Le marchand de Venise : le pari et la dette, le jeu et la loi
(2018) McGill Law Journal — Vol. 2017, n° 62-4, p. 1103-1151 (2018)
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- Abstract
- (en) The Merchant of Venice is, for good reason, considered to be one of Shakespeare’s most legal works, alongside Measure for Measure. At the heart of the debate is the famous penalty clause that Venetian ship owner Antonio allows to be imposed on him by Jewish moneylender Shylock. The clause requires a pound of Antonio’s own flesh in the event that he defaults on payment of his loan. Generally called to mind is the monologue by Portia, who pleads for the moneylender’s mercy. The play is read as an illustration of an eternal trial between the letter of the law and its spirit, between legal formalism and equity. This lecture questions this traditional interpretation by placing the story back into its socio-historical context: the Venetian casino, the games of seduction and power, and the fact that the adventures are necessarily financed by the Venetian Ghetto. Yet, in addition to legal analysis and sociological decoding, an anthropological reading of Shakespeare’s work is warranted. The Merchant of Venice can be understood as a clash between radicalized legal passions. For Shylock, the promissory note, containing the famous penalty clause, presents itself as an opportunity to finally quench his thirst for vengeance, fueled by age-old resentment. For Antonio, a diehard gambler, any transaction is an opportunity to go for broke and to preemptively turn misfortune to his advantage. After all, how could a Venetian ship owner lose to a Jewish moneylender?
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Ost, F. (2018). Le marchand de Venise : le pari et la dette, le jeu et la loi. McGill Law Journal, 2017(62-4), 1103-1151. https://doi.org/10.7202/1043162ar (Original work published 2018)