ay on a an uplifting note. It’s a shame that Shakespeare put it in at all because it definitely changes the way I feel about this play, in particular, as well as the others. The women characters in The Merchant of Venice are treated with much more respect than Katherine had been. However, I have a feeling that it’s only due to the fact that Shakespeare thinks less of “Jews” than he does women. The Merchant of Venice, does have a strong cast of women who play very important roles throughout the play. These women are much more impressive than those found in Henry V. Portia, in particular, is by far the superior one of the play. Like Queen Elizabeth herself, Portia’s character is a blending of femininity and masculinity. Portia has great strength of character, a quick wit, and is very well educated in the affairs of the world around her which is not a common theme in Shakespeare’s women. She is in every respect far superior to the fools she ends up being surrounded by. This might not have been the case if it weren’t for the fact that she, with all her intelligence and wit is still being dictated by a male. Her dead father dictates her life through his will. I guess Shakespeare does not miss an opportunity to put even the most superior of all women in her place as he does just that to Portia. For all her power, riches, and strengths, she still is no better than the man she marries. Her new husband, Barsenio, is no match for her, and yet he is handed over everything that belongs to her, including her soul. Although Shakespeare gives the very best of qualities and traits to the female character Portia, he knows that in spite of her superiority and domination over all the other characters including the male characters, he can later strip her of all her greatness at any time, and does just that at the end of the play. What I find so unbelievable is the way that Shakespeare’s wome...
