Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Gender discrimination within the merchants of venice
Gender discrimination within the merchants of venice
The merchant of venice analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Gender discrimination within the merchants of venice
While reading The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, the character of Portia caught my eye and stole my heart. As a woman of power, wealth and beauty, she is seen as the ultimate prized possession for many suitors from widespread nations. It seems, based of in-class discussions, that women in Shakespearean times usually were not highly educated or considered elite in any manner. The exception to this is women of royalty who gained their title through marriage or when the male of the household dies. Portia, the heiress to the throne after the death of her father, is a complex character portrayed beautifully through the eloquent writing of Shakespeare.
Portia is first introduced in Act 1, Scene 1 in a conversation between Antonio and Bassanio. Bassanio begins describing a fair woman who is wealthy beyond reason. He states, “For the four winds blow in in from every coast, renowned suitors; and her sunny locks hang on her temples like golden fleece.” She is the one with golden hair that everyone desires to call his or her own. She is then compared to Portia, the beautiful and wealthy daughter of Cato and wife of Brutus from Roman times. Bassanio wishes to marry her, but needs money to compete against the richer men, which is the reason he borrows money from Shylock on Antonio’s “credit”. This one scene sets up the entire plot of the play from Bassanio needing money to him successfully wooing Portia to Antonio’s failure to repay Shylock and the court fiasco to the ending where Bassanio’s true love for Portia is put to the test when she asks for his ring as payment for saving his best friend’s life.
In Scene 2, Portia is engaging in a private conversation concerning her future in regards to marriage with Nerissa, her servant. R...
... middle of paper ...
...ves he may be more dedicated to Antonio as a friend than he is to her as a husband. Even though Bassanio is hesitant to give the ring up, he still does, and Portia feels distraught that he values Antonio over her. She truly cares for Bassanio and understands the importance of a close friendship, but also believes he should not have disrespected their love and promise by giving away her ring.
The court scene is extremely long, but is one of the main sections of the play in which Portia is portrayed as something other than a beautiful queen. Shakespeare chose to develop Portia into a rounded character with multiple facets, from beauty and brains and power and passion. Her presence in the play contributes greatly to the plot, as without her, Antonio would have died, Bassanio would be left without a wife and Shylock would still be the nasty old Jew he has always been.
Portia’s Father had created a law that allowed her only to marry the man that chooses the correct casket. Her father had known what was right for her before he passed. He instituted a law that would guide her to be the person who she was meant to become. As well as to marry the man that she was destined to be with. The father-child relationship between Portia and her father, is one that cannot be beat. Even though her father was not actually with her, he had made it that she would become the best version of
Women As Propriety In Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice and The Taming Of the Shrew
Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice exemplifies a principle that is as unfortunately true in our time as it was in his - he who has money also has love, sex, and above all, power. In this case, the use of 'he' is deliberate; 'she,' in the Elizabethan era, rarely had either financial independence or much control over the course of her life. Portia, the deceitful heroine of the play, is a major exception. To put it bluntly, Portia is enormously rich. This unique position allows her to meddle in the affairs of the unsuspecting and somewhat dim male characters, and eventually gives her unprecedented power of self-determination. However, the play is more than a tale of feminine wiles overcoming male dullness of wit. Portia's wealth and intelligence may fuel her successes in marriage and the courtroom, but in each case it is her ability to usurp traditionally masculine roles that guarantees her victory. As Portia exploits the codependence of wealth, masculinity, and public power in her society, she becomes the only woman in the play who consistently controls her own destiny.
Portia play’s a major role in trying to persuade Shylock to be merciful to Antonio, as the story continues. Basannio, the loyal friend of Antonio also tries to persuade Shylock to show some sympathy towards Antonio, but is not shown.
His love for Portia blinds him of the fact that possessions do not always bring others close to you. Later, this decline in moral values is seen when Portia pretends to like the Prince of Morocco, one of her suitors, by inviting him to dinner, but later reveals her true opinion of him after he chooses the golden casket. Once the Prince of Morocco leaves Portia's house, after picking the wrong casket, Portia expresses her feelings concerning the outcome, "A gentle riddance. Draw the curtains : go. / Let all of his complexion choose me so," (II.vii.78-79). Portia's hope that anyone with the prince's dark colour chooses the wrong casket shows her low morals in that she does not want to marry any of them. Through deceiving the prince, Portia's displays her prejudice towards the prince's race. These examples show how deception, as seen through love, leads to a decline in the moral values of
There you have it. Portia is Bassanio's. This may be idle lover's talk; however, it does signify the beginning of a possessive relationship in which Bassanio is the possessor!
