Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) father's casket of Ducats, motivates Shylock's vengefulness towards Antonio; she serves as a mirror highlighting the differences between Shylock's Jewish household and Portia's Christian one; and serves as the means by which Shylock is forcibly converted to Christianity. Her first appearance on stage is in Act 2, Scene 3, in a brief scene with Launcelot Gobbo. Gobbo is leaving Shylock's service to give his allegiance to Bassiano, and Jessica bemoans the loss of his company in a household that is "hell". She speeds him along, to avoid her father seeing their interaction, with a Ducat as a parting gift and
James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro (born September 11, 1955) is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University who specialises in Shakespeare and the Early Modern period. Shapiro has served on the faculty at Columbia University since 1985, teaching Shakespeare and other topics, and he has published widely on Shakespeare and Elizabethan culture. Shapiro was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Midwood High School. He obtained his B.A. at Columbia University in 1977, Master's degree in 1978 and Ph.D. at University of Chicago in 1982. After teaching at Dartmouth College and Goucher College, Shapiro