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Role of Portia in ‘The Merchant of Venice’

Portia’s role as both a desired commodity that is a wealthy and beautiful wife, as well as an active agent- a learned doctor who changes the outcome of the plot, embraces a character that defies and pushes against stereotypes (Sutliff-Benusis). Gender roles have been for ages been divided between men and women, and each of them had distinct roles in the society that made them unique from the other. Women from ancient times were seen as subjects and to whom were expected to stay at home and look after their children while men used to provide for the family. Women were to be submissive to men a concept that has continued to change since the rise of the feminism. During the Renaissance, a period which Shakespeare wrote the merchant of Venice, the perception about women and gender roles are similar to the ancient times when women strictly followed gender roles as dictated by the society.

In the merchant of Venice, the author brings out a character who has been used to indicate that women in the society can as well be beautiful, intelligent, powerful and above all, capable of overcoming similar challenges that are faced by men in the society (Kaplan 371). Through Portia, Shakespeare conveys the true definition of feminism through her heroic attributes. He uses qualities that surpasses other women of her time and thus a clear indication that Portia defied the societal expectation of women as well as the stereotypes placed on women. Some of the traits that can be deduced from her role include strength, perseverance, resourcefulness, and the ability put others before herself, admirable traits that surpass the renaissance culture.

Portia puts the interests of others before hers by self-sacrificing, and unlike other characters in the play, she is not concerned about money, but instead, she focuses on saving the lives of the people around her and also making peace in the two nations of Belmont and Venice (NA). Portia demonstrates that she does not love money and this can be seen by her willingness to double the amount of money to cover Antonio’s debts which he owned to Shylock, simply because she wanted to save him. Despite her generosity to double the money, she barely knows Antonio and thus a depiction that she is not interested in wealth but saving lives of the people around her and making peace. Portia’s willingness can be traced from the quote on page 298-301 that states, “Pay him six thousand, and deface the bond: Double six thousand, and then treble that, before a friend of this description shall lose a hair through Bassanio’s fault”. Portia proposes the offer due to her love for Bassanio, but this isn’t a reason to ruin her reputation that of willing to help and save a life by doing whatever is necessary. Other women in the play are portrayed as self-centred characters, especially Jessica, who are led by greed, for the hope of financial gain. Jessica steals money from her father, but instead of using the money for the right way, she wastes it by purchasing unnecessary possessions.

Fortune is money that is acquired through hard work and not through deceitful ways such as stealing. People who work for their money use it in the right way while those who rob are led by greed. People admired Portia because she left her earthly paradise and went ahead to save and help people who are suffering. Portia saw her wealth as a moral responsibility, which is in contrast from the rest of the characters such as Jessica and Bassanio for all their beauty and charm appear as frivolous members of the leisure class. Their lives are carefree and parasitic upon the labors of other hardworking people. During the trial scene, Portia disguises herself in a masculine attire, a depiction of heroism, playing the part of Duke and law clerk. During the Renaissance period, most of the women would have reservations about being involved in such circumstances, but they would rather wait for their husbands to return and take the role. Portia is willing to assist and therefore, decides to take any initiative. During that time, women were not allowed to take part in some activities, and this explains why there were no women actors in the 16th century, and as well, there were no women law clerks and lawyers. In contrast, Portia took the role because if she failed, Bassanio would have paid Shylock with his life, another incidence that portrays her willingness to help the people that were around her.

Portia displayed high intelligence and brilliance in the courtroom when she used common sense that fooled everybody, including her husband (Turner). Through this, she depicted her as an active agent, a learned person who changes the plot of the play. Portia dispels the clouding precisions as well as the intellectualities of the law court by a clear common sense. Portia’s mercy speech is an accurate reflection of Jesus teachings, and her white beam of intuition depicts that the academic intelligence is itself vulnerable and can be used as a weapon to itself. It is because of her presence in court that prevented Antonio’s exploitation by Shylock in that she manipulated the terms set upon Antonio, depicting much intelligence and knowledge in her efforts to help the less fortunate in the society. It is clear that Portia’s character defies and push against the stereotypes asserted on women as she comes out boldly, helping where she can, depicting similar capabilities to men and as well challenging masculinity. Porta, therefore, does not reinforce the traditional gender roles, but instead, she is a woman who is far much ahead of her time.

Works Cited

Kaplan, M. Lindsay. “Others and Lovers in The Merchant of Venice.” Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture(2016): 361.

NA, NA. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Springer, 2016.

Sutliff-Benusis, Alicia. Based on Shakespeare: Twenty-First Century American Film Adaptations of Shakespeare. Diss. University of Kansas, 2011.

Turner, Antonio Jo, et al. “THE MERCHANT OF VENICE 2017: COMPANY LIST.” (2017).