Re: the forced conversion, I don't think that would have been seen as so out-of-line at the time (from the point of view of Elizabethan society, I mean; it was certainly an awful thing for real-life Jewish people who experienced it). I am not that up on the history but I think that Jewishness was seen as something you could "get over" (which is why Jessica can be a heroine and there's no problem with her marrying a Gentile, from the Gentiles' point of view).
I've read a couple of reviews (both linked here in the comments) from LJ users that talk about how different the play is to audiences now than it was to audiences then. I can totally agree with this, but yeah... that scene killed a tiny part of me watching it. It was clear that the "Christian" viewpoint actually thought it was being merciful, and that was what made it so terrifying.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-06-21 02:34 pm (UTC)I've read a couple of reviews (both linked here in the comments) from LJ users that talk about how different the play is to audiences now than it was to audiences then. I can totally agree with this, but yeah... that scene killed a tiny part of me watching it. It was clear that the "Christian" viewpoint actually thought it was being merciful, and that was what made it so terrifying.