What are some reasons to have sympathy towards Shylock in The Merchant of Venice?

There are a number of reasons to sympathize with Shylock. For one, he is a Jewish man in the Catholic Venice. In a sense, he is a stranger in his own country. In the play’s conclusion, the Christian Antonio is referred to as a citizen, while Shylock is considered an alien. Shylock does not have the same rights as Christians do. Even though Shylock’s daughter Jessica marries a Christian, Launcelot Gobbo “jokes” that she will...

There are a number of reasons to sympathize with Shylock. For one, he is a Jewish man in the Catholic Venice. In a sense, he is a stranger in his own country. In the play’s conclusion, the Christian Antonio is referred to as a citizen, while Shylock is considered an alien. Shylock does not have the same rights as Christians do. Even though Shylock’s daughter Jessica marries a Christian, Launcelot Gobbo “jokes” that she will still be damned because her father is a Jew.

Jessica’s elopement with the Christian Lorenzo is another reason to pity Shylock. He is distraught that she has run off, especially with a man who is not of her faith. While the Christians consider her to be condemned for being Jewish, Shylock says that “she is damned” for marrying a Christian against his will. On top of that, Jessica stole some of Shylock's most prized positions. He values money above almost everything else, and Jessica spends it prodigally. Shylock is especially distressed to hear Jessica traded a ring for a monkey. He had the ring “of Leah when [he] was a bachelor;” it seems that it was a treasured gift from his deceased wife.

The Christian characters mock Shylock and gloat at his losses. When he laments the departure of his daughter, “his own flesh and blood,” Salarino replies, “There is more difference between thy flesh and hers than between jet and ivory.” Shylock mourns, “no sighs but of my breathing; no tears but of my shedding.” Numerous characters refer to him as a devil and hurl antisemitic insults his way. Antonio spat on him, kicked him, and called him “misbeliever, cut-throat dog.” Shylock’s powerful “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech about the similarities between Jews and Christians falls on deaf ears.

No doubt, Shylock is a difficult and dangerous man, calculating and ruthless. Still, he is also a desperate and sympathetic character.