The Merchant of Venice is set in a heavily male, and christian controlled society, where women and other religions, aren’t recognized, and thought of as less . During the play, Portia, an underestimated wealthy woman from Belmont, whose whole life had been controlled by different christian men, ultimately uses her unrealized wit, linguistic manipulation, and knowledge to surpass and save the men in her life.
Portia’s father is an obvious example of men controlling her life, which she later overcomes through her wit and linguistic powers. Even though Portia’s father is dead, he still decides whom Portia will marry through his will: His will states that all of Portia’s suitors must choose from three different caskets, gold, silver, and lead, the correct one containing Portia’s portrait, in order to marry her. Portia describes her sadness concerning her predicament, saying “O, me, the word “choose”! I/ may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I/ Dislike. So is the will of a living daughter curbed by/ the will of a dead father…” (Act 1 scene 2 lines 22-25). Here, Portia is saying that in the end it doesn’t matter whether or not she likes the suitor, it all comes down to her father’s will. Portia continues to explain to Nerissa saying “Is it not hard, Nerissa, that/ I cannot choose, nor refuse none?” (Act 1 scene 2 lines 25-26). Here she is referring to her not being given a choice in who she actually wants to marry. After two suitors who Portia dislikes choose incorrectly, and Portia falls in love with Bassanio, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Before Bassanio chooses from the caskets, Portia uses her eloquence, to hint to Bassanio which casket to pick, by singing a song, and rhyming the words “bred”, “head”, ...
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...and above,/ in love and service to you evermore” (Act 4 scene 1 lines). It’s very ironic that they’re saying this to Bassanio’s wife Portia. Finally when Portia tricks Bassanio into giving up the ring she gave him, she once again uses her wit and cleverness to gain advantage over a man. Ultimately, by tricking him she gets him to swear that “[he] never more will break an oath with thee.” (Act 5 scene 1 line 267). It’s clear that Portia’s going to be in charge of this marriage.
Even though Portia is constrained by society and the rules in place, she still manages to bend them, to her own advantage. She ends up with taking care of everyone and making everyone happy. When none of the men could even save themselves, let alone from a woman. If I were to cast Portia, It would be interesting to have a man play Portia, because it would showcase gender stereotypical themes.
...rs in the play) to function as the spokesperson for the law suggests that rather than an attack on the female sex, The Merchant of Venice subtly questions patriarchal assumptions about women.
Critique Of The Constancy Upon Women At The Time in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
Marriages everywhere have their troubles, yet everyone is able to relate to other couples problems. By looking at A Delicate Balance and The Merchant of Venice we will see their perspective on how marriages have changed over time of the martial relationship. After getting an overview of these books we will then apply it to present day and see if anything really has changed. The marriages I’ll be analyzing is Bessanio and Portia from The Merchant of Venice and Tobia ad Agnes from A Delicate Balance. By examining Bessanio’s behavior towards Portia and Tobia’s toward Agnes, we can see how the role of the husband has changed from emotional support and conversations to the development of the wives having bigger roles.
...deceit, due to her beautiful ambiance yet her secret intelligence. William Shakespeare not only reveals a lot regarding the characters in the story, but the readers understand his perspectives regarding gender inequality. It is definitely well known that he does not believe neither gender is better than one another. Additionally, he does not believe that woman lack intelligence or smartness, he believes their brains are equivalent to men's. Furthermore, William Shakespeare incorporates Portia into the story to promote the message that if people want to prove something, it does not have to be to anyone, besides themselves, and that is extremely significant to the story as well as life in general. So overall, The Merchant of Venice promotes the message, using Portia representing deceit, that gender inequality as well as proving oneself is irrelevant and not important.
Othello, the Moor of Venice is one of the major tragedies written by William Shakespeare that follows the main character, Othello through his trials and tribulations. Othello, the Moor of Venice is similar to William Shakespeare’s other tragedies and follows a set of specific rules of drama. The requirements include, following the definition of a tragedy, definition of tragic hero, containing a reversal of fortune, and a descent from happiness. William Shakespeare fulfills Aristotle’s requirements in this famous play.
Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine comment in the Introduction to Shakespeare: Othello that sexism is a big factor in the play:
...ligent, and sometimes vicious character, in her society it is not acceptable for her to be a strong, intelligent, vicious woman. Sadly, Portia's public image must remain that of her speech in Act III. Though she will have ultimate control over herself and her husband, she still must call herself "an unlessoned girl," hiding her true authority under a thin mask of submission. Ironically, it is only when Portia dons a disguise that we see her as she truly is - a shrewd, calculating judge, willing to convict and sentence not only the inadequate suitor or the much-abused Jew, but also her own unsuspecting husband.
The first part of the play is structured so as the reader to sense the build-up of tension taking place before the death of Caesar, reaching its climax with the assassination of Caesar and, later, when the angry mob attacks Cinna the poet, in Act III Scene III. This increasing tension is deeply related with one of the main themes of the play, “Fate versus Free Will”, because, all along with the different omens that are revealed by different characters in the course of the play, it contributes to the idea that some things are sort of pre-established, like if there was a superior power deciding the destiny of the characters .The play seems to support a philosophy in which fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence. Portia and Calpurnia, representing Women, are an important part of this theme since, in the beginning of the play; they are the ones that are more frightened about what may happen to their husbands. Portia fears something terrible would be taking place because of the strange behaviour her husband was having at the time. Calpurnia, on the other hand, is a character in deep relation with this theme, due to the dreams she has foreseeing the death of her husband:
Bassanio was so grateful towards Balthazar that he was able to place Balthazar of above importance to Portia his wife. Portia then compares Bassanio giving up her beloved ring to if she were to give her body to the doctor as a parallel. Prior to the men being made aware of Portia and Nerissa’s disguises, they explain their reasoning’s as a necessity. Once Bassanio and Gratiano know the truth, they apologize with fear as they now know the power these two women posses. Gratiano ends the play by stating “I’ll fear no other thing so sore as keeping safe Nerissa’s ring” (V, I, 324-325). Gender roles are now reversed as the play concludes which shows that gender itself is a social construct and is not
I would love to write a critical essay about the role of Portia in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, hailing her as one of Shakespeare's greatest contributions to the society of the sane; however, I find this impossible after studying the text. At first, I hung on her every word and was amazed at her wit, but later I found her to be just another Shakespearean psycho. Basically, I understood Portia to be nothing less than an obedient daughter obeying the whims of her dead, over-protective father. She speaks in terms of respect about the coffinritual, and the reader believes her to be sincere. Later as her character
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
Throughout Shakespeare’s various works, it has been observed that he rarely uses females in his literature, but when he does, he uses them for a distinct purpose, as is evident in Julius Caesar. By defying the societal standards of her gender and showing genuine interest in her husband’s thoughts and feelings, Portia, the wife of Brutus, reveals key aspects of his character while adding depth to the story. For her time, Portia was a woman who both respected herself and took pride in herself, without allowing society to make a mark on her. This is evident when she states, “Think you I am no stronger than my sex/ Being so father'd and so husbanded?" (Port...
flesh and blood, hates him so much that she robs him and runs away to
Women of the late 16th century were subjected to patriarchal ways and not granted the same rights and privileges as males. Yet, Shakespeare gives women in The Merchant of Venice significant roles in controlling the fates of all of the other characters. Portia and Nerissa cleverly disguise themselves as an esteemed lawyer and clerk, respectively, and interpret the law in such a way that Antonio and Bassanio are saved from Shylock’s bond, while Shylock is forced into a position of utter humiliation. The William’s Center for the Arts takes The Merchant of Venice and amplifies the play’s feminist qualities, not only through context of the play and performance, but also through gender-blind casting.
Bassanio knows that he’d be leaving his newly wedded wife at home, alone, to be with a friend. Antonio also wants to know whether Bassanio will come to his death and resolve between the two. This fuels the fire of Portia’s want to be Bassanio’s only love. At the end of Act III, Portia configures a plan: rather than pulling Bassanio away from Antonio, she decides that she will help Antonio. Portia therefore decides that she will give Bassanio the money, in double, to bring back to Venice to conserve Antonio’s life. As a result of this, Bassanio will be indebted to her. Portia later