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Merchant Of Venice Portia Analysis

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Portia as a daughter in Merchant of Venice Portia in ‘Merchant of Venice one of the strongest and wisest characters found in William Shakespeare’s play. In this tragic comedy, Portia uses her creativity and wit to save the life of her husband’s best friend, Antonio. Portia’s father has passed, leaving her with a stunning inheritance. This beautiful, wealthy bachelorette is now the sought-after prize for many a young suitor. In fact, young, eligible suitors travel from other countries to win her hand in marriage. Portia knows who she loves, a young man named Bassanio. She hopes he will pursue her. However, there is a hitch. Her father has made it mandatory that the suitor who wins her hand pass a test. There are three chests, one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. Each chest comes with an inscription: The gold box says, 'Who chooses me shall gain what many men desire. The silver box says, 'Who chooses me shall get as much as he deserves', and the lead box says, 'Who chooses me must give and hazard all he hath. Only one chest holds her picture, and if the suitor chooses wisely, he will win her hand in marriage. Portia, on the other hand, struggles with her personal destiny being controlled by her dead father. There is a real possibility that a man …show more content…

Bassanio himself is something of an enigma Portia speaks very flatteringly of him but we see little of him other than as part of the Venetian boys about town who gather around the rich Antonio, really just parasites. Indeed he is already in debt to Antonio and wants to borrow considerably more to gamble on securing 'a lady richly left.' A bit of a chancier, it would appear. True, he does warn Antonio against Shylock's proposal and stands by him when things go wrong, but otherwise it is difficult to see why Portia seems so girlishly infatuated by him as he prepares to take the casket test. Pure physical attraction it certainly looks like

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