Portia comes from a much better financial background than what Jessica does. Nerissa is Portia's woman-in-waiting (read: her sidekick). Jessica lives in Venice, while Portia lives in Belmont. Jessica is friends with Lancelot while Portia with Nerissa. One main difference between both woman is that Jessica is Jewish, and Portia is Christian. The Homosexual Relationship Between Antonio and Bassanio in William Shakespeareâs The Merchant of Venice Tsun-Hsien Tsai Sophomore Student, Department of English National Changhua University of Education There are many pairs of male adults with honorable masculine friendships appearing in William ⦠Nerissa advises Portia, often telling her about her duty to her father who is dead, especially when the suitors who want to marry Portia are choosing their caskets. Antonio seems to like Bassanio in a romantic way. Nerissa also joins in the ring subplot: this will be the main thread of the play after the climax of the trial. Jessica lives in Belmont while Portia lives in Venice. Merchant of Venice Essay: The Relationship between Antonio and Bassanio. Some elements of the relationship between Jessica and Shylock are mirrored by the relationships between the other characters too, like the relationship between Portia and her father. I have come up on a hypothesis that Antonio is gay and Bassanio is a bisexual. Explain how scene two is linked with scene one. Launcelot shows a lack of respect for his father when he jests, âWell, my conscience . Because Jessica is Jewish, she is required to live in the âghettoâ. Bassanio and Gratiano recognize these as the same rings they gave to the lawyer and his clerk, and Portia and Nerissa claim that they lay with the gentlemen in order to get back the rings. Characterize their relationship providing examples from the play. He rushes immediately to repay cruel Shylock and argues with him to accept a sum multiple times his loan and settle the contract. ⢠She is locking herself in prayer. 2. Character sources. Nerissa & Portia's relationship Nerissa is Portia's woman in waiting. Does Portia resent Antonio, or does she genuinely want to help him? The relationship between Portia and her father, Jessica and Shylock, and Launcelot and his father Gobbo are somewhat similar. This, of course, tells us that Nerissa is a very practical girl. 4. Where does happiness lie according to Nerissa? Although Portiaâs father is deceased, they had a good relationship while he was alive. ⢠A monastery is where nuns or priests live. Antonio is unsure of the reasoning for his recent feelings, while Portia is unsure of her best action and decisionsâspecifically regarding marriage. which the most romantic is the love between Portia and Bassanio. She listens to Portia complain about her life and the unfairness of the casket contest and tells her to suck it up and be glad her father was wise enough to plan for his daughter's future. Portia and Nerissa enter, followed shortly by Bassanio, Antonio, and Gratiano. She is blessed with beauty, heavenly qualities surpassing all other women on Earth and moreover ârichly leftâ. Portiaâs family seems far better off than Jessicaâs financially. She listens to Portia complain about her life and the unfairness of the casket contest and tells her to suck it up and be glad her father was wise enough to plan for his daughter's future. In later scenes, when Portia and Nerissa push the boundaries of their disguise, they specifically emphasize the nature of radical feminism. An examination of this marriage will show how contractual Belmont leads both characters to think and act out of self-interest. Nerissa is Portia's servant but they act as friends most of the times. Does helping him serve her purposes somehow? Nerissa join in when Portia disguises herself as a man in the court room scene at the end. Jessica becomes friends with Lancelot, and Portia has Nerissa as her lady-in-waiting. Finally, the rings sub-plot between Nerissa and Portia and their male counterparts, Graziano and Bassanio, additionally supports Shakespeareâs creation of women as powerful characters in his plays. However, the relationship between Shylock and Jessica is repressive and conflictual and ends tragically. 3. Differences. How does Portia view the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio? ⢠She is going to dress up like a male lawyer to see if she can help Antonio and Bassanio. The Relationship Between Bassanio And Portia In The Merchant Of Venice. The relationship between Launcelot Gobbo and his father is neither as tempestuous as that of Jessica and Shylock nor as caring as that of Portia and her father. The debt of the friend is massive, and Bassanio postpones his marriage. ⢠Nerissa and Portia are locking themselves away in a monastery. Both Jessica and Portia are close with their servant and lady-in-waiting, respectively. One of them always cares for the other (Antonio and Nervosa) while the other asks things from the other (Bassanio and Portia). Their marriage is paralleled by several others: the elopement of Shylock's daughter, Jessica, with the Christian, Lorenzo; and the marriage of Portia's servant, Nerissa, to Bassanio's companion, Gratiano. Most read . Shylock and Portiaâs father wishes to control their daughters, though Jessica is a complete foil to Portia in her obedience to her father. In contrast, the other two couples - Lorenzo and Jessica, Gratiano and Nerissa â ⦠All the three fathers love their children. Generally, in patriarchal societies, men do not care about such issues, they do commence to talk about how they are completely right and say that women cannot talk to men in this way. 3.
