The Merchant of Venice · Chapter
Scene II explained
Portia expresses her weariness with the world and laments the restrictions of her father's will, which dictates she must marry the man who chooses the correct casket.
What happens
Portia expresses her weariness with the world and laments the restrictions of her father's will, which dictates she must marry the man who chooses the correct casket. She and Nerissa discuss the various suitors, each of whom Portia dismisses with witty criticisms. Nerissa reminds Portia of Bassanio, a Venetian scholar and soldier, whom Portia remembers fondly. A servant announces the departure of four suitors and the arrival of the Prince of Morocco.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Friendship
Portia's discussion of suitors and her fond memory of Bassanio explore the tension between romantic desire and the constraints of duty.
Appearance vs. Reality
The casket lottery itself is a test of true worth versus outward appearance, and Portia's witty critiques of suitors reveal the gap between their pretensions and reality.
Gender and Disguise
Portia's powerlessness under her father's will highlights the limited agency of women, a theme that will later be subverted through her disguise.
Characters to notice
- Portia
Portia is weary and frustrated with the limitations imposed by her father's will, but she retains her wit and intelligence as she critiques her suitors.
- Nerissa
Nerissa serves as Portia's confidante, offering philosophical reflections and reminding Portia of Bassanio's worth.
- Bassanio
Bassanio is mentioned by Nerissa as a Venetian scholar and soldier who visited Belmont in Portia's father's time, and Portia remembers him fondly.
- Prince of Morocco
The Prince of Morocco is announced as a new suitor arriving that night, though Portia expresses reluctance about his complexion and character.
Key passages
“If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men’s cottages princes’ palaces.”
If it were as easy to act rightly as it is to know what is right, then chapels would become churches and cottages would become palaces.
Portia reflects on the difficulty of following one's own good advice, a universal human struggle.
“I may neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father.”
I cannot choose who I want or reject who I dislike; the wishes of a dead father control the desires of a living daughter.
Portia laments her lack of freedom in choosing a husband due to her father's will.
“He is every man in no man; if a throstle sing, he falls straight a capering: he will fence with his own shadow.”
He is a copy of every man but himself; if a thrush sings, he immediately starts dancing, and he will even fence with his own shadow.
Portia mocks the French suitor for his lack of individuality and his ridiculous behavior.