Jessica in Ther Merchant of Venice

Jessica in The merchandiser of Venice In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare introduces his earshot to the multi dimensional eccentric person of Jessica. Jessica is identified as the daughter of a Judaic Merchant but the listening learns she is much more than than that. As the converge moves along and Jessica marries a Christian man, Jessicas indistinguishability as a Jewish woman is challenged. Although a minor character in the symbolise, she is important because she makes the earreach question what it means to be Jewish and accordingly what it means to be Christian.The differences between Judaism and Christianity in the period of mutation are put d maken through Jessicas relationships with loan shark and Lorenzo. The forefather daughter relationship that Jessica and loan shark share shows the earreach values of Judaism. The two meet a precise rocky relationship through out the gambol and although it appears that Jessica is no more than a rebellious teenager, their relationships and interactions show the foundations of a Jewish family. Shylock shows the rigid rules of the Jewish organized religion through how he treats Jessica at their home.What the earshot knows around Jessica and Shylocks history is that Shylock locks up Jessica in their theater of operations and she is non allowed out. Jessica thusly discloseubtedly has resentment towards her father when she says Our home is hell, and thou, a merry devil, / Didst rob it of some taste of prolixity (2. 3. 1). It is clear to the audience that Shylock not except wants to lock up his daughter to the world he, also doesnt want Jessica to experience Venetian society when he says lock up the doors so the sounds of music dont cheat on in from the streets (2. 5. 5).It becomes very obvious that Jessicas house is a strict, rule driven household that she does not appreciate or like. Jessicas life nether Shylocks rules shows the rigidness of the Jewish religion that Jessica was brought u p under. These instances, at the beginning of the play, show the audience what Jessicas life as a Jew is like. It is not until we go out Jessicas transition into a Christian that we stand elate the differences between the two religions. once Jessica runs away from home and marries Lorenzo, her life as a Jewish woman comes to an end. through with(predicate) this transition of Jessicas, we soak up outside opinions on Judaism and Christianity.When Jessica runs away from home to marry, a conversation is sparked between Lorenzo and his friend Gratiano. They have a conversation about why it is that Lorenzo loves Jessica. Lorenzo is trying to formulate to Gratiano how Jessica does not fit the typical Jewish charm by saying For she is wise, if I butt end guess of her/And fair she is, if that mine eyes be dead on target/And true she is, as she hath proved herself(2. 6. 53-55). From Lorenzos address when describing Jessica, it becomes clear that these Christians associate good tra its such as fairness, intelligence, and truthfulness with being traits that most Jewish batch do not possess.On the opposite end of the argument, the play has Shylock and his response to Jessica running away, getting married, and merchandising her mothers wedding ring. Shylock responds by saying taboo upon her Thou torturest me, Tubal it was my? turquoise I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys. (3. 1. 14). Shylock is interference that his daughter would waste away her precious heartys for something as foolish as a monkey. It is in this scrap in the play that the audience sees the rising carefree lifestyle Jessica is living as a Christian when she denounces her mothers ring.Shylock, who loves square possessions, is appalled by his daughters carless actions. The audience sees through Jessicas transition from Jew to Christian and from the conversations sparked in characters from this action how the two opposite religious grou ps see each other. after(prenominal) her transition, Jessicas relationship with her new husband also sparks different assumptions about religion. After Jessica marries Lorenzo, her life is literally transformed from a Jew to a Christian overnight. Through her final actions of the play, the audience can see how different her two worlds are.Her life with Lorenzo is one upright of carefree fun and no material possessions. While her life with her father was one full of rules and restrictions. Once Jessica enters into this relationship with Lorenzo, the notion of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a Jew is questioned. Jessicas two different lives represent the different stereotypes of the two religions. The Jewish people in this play are portrayed through Jessica and Shylock as being an old world pull in of life. Shylocks house is very strict, rule abiding, and oriented in fleshy work.While on the other hand, Lorenzo represents the New Testament, Christian view o f the world where people are much more about living carefree and denouncing material possessions. When Jessica marries Lorenzo and becomes a Christian through marriage she also brings up another question about religion and what makes a person a Jew. Jessica is a Jew by extradite but converts to Christianity through marriage. This brings about the question of is it pitch or decision that makes a person a certain religion.Lancelot first brings this about when he claims that Jessica is call down because she was born Jewish in that he is referring to the item that there is nothing she can do to undo being Jewish. The audience also sees many lines where the picture show of blood is brought up. Shylock refers to his daughter as my own flesh and blood (3. 1. 32) and Jessica states, I am a daughter to his blood (2. 3. 18). This image of blood that Jessica and Shylock share bonds them together and parallels the idea that Judaism runs in the blood, hence is determined at birth.Although Lancelot seems to believe that Judaism runs in the blood, Jessica believes that she can overturn this by marrying Lorenzo. She states, I shall be deliver by my husband/He hath made me a Christian (3. 5. 3). To her, Judaism is out of her because her husband, Lancelot, made her into a Christian through marriage. Here we see two differences in what the characters of the play believe makes a person Jewish. Lancelot believes Jessica is Jewish by birth, and Jessica believes that marrying Lorenzo can make her into a Christian. The character Jessica is important in The Merchant of Venice because of the questions she brings up about religion.Her relationship with her father shows her life as a Jew while her marriage to Lorenzo shows her conversion into a Christian. These two worlds of Jessica play off of each other and through them the audience is able to see the differences between Judaism and Christianity. Through Jessicas transition from Jew to Christian, the audience is able to see the large differences between the Jewish and Christian characters in The Merchant of Venice. Works Cited Evans, G. , ed. The Riverside Shakespeare. 6th ed. capital of Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.