The Pakistani activist for female education Malala Yousafzai once said, “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” One of the most controversial topics today is what role women play in society. From the early years of life, women have always been held back from doing what men do. In society today women have the same rights as men but are still treated differently. For example, it is still a firm belief that men make more money than women even though they are working the same jobs. In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, even though the protagonist is a man and it contains mostly male characters, the women in the play such as Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica show how they hold the higher power in the play. Through their
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When Portia tells Nerissa that they are going to follow their husbands to Venice and Nerissa asks if Bassanio and Gratiano will see them, Portia tells her,“They shall, Nerissa, but in such a habit That they shall think we are accomplishèd With that we lack”(3.4.63-65). Although it’s true that Portia and Nerissa have decided to dress up as men when they go to Venice it isn’t necessarily because they were trying to hide their womanly nature. In the paper “Influences of the Radical Feminist Perspective in The Merchant of Venice” by Angela Caravella, it says, “The most powerful point of Portia and Nerissa 's activity as lawyers in Venice is that they are able to move undetected in society and achieve their goals. This activity deconstructs the male hierarchy because they achieve more than what Bassanio, Antonio or Shylock could accomplish within the courtroom.” This quote conveys that perhaps Portia and Nerissa are simply trying to prove that they can do well in a courtroom as well as any other male lawyer by dressing as men. And that they are defying their place in society by taking control of the situation. This quote also suggests that Portia and Nerissa are using their disguises as a type of bulwark against anyone who would automatically judge by the fact that they are women before they even get the chance to present their
When Portia tells Nerissa that they are going to follow their husbands to Venice and Nerissa asks if Bassanio and Gratiano will see them, Portia tells her,“They shall, Nerissa, but in such a habit That they shall think we are accomplishèd With that we lack”(3.4.63-65). Although it’s true that Portia and Nerissa have decided to dress up as men when they go to Venice it isn’t necessarily because they were trying to hide their womanly nature. In the paper “Influences of the Radical Feminist Perspective in The Merchant of Venice” by Angela Caravella, it says, “The most powerful point of Portia and Nerissa 's activity as lawyers in Venice is that they are able to move undetected in society and achieve their goals. This activity deconstructs the male hierarchy because they achieve more than what Bassanio, Antonio or Shylock could accomplish within the courtroom.” This quote conveys that perhaps Portia and Nerissa are simply trying to prove that they can do well in a courtroom as well as any other male lawyer by dressing as men. And that they are defying their place in society by taking control of the situation. This quote also suggests that Portia and Nerissa are using their disguises as a type of bulwark against anyone who would automatically judge by the fact that they are women before they even get the chance to present their