[Year of first publication] 1596 [Character(s)] Shylock. Jessica [Work] The Merchant of Venice [Creator] William Shakespeare [Country of publication] England [Details] Shylock is "the most famous Jewish character in English" and embodies a number of the negative stereotypes of Jews.[15] Shylock's daughter Jessica, inspired by Marlowe's Abigail in The Jew of Malta,[16] converts to Christianity, although the conversion is questioned by other characters and represents the cultural ambivalence that the belief espoused by a "beautiful Jewess" may be simply superficial.[17] [Media] 
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