How are minor characters such as Salerio and Solanio designed to reflect Venetian society at large?
Answers
Though Salerio and Solanio are seemingly insignificant characters, Shakespeare uses them as a medium to convey a lot of information about 16th century society.
ECONOMIC:
In Act 1, Scene 1, the two men talk about the possible cause of Antonio’s worries. They touch upon the prevalence of trade conducted through sea routes for there is a clear mention of ‘argosies with portly sail’. Further, in the absence of any modern weather prediction equipment, the risks were high, as suggested by ‘What harm a wind too great at sea might do’. Understandably, high risks were accompanied by anxiety, though Antonio denies the same.
SOCIAL:
From the social point of view, they portray the attitude of the higher classes towards the lower rungs. Using ships on the sea as an example, they say that the rich ‘signiors’ pass by arrogantly while the poor and ‘petty’ others are forced to acknowledge their supremacy by curtsying to them.
RELIGIOUS:
Their interaction with Shylock suggests deep-rooted racism. When Shylock tries to reach out to the Duke to help find his missing daughter, Salerio and Solanio mock at him. They feel that he is a ‘villian’ for waking up the Duke from his sleep. To them, Shylock comes across as a hatable Jew and not as a worried father. Elizabethan society was known to be prejudiced against Jews, as Shylock recounts how he has even been spat upon. They were not treated with dignity, which forced them to retaliate, in turn making them bad people. Shylock is also called a devil ‘in the likeness of a Jew’. They also trigger Shylock’s famous lines on what being a Jew feels like.
Despite how Salerio and Solanio continue to portray Shylock in a bad light, towards the end of the play, the readers cannot help but feel pity for the Jew, who has been subject to ridicule even at the hands of unimportant characters.