Jessica: The Daughter Who Leaves and Cannot Quite Leave
First appears: Act 2, Scene 3
Jessica is ashamed of her father's house before she ever names it. Her first scene in Act 2 is a goodbye: she gives Launcelot a letter for Lorenzo, hands him money, and begins planning her escape. She takes Shylock's money and jewels when she goes, including a turquoise ring his dead wife gave him. The play does not ask her to feel bad about this for long.
Her conversion to Christianity, which her father is forced to undergo at the end of Act 4, she chose voluntarily. She married Lorenzo, a Christian, and moved to Belmont. The play treats this as a happy ending for her. Whether it reads that way depends on whether you notice that she is conspicuously quiet in the final act. She receives no letter, no special welcome, no restoration.
At the end of Act 5, Lorenzo and Jessica exchange a string of 'In such a night' verses that are among the most beautiful in the play. But each example they cite is of a lover who was betrayed or abandoned. It may be playful banter. It may be something else.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“Alack, what heinous sin is it in me to be ashamed to be my father's child!”
Jessica — Act 2, Scene 3
“I am never merry when I hear sweet music.”
Jessica — Act 5, Scene 1
Themes
Other Characters in The Merchant of Venice
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