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Historical context:
The Jews and Judaism have experienced numerous persecutions, starting from late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the Roman
Empire frequently subdued the Jewish people, first by evicting them from their homelands during the pagan Roman era and later by authorizing
them as second-class citizens during the Christian Roman era. Another wave of persecutions followed in medieval Europe during the Crusades, in
the name of Christianity, and the expulsions of Jewish populations from England, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. Procedures such as
expulsion and genocide were used throughout history by entire nations and empires who sought to oppress and eliminate the Jews. Some of the
most important actions against the Jewish populations were: the First Crusade, the Spanish Inquisition, the Portuguese Inquisition
and the Pogroms backed by the Russian Tsars, but the most destructive was in Nazi Germany- the Holocaust led to the slaughter of around 6 million
Jews.
Jews in Venice:
Jewish merchants and moneylenders visited and worked in the city of Venice beginning with the 10th century but only started settling
there during the 13th century, when they had to pay certain taxes in order to be allowed to make transactions. Fearing the Jewish appropriation in
the economic domains, the authorities decided the expulsion of Jews from Venice in the 14th century, with the only possibility of work limited to
two-week intervals. Only those who were not moneylenders remained in Venice, suffering various restrictions and being forced to wear markings
on their clothing to identify themselves as Jews, such as: a yellow badge, a yellow hat and later a red hat. (Levy et al. 779)
Portrayal of Jews in literature
Throughout history, the stereotypes of Jews in literature have developed but their constancy over the centuries is a suggestion of the fact
that the way in which Jews were treated was stagnant and little affected by the modifications in the Jewish society. While trying to represent a
character of Jewish origins, authors mirror the perspective of their contemporaneous society, which evolves through the modifications of economy
and culture. But the existence of anti-Semitism is an undeniable truth, proved by the reiteration of the evil stereotype of the Jews in literature. Thus
some of the first depictions of this stereotype were the early mistery plays. The medieval fantasies which portrayed Jews as evil villains who
attacked Christians represented the inspiration for plays such as The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe and The Merchant of Venice by William
Shakespeare. But in Shakespeare’s time there were no Jews in England, having been banished for almost 300 years. Therefore Shakespeare’s public
couldn’t have possibly known from a real experience what Jewish people were like, having to rely only on stories and biased rumours.
Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta was one of the plays which influenced Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The main Jewish
character is called Barabas and is depicted in a similar way to Shylock, as a villain, a manipulative and malevolent exploiter who ends up punished
for his crimes after he loses his daughter. But the emphasis is on Barabas’ wickedness and lack of morality, which turn the Jew into a character
described by inhumanity. Shakespeare’s play, despite the fact that it talks about anti-Semitism, is not as severe and strict regarding the depiction of
a Jew character as a distorted caricature. Shylock’s character comprises both the fervent perseverance for his quest for vengeance and the
unquestionable accusation of Christianity’s cruel treatment towards the jewish population. In present times, reading Shakespeare’s play rises the
problem of a factual conflict and our moral values and codes clash with the standards of Shakespeare’s time.