SHYLOCK AND ANTI-SEMITISM

The recent production of Shakespeare's classic "The Merchant of Venice" in Stratford, Canada, revealed the essence of this controversial play. The ancient theme of historical anti-Semitism plays out as it was written, a minor Jewish tragedy within a major Christian comedy.

After World War II and the Holocaust, the world became temporarily sensitized to the panerai replica watches ultimate consequence of the Christian hatred of the Jew--- total extermination--- genocide. In Hitler's Holocaust six million European Jews were systematically and methodically wiped out, driven from their homes, robbed of their possessions and dignity, disenfranchized, deported and sent to the death camps. These innocent human beings were exterminated like vermin, young and old, men and women, children and babies as well. Among them was the teenager, Anne Frank.

What happened boggles the mind. When General Eisenhower first saw the mounds of dead bodies and walking skeletons of Auschwitz, he forced the nearby German citizens to view what their countrymen had done and said that what happened should never be forgotten. As a result of the Holocaust, whenever "The Merchant of Venice" has been shown after World War II, visions of the slaughter return, in the context of Christian power, jollity and success.

Because of the Holocaust, certain world-famous anti-Semites were criticized and shunned, among them Ezra Pound, TS Eliot, Carl Jung and the local Father Coughlin. Because they were American heroes, we do not like to mention the names Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh. For a long time the Israel Philharmonic did not play the music of Richard Wagner and there were demonstrations against the performance of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," because the play itself seemed to promote anti-Semitism because of the character of Shylock, who was portrayed as a scheming villain, heartless and remorseless.

It will be remembered that Shylock was called upon to issue a loan to a young Venetian businessman who was down on his luck, but who wished to woo a rich lady. He had some promising overseas investments and was short on cash, and his wealthy friend was willing to co-sign a loan to help him out. They went to Shylock for the loan, cursing him at the same time, because being a usurer at that time was considered a Christian sin, so they let the Jews do the dirty work of usury. They wanted the favor of a loan, but were not very nice about it, immersed as they were in the long established anti-Semitism of the day.

Christians were taught to hate the Jews in the last two millenia because the Hebrews stubbornly resisted believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ. The Jews also kept separate, doing business with Christians only out of necessity. The Jews would walk with the Gentile, talk with them, do business with them, but not eat with them, as the Jews would not eat pork. The Christians at the time knew nothing of the historical fact that the Jew had not been allowed to do any trade, business or profession. For a long time they were only used to manage the money of the royalty and aristocrats, a task they managed so well that they were highly prized and respected. Therefore, Jews became usurers, but if they were not allowed to charge interest, how would they live?

Shylock complained that the Christians freely loaned money to their friends, gratis, and so kept the rates of usury down. Now, in modern times, it is well established that loaning money for interest is not only useful for the entire economy, but essential. It is no longer a sin. In Elizabethan times, however, it became an exaggerated moral issue, in which the Christian condemned the Jewish money-lender.

This hypocrisy is hidden between the lines of Shakespeare's "Merchant," but is present from the beginning of the play to the end. Enraged because of how he was treated by his Christian patrons, Shylock wanted an unusual bond, if the debt was not repaid in its entirety on time. He wanted a pound of flesh! The Christians agreed to it, assuming their investments would succeed, but they did not and the Jew wanted his pound of flesh.

In an agonizing scene, in a courtroom filled with Venetian judges, Shylock was ready with the knife and wanted to take it from the debtor's chest, closest to his heart, which would have most certainly killed him. He resisted all pleas for mercy and was fairly drooling at the prospect of cutting the heart out of his Christian enemy. He was bitter about being demeaned and scorned at the place of business. If not for Portia's intervention, the Venetian judges seemed ready to allow the fatal and crude surgery, as their business laws were important to them.

Enter Portia, the rich lady, who wants to marry the intended victim and makes her famous speech, "... the quality of mercy is not strained..." and furthermore points out the detail, that while the bond calls for a pound of flesh, it does not mention one drop of blood. Shylock is foiled and reduced to helplessness and despair by Venetian law, forced into abject poverty, to wear a cross and bear the betrayal of his daughter and personal servant. No mercy is shown to Shylock, except that he is allowed to live, the better to suffer his ignominious downfall.

The rest of the play is fun-and-games for the Christians, who go about lightheartedly lying, scheming and deceiving, all in the best of humor. One can only wonder if Shakespeare, in all his genius and incredible creativity, consciously or unconsciously meant to show the hypocrisy of the Christian way of life.

Enough time has gone by since the Holocaust that the play can now be shown without a trace of open opposition, and audiences can judge for themselves whether the play is a comedy or a tragedy. For the record, it is classified as a comedy, a comedy at the Jew's expense.