The Merchant of Venice Shylock Quotes

Shylock

Quote 19

SHYLOCK.
Why there, there, there, there! A diamond gone, cost me
two thousand ducats in Frankfort! The curse never fell upon our
nation till now; I never felt it till now. Two thousand ducats in
that, and other precious, precious jewels. I would my daughter
were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear; would she were
hears'd at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin! (3.1.8)

Shylock really dogs his daughter here, wishing she were dead at his feet so he could have his things back. 

In one way, it seems clear that he loves his wealth more than he loves Jessica. But in another respect, Jessica has made her choice. Salerio and Solanio have reinforced that the girl thought herself to be unlike him and deserted him. She has made him the laughingstock of Venice and left him entirely alone. 

Shylock too must make a choice. If he had been the sensitive kind of guy, Jessica might not have left him in the first place. Instead, he's got to piece his life back together, so he bemoans the one thing that can't actually desert him of its own accord. Money is all he's got left, so he chooses to focus on that rather than mourn the daughter who abandoned him.