Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) usually extend and deepen existing dramatic conventions, and Jessica must be seen in a context of classical and Elizabethan conventions for such characters. Slights highlights comedies where children rebel against a miserly father, or romances where daughters defy a repressive father for love. These conventions would be familiar for both Shakespeare and an Elizabethan theatre audience, and, indeed, modern audiences tend to accept Jessica's actions as natural within the context of the plot. Her escape from Shylock's repressive household to Belmont a quest for freedom, and from misfortune to happiness. This view is supported by John Russell-Brown, the editor of
S. S. Millard S. S. Millard Sam S. Millard (also known as Elid Stanch) was a filmmaker of the 1920s through the 1950s and 1960s. Nicknamed "Steamship", he was one of the Forty Thieves of exploiters. Considered an early father of the roadshow-style exploitation film circuit, his film productions and presentations laid the groundwork for a number of later exploitation films. Millard's actual date and place of birth is unknown, but it is believed he is of Romanian descent, and was once able to pass off as Romanian nobility to a former Romanian queen. While a financially successful individual, he often gave an