What were the reasons for Shylock's loneliness in Merchant of Venice?

There's not much reason to believe that Shylock is truly lonely in “The Merchant of Venice”, maybe a better word to describe his position in Venetian society is “isolated”. Shylock is isolated because he is a Jew and the Jewish society of Venice at the time was cut off by law from the Christian society and was only permitted to deal with them in very specific ways: they were forced to live in a separate...

There's not much reason to believe that Shylock is truly lonely in “The Merchant of Venice”, maybe a better word to describe his position in Venetian society is “isolated”. Shylock is isolated because he is a Jew and the Jewish society of Venice at the time was cut off by law from the Christian society and was only permitted to deal with them in very specific ways: they were forced to live in a separate ghetto to which they had to return at night and be locked in until morning, and they were only allowed to work as moneylenders, they were prohibited from holding any other kind of job. Shylock has many connections to other members of the Jewish community, though; in fact the Jewish community in the play is portrayed as being closely knit. There’s his daughter Jessica, of course, and also his friend Tubal who we meet in Act Three, and there are many references throughout the play to other Jewish friends and business associates both in Venice and abroad. The Jews are forced to live separated from Christian Venice, however, and at critical moments that leaves Shylock very isolated, particularly in the trial scene when he is surrounded by Christians and facing a biased and hostile Christian judge.