Rocco D’Ambrosca: 12/07/2007
Women in the time of Shakespeare were still very much bound by a lower political status in society. They were allowed far less rights than their male counterparts and meant to think they were lower than men. However, the plays Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice present two women who refused to fit the mold created by society and stand out as strong women, equal to or greater than any man surrounding them. Between the two women, Viola stands slightly taller than Portia in her ability to fit the characteristics of a strong woman.
The strength of a woman can be defined by several characteristics, including independence, assertiveness, and courage. Portia and Viola will be compared and contrasted based on these three characteristics alone. They will be judged based on their ability to personify each of these characteristics through their actions, words, and/or environmental circumstances.
Independence is the first characteristic to be addressed. Viola’s independence is the first thing on display as Twelfth Night begins. At the beginning of the play, we learn that Viola has just been shipwrecked. On shore, she is only surrounded by the captain and a few sailors. Realizing her brother may be dead, she cries out, “O my poor brother!” (1.2.6) rather than a cry of woe is me via her stage mate Olivia who is mourning her brother for seven years. Rather, Viola immediately bucks up and realizes she is on her own and must fend for herself, strongly presenting herself as clearly independent. Through dialog with the captain Viola decides to work for Duke Orsino disguised as a man saying, “For such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke” (1.2.50-51).
Portia lacks the strong independence of Viola due to a few things. First, Portia due to her environmental circumstances of her father’s will is tied to it’s contract. She is not allowed to independently pick her own husband but rather await the outcome of a casket picking game. Portia, while discussing with Nerissa her predicament, favorably recalls Bassanio, with Portia saying, “I remember him well, and I remember him worthy of thy praise” (1.2.100-101). When Bassanio arrives to take a try at the casket game, Portia is extremely fearful of losing him, showing a second lack of independence on top of environmental circumstances. Portia begins to beg him to hold off on the game, so that she can tell him the right casket saying, “I pray you tarry. Pause a day or two before you hazard, for in choosing wrong I lose your company. Therefore forbear a while.” (3.2.1-3) “Before you venture for me. I could teach you how to choose right” (3.2.10-11). Through this contest of independence between Portia and Viola, Viola stands a clear winner.
Assertiveness is the second characteristic to be addressed. Portia shows