The importance of Portia as a feminist symbol in The Merchant of Venice PDF

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The importance of Portia as a feminist symbol in The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, W. 1596-1599)...

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CC43506 Approaches to Shakespeare The importance of Portia as a feminist symbol in The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, W. 1596-1599) If Portia is to be seen as an important feminist symbol in The Merchant of Venice (hereafter “the play”) she cannot be seen as what would be considered a “typical” feminist. This essay aims to evaluate the importance of Portia as a strong female in the lead, her importance to a feminist reading of the play, and whether the character herself can truly considered to be a feminist. To argue that Portia is not a typical feminist, a definition of a typical feminist must first be established. For the sake of this essay a typical feminist can be someone who aims to further the female cause of women’s rights and gender equality. While Portia is not any sort of women’s rights activist, she certainly understands that her oppression is directly related to her gender. She notes that “the will of a living daughter [is] curbed by the will of a dead father.” (Shakespeare, 2015. 1.2.23-24) However, while she understands her gender to be the source of her oppression, she does not take action to attempt to overcome it. However, this does not mean that she is a completely submissive character, she is a central character to the play and her action is of no less important or impact than that of the male characters. Portia’s importance to the play can be seen as a central reason to her importance as a female figure in the plot. Newman (1987) comments that the main “bond” plot of the play is the exchange of Portia from her father to Bassanio, it produces the loan from Shylock to Antonio. Portia is a gift to Bassanio from Portia’s dead father. Levi-Strauss proposes “that marriage is the most fundamental form of gift exchange, and women the most basic form of gifts” (Newman, K. 1987, 20) This theory, based on anthropological study explains the notion of Portia as always being the property of a man throughout the play, despite how strong willed she might be. In the beginning of the

CC43506 Approaches to Shakespeare play she is the property of her father, despite him no longer being alive, she is the property of her deceased father until the moment she becomes the property of Bassanio. Therefore, she plays the role of “gift” and has the status of “property” throughout the whole of the play. Portia displays a clear displeasure with the selection of men that aim to “win” the game and receive her as a gift. She tells Nerissa “I will describe them, and according to my description level at my affection” (I.2.35-36) Portia further goes on to variously describe the potential suitors, one being unsuitable as “he doth nothing but talk of his horse” (I.2.38-39). She predicts that another will “prove the weeping philosopher when he grows old” (I.2.46-47). Bazzell (2008) says that “the fact that we see Portia have such a strong opinion of the men’s faults […] defines her as a strong-willed female.” This is an important observation because it highlights that even though Portia does nothing to dismiss the will of her father, she does not look up to the men that would like to see her become theirs. At the time it would be expected of a woman to ignore any faults that her husband may have, (Bazzell, J.D. 2008) but Portia does not restrain from pointing out the characteristics in these men that she sees as unattractive. It is highly likely that even though Portia is aware of the gender imbalance, she does not address it as she has learnt to manipulate it in her favor, which is still a rebellion against misogyny. While Portia is victim to a misogynistic system that sees women as property and gifts to exchange, she understands these gender power relations and uses them to her own advantage. For example, she understands that to be perceived as being “accomplished” (III.4.61) her and Nerissa must disguise themselves as “young men” (III.4.63) and “turn two mincing steps into a manly stride.” (III.4.67-68) Portia further goes on to mock characteristics associated with masculinity, for example “tell[ing] quaint lies” (III.4.69). To this extent, it could be argued that Portia does play the role of a feminist symbol in the play. Furthermore, Portia demonstrates in the court

