Portia’s character is full of irreconcilable differences. Explore the representation of Portia in the
light of this comment.
One of the most classic pieces of comedy-drama is The Merchant Of Venice by William
Shakespeare. The play depicts Antonio, an antisemitic merchant who takes a loan from a Jewish
moneylender for his friend in the multicultural trading hub of Venice. Despite the title, ‘The Merchant of
Venice’, suggesting Antonio as a protagonist, Portia can be seen as a memorable character. Shakespeare
establishes an independent and intelligent female Portia to resolve the main problem of the play.
However, various dramatic features imply her limerence towards love, exposing the paradoxes. In the
play Merchant of Venice, Portia’s irreconcilable characteristics are presented by her hostility towards her
father’s rules, gifting of a wedding ring, and doubts about Bassanio’s priorities.
Initially, Portia is introduced as an assertive and independent female by the use of tone and
imagery. During her first monologue, she laments, “O me, the word “choose!” I may neither choose
whom I would nor refuse” (1.2.19~20). She outwardly expresses her opinion of hostility towards her
confined role under the rules of her father. Appealing to the earnest emotion, Shakespeare indicates
Portia’s discontentment with the oppressive rules regarding her freedom of choice. From the repetition of
the word ‘choose’, a bitter tone is established which evokes a sense of despair and suffocation that she
feels towards the strictly limited procedure of getting assigned a life partner. Instead of succumbing
silently to her father’s will, Portia is rather criticizing the powerless position she has as a woman, who
naturally is under the control of their father until they are handed to another man during the sixteenth
century. This suggests her self-determination as she expresses opposition to what is considered typical of
a woman, who is susceptible to controlling men. Furthermore, she communicates contempt towards one
of the eligible suitors of the casket test as she would “rather be married to a death’s-head with a bone in
his mouth” (1.2.42~43). Here, vivid imagery of her marrying an inhumane creature is used when
imposing her alternative of marrying a wealthy suitor of County Palatine. The ‘death’ symbolizes the
gruesome end, distant from a lovely romance that relates to the concept of marriage. Moreover, the ‘bone’
supplements this since it reminds of skeletal remains of the dead as the last parting bridge of life and
death. Illustrating an authentic description of a gloomy creature conveys an assertive tone that reveals her
boldness as she accepts a somber marriage to avoid marrying a partner who she simply does not love.
Although all of the suitors are powerful and immensely prosperous in their positions as Princes and Lords,
Portia does not judge them by their level of affluence. Her firm attitude towards marriage advocates her
intellectuality when judging a person. Unlike most women, who seek marriage to an affluent family
regardless of their feelings of love due to social pressures, Portia upholds the radical feminist
characteristics prioritizing her feelings for a man with an astute eye when choosing a life partner.
Altogether, the use of tone and imagery explicitly develops Portia to a radical feminist when she resists
the marriage manipulation of her dead father.
On the next occasion, during Portia’s monologue, allusion and symbolism mark the value of
romantic love to her as a typical woman. Waiting for Bassanio to choose the right casket, Portia mentions
Bassanio as an ancient Greek god and voices “Go, Hercules!” (3.2.60). Portia’s speech hints at the irony
of her traits contradicting the introduction of the play. The monologue cites God ‘Hercules’, a robust man
who fought with the sea monsters for the Troyan Princesses. By referring Bassanio to Hercules and
herself the Trojan princess, Portia implies a desire for romance by depicting the brave and faithful warrior
who could save her from all of her uneasiness. As she fails to hide her lust to find a loving husband who
can save her from her tyrannical father like in a classical romantic fiction story, this elucidates the
characteristics of a love-craving girl. Regardless of the wealth and strong mind she possesses, she still
seeks for a lover which makes her not very different from the conventional women at the time.
Additionally, after Bassanio successfully selects the right casket, Portia hands him a ring and announces,
“when you part from, lose, or give away, let it presage the ruin of your love” (3.2.172~173). There is
connotative diction in the ambiguous words ‘let it’, as it implies her obsession with love. As she mentions
the consequences of losing the ring, she indirectly signifies that absence of the ring will evoke her
grievance. Also, the exchange of the ring symbolizes the eternal promise of love and its existence
highlights the commitment of love between the couple. Nevertheless, the scene only implies Portia giving
the ring to Bassanio, not an exchange. This could emphasize her excessive affection for Bassanio,
wanting to have control over him, to make him love her back no matter what. These explain her egotistic
desire wanting a tangible confirmation of his love for her. Overall, the marriage scene acknowledges the
value and obsession of love Portia possesses which is paradoxical to her individualistic mindset with the
use of allusion and symbolism.
In the end, the interaction of Portia and Bassanio at the end of the court scene confirms the self
centered manner of Portia with the use of diction. Pretending to be Doctor Balthazar, Portia asks for
Bassanio’s ring which she had given during their marriage as she comments, “you shouldn't deny me this
ring” (4.1. 235). Portia uses an insistent tone in the words 'shouldn't deny’ to seduce Bassanio to give the
wedding ring away. The writer employs this as her attempt to test the trust and love of her husband
towards her. By trying to test her husband and wanting constant confirmation of love, Portia is framed as
a classic feminine character of the sixteenth century; stereotypically, women were more subject to the
feelings of love. Whilst she devotes all to Bassanio and his friend to help them out of a life-threatening
situation, she does not show confidence in the fidelity of her husband. The anxiety that Bassanio’s loyalty
towards his friend is superior to his love towards her is exposed by her tone. Consequently, Shakespeare
accentuates that even the most powerful female in the play, Portia, is bound to the concept of love above
independence and boldness, which contrast the conventional women at the time, by the use of diction.
Overall, Portia’s hostility to an arranged marriage, exchange of rings, and seducing her husband
to give away their wedding ring attributes to portray her contradicting traits. Shakespeare utilizes various
literary devices and tones to develop a wise and love-thirsty female, Portia. The enrichment of the ironic
qualities Portia eventually leads to saving both Antonio from death and Bassanio courting Portia as she
exhibits her love and intelligence. The play meets its ending as the court case closes with a merciful
judgment to Antonio. The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare presents a three-dimensional
character of Portia, leaving a memorable impression; it remarks the influence of love on a character.