Shylock, Bassanio, and the Jacob Narrative: Jewish Love and Christian Wealth in The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare's structural allusions to the Jacob narrative in The Merchant of Venice subvert traditional readings of the play, which posit Jew against Christian, law against charity, or wealth against love, problematizing these dichotomies until they ultimately collapse. Distinctions between Jew...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2019, Volume: 68, Issue: 4, Pages: 623-649 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture HB Old Testament KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history |
| Further subjects: | B
Puritan
B Shylock B Old Testament B Jew B The Merchant of Venice B Jacob |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Shakespeare's structural allusions to the Jacob narrative in The Merchant of Venice subvert traditional readings of the play, which posit Jew against Christian, law against charity, or wealth against love, problematizing these dichotomies until they ultimately collapse. Distinctions between Jew and Christian become ideologically irrelevant; instead, the willingness to negotiate, barter, and settle for imperfect love holds tragedy at bay. In conflating religious identity, and reversing the conventions that posit religious identity as central to state politics, the play suggests that political accommodation rooted in pragmatism offers an uneasy peace as an alternative to a violent and tragic end. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0148333119840714 |