We need to recognise that this quote, that comes from Act
III scene 5, is not said seriously, and is part of a scene that comes as something of a
comic interlude between Launcelot, Jessica and Lorenzo whilst the real action is about
to take place in Venice. Launcelot, opening the scene, expresses his fear that, based on
the contemporary belief that the sins of the father are handed down through the
generations, Jessica is damned because of her father and his sins. However, this is said
ironically, and not seriously, for note how Jessica responds to this
taunt:
I shall
be saved by my husband. He hath made me a
Christian.
This of course
indicates the kind of light-hearted, irreverent tone that dominates this scene that
provides us with comic relief. Launcelot throughout the play plays the role of a kind of
clown whose purpose is primarily to amuse and to make the audience laugh with his
irreverence and his attitude to life. This is just one more example of this in the
play.
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