Jessica’s personality and characteristics Comparing Jessica to Portia

Jessica VS Portia An important role as a female character in the male-dominated society in The Merchant of Venice. Intelligent to have come up with a plan to disguise herself in order to achieve her purpose.

Jessica VS Portia (Examples) Jessica disguised herself as a page in order to elope with Lorenzo Similarly, Portia devised a plan to disguise herself as a learned Doctor to help save her husband’s best friend, Antonio.

Jessica VS Portia Jessica is unfilial to abandon her father who is already marginalised by the society made up mostly of Christians In contrast, Portia is different from Jessica in being a filial daughter who is very obedient and loyal to her father who is already dead. “I may neither choose who I / would nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living / daughter curbed by the will of a dead father.”

Jessica VS Portia Jessica is deceptive in concealing her elopement from Shylock. Portia deceived Shylock in the trial.

Jessica VS Portia (elaboration) Jessica is deceptive in concealing her elopement from Shylock. Jessica appears at first to respect her father and follow his instructions as he tells her to “lock up [the] doors” and not to “clamber up to the casements then” after hearing about the masque. However, the moment he steps out of the house, Jessica reveals her true intentions of eloping, “Farewell; and if my fortune be not crossed, / I have a father, you a daughter, lost.”

Jessica VS Portia (elaboration) Portia deceived Shylock in the trial. Portia first disguised herself as a Doctor who is sufficiently learned of the law to save Antonio and through her disguise, picks out and finds a loophole in the bond that eventually brings about Shylock’s defeat.

Jessica VS Portia Courage Jessica is courageous to leave Shylock out of her true love for Lorenzo. Portia is courageous to help save Antonio.

Jessica VS Portia (Elaboration) Courage Jessica went against her father to elope with Lorenzo because she dearly loves Lorenzo when: She is a Jew (a lowly status in Venice) and she risks being shamed from her elopement with a Christian. In other words, she might face social execution and become an isolated person stuck in between the Jews and the Christians. Yet, she still summons her courage to pursue what is dearest to her.

Jessica VS Portia (Elaboration) Courage Portia disguised herself as a lawyer to help save her husband’s closest friend, Antonio when: She risked blowing her cover She also faces social execution if discovered to be breaking the law, a serious offence But she did it out of her love for her husband and nobility

Is Jessica justified? Jessica, being Shylock’s daughter, must have enough of suffering from the Christians in the Venetian society where Jews are persecuted by the Christians. In the play, we can see how Shylock is often discriminated against by the Jews. Thus, Jessica still faces racial prejudice from other Christians due to her Jewish origins and religion. Subjected to this racial prejudice, Jessica has so willingly left her father.

Conclusion Jessica and Portia are similar in many aspects and are the leading female characters that are manipulative to a certain extent in this male-dominated society.