Saturday, March 13, 2010

Portia's trait in Merchant of venice



It has been 9 long years since i first stumbled upon an intriguing character from Shakespeare most renowned novel "Merchant of Venice".She goes by the name Portia ,In Bassanio's(another character of MOV) exact words she is "fair, and fairer than that word,of wondrous virtue".However she was deprived of the will to choose any one she desires to engage in matrimony by her father.She was bound to this ridiculous fate since her father before dying weaved a brilliant plan and this plan would lead to the man who construes well the significance of tht lay before his eyes and looks beyond the glitters and dazzling exterior which shrouds the rotten kernel.

Although Portia was dreary of her father's wish,she had maintained her calm and treated every suitors with respect and each one got a fair chance to win her.Lets think over,Prejudice was non-existent? Bassanio ,of all people ,could interpret intelligibly the inscription on the caskets! He who squandered his best friend antonio's money and could never secure prospect whatsoever ,walked through the maze brought upon him by the riddle on each casket and lands right into the lap of great fortune after having won the most beautiful woman of Belmont.
Absolutely Hokum!
Portia was too mesmerized by bassanio to settle for anyone on her father's accord.Like every woman she was manipulative ,so she played the song only when it was the turn of the man she will have at any cost and already considered to be the only man to be in bed with for rest of her life.The Song i speak of went as follows
"SONG.
Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart, or in the head?
How begot, how nourished?
Reply, reply.
It is engender'd in the eyes,
With gazing fed; and fancy dies
In the cradle where it lies.
Let us all ring fancy's knell
I'll begin it,--Ding, dong, bell.

ALL
Ding, dong, b
"
If the first two lines are examined closely , the last word on each line rhymes with lead and tht was the winning casket.Portia didnt trust bassanio's instinct to make the right choice so found it necessary to assist him by playing the song."If you do love me you will find me out" was just a sham.She insisted on deferring bassanio's attempt and if she had her way she would have escorted him to the right casket and put an end to the anxiety once for all but she was fore sworn.Well all she did was sent out a signal with the frequency which only bassanio's broken receiver could catch.
Portia was not just a lamenting person ,she was also portrayed as witty as to the extent how mischievous dennis was(yeah i know great analogy).She defended Antonio by urging "Wronged" shylock to retreat from what he claimed "a pound of flesh" and be merciful.She doled out a riveting speech on Mercy :
"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice."
When "Wronged" shylock had shown no compassion for antonio and stood by his bond ,portia dexterity sprung out into action and turn the table upon him. In her exact words:
"This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood The words expressly are a pound of flesh Take then thy bond take thou thy pound of flesh But in the cutting it if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the state of Venice.""
Henceforth her brilliant interpose did justice to Antonio and rendered shylock squealing like a dog.She was ruthless and she would not revert to the former proposition.She didnt pity the grovelling shylock,instead imposed heavier charges on him. Portia had intervened bit too much than she was suppose to,Well sure shylock was on the verge of taking Antonio's life but portia hardly knew either of them.Being married to bassanio will not suffice,she had crippled an old man who was bereft ofeverything he had.Her prosecution was uncalled for and prejudicial. If i was amongst the audience, i would go:
" Hey , Yo Portia, relax woman,that man is on his knees devastated for wht fate has brought upon him, his daughter stole all his money and ran away with a christian whoi cant believe to be referred as gentle man by antonio!!!!!.Speaking of Antonio,he has wronged shylock several times in the past and which cant be condoned. So i believe ur character just failed to hold on to the admiration i had in the beginning."





Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Women psyche under microscope


The psyche of women is as complex as the intricate work of a PCB board.I have never been in a relationship but yet a hint of exposure to my comrades experiences was just enough to zero in .Man wid money (i mean lot of money), car(BMW) and free pass to a club(or not) has women in tow.It doesnt matter hw good at heart u are,or wht u can do....Rolex watch , cuff-pins, a glazing tuxedo speak the language of "charm".Eventually half of them gonna move on once its over,just like parasites.The skills of an actress and diabolical nature are meshed so well in them,its hard to look past their facade.Playing with the emotions of one jus to get the other has been the most ugly game and women sure are the quarter backs in it.

Some are spies.such a kind do not trust their men.their micro camera could be in the form of a best friend who never lets u out of sight and its mouth is the microphone(a delayed response version)."Relationship is built on trust" such a cliche . Even whn they find out things are going out of hand,they wanna fix it in their own way whatever it takes.Its not about "love" then, its more about self esteem.Your relationship is on rut woman,your prestige should be your least concern.

90% Women are and always have been in secured.Their dependency on and attraction to men augment when men attend to their basic needs.It could be emollient for a small scratch or a glass of water or a pillow rest for the back while watching a movie. They pay lot of attention to these minute pleasantries they are furnished with.However they know they are taking a bite on a conundrum and that is a whole another area to dig into.

Have you come across a jaunty woman?well i have.she was as carefree as n e one possibly could be abt n e thing that revolved around her. She cared least abt her past relationship and it wasnt too soon for her to be in a new one.Her mind knew nothing of social or religious boundaries but each step forward she took made her merrier.Sometimes she would turn into a psychotic , ranging woman and reasoning with her would be like waving a red flag at a bull.She was 21 but tht cant be the explanation.She stood out and was a crazy one.

Getting on, women have double standards.They pick time to be a weakling and time to stand shoulder to shoulder with men.They cower whn it comes to face the social terrorist. They then crawl back to their men like toddlers.Their outcry is more like a empty nut shell.If they are at par wid man ,they would not protest men reign at the first place.If you can explain why the word "chivalry" still in existence ,then my point over here is made.

This isnt over yet. i m not sexist or male chauvinist.No offense to women , i m just trying to analyze your kind.i will be back to replenish this topic with more insight, adieus until thn.