The play, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, is set in the city of Venice. The main characters all struggle with the conflict of money. One of the main characters, Portia, is a wealthy Princess in Belmont. Her dead father, created a system in which Portia’s suitors must choose the correct chest in order to marry her; Bassanio choose the correct chest and wins Portia hand in marriage and her money. Bassanio is in debt and needs money in order to save the life of his friend Antonio. Throughout the story, each character constantly struggles with power. Portia starts off the play with no power as a result of her father 's instructions on how she has to marry, which bothers Portia a great deal because she has no say in who she can marry.
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Antonio did not have the money so he was forced to borrow it from a character named Shylock. After the marriage Bassanio learned that Shylock was threatening to kill Antonio if the borrowed money was not repaid. Once Portia finds out that Bassanio’s best friend’s life is in danger, she offers six times the amount needed to save his life. In order to save Antonio, she traveled to Venice with Nerissa and disguised herself as a lawyer. Her plan was to deceive Shylock into believing that she was advocating his position as a lawyer named Balthazar. It was clear that she was successful when Shylock said: “Oh, good judge! Oh, you excellent young man!” (4.1.256). This scene is a pivotal moment in the play for Portia. In this quote, Shylock is praising who he thinks to be Balthazar, but is actually Portia. Portia is very smart and knows her way around the legal system well enough to convince the court that she is a professional. She fooled Shylock into thinking that she was on his side, only to begin to state laws that hinder Shylock 's motivation to go through with his plan. She states:
“Tarry a little. There is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.” Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, But in the cutting it if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the state of Venice.” (4.1.318-325) - Portia (as Balthazar, a
Antonio did not have the money so he was forced to borrow it from a character named Shylock. After the marriage Bassanio learned that Shylock was threatening to kill Antonio if the borrowed money was not repaid. Once Portia finds out that Bassanio’s best friend’s life is in danger, she offers six times the amount needed to save his life. In order to save Antonio, she traveled to Venice with Nerissa and disguised herself as a lawyer. Her plan was to deceive Shylock into believing that she was advocating his position as a lawyer named Balthazar. It was clear that she was successful when Shylock said: “Oh, good judge! Oh, you excellent young man!” (4.1.256). This scene is a pivotal moment in the play for Portia. In this quote, Shylock is praising who he thinks to be Balthazar, but is actually Portia. Portia is very smart and knows her way around the legal system well enough to convince the court that she is a professional. She fooled Shylock into thinking that she was on his side, only to begin to state laws that hinder Shylock 's motivation to go through with his plan. She states:
“Tarry a little. There is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.” Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, But in the cutting it if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the state of Venice.” (4.1.318-325) - Portia (as Balthazar, a