Theme of Love

Kinds of love and rivalry in love are other important topics in The Merchant of Venice. The suitors who vie for Portia all represent different types of love. Arragon and Morocco-the two unsuccessful petitioners-symbolize a shallow and limited form of love. By selecting the silver casket on the basis of its inscription ("Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves" [II. vii. 7]), Arragon reveals that his concept of love is self-serving and vain. Morocco's choice of the gold casket indicates that his notion of love is based on superficiality ("All that glisters is not gold" [II. vii. 65]). However, when Bassanio correctly identifies the lead casket, he demonstrates a superior understanding of love by judging the box on the inner qualities it may pos sess rather than on its dull appearance. The issue of rivalry in love is evident in the association between Antonio, Portia, and Bassanio. Some critics argue that the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio may be a homosexual one, citing the merchant's unexplained melancholy at the beginning of the playas the result of Portia displacing him as the object of Bassanio's affection. In addition, couples-Bassanio and Portia and Jessica and Lorenzo-represent two antithetical kinds of love in The Merchant of Venice. Bassanio and Portia demonstrate a socially acceptable courtship; not only do they obey her father's request that Portia's suitor successfully endure the casket test, but they also uphold the legal provisions of the test as mandated in the father's wiii. Jessica and Lorenzo's courtship, however, illustrates a romantic love linked to the great lovers of myth, particularly in the illicitness of their elopement. Unlike Portia and Bassanio's union, Jessica and Lorenzo's defies social traditions because their aspiration to get married causes them to step out of the bounds of the accepted rules of society.