Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) critics have historically viewed the character negatively, highlighting her theft of her father's gold, her betrayal of his trust, and her apparently selfish motivations and aimless behaviour. In her 1980 survey, "In Defense of Jessica: The Runaway Daughter in "The Merchant of Venice"", Camille Slights calls out Arthur Quiller-Couch's opinion in the 1926 "The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare" as an extreme but representative example: Slights sees this as a consequence of sympathetic readings of Shylock, where the play is seen primarily as exposing Christian hypocrisy, and his actions merely natural responses to ostracism and prejudice. In such a reading Jessica's
Jessica Bendinger Jessica Bendinger Jessica Bendinger (born November 10, 1966) is an American screenwriter and novelist. She has written several films, including 2000's "Bring It On", 2004's "First Daughter" and 2006's "Aquamarine". She was also a writer and creative consultant for "Sex and the City", as well as a producer of the 2005 film "The Wedding Date", starring Debra Messing. She also wrote and directed "Stick It", released in April 2006 as her directorial debut. Bendinger is a former model who worked for designer Stephen Sprouse and appeared on the runway in the film "Slaves of New York". She was named by