Antonio’s Character-The Merchant of Venice-William Shakespeare

 Antonio’s Character

Antonio is definitely the central character in the play The Merchant of Venice. He is th@e person around whom most of the story of the play revolves. He certainly possesses the qualities of head and heart. So he is claimed to be the hero of the play. But that is really a question of debate.

Let’s discuss the character of Antonio and try to find out what qualities and shortcomings he had in his personality.

The first and foremost (chief) characteristic of his character is his melancholy nature. In the very beginning, the readers come to know about his sad nature. In the opening scene, he is in the company of his two friends, Solanio and  Salarino. After some time Gratiano also reaches there. They all try to guess the reason behind Antonio’s sadness. Even Antonio does not know the reason behind his sad mood. It is said that he is sad because all his investments are at stake because in the sea anything could happen to his ships. It is also said that Antonio might have fallen in love with someone and that might be the reason of his sad mood. But Antonio rejects all these speculations (guesses) about the reasons for his being in a sad mood. Finally, he tells his friends that God has given every person a certain role to perform on the stage of this world. He has been given a sad role to perform in his life. So he is in a sad mood.

As the play advances, the readers come to know about the adverse (unfavourable, unpleasant) impact of his melancholy nature on his personality. He remains disinterested in his life. It seems that he has lost all his excitement that may bubble up the personality of a young man. This is the reason why he is unable to enjoy a joke, nor is he able to create it. He is also not able to events like merry-making as torch ­light, masked processions in which his friend takes great pleasure.

He is a static character throughout the play. He does not show any considerable growth. He remains the same up to the end of the play. But one thing great has been done by him and that sets the ball of the action of the play to roll fast to reach its logical conclusion. He signs the dangerous bond that enables his close friend Bassanio to get a loan of three thousand ducats from the avaricious (/ˌæv.əˈrɪʃ.əs/ greedy) moneylender of Venice, Shylock. Antonio’s act of signing the bond is really a great event in the play and it is because of it the whole attention of the readers is focussed on him. It is also because of this Antonio becomes the central character in the play.

But in spite of this big flaw in his character; William Shakespeare has endowed (gifted) him with certain qualities that make him really a great character in the play.

He is the esteemed merchant of Venice and is known for his honesty, kindness, faithfulness, and generosity. He gives loans to the people of Venice without interest though he is not a moneylender. He saves people from the clutches of Shylock. He also gives a loan to his friend Bassanio. It is his loyalty to his true friendship with Bassanio that makes him sign the deadly (dangerous) bond.

He is the most popular and respected man in Venice. His friends often speak of his kindness and goodness of heart. Gratiano calls him the royal merchant. Solanio finds no words to explain his goodness of heart. Portia also feels proud of helping such a good person. Bassanio is not far behind his friends speaking of his kindness.

But still, his hatred for Shylock on the basis of his religion lowers (belittles) his esteem (regard, respect) in the eyes of modern readers, who believe that there should be no room in our minds for the thoughts that divide one human being from the other on the basis of race and religion. On several occasions, he has degraded (dishonoured, insulted) Shylock publically and even spat on his clothes.

To conclude, we may say that Antonio is indeed a great character in this play. He is the Merchant of Venice. He wins the hearts of the people of Venice by his acts of kindness. He is in sharp contrast to Shylock, who becomes his staunch (strongly loyal) enemy due to his generous (liberal, kind) nature. As far as Antonio’s hatred for Shylock as a Jew is concerned, that is due to the social setup to which he belonged. There was a bitter feeling against the Jews in those days. And it may be because Shylock was also not a good human being. His own daughter was also against him.