Portia the Heroine?
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Portia the Heroine?
Wealthy, beautiful, intelligent
In the beginning of the play she is portrayed as a powerless, female character who must abide by her father’s final wish, even though she has all the qualities of an independent woman and even orchestrates Bassanio to choose the right casket.
So now that she is married the question is did she help Antonio because of her love for Bassanio? Some people find that hard to believe since they barely knew each other before they wed, and because much time hasn’t passed.
So if she didn’t love him then why did she help? She may have just been doing what a partner is supposed to do, stand by your spouse. That is the simplest explanation. Bassanio loves Antonio, therefore, she loves Antonio.
As courageous as this act is, she cannot do it as herself. She cannot exercise her brilliance as a woman so she must do it as a man. Not only does she outsmart everyone, she is also able to manipulate her husband into giving up his precious ring. Why? If she is not really in love at this point, why would it matter? What does bother me are the hypocritical antics she uses to beat Shylock out of the contract. I firmly believe there is no way she thinks what she is doing is right, she is just finding her way out of a difficult situation. Does that make her a heroine? I guess so.
I think you bring up a very valid point, Portia. But rather than pass judgment on Portia [the character] in such totalizing terms of whether is she or isn’t she (a heroine), perhaps we can try to get a handle of what Shakespeare is addressing and confronting with Portia as his vessel. I feel there are digs being made on various social constructions, least of which are the troubling associations when it comes to race, gender, and religion. Instead of a character’s shortcomings or foibles, I think Shakespeare wants his audience to see the paradoxes and disparities within the greater scheme of society, culture, civilization…what you will…
Clearly, Will the Bard is giving his audience food for thought in terms of artifice and the play on superficial appearances versus what isn’t apparently visible. I brought up in another comment post how marriage is boiled down and reduced to being a transaction—much like the one serving as the main ‘agon’ between Antonio and Shylock within the play as a whole…A very poignant point made by The Merchant’s Portia is in Act V, Scene I, when she addresses Bassanio: “Now by mine honor which is yet mine own…” (232). Somehow, some way, after returning to Belmont from Venice and toying with the performative aspect of gender—as well as having a temporary slice of agency—does Portia have somewhat of an epiphanic moment which refers back to her introductory scene when she is “aweary:” “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” (I.ii. 21-25). Portia starts off challenging the institution of marriage (from a woman’s perspective), to readily becoming a doormat to her “Jason” a/k/a Bassanio, to finally reclaiming the half of her that can never be usurped by men or marriage: her honor.
We are engaging this play with the perspective of 21st century eyes and mindsets. Let us not forget that Shakespeare—by way of Portia and other characters—brings to light and challenges the very notions which we think of in passing as self-evident. The Tammy Wynette attitude to blindingly “stand by your man”—or, “spouse,” as you call it, Portia—is more of a recent phenomena. It is quite convenient to criticize from said vantage point, but, if we try to step into Portia’s shoes as a woman inscribed in a homosocial space, hopefully we can see how ballsy she is to confront—as best she could at that time—the institutions left by the “dead father[s];” otherwise known as tradition.
I do agree that it is important for us to understand that Shakespeare is writing for his audience in late 1500. A women protagonist in the time period when women couldn’t even own her own property is not to be taken lightly. Shakespeare names the play after man (merchant); the play develops mostly around the Christian merchant and Jewish soothsayer however it is a woman, Portia who saves the day (so to speak).
To address your question Portia “…did she help Antonio because of her love for Bassanio?” I do believe that she goes to help Antonio partly because of personal gratification. Until this point in the play, Portia is nothing but the carrier of her deceased father’s will. After Bassanio chooses the right casket, Portia is freed from her father’s shackles. She is able to employ her intelligence, do as she wills (in disguise of course). But I do not think she saved him only for self-gratification. A part of her also saved Antonio for Bassanio’s sake. If just a letter from Antonio can stop her marriage mid-track, his death would surely delay the marriage for a period. Portia saved Antonio for self-gratification and to stay on her plan to get married to Bassanio.
You also asked, why Portia played the trick on Bassanio with her ring? I truly feel that is was a scornful woman’s way of getting back at him. Bassanio expresses his love and devotion for Portia after she gives him the ring in Act III Scene 2. He also goes on to say that the only way he would part from the ring is if he is dead and someone takes it from him. Portia prioritizes her wedding with Bassanio 1st and saving Antonio second. Bassanio, upon reading the letter from Antonio, re-prioritizes: saving Antonio 1st and wedding with Portia 2nd at the end of Act III Scene 2. I feel that this must have made Portia question Bassanio’s devotion and loyalty. The ring trick was a result of Bassanio putting his best friend above his future wife (in Portia’s eyes). And I’m sure the ladies will agree with me, whether it be a woman from 16th century or 21st century we women never like to come second to the man we love.
In my eyes Portia is the heroine because she solves the central problem of the play. A lawyer is vested in saving his/her client not being ‘fair’ to the opponent in doing so. She came in as a defendant lawyer and she defended her client. There is no questioning whether it was right or wrong when a defendant lawyer saves his/her client. That is precisely what the role of constitutes. That is exactly what Portia does.