Antonio’s Character
Antonio
is the central character in the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’. He
is the 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 Antonio's character and try to find out what qualities and shortcomings he has in his personality.
His character's first and foremost (chief) tragic trait 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 reasons behind Antonio’s sadness. Even Antonio does
not know the reason behind his sad mood.
It is said that he is sad because all of his
investments are at stake. After all, 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 for his sad mood. But Antonio rejects all these speculations (guesses)
about the reasons for his 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 character 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 join the 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 that Antonio becomes the central character
in the play.
But despite 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 based on 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 based on 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 through 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.
