# Jessica — The Merchant of Venice character guide

> Jessica in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** fair Jessica, gentle Jessica

**First appearance:** 0008-act-ii-scene-iii

## Snapshot

Shylock's daughter, raised inside his house and his ledger, who slips out dressed as a boy to trade one father's world for another's.

## Who they are

Jessica lives caught between her father's guarded household and the glittering Venetian society she watches from the edges. Her love for Lorenzo demands a break that is also a betrayal, taking his ring, his ducats, and herself away in a single night. She matters because her flight splits Shylock's world open, giving the play its sharpest test of loyalty, conversion, and what a daughter owes a father.

## In the story

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iii)

Expresses her disdain for her father's house, calls it 'hell,' and secretly sends a letter to Lorenzo, planning to elope and convert to Christianity.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iv)

Sends a letter to Lorenzo with plans to escape her father's house with gold and jewels.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-v)

Receives her father's keys and secretly plans to elope with Lorenzo.

### [Scene VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-vi)

Appears above in boy's clothes, throws down a casket of ducats, and descends to elope with Lorenzo.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

Arrives with Lorenzo and Salerio; confirms Shylock's vow to take Antonio's flesh rather than accept payment.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-iv)

Jessica is acknowledged as a substitute for Portia in the household management.

### [Scene V: A Garden in Belmont](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-v)

Defends her conversion to Christianity and praises Portia extravagantly, showing her contentment in her new life with Lorenzo.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/characters/jessica
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merchant_of_venice_se/characters