I totally agree with just about everything accessteacher
said. However, I don't agree that in the end Portia is subservient. When she gives
Bassanio the ring in Act III, scene 2, she gives him everything including herself but
says, "...I give them with this ring,/Which when you part from, lose, or give away,/Let
it presage the ruin of our love,/And be my vantage to exclaim on you." For Portia, the
ring she gives him is a symbol of their love but she also warns him not to take it all
lightly.
Bassanio does indeed give away her ring and by
doing so tells her that his love for his friend is higher than the love he has for his
wife. She calls him out on this in Act V. It is a warning to him and she gives him a
second chance but Bassanio knows that she is a no nonsense type of woman. Perhaps it is
at this moment when Antonio does not come to his aid, that Bassanio realizes where his
love truly lies.
As for her relationship with her father, I
would like to add, that it would appear that her father knew her well. I like to think
of Portia as an iron fist in a velvet glove. He also knows the world in which she lived
and was protecting her against fortune hunters. The caskets and the strings tied to
them were a great protection. It would appear that Bassanio loves her and not her
fortune because he does not go for the obvious. Of course, Portia's gentle hints help
but he does choose correctly.
At the end of the play,
Portia has taught her husband the true meaning of love and how a marriage is a
partnership. This is true of most of the comedies. The women teach the
men.
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