I do believe Shylock is the villian of the play. When someone is a villian, they work towards hurting and or angering the other main characters of the novel which he does by all means. He takes it all out on Antonio mostly just because he's angered with his daughter for running from him. If he wouldn't of disrespected her and treated her badly, she wouldnt of left. He values his fortune over his family, which causes him to make such evil actions and deals. He goes after all Christians steriotyping them together when in reality, not all of them have affected him or caused his family to turn against him. Shylock definitely should be characterized as the villian of The Merchant of Venice.