Antonio, a deconstruction of “true friendship”

Hernán M. Coronel – Language and Culture IV Night class - 2014 Antonio, a deconstruction of true friendship Homosexuality and homoerotism have been present in Literature since the times of the A ie t Greeks. Cou tless are the hara ters ho ha e pro ou ed as uli e lo e as the ulti ate e pressio of true lo e. Fro the orks of Greek philosophers such as Plato, to modern writers such as Reynaldo Arenas, the average reader can find a plethora of homoerotic imagery silently intertwined in the cultural contexts of virtually every famous piece. Hence, it should come as no surprise that said average reader can perceive such silences lurking in the background of “hakespeare’s pla s. The spectator/reader gets to see Antonio for the first time in Act 1, Scene 1 where he expresses to his friends present at the scene (Salarino and Solanio, only two of the apparently many male frie ds A to io has that he is terri l sad . Ho e er, A to io is at least o s iousl unaware of the reason for his sadness. After denying wealth and love for a woman as possible causes for the hara ter’s er urial ood, the spe tator/reader is rapidly made to shift the focus of atte tio to the er ha t’s true frie d : Basa io. The ou g a has o e to A to io for, basically, money. One is informed at this point of the fact that not only has Basanio resorted to Antonio for coin in the past, but also that the merchant is willing to give it to his friend freely over and over again. It is not by chance that, having invested all his money in ships and trades abroad, Antonio decides to ask for a loan to the very man he detests most; the Jew Shylock. The er ha t’s inclination to run a life-threate i g risk akes, i his e es, his sa rifi e for Basa io’s happi ess all the ore real. A epti g “h lo k’s ridi ulousl sui idal deal sets the ar high o A to io’s i age as a ge erous frie d . He offers his o flesh (literally) to Shylock, when in fact, to my mind, he is offering it to Basanio himself. It goes without saying that the er ha t’s ge erosit a d self-sacrifice (even at the risk of his own life) are a declaration of love, the romantic literature ki d, to his frie d . Instances of self-sa rifi e for Basa io are e er here he it o es to stud i g A to io’s attitude throughout the pla . It see s al ost as if the er ha t is su je ted to the ill of the ou g a . While withstanding trial, Antonio is unable to present a defense in his name. Is he to appalled by his loses, economically speaking? Is it that he is too furious to see himself trapped by the will of his sworn enemy? Is it that he is just tired of fighting his fight, because he knows in his gut he is most definitely going to lose? Or just none of the above? M i terpretatio of A to io’s eha ior duri g the trial s e e is that he reall WANT“ to e ripped of the famous pound of flesh. Giving up his life for his friend in such a tragic way would serve him way better than to win the trial. After all, he now knows that he can never gain Basanio back. The ou g a has fou d his lo e e e though all the e ide e poi ts out it’s a convenience marriage, but we would need a whole other essay to explore that one) in Belmont, and marriage ill take Basa io a a fro A to io’s side fore er. 1 Hernán M. Coronel – Language and Culture IV Night class - 2014 Beyond the hints at Antonio being older than Basanio, the Venetian merchant behaves in a rather adoles e t a . “hari g the tee age i pulses of Ro eo o e of “hakespeare’s ost fa ous and beloved characters), Antonio seems to be always taking the wrong turns in favor of this one friend whom he surely loves most. We could say that the merchant could very well fit the profile of the romantic hero, even though Romanticism had not been even born by the time the play was written. Antonio represents tragedy and melancholy in equal parts, within a context that is mostly comical. He seems to be ever sad, ever suffering, ever waiting for something that will never come, a d it e er does. A to io is, as a atter of fa t, the o l ai good ale hara ter hose stor does not end up in marriage. The Christian seems to be destined to continue on his lonesome path, his sad ess u resol ed. Within this state of affairs, the post- oder reader/spe tator a easil oti e A to io’s resemblance resemblance with other well-known homoerotic characters from literature; Orlando, Jacques Collin a.k.a. Vautrin a.k.a. Trompe-la-Mort, Basil Hallward, René Teleny, etc. Most of these characters represented le-non-die within their literary universes. Most of them went by without speaking their minds about their true selves, who they truly loved and, most importantly, how they truly loved them. In sum, the character of Antonio is certainly sketched in the direction of homoerotism. Even though he is not referred to as straight-forward homosexual, his actions speak for himself. Not only by means of his way of relating to Basanio, but as for the way he is depicted, the merchant is deprived of all possible happiness, which is in accord with the way Elizabethan society dealt with the matter of homosexuality. Many different enactments of the play have been displayed on stage since the moment of its birth. It is my belief that it is ot ha e that ost of the hi ted at A to io’s ho ose ual desire for Basanio. Ne ertheless, all of those ould o l go so far. A to io’s happi ess o ti ues to elude hi ersio after ersio , for al ost 500 ears. His sad ess see s to e here to sta . Basa io’s lo e ill be forever out of his reach. Thus, the merchant of Venice remains, if not a complete silence, a whisper of that which, almost 500 years later, the i ilized orld a ot full a ept. Hernán M. Coronel 2014 2