CC43506 Approaches to Shakespeare scene that she is clearly a woman with a great intellect and strong understanding of the law, something that would have been seen as a man’s job, hence her performing in the guise of a male lawyer. When Portia walks into the courtroom she has “her plan clearly worked out” (Oldrieve, S. 1993). Bazzell, J.D. (2008) also comments on the fact that “Portia often has a masculine energy through the play” and associated this to her intellect and power status (lawyer, acting lord of the house.) Bazzell goes further to comment specifically on the court scenes and how Portia “automatically appears masculine” when she defends Antonio. From a feminist perspective, Portia is addressing the gender imbalance in the Renaissance society and is using her wit, intellect, and cunning to overcome this for her own benefit. However, referring back to the idea of a “typical feminist,” Portia’s act could seem counter-productive because she does nothing to practically further the gender inequality, and to an extent, her manipulation of the gender situation merely assists in her husband’s happiness. Portia’s performance in the court is clearly impressive, but her motives behind it can be questioned. Portia goes to the court because she wishes to assist her husband in the situation with Antonio, Portia has no pre-existing connection to Antonio and therefore can only reasonably be considered as performing this action in service to Bassanio. It could be conceived that because Portia does nothing to actively fight the established system of the time that she cannot be considered a true feminist symbol. Especially as in III.2.16 Portia says “one half of me is yours,” and willingly gives over the ownership of herself to Bassanio. However, it is important to consider that Portia is not only a product of her time, but also that she actually fell in love with Bassanio which made her more willing to hand herself over as a “gift” like Levi-Strauss might suggest. Portia falls in love with Bassanio and feels that the appropriate method of addressing the feelings that she has for him would be to effectively

CC43506 Approaches to Shakespeare hand herself over. While there are parts in the play where Portia plays the system to her own benefit, she does not do so here. This could not only be because she has no method of conceiving what she could do to fight the scenario but also because she has no desire to fight it. It has been established that Portia does nothing to fight the system to further the cause of women, but to benefit herself, and in this situation there is no obvious way in which she would benefit from refusing to becoming a submissive wife to Bassanio. In Oldrieve’s essay (1993. 91) She refers to the idea that Portia’s willingness to hand herself over to Bassanio shows the power of “the internalization of cultural imperatives” (Leventon, C. 1991, P.70) which could explain why Portia willingly does what is expected of her. However, Bazzell (2008) argues that Portia is “only willing to give up so much power in her household,” which paints Portia as a wife who is not completely submissive; this could be seen as very progressive considering the social norms during the period. Bazzell refers to a handbook for wives “Of Domesticall [sic] Duties (Gouge, W” which is very interesting because it helps to employ a greater understanding of what would be expected at women of the time, this can help to adjust the reading of The Merchant to be historically contextual. It would not be useful to read this play through the lens of modern day social norms. The guide talks of how women should be completely submissive to their husbands and “believeth all things […] endureth all things.” Portia definitely does not demonstrated this level of obedience, which shows a strength of character in the female lead. It is hard to conclusively say whether Portia can be considered a feminist symbol in The Merchant of Venice. While manipulates situations in order to gain from them, she does nothing to challenge these situations and further the cause of her gender, and to this extent she could be seen as a submissive wife at the service of her male superior (her deceased father and Bassanio respectively.) However, this would be a very limited view and does not take into account the

CC43506 Approaches to Shakespeare strength of Portia as a woman. She singlehandedly saves Antonio from his bond with Shylock and incriminates Shylock for attempted murder using her sound knowledge of the law. To this extent Portia represents a strong willed woman with her own priorities that she meets before those of anyone else. Given the time of the play, and the socio-historical context, Portia can be seen as a strong female character who helps to further the traditional role of women in plays, despite her not being a “typical” feminist. Word count - 1510 Bibliography

Bazzell, J.D. (2008) The Role of Women in The Merchant of Venice: Wives and Daughters Ahead of Their Time. University of Arizona

Newman, K. (1987) Portia's Ring: Unruly Women and Structures of Exchange in “The Merchant of Venice” Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 38. No.1. pp. 19-33

Oldrieve, S. (1993) Marginalized Voices in “The Merchant of Venice) Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, Vol. 5, No. 1. Pp 87-105

Shakespeare, W. (1596-99?[2015]) The Merchant of Venice. Penguin Classics...