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Gender Roles In The Merchant Of Venice

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Christie Yeo Qing Wen Professor Kevin Riordan HL1002: Survey of English Literature I 6 November 2015 The Deception of Gender In The Merchant of Venice, deceptive façades are reinforced by Portia’s seeming subjugation to male rule, but in truth, her status as an empowered female who maintains her autonomy and ultimately outwits and subverts the authority of the patriarchal Elizabethan society. Framing Portia as being a “fair” and “sweet” (I.I, III.IV) object of desire in the introductory, and many subsequent, scene highlights the Renaissance ideal of women as being “silent, chaste, and immured within the home” (Howard 424). However, she subsequently disproves the ideal of women as submissive and blurs the gender binary by taking on masculine …show more content…

After fulfilling her father’s wishes, despite using slightly underhand means, she tests Bassanio’s resolve and loyalty through the tangible “ornament” of a ring, which serves to assert her dominance in the relationship. Mahon notes he “unknowingly relinquishes his control to her” (331) by accepting the ring and the terms that had come with it. While Garber states that rings are customarily symbolic of females (473), Portia undoes these traditional readings, and by her offering him the ring, betroths him. Symbolic of her “possession of him” (Mahon 331), the ring thus proves her autonomy and is employed as a tool of feminine …show more content…

Portia deceives the characters and audiences into thinking of her role as constructed by male rule. However, with the play beginning with her and the fact that she ultimately controls the fate of all characters and the plot emboldens the idea of her as a surrogate artist-figure. She is able to make all the choices, manipulate people and situations, while appearing to follow by the rules of the patriarchal society which has relegated her to be viewed as a traditionally feminine character. The preoccupation of society’s anxieties about gender is singularly encapsulated by this female character in a multitude of hidden truths, thus, while Portia may not embolden or topple any of the social structures, she allows for the viewing and questioning of its constructedness through the layered

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Shakespeare’s language and choice of words portrays one of the most vital characters of the play, Portia, as a powerless woman to a large extent… but only in a certain way. Being ‘powerful’ has three meanings, one is “having great strength”, two is “having control over people and events”, and lastly three is “having a strong effect on people’s thoughts and feelings”. The two latter definitions are similar yet very different in this context. Making it possible for Portia to seem like a powerless woman, but surprisingly remain one of the most important characters.

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