view that dreams are not at all related to reality. Of course, Shakespeare himself did believe in the force of fate (a force that was supernatural). And, as events later indicate, Shylock should indeed worry about his money.
When Shylock hears that Christian masque- like entertainments will be performed that night, with revelers parading by his house, he orders Jessica to stay inside and close the windows. Shylock is against anything that is even remotely associated with Christianity. Of course, he does not realize that Jessica is planning to take part in her own “masque” that night and that she later intends to become aChristian.
As Lancelot exits, he whispers to Jessica that she should look out of the window that night because Lorenzo will be cominglater.
After Lancelot has gone, Shylock criticizes him by calling him “a fool of Hagar’s offspring” (42). This is anallusionto anOld Testamentstory. In the Book ofGenesis, Hagar was the second wife of Abraham but was forced to leave him and run away because of ill treatment at the hands of Abraham’s first wife. Hagar’s son was Ishmael, who became leader to a tribe of people know as Ishmaelites. Shylock uses the expression “Hagar’s offspring” to refer to the Ishmaelites, which suggests any people who are not Israelites or Jews. Hagar and Ishmael are outcasts in the eyes of Shylock, and Shylock negatively views all Christians to be worthless outcasts aswell.