| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立彰化師範大學 === 英語學系 === 89 === The Merchant of Venice reflects a confrontation between bourgeois groups in Tudor England. The Jewish group, represented by Shylock, and its rival group, represented by the Christians, through law and religion struggle with each other over the dominance of economic power. This thesis aims to employ the Marxist perspective of "commodity-fetishism" and discuss how the law, religion, and human relations are reified in a capitalistic society.
Chapter One begins with the capitalistic background in early modern England society, followed by definitions of theoretical concepts adopted in the thesis. Chapter Two introduces the legal system in Tudor England and discusses contemporary critics' views on the possible influence of the common law and equity on the play. Also probed into is the problem revealed from the two groups' interpretations on justice. Chapter Three investigates the Christian concept of mercy and discloses the main cause of the characters' ethnic and religious confrontation as well as the political significance of mercy and justice. Chapter Four focuses on how the reified value system influences the social relations of the characters, such as commodified father-daughter relations, love relations, and marriage relations. To conclude, the reality of struggles between groups of bourgeoisie is disclosed while the proletariats are ignored.
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