"Barbaric Laws, Barbaric Bonds": Arnold Wesker's The Merchant

Abstract

If The Merchant of Venice is not the most problematic of Shakespeare's plays, it certainly has become one of the most provocative, not to say provoking, for the contemporary sensibility, schooled by history to the horrific outcome of anti-Jewish prejudice in the twentieth century. A tentative hint suggesting the possibility of a production is often enough to generate a cause celebre, prompting attacks on the playwright, cries of outrage against the theatre, and the inevitable demands for censorship among those who view the playas an antisemitic desecration. Once a production has been mounted, unless Shylock has been interpreted as an appropriately heroic if frequently sentimentalized figure, attacks often recur.

Re-presenting Shylock: An Examination of Post-Holocaust and Adaptation in The Merchant of Venice Play and Film Adaptations

“…The articles discussed in this section focus on the themes, character representation, and sociohistorical context of both Shakespeare's and Wesker's plays. Alter (1988) argues in his article, -‗Barbaric Laws, Barbaric Bonds': Arnold Wesker's The Merchant,‖ that Wesker's adaptation of The Merchant of Venice critiques the anti-Semitic themes of Shakespeare's original and offers a more complex portrayal of the character of Shylock. Alter provides several examples from the play, such as Wesker's decision to portray Shylock as a loving father and grandfather, rather than a stereotypical villain.…”