Bassanio, his friend and kinsman, asks him forâ¦. Identify three reasons for Shylockâs hatred of Antonio. In an aside, Nerissa tells Portia that she will try to trick her husband into giving her his ring. Portia and Nerissa's relationship and Antonio and Bassanio's relationship are similar because they both care about each other and often converse with one another. Again, Gobbo and Shylock both cannot understand their children that much. Portia and Nerissa relent, giving each of their husbands a ring and suggesting that they exercise more care in keeping these rings. In contrast, the other two couples - Lorenzo and Jessica, Gratiano and Nerissa â exhibit playful or down-to-earth love. Chew on This . Jessica is Jewish, while Portia is not. The women each give their husbands a ring as a symbol of their love, and tell them to never remove them to show their faithfulness. Not only does she bounce Portia's thoughts off of her wisdom, but she also accompanies Portia on all her mental, emotional, and physical adventures. There is an obvious contrast between these relationships. Why does Antonio approach Shylock for a loan? Discuss the relationship between Jessica and Shylock. How does Antonio feel about Shylock? This, of course, tells us that Nerissa is a very practical girl. This allows Shakespeare to create relationships between his characters that we feel we might happen in real life which in turn leads the reader to become more involved in the play, on a more personal level. The conversation between Nerissa and Portia, Portiaâs comments on the suitors and Nerissaâs reference to Bassanio as âthe best deserving a fair ladyâ increase the elements of ⦠This moral deterioration is most evident in the marital relationship between Bassanio and Portia, with especially the latter relinquishing his wedding ring so easily. This is particularly evident in Jessicaâs newfound freedom when dressed as a pageboy in Act 2 and Portiaâs and Nerissaâs immediate elevation in social standing when they take on male personas in Act 4. She promises to provide Bassanio with as much wealth that he can repay twenty times the debt. Portia is beautiful, gracious, rich, intelligent, and quick-witted, with luxury lifestyle and high standards for her potential romantic partners. 6. Antonio and Bassanio are very close and Antonio does all that he can - in Act 1 Scene 1 - to help his friend. Antonio is a male. Nerissa. After they are all reunited, Nerissa hands Lorenzo a deed of gift from Shylock, won in the trial, giving Jessica all of his wealth upon his death. In Act 1 Scene 2, prose is therefore used to express the relaxed / unrestricted conversation between Portia and Nerissa and to show their intimate, friendly relationship. The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio is similar to the relationship between Portia and Nerissa; both Antonio and Portia seem to be uncertain characters, while Bassanio and Nerissa act as the advisors to Antonio and Bassanio. Nerissa is Portia's listening ear and empathetic voice. She is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and lead. However, ladies, Portia and Nerissa, blame them; that is why, gentlemen do not take serious their relationships and they lose their rings or give them some other women. Portia, Nerissa and Jessicaâs assumption of the male form to move unnoticed between Belmont and Venice allowed them a glimpse into the world of feministic ideals. Here, gender roles are subverted ⦠At the beginning of the play, she acts as a sounding board to Portia. Give any three negative qualities of the French lord, as described by Portia. Amused, Portia looks forward to hearing their husband's excuses when they return to Belmont without their rings. The central romantic relationship of the play is that between Bassanio and Portia. Through these two instances of cross-dressing, Shakespeare presents class not in terms of socioeconomic status but in the benefits of being male. Nerissa leaves with Gratiano. Portia is as faultless as one could imagine. For, by this ring, the doctor lay with me. Scene 3 1. In actuality Portia and Nerissa plan to dress up like men to see if they can help Antonio. Why does Antonio insist that Bassanio give up Portia's ring? . However, through Shakespeareâs anticipation of âqueerbaiting,â one can infer that there may be an intimate romantic relationship between the two of them brewing below the surface. The strained relationship of Venetian moneylender Shylock and his daughter Jessica, as well as the nonexistent association between Portia and her deceased father, lead the two young women to act as they do, in turn affecting the entire cast of characters. Bassanio is a male. 5. When, at the end of Act IV, scene ii, Portia tells Nerissa that âwe shall have old swearing / That they did give the rings away to men. To the eyes of many audience members, Portia and Nerissaâs relationship is largely seen as a platonic friendship. Antonio, the protagonist of the story, is extremely good friends with Bassanio. What is the relationship between Portia and Nerissa? 2. reported cases in Washtenaw County for the 7 day period ending on . How does Nerissa explain why Portiaâs body is âaweary of this great worldâ? (And why the heck does Bassanio give it away?) Don't use plagiarized sources. Explain in detail.
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