SHYLOCK TALKS TO HIS DAUGHTER

Who has come to the house of Shylock when the latter is preparing to leave for the house of Bassanio to attend the feast? What does Shylock tell him?

When Shylock is preparing to leave for the house of Bassanio to attend the feast, Launcelot appears.

Shylock tells Launcelot that his own eyes can judge the difference between him and the new employer Bassanio. He tells him further that working under Bassanio he would not be able to enjoy himself the way he did under him. He warns him saying that at the house of Bassanio he would not be able to eat like a glutton, sleep soundly and snore and use his garments the way he did while working under him.

What does Shylock tell his daughter at the time of leaving the house to attend the feast at the house of Bassanio?

While leaving the house to attend the feast at the house of Bassanio Shylock tells his daughter about his reluctance to go there. He says that he is aware of the fact that he has been invited with the purpose of flattering him and not out of a feeling of love.  He says further that still he wants to go to waste the resources of the prodigal Christian by eating at his house.

What is shylock’s parting advice to his daughter at the time of leaving the house?

While leaving the house to attend the feast at Bassanio’s Shylokc tells his daughter to be on her guard. He tells him that she should not climb up to the window and stick her face out of it to look down at the painted faces of the Christians passing by in a masquerade. He tells her particularly not to allow the hollow sound of the foppery to enter her serious house and vitiate the atmosphere of gravity. Finally in order to drive home the importance of taking good care of the household things, he uses a proverb. He says that though the proverb ‘fast bind, fast find’ is an old one it has not still lost its significance.

What did Jessica think of her house? Did she have any reason to think of it that way?

When Jessica was bidding adieu to Launcelot, she said that the house had been turned into a veritable hell.

Though she was a person of an objectionable character, she had the reason to think that the house where she lived with her father was a hell. That the atmosphere of the house was suffocating was evident from the way Shylock told his daughter to lock the doors and windows of the house to prevent the sound of the fife that would be played by the Christians. It was the orthodox nature of Shylock that created an atmosphere resembling that of a hell.