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In her soliloquy Portia implies that she is racist when the Prince of Morocco chose the wrong casket, “Let all of his complexion choose me so” (Act 2 scene 8) – she hopes that all men with dark skin make the same choice. However this point just emphasises Portia’s powerlessness in choosing a husband.
When Bassanio completes the casket test Portia willingly offers herself to Bassanio, but does not do this freely, as the casket test was invented by her father so that when he died he could still control her, “I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curb’d by the will of a dead father”. (Act 1 scene 2 line 22 – 25). At the end of the play when Portia gains independence and confidence in the courtroom, she loses this by forgiving Bassanio when she could have divorced him and freely chosen her own husband. However I think that by the end of the play, a schoolgirl crush, which I can tell from the way Portia remembers Bassanio immediately (Act 1), has turned into love, which is why Portia forgives him. Portia frees herself from being a possession …show more content…
My first impression of women in the time of Shakespeare and in the play was that they were of great importance, even after reading The Merchant Of Venice. The main reason I thought that women were held in great esteem was because the greatest Queen who ever ruled England (Queen Elizabeth) was at the throne at the time. Also because after reading The Merchant Of Venice for the first time I thought that Portia was admired and was free/ independent. But after studying the text more closely and looking for evidence of this conclusion I realised that most women were dependant on men and that strong female characters, such as Portia, were great role models but were the minority in the female population.
Finally, I think women weren’t given many opportunities and had to suffer under many constraints at that time e.g. that women were mainly controlled by their father’s or ‘the man of the house’ – this was due to the stereotype that all women should stay at home and cook, clean and look after the
When Bassanio completes the casket test Portia willingly offers herself to Bassanio, but does not do this freely, as the casket test was invented by her father so that when he died he could still control her, “I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curb’d by the will of a dead father”. (Act 1 scene 2 line 22 – 25). At the end of the play when Portia gains independence and confidence in the courtroom, she loses this by forgiving Bassanio when she could have divorced him and freely chosen her own husband. However I think that by the end of the play, a schoolgirl crush, which I can tell from the way Portia remembers Bassanio immediately (Act 1), has turned into love, which is why Portia forgives him. Portia frees herself from being a possession …show more content…
My first impression of women in the time of Shakespeare and in the play was that they were of great importance, even after reading The Merchant Of Venice. The main reason I thought that women were held in great esteem was because the greatest Queen who ever ruled England (Queen Elizabeth) was at the throne at the time. Also because after reading The Merchant Of Venice for the first time I thought that Portia was admired and was free/ independent. But after studying the text more closely and looking for evidence of this conclusion I realised that most women were dependant on men and that strong female characters, such as Portia, were great role models but were the minority in the female population.
Finally, I think women weren’t given many opportunities and had to suffer under many constraints at that time e.g. that women were mainly controlled by their father’s or ‘the man of the house’ – this was due to the stereotype that all women should stay at home and cook, clean and look after the