What do you know about the restrictions on Jews regarding property, why did many of them turn to usury?Research the politics of money lending in Elizabethan England. What does the play, in its attack on Shylock's value of money, and the riddle of the caskets, say about material wealth in Venetian society? pls answer i will brainliest if someone answers correctly
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Many leaders throughout history have made Jews the scapegoats of many major problems in society. Without the Jews, society would be perfect, these tyrants would argue. Unfortunately, this stereotyping is not a thing of the past; it was not even a century ago that Hitler dreamed of an ideal race, a race without the presence of the Jews. In his article about modern anti-Semitism John Perazzo states, “It is the world’s oldest pastime: When in doubt, blame the Jews. Long is their history of being scapegoated for every conceivable misfortune besetting society” (Perazzo). Even Shakespeare could not turn a blind eye to the hatred around him. Therefore, the Jewish stereotypes and the anti-Semitism inclinations that have shaped Shakespeare’s character, Shylock from The Merchant of Venice can be found to still influence modern society’s views and beliefs.
Shakespeare’s impression of the Jews had to be derived from stereotypes of his time. It is unlikely that Shakespeare ever met a Jew - Edward I banished them from England in 1290. Although, it is possible that he met Roderigo Lopez a chastised Jew that was hung for trying to poison Queen Elizabeth (Bloom 25). Besides, common people saw Jews as an object of loathing because Jews were in the business of usury, or loaning money for profit. Shakespeare uses Antonio to point to Jews as a scapegoat. Even though, he never mentions that Jews had no choice left to go into the profession of money lending since there were restrictions against the Jews entering into many other jobs (32). Shakespeare could not escape stereotypes of the Jews: they were everywhere in his society.
The public had no knowledge of the Jews except what was written/recorded in literature and was performed/visualized in the theater. Furthermore, “From 1290 until the middle of the seventeenth century the Jews were entirely excluded from England. Every prejudice against them was free to flourish unchecked,” (32). As a consequence, the stereotypes against the Jews grew into anti-Semitism with no one to oppose the allegations. Along with this, Jews were put in a category with the sodomities of the time. Being a ‘Jew’ in England was usually overlooked for the most part. When they broke the law, their ‘Jewishness’ was no longer overlooked and said to be at fault for their misbehavior. (O’Rourke ) This idea was reinforced by the hanging of Queen Elizabeth’s physician, Lopez in 1594. He died protesting his innocence, but the commoners there to watch proclaimed that of course he was guilty, merely because he was a Jew. The English public’s understanding of the Jews was associated with evil since this was the only behavior they were accustomed to.
In addition, Jews were banished from Venice before they were disbanded from England. They were not officially let back into Italy until the start of the sixteenth century. (Gross 35) Moreover, after Shakespeare’s time in the 1780s, a Bavarian writer, Johann Pezzl, wrote “there are about five hundred Jews in Vienna. Their sole and eternal occupation is to counterfeit, salvage, trade in coins, and cheat Christians, Turks, heathens, indeed themselves” (Silberstein 369). There were not many Jews in Venice at Shakespeare’s time, so he was writing about minority that was left. Likewise, in the Middle Ages some Jews from Paris were charged with eating Christians. Shakespeare most likely knew of this and other instances where Jews were known to drain Christians of blood (Gross 29). It would have been hard for him to ignore these tales when writing. Additionally, Jewish converts were still considered to be stereotypical Jewish and have the essential Jewish behaviors and beliefs. Even generations later, members with Jewish ancestry that were active in Christian rituals were still “really Jewish” (O’Rourke 382). In short, stereotypes of other cultures also played an important role in shaping Shakespeare’s and England’s portrayal of Jews. These overbearing stereotypes led to the rise of anti-Semitism in society. No one could stop these scandalous stories from spreading and festering in the minds of many citizens.