fawning publican [Antonio] looks!/He hates our sacred nation, and he rails,/Even there where merchants most do congregate,/On me, my bargains and my well-won thrift,/Which he calls "interest."" So it seems that the results of his deal with Shylock were brought about by his initial misdoings  against Shylock and other Jews. Even in the face of what would be his death, Antonio does not seem as outraged or upset by Shylock's insistence upon having his pound of flesh.  Antonio's seeming acceptance of what he believed to be his fate denotes that he may realize that these are the repercussions of mistreating others.
In Shylock's case, his pursuit of revenge resulted in him almost losing everything. His daughter left him for she was "...ashamed to be [her] father's child," converted to Christianity and married a Christian man. Many of his possessions and money were stolen (by his daughter) and pawned off for foolish items such as a monkey (who really needs a pet monkey?). Even more, he ended up not getting the pound of flesh he desired, and narrowly escaped being sentenced to death for basically trying to kill Antonio. Nonetheless, Shylock did receive mercy and Antonio offered to give him back the half of his wealth that the court ordered he give to Antonio as long as he allowed it to be inheritance for Jessica's new husband so they could have somewhere to live after Shylock's death. Essentially, everyone in the court learned valuable lessons about the outcomes of certain behaviors, and also about the importance of mercy.

Sources:

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. No Fear Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. New

                York: Spark Publishing, 2003.

Bible Hub. Biblos, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015

“The Merchant of Venice: Themes, Motifs, & Symbols.” SparkNotes LLC, 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

 Rogers, Jami. “The Merchant of Venice: Shylock and History.” WGBH, 2005. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.