Tiffany Wanzie

Since the beginning of time, there have been distinct divisions in the roles of men and women. Even dating back to early civilization, women have been portrayed by society as objects of desire. In the Renaissance period, the ideas about women and gender roles are still quite similar and the plays of Shakespeare can be used as a looking glass upon the acts of Renaissance society. Women were said to be concerned about their status as well as their identity which was said to be based solely upon the husband. In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare proves that not only can a woman be beautiful, but she can also be powerful, capable of overcoming similar obstacles as men, and above all else intelligent. Shakespeare appears to convey the true definition of feminism by creating heroic attributes in Portia, the heiress of Belmont, qualities that surpass other women of her time. A few of these traits would be perseverance, strength, resourcefulness, and the ability to put others before oneself. She defies and breaks the mold of traditional gender roles placed in a Renaissance society and illustrates admirable qualities that for centuries have gone unnoticed.

Portia demonstrates self sacrifice and is not concerned about money like the other characters in the play. Instead, she is focused on saving the lives of those around her and making peace throughout the two worlds of Venice and Belmont. She is willing to double the amount originally owed to Shylock in order to save the life of Antonio, a man she barely knows. For example, she states:

Although, she proposed such an offer due to her love for Bassanio, she is still willing to do whatever it takes to save a life. Other women in the play, for example Jessica, are self centered characters, who let their greed lead them through circumstance in hope for financial gain. Jessica steals money from her father and wastes it on unnecessary possessions. Also, the audience should not overlook what caused the circumstance between the male characters to begin with; and that is the borrowing and lending of money for one’s own greedy purpose. Fortune, in most times, is money earned by the hard work of others or by those who have endured much anxiety from labor, not by hasty decisions or means of stealing.

W. H. Auden believes that, “Portia we can admire because, having seen her leave her Earthly Paradise to do a good deed in this world, we know she is aware of her wealth as a moral responsibility, but other inhabitants of Belmont, Bassanio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, and Jessica for all their beauty and charm, appear as frivolous members of a leisure class, whose carefree life is parasitic upon the labors of others, including usurers.” Not only does she offer the wealth she has to the circumstances, but she even postpones her marriage. For someone who has finally found the one she is going to spend the rest of her life with this can be hard. Portia is constantly giving her time, energy, and effort in helping out the cause of the other characters.

Another example of heroism is the trial scene in which Portia disguises herself in masculine attire to play the part of Duke and law clerk. Most women, during that time, would have reservations about being involved in such a circumstance, but instead of waiting upon her husband’s return to Belmont, she decides to take initiative and assist in anyway possible. It is important to recognize that there were no women actors in the sixteenth century and there were no women lawyers or law clerks, but if she had not risen to the occasion, Bassanio would have had to pay Shylock with his life (Green 1).

Her performance in the court room was one of high intelligence and brilliant common sense that fooled everyone in the courtroom, including her own husband. “She dispels the clouding precisions and intellectualities of the law court by a serene common-sense. This is something very like the common-sense of Jesus. Her mercy speech exactly reflects his teaching. Moreover, the white beam of her intuition shows, that the academic intelligence is itself vulnerable at every point by its own weapons. Next, Portia supports her first argument by insisting that poor Shylock shall take exactly a pound of flesh, neither less nor more by the weight of a hair. Inevitably, his whole position crumbles” (Barnett 65). If it were not for her appearance at the trial and the unique manipulation of the terms set upon Antonio, it is a good chance Shylock would have received the initial agreement.

In this scene, Portia showed much intelligence because she was well knowledgeable of the laws and customs and used it to her advantage in the court room. She exercised the law to her benefit against Shylock, but beforehand shows mercy by offering other solutions than the inevitable outcome. This “We must not, therefore think the ruse by which Portia entraps Shylock as if it were some sly part of her character, for it is in the tradition; besides she gives Shylock every chance. Thrice his money is offered him . He is begged to supply a surgeon. But, no it is in the bond” (Barnet 11). Not only did she accomplish the same obstacle that a man could, but she added sympathy for all parties involved. This characteristic is something that the opposite gender would not have brought to the trial.

