Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) Shylock's line's adherence to the Jewish faith. Literary critics have historically viewed the character negatively, highlighting her theft of her father's gold, her betrayal of his trust, and apparently selfish motivations and aimless behaviour. Since the end of the 20th century their views have been more moderate and nuanced, pointing to an alternate reading that allows her actions to be motivated by love and generosity, and being driven by Shylock's own tyrannical and immoral behaviour. The central plot of "The Merchant of Venice" is relatively straightforward: Antonio borrows money from Shylock to help his friend, Bassanio, court Portia, but, through
Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) the 1955 Arden Shakespeare second series edition of the play: "… nowhere in the play does Shylock show any tenderness towards his daughter …. … as a Jewess, loved by a Christian, Jessica stood in a fair way for the audience's sympathy …." In Munday's "Zelauto", Brisana (Jessica) opposes her father, Trinculo (Shylock), and eventually elopes with Rodolpho (Lorenzo); all presented sympathetically for the audience. Similarly, in Salernitano's 14th "novella", the daughter makes off with her father's money, to the same effect. "In both these examples, the father is avaricious …. It ranks him with the miserly fathers in Elizabethan