We see how she is manipulated by men through her father, who though dead, still manages to control who she marries from his will. He states in his will that from three different caskets the suitors will have to chose, in each of which will contain either a letter to the suitor or a picture of Portia. In one of the three caskets, either the lead, silver or gold casket, there will be a picture of Portia the suitor picking the casket containing the picture will be the suitor who will get to marry Portia. ‘I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father’ this shows that Portia would rather have a say as to who she gets to choose rather than being told who she has to marry. She overcomes that after two suitors who she wishes not to marry choose the wrong casket letting her know which casket contains her picture, so that when Bassanio becomes a suitor and she falls for him she is able to hint to him which casket to choose:
It develops the character of Portia as being someone madly in love with another person. It is clear to me that she is in love with Bassiano. She talks about how she could teach Bassiano how to choose right, but she can’t because of her father’s will. To me, she is really sick. It advances the plot so that the love Portia has for Bassiano, and the love that Bassiano has for Portia, can be more looked at.
All through history, the role of women and their place in the general public has tremendously changed. William Shakespeare’s Othello was established during a time period where the role of women and their collective value were downgraded in the Venetian and Elizabethan era. During the Venetian era women were dominated by their sexual orientation. The Venetian era had a patriarchal society. In a patriarchal society, the father is the head of the household and men have authority over women and children. During the Elizabethan era the conduct toward women was vicious. Women were considered second class citizens. Males only consider women as possession, who is obligated to remain submissive and meek. Additionally, women are expected to be quiet, obedient to male figures, and chaste. Women were either considered a good wife or a whore. There are only three women in Othello; Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. Desdemona is the passive wife of Othello who has a quite idealistic take on life and marriage. Emilia is the cynical, perceptive women who seem to have a bitter take on her marriage to Iago. Bianca is portrayed as the whore of the play, and she has relations with Cassio. Although, each woman varies in roles and personality, they all had a common trait; they lived in a patriarchal society and suffered together. Each of them live in a society where it was ideal to think women were psychologically and physiologically inferior to men, however in reality each of them knew their role in society.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
Everyone is deceived and believes Portia is truly a man therefore showing that she has the capabilities to exert the traits of a man. Portia is described as the “wise young judge” (IV, I, 228) and an “excellent young man” (IV, I, 252) by Shylock showing that he believes in the gender identity of Balthazar. Bassanio, Portia’s husband, is also fooled as he states that Antonio’s life is more valuable to him than Portia. Her credibility in turn gives her power over the men in the scene. She is able to use the balances of justice along with her knowledge in order to save Antonio. The turn in this scene is when she repeats, “A pound of flesh” (IV, I, 315) and states the specific words used in the document as no blood can be dropped from Antonio or else Shylock will be punished and strikes fear into Shylock. This shows that it is possible for a woman to obtain the masculine qualities of being powerful and intellectual. If Portia were to have not dressed as a man, but merely a woman, due to the social constructs of the time she would not have had any power in this situation. Portia tells Bassanio “I pray you, know me when we meet again” (IV, I, 432) which shows her feelings towards Bassanio not knowing her true identity, even through her disguise. Her actions were that of her individual, but due to her altering her appearance of gender it changed the way others viewed her
From the first time Portia is introduced, she is depicted as a very smart woman. In the beginning, she is searching for a husband that has more in his head than money and beauty. Portia and her companion, Nerissa, talk about the flaws of all her suitors and she makes it very clear that she is looking for an honorable man who will love her for who she is and not for her money. She also finds that “If it be proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts, he seek the life of any citizen, the party against the which he doth contrive shall seize one-half his goods” (Act IV.
With two drastically different relationships with their spouses, analysis of Portia and Calpurnia’s relationships and care for their husbands leads one to see that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character. Although both couples equally loved each other, the ways in which they reacted and influenced each other differed greatly.
and she wants to marry him. Bassanio, by choosing a. to risk everything he has, shows the effects that true love can have on someone. I will be there. True love can conquer any fears or apprehensions you may have. He was willing to risk everything he had in order to show his love for Portia.
Shakespeare highlights three of Portia’s suitors, the Prince of Morocco, the Prince of Arragon and Bassanio. He does this to heighten dramatic tension, as these three men are the most important candidates to win Portia’s hand in marriage. They reveal the contents of the three caskets and their different characters as exposed as being proud, vain and humble. They also emphasise the racial prejudices of Venice a place where many races clash. Their attitudes towards the caskets and their choices indicate what their character is like. This essay will compare and contrast the three suitors and will explore how Shakespeare influences the audience’s attitudes towards the three men.