This subversion of Portia’s role is, in my opinion, extremely successful as, not only does she fool a courtroom into believing she is a man, but she wins the case (and a lands a blow for the women of society) and she forces her husband to give her their wedding ring that Bassanio says that he will be dead before the ring leaves his finger:
“But when this ring parts from this finger, then parts life from hence: O then be bold to say Bassanio’s dead!”
This not only shows that Bassanio was unwilling to depart from the ring but that Portia has a humorous side and uses this as a device to ‘break’ the news that she and Nerissa dressed up as the opposite sex.
The reason that Portia is so successful, is due to the fact that no-one is allowed to realise that she is a woman dressed up as a man the reason being stage convention. This means that the only way she can fail is if she doesn’t save Antonio’s life and win the court case. Even though the chance of this looked slim she still managed to, not only save the life of Antonio but also use the law against Shylock to show that he isn’t – by law – allowed to attempt to take the life of a citizen:
“If it be proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts, he seek the life of any citizen, the party ‘gainst the which he doth contrive shall seize one half his goods, the other half comes to privy coffer of the state,”
This feat, to strip a rich money lender of all his money is a great feat by itself but to also turn the tables around so that the person who has the chance of killing another – lawfully has the chance of being killed lawfully:
“And the offenders life in the mercy of the Duke only, ‘gainst all other voice”
Although these losses are at stake the Christians show mercy and Antonio says that Shylock only has to give half of his money to his daughter’s husband when Shylock dies, but the duke also shows mercy by sparing Shylock’s life:
“I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it”
This shows the difference between Shylock and the Christians in this age of society, or how Shakespeare wants it to be shown.
The two characters of Shylock and Portia subvert there accepted roles in the play totally differently to each other; Shylock steps out of his protective bubble as a Jew in the background into the world of a Christian trying to use the Christian law to get his pound of flesh”. Shylock is seen referring to himself as the same as a Christian before Act 4 Scene 1 in Act 3 Scene 1 when, talking to Salanio and Salarino, he says:
“Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die and if you wrong us, do we not revenge............If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”
This rather lengthy speech by shylock is merely explaining that shylock believes that he “if a Christian wrong him” he should “by Christian example” be able to execute revenge. This is put across as a bitter speech and he knows that revenge is wrong when he refers to the revenge as “villainy” so he sees himself as if he has already been persecuted, which I’m sure he has because in Act 1 scene 3 Shylock says to Antonio “You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gaberdine” and Antonio replies by saying “I am as like to call thee so again”. By using the word “again” Antonio is admitting to doing it previously so the speech about “justice” is well backed up by previous “occurrences”. This, to a modern audience, is a reasonable reason to get revenge.
In order for Shylock to get revenge he must either do something illegal or something legal; and Shylock, not wanting to be persecuted any more, does it legally; through the courts. Shylock, by seeing his chance to get revenge, emerges from the reserved bubble of self-containment as a man with a mission; revenge. This emersion is also his subversion as he pretends to be a law-abiding citizen who wants something that is, as he thinks, rightfully his. This is backed up by the contract that Antonio signed as the deal was made “Yes Shylock I will seal unto this bond”. This deal was accepted by Antonio because he thought he had no chance of his ships failing him “I do expect return of thrice three times the value of this bond”. Shylocks inadvertent “sticking to the law” is eventually his downfall as the crafty Portia (disguised as Balthasar) reminds him that blood wasn’t mentioned in the previously mentioned contract:
“This doth bond give here no jot of blood. The words expressly are ‘a pound of flesh’. ”
This shows Shylock’s weaknesses as a person of law; he was in such a rush to get Antonio to sign the contract that he forgot to add blood. Maybe Antonio knew this that is why he accepted the offer so graciously and was just about to mention it.
All of the previous evidence makes me come to the conclusion that Shylock was unsuccessful in his attempt to subvert his role and I think this was because he, instead of stepping back away from the limelight Shylock stood directly under it and made it brighter if Shylock had not been so vicious and self-centred then he may not have caused Portia to dig so deeply into her “bag of tricks” and find a flaw in shylocks “flawless” plan. Even if Shylock had accepted that he was duly owed a repayment and accepted the offer of “for thy three thousand ducats here is six” offered to him at no later stage than the court scene, but still Shylock brushes away the offer by saying “If every ducat in six thousand ducats were in six parts, and every part a ducat, I would not draw them; I would have my bond” this is just a way of saying “if you offered me thirty six thousand ducats, I would not take them; I would have the pound of flesh”. This is an extremely malicious thing to say and maybe with slight just cause, but I personally wouldn’t refuse twelve times the agreed bond price.
All of these things that prove that Shylock is a malicious man and in the end prove that he had intent to kill Antonio and in the end bringing himself down, not only mentally but physically as in the end of act IV scene i Shylock is on his knees, and to an Elizabethan audience; where he should be.
