Interiority, affective fantasies and paternal symbolic depictions in The merchant of Venice

Abstract

This essay presents a minute analysis of the motifs and constellations that represent inwardness, affective fantasies and symbolic figurations of the paternal figure, re-imagined by Antonio in Shylock. There is an obscure anxiety and sadness felt by Antonio in the very beginning of the play, which can be directly related to the representation of the paternal figure in Shylock. The essay demonstrates how the cause of anxiety regarding the paternal figure is mirrored and doubled in three characters’ feelings, emotions and anxieties in the play, Portia, Jessica and Lancelot.