This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Is it just me, or did the ending always seem to be Shakespeare's best attempt at an audience-appropriate "happy ending" for Shylock as well? He loses his fortune - to his daughter - and his religion as well, but he keeps his life and there is always the chance of reconciliation (and given that his daughter's betrayal always seemed more important than the money she took with her, that might be the better ending for him as well). Alternatively, I could be reading more into Shakespeare than he put into it.