She was concerned about saving Antonio, but took into consideration the opposition party, family/friends involved as well as the state’s business affairs. “To have granted Bassanio’s request might have done great injury to the state’s foreign commerce as well as to the state’s local business. The “strangers” there, the “aliens”, i.e., the non-citizens, would lose their confident in the law of the state and henceforth would do business only on a cash basis, or else do no business at all” (Griston 33).

Portia has shown resourcefulness, power, and intelligence by protecting all that she regards to be important. “Everything turned out exactly as Portia had planned. That part of the law which would bring injury to Antonio was quibbled away by Portia. That part of the law which would ruin Shylock was so construed as to become enforceable in a case where it had no excuse of being used at all. And before Shylock was aware of what was transpiring the case was over and he had been crushed” (Shaking 156). Portia, a woman, has managed to save Antonio's life by outsmarting an opponent that he himself was not able to get the better of (Lee 2). This in itself shows strength and power that the typical Renaissance woman was said not to have.

Throughout the Renaissance period, men encompassed all of the power in relationships, on the battlefield, or in the given society, but in the Merchant of Venice it is clear that Portia possess more power than the people she comes in contact with, especially men. This power becomes evident with, “Her resourcefulness to accomplish her purpose, had showed itself at the close of the trial scene, when she manages to get from Bassanio the very ring she had given him with instructions never to part with” (Griston123).

Bassanio agreed not to misplace or give the ring to anyone, for it was a symbol of their love and all that came along with it. “When he arrives there with his benefactor, the merchant, she asks her husband for the ring and fringes anger against him, saying that he must have given it to some former mistress of his in Venice. After she has reduced him to the verge of tears, she shows him the ring, and explains who she had disguised herself as and how she baffled the Jew” (Griston 173). Parten believes, “that it is partly the ring domination that gives the women qualities uncharacteristic of other women in general during this time period.” Not only does Portia outwit Shylock, but it seems that she even has gotten the better of her husband.

When studying Shakespeare’s works, many have found him to be a sexist and to depict women as feeble, ignorant, and just sex objects for men. Without fully analyzing the character of Portia, in the Merchant of Venice, one may not see what Shakespeare is trying to convey to his audience. Andrew Finkle suggests that, “It is the females who get everything done and solve all of the problems while letting the men believe that they are the ones in charge. Not only that, but it is highly probable that Shakespeare intended this and was satirizing Elizabethan society during the Renaissance. He was showing how silly it is to assume that women are not equal people and are therefore incapable of taking control and yes, maybe being even outsmarting men.”

Shakespeare, in choosing the name Portia for his heroine, the dramatist was suggesting wealth, wisdom and virtue the very same attributes she radiates in The Merchant of Venice. When Bassiano first describes Portia he tells Antonio, “ Her name is Portia, nothing undervalu’d/To Cato’s daughter, Brutus’ Portia” (1.1.165-66). Named for the daughter of the virtuous, wise philosopher and wife of virtuous republican, she is presented as a person of wisdom and virtue” (Spencer 63). If this is the case he chose the perfect character and plot to demonstrate a possible equality of men and women or even the opportunity for women to obtain power in a given society.

Barnet, Sylvan. Twentieth Century Interpretations of the Merchant of Venice. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1970.

Rhys, Ernest., ed. The Girlhood of Shakespeare’s Heroines. New York: E. P. DUTTON & Co., No date.

Danson, Lawrence. The Harmonies of the Merchant of Venice. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978.

Finkle, Andrew. Not Judging a Play by its Cover: Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. 23 October. 2005 <http://caxton.stockton.edu/guschiggins/stories/storyReader$27

Green, Patricia. The Merchant of Venice: A Tragicomedy. 23 October. 2005 <http://www.uh.edu/hti/cu/2002/v06/04.html

Griston, Harris Jay. Shaking The Dust From Shakespeare. New York: Cosmopolis Press, 1924.

Lady, Lee. Shakespeare's Women in Drag. 23 October. 2005 < http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lady/lit/shakespeare/portia.html

Lyon, John. Twayne’s New Critical Introductions to Shakespeare. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1988.

Spencer, Christopher. The Genesis of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1988.

Short Research Paper; Portia, a Woman Ahead of Her Time