As a result, when we first meet her, Shakespeare has already made us immensely curious about her. It is clear early on in the scene that perhaps Portia has a variety of different faces or moods that she puts on with different people. It is evident that she probably doesn’t confide in just anybody, and that Nerissa, her lady in waiting, is a special exception. This supports previous assumptions that the people of Venice do not know that much about her, or her dead father’s will that binds her to him. We quickly learn of the will as Portia tells her lady in waiting “that she is weary of the world”, because as the will stipulates, she is not allowed to decide for herself who to take as a husband. Instead, Portia’s various suitors must choose between three chests, one of gold, one of silver and one of lead, in the hopes of selecting the one that contains her portrait. The man who guesses correctly will win Portia’s hand in marriage, but those who guess incorrectly must swear never to marry.
This first introduction is very significant. On one hand we see a near prisoner, feeling herself absolutely bound to follow her father’s strange dying wishes. As Nerissa points out, it is a “lottery” as the man who picks the right casket may not be the one she loves. Despite her dire situation Portia still appears to be an intelligent woman as she hands out witty quips at her already long gone prospective suitors. Nerissa lists the suitors who have come to guess : a Neapolitan prince, who according to Portia “doth nothing but talk of his horse”, a Palatine count, who “doth nothing but frown”, an Englishman who “hath neither Latin, French or Italian” or any of the other languages Portia speaks, and a German suitor who is always “most vilely drunk”. By giving Portia a sense of humour Shakespeare crushes our previous opinions that she, as Bassanio puts it posseses, “wondrous virtues” that we might not have imagined
in a lady of her time.
It seems strange therefore that Portia, as the obvious heroine, is not willing to break her father’s rules. Instead, rather ignore the stipulations of her father’s will, she simply watches her stream of suitors go by, happy to see them leave, but sad that she has no choice in the matter. Thus, she emerges as a rare combination: a free independent spirit, who abides rigidly by the rules.
Overall by the end of Act 2 we, the audience know more about Portia and her character. However there are two different sides to her character. One, the wealthy heiress caught up in a fairy-tale , enclosed somewhat like the caskets her future is bound by, an untouchable goddess. Or two, the witty independent strong-willed character whose strict adherence to laws and other strictures is similair to the city of Venice, the centre point of the play. Perhaps Portia is both of these characters but at this point it is too soon to judge. However it is clear already that Portia won’t be a “typical” heroine.
