Shylock refuses, as he wants to take his revenge on the Christians who have criticized him because he is a Jew. Again, this shows his ruthless, cold side; he has no remorse. Portia asks to have a surgeon by his side, just in case Antonio bleeds to death. Portia then reads the bond and discovers that Shylock is only allowed to take one pound of Antonio's flesh. She tells him that he can take his pound of flesh on the condition that he takes exactly one pound of flesh and only flesh. No blood shall be shed. Now we know that this is near enough impossible, to cut a part of someones body, and to have no blood spillages, and how can he cut exactly one pound of flesh? Of course he is going to go over the limit or below the limit, no one is that accurate.
Shylock is forced to forfeit the bond; if he does go outside the conditions then he too will be punished. Since he forfeited the bond, but threatened the life on a Venetian, Shylock was forced to give up his money, half to Antonio the other half to the general state. Antonio takes pity on the Jew and declines his half of the money, he tells the court that Shylock can keep his money, but on the condition that he change into Christianity and leaves his money to his daughter on his death. The Jew painfully agrees. So he has now lost it all. He started out as a character that, near enough, had it all.
Riches, a stable business, good daughter, but then some reality kicked in, and knocked him off his floating cloud. His daughter runs away, with a Christian, and steals money from him, and that precious ring that Shylock said he would never give away for all the riches in the world. The men, who were Antonio, Bassanio and Gratiano, gratefully thank doctor Balthasar, Portia, and her clerk, Nerissa; they offer them anything they desire. Portia and Nerissa both ask for Bassanio's and Gratiano's rings. Reluctantly they hand it to them, as it was a present from their wives who told them never to lose it.
Portia and Nerissa...