, the new wife of Antonio’s friend, dresses as a lawyer in order to deceive the court. However, unlike Shylock’s motive, Portia’s intent is far more noble and selfless. She manipulates the law in such a way to save Antonio from certain death by the hand of Shylock. Through the eyes of the law, the imposture of a lawyer, especially by a woman at that time, was seen as extremely illicit. But Portia saw impersonation as the only means by which to save a man’s life. The action more than warranted the cause. Unquestionably a motive of honorable ethical values.The distinction between the intentions of Shylock and Portia is clear. Even though Portia did save the life of a noble man, she did use deception in order to do so. Nevertheless, one may argue that imposture of any form is dishonesty and the motive behind it cannot change that. The only way to preserve absolute truth would be with steadfast integrity. -Stan Szubiak, 9/22/99...
