A book about Shylock

[nancylebov]

Shylock: A Legend and Its Legacy is one of those books that takes one subject and shows its connections to a wide range. In the case of Shylock there's language, history (did Shakespeare actually meet any Jews? It wasn't legal but it might have happened), odd angles (you can read The Merchant of Venice as old money vs. new money), and so on.

Bechdel's Law has been coming up, and it brought the book to mind.... Even though Shylock would have necessarily been part of a Jewish community (requirements for a minyan), and it would have been going nuts at his behavior, you never see other Jews except for his daughter.

Addendum: There's another Jewish character in the play. I'll be checking on just what was in Shylock when I turn up my copy.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Act III, Scene 1, the last half of the scene.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Point taken. If I can find my copy of Shylock, I'll see if Gross got it wrong or I misremembered.