This inversion of the usual situation, which the husband typically imposes fidelity on the wife, is not only a demonstration of feminism but a form of feminism that conceives and explains the non-contractual relationship of marriage in contractual terms. Even if it were against his own inclinations, the Duke must conduct the trial of Antonio to maintain the rule of law in Venice (IV.i.1-33). John E. Alvis and Thomas G. West (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2000), 261-87. Bassanio's love life is the first thing Antonio brings up with Bassanio when they're alone together in the play. Thus, the chief care of Bassanio is not the lady of Belmont but his debts and particularly the debts he owes Antonio. [18], The father-daughter relationship is formulated in contractual terms and is symbolized by three caskets trial. Bassanio’s sexuality can be examined and scrutinized despite his seemingly heteronormative actions and intentions. In response to Bassanio’s victory, Portia sets about the task of assessing her worth: A thousand times more fair, ten thousand times more rich, I might in virtues, beauties, livings, friends. [6] For example, some like Lars Engle and Fredrick Turner argue that the play is about patterns of exchanges, purchases, and pledges that range from the physical to the abstract, while other critics look at the use of bonds – natural, emotional, commercial – as the theme that unities the play. [26] It is interesting to note that the melancholy of Antonio at the beginning of the play parallels the melancholy of Jessica and Lorenzo at the beginning of the second scene of the fifth act. The ring symbolizes the moral relationship of love instead of contract, which Bassanio had failed to understand. Antonio and Portia have given much to Bassanio. The relationship between Jessica and Lorenzo therefore is treated sympathetically in The Merchant of Venice, yet there are uneasy undertones that mark Jessica’s breaking of her paternal, and perhaps religious, contract with her father. Traditionally marriage was the way to create and socialize children into society: friendship, for all its virtues and value, cannot do this. The Christian commandment of loving thy neighbor appears to have failed as a political principle to organize the city: commerce, contract, and profit have provided the path to stability, cooperation, and toleration. Allan Bloom, “On Christian and Jew” 14-16; Olvia Delgado de Torres, “Reflections on Patriarchy and the Rebellion of Daughters,” 339. Once freed from her father’s restraint, Jessica and Lorenzo spend their stolen wealth with carelessness, even trading the “turquoise,” which symbolizes the betrothal of her father and mother, for a monkey (III.i.118-23). Do all men kill the things they do not love? Watching this in the disguise of Balthazar, Portia remarks that “Your wife would give you little thanks for that / If she were by to hear you make the offer” (IV.i.288-89). Search. IV,1,2056. It would seem that this is the price that the citizens of any commercial and contractual republic must pay for in exchange for these goods. Lie all unlocked to your occasions. This article will remedy this inattention, although it is indebted to these previous studies that have tangentially touched upon this topic: the effect of contract and commerce on friendship, love, and marriage and their social and political ramifications. Portia interprets that right as a right of possession over her property and person as symbolized by the wedding which she gives to her new husband. What he does lack is a non-contractual relationship like friendship that is based on moral values like virtue. 57-59). I never did repent for doing good, Nor shall not now; for in companions That do converse and waste the time together Whose souls do bear an equal yoke of love, There must be needs a like proportion Of lineaments, of manners, and of spirit, Which makes me think that this Antonio, Being the bosom lover of my lord, Must needs be like my lord. [21], Bassanio similarly perceives their relationship in contractual terms of debts and credits, as he correctly has identified the “gentle scroll” to “come by note, to give and to receive” (III.ii.139-140). But on what foundation friendship should and can be based is one of the questions that Shakespeare’s play seems to be asking us. Antonio is a male. [19] Surprisingly critics have failed to see the contractual and commercial language and thinking of Portia. The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio replies that he would sacrifice everything he possesses – his life, his wife, and his estate – “Here to this devil [Shylock], to deliver you” (IV.i.286-87). That I have much ado to know myself (1-7). [3] Citations of the play are from G. Blackemore Evans et al., ed., The Riverside Shakespeare (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974), 254-85. [5] If an exception were made in this case, Shylock correctly asks why should the Duke not break other contracts, such as the purchasing of slaves (IV.i.89-103; 38-39)? The homoerotic undertone of Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship is easily discussed by analyzing the dedication and declarations of love by Antonio because he does not have a heterosexual romantic relationship to counteract against his love for Bassanio. In Act 2 Scene 8, Antonio told Bassanio not to âhurry backâ, to âstay as long as you need [he needed]â, to not âthink about my [his] bond with Shylockâ, and to âbe happy, and think only about ways of winning Portia and showing your [his] love.â Is any love held up as more valuable or enduring than another? What is interesting is that Shakespeare shows us not only the advantages of the commercial and contractual republic with its multicultural society and economic abundance but also its shortcoming in terms of human relations and moral values. The republic’s moral limitations with its corrosive effects on friendship, love, and marriage are inextricably tied with the benefits of religious tolerance, rule of law, and material wealth. The cause of Antonio’s sadness has befuddled critics, who have offered several explanations about the cause of his sadness from suppressed homoerotic feelings for Bassanio to a Christ-like pursuit of spiritual perfection. Merchant of Venice: The Relationship between Essay 300 Words | 2 Pages. This “note” is the bond that must be “confirm’d, sign’d, ratified” by Portia, the person who will provide him the necessary funds (III.ii.148). Clearly Antonio’s actions are not rational, which is surprising, since he is a successful merchant that requires one to calculate risk correctly. Janet Spens, An Essay on Shakespeare’s Relation to Tradition (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1916), 45; John Middleton Murray, Shakespeare (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1936), 155; Bernard Grebarnier, The Truth about Shylock (New York: Random House, 1962), 215-19. [25] Like Antonio at the end of The Merchant of Venice, it is not clear whether Jessica’s and Lorenzo’s marriage will be successful, as they do not renew their nuptial vows. After reading The Taming of the Shrew, Bassanio and Portiaâs relationship actually seems somewhat normal.Because Kate and Petruchioâs relationship was so very unconventional, Portia and Bassanio seem like a dynamic couple. Prior to Jessica’s betrayal, Shylock detested Antonio but was this hatred was moderated by practical motives; after Jessica’s unfaithfulness, Shylock has become monomaniacal in his quest for revenge (I.iii.160-70; III.i.116-30). It also requires a type of equality of exchange, for friends receive and wish the same thing from and for each other (1158b1-2). To many, the main plot may seem to be the conflict between Antonio and Shylock, when in reality itâs the love that Antonio and Portia have for Bassanio ⦠Shirley and Kerrigan look at the use of promises and swearing in Shakespeare’s play, which is similar to contracts but lack their binding force. Bassanio tells Antonio, In Belmont is a lady richly left, And she is fair andâfairer than that wordâOf wondrous virtues. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. [10] Harp makes a comparison of risk-taking in business and love, but he does not explore the origins or how these parallel activities are related in the play, while Sharp believes that gift-giving rather than contractual consent is the dominant relationship among the characters, thereby severing the connection between non-contractual and contractual relations. The Harmonies of The Merchant of Venice, 1-18; Marc Shell, “The Wether and the Ewe: Verbal Usury in The Merchant of Venice,” Kenyon Review 1 (1979), 65-92; René Girard, “’To Entrap the Wisest’: A Reading of The Merchant of Venice.” In Literature and Society, ed. The love Antonio has for Bassanio means that he is willing to do anything his friend asks. As a result, Antonio mistakes money as the essence rather than as a symbol of non-monetary values like friendship and engages in irrational behavior to the point of literally risking self-annihilation as proof of these moral values. For the numerous interpretations on its significance, refer to the second endnote. This creditor-debtor perspective of marriage also appears earlier in the play, when Salerio compares Lorenzo’s relationship to Jessica in the same language: “To seal love’s bonds new made, than they are wont / To keep obliged faith unforfeited!” (II.vi.6-7). The heterosexual relationship will never stand alone. And for the Jewâs bond which he hath of me, Let it not enter in your mind of love. [27] In the demand of a pound of Antonio’s flesh, the Duke describes Shylock’s mind as unchangeable: In spite of the Duke’s repeated pleads – and Balthazar’s famous account – of mercy, Shylock is adamant that the contract be enforced. To regain his fortune, he is determined to marry Portia, a wealthy, intelligent heiress of Belmont.In order to ask for her hand in marriage, Bassanio and his best friend, Antonio enter into an agreement with the usurer Shylock. Among early modern writers, Venice had enjoyed mythical status because of its political institutions and ideals of republicanism. This trial requires suitors to solve a riddle that filters out those who want to marry Portia for the wrong reasons. 51. Quotes Bassanio Quotes 'Tis not unknown to you, Antonio, How much I have disabled mine estate, By something showing a more swelling port Than my faint means would grant continuance. Later in Belmont, Portia demands to see the ring and feigns jealousy at its loss, accusing Bassanio of giving it away to another woman and threatening to sleep with the lawyer, to whom Bassanio gave the ring (V.i.223-29). Portia declares that “Since you [Bassanio] are dear bought, I will love you dear,” indicating that Bassanio is the debtor to her, after she learns that Bassanio has only credit from a friend whose life now hangs in the balance (III.ii.313). The material merely symbolizes the moral significance of friendship and is not, as Antonio wrongly thinks, the substitution of it. For good people, they would want to receive and wish virtue from and for their friends. Because of his self-discipline and successfully weighing benefits against risks, Antonio needs not concern himself with material wants. Although Antonio is now part of the community formed by Bassanio’s and Portia’s marriage, it is not evident in the play that Antonio has learned what friendship truly is. IV,1,2044. He answered, âDo not so. Earlier in the play Bassanio borrows 3,000 ducats from Shylock on Antonioâs word that it will be paid back in full. It is important to note that when asked about the lady of the secret pilgrimage, Bassanio not only responses with a discussion of his finances but that he sees the marriage to “a lady richly left” as a way to repay his debts to Antonio (I.i.161). By contrast, Portia and Bassanio re-pledge themselves to each other, with using Antonio’s friendship with Bassanio as collateral, and seem to be headed towards future happiness. In other words, Portia presents herself as type of investment that appreciates value over time and can be redeemed at some point in the future. Both Bassanio and Portia’s father conflate Portia’s persona with the estate of Belmont in their desire to count her as property over which to have exclusive dominion. Antonio and BassanioAntonio, the protagonist of the story, is extremely good friends with Bassanio. But as important as it may be for the good life, friendship is ultimately subordinate to marriage in the play. Next, we can study the relationship between Bassanio and Antonio. Harry R. Garvin (Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1980), 91-105; John Barton, “Exploring a Character: Playing Shylock.” In Playing Shakespeare (London: Methuen, 1984), 169-80; Richard Arneson, “Shakespeare and the Jewish Question,” Political Theory 13 (1985), 85-111; Derek Cohen, “Shylock and the Idea of the Jew.” In Shakespearean Motives (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988), 104-18; Samuel Ajzenstat, “Contract in The Merchant of Venice,” Philosophy and Literature 21 (1997), 262-78; Martin D. Yaffe, Shylock and the Jewish Question (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1997); Jay Michaelson, “In Praise of the Pound of Flesh: Legalism, Multiculturalism, and the Problem of the Soul,” Journal of Law 98 (2005), 1-31; Susannah Heschel, “From Jesus to Shylock: Christian Supersessionism and “The Merchant of Venice,” Harvard Theological Review 99 (2006), 407-31; Gorman Beauchamp, “Shylock’s Conversion,” Humanitas XXIV (2012), 55-92. However, these studies have neglected the effect that contractual relations in a commercial republic have on non-contractual ones like friendship, love, and marriage. [29] As a successful model of a mixed constitution, Venice had developed an elaborate system of governance to reduce the influence of fraction and enjoyed an economic prosperity that appeared to follow from its political organization. But, like Venice, this contractual foundation of Belmont also has a corrosive effect on the characters’ non-contractual relationships because they perceive all values as commensurate with one another. Throughout the play we see many bonds or connections between both Antonio and Bassanio as well as Portia and Bassanio. [15] This is the consensus among critics. This reciprocity also must be relatively equal, something Antonio does not understand in his confusion to trade a pound of his own flesh for the value of Bassanio’s friendship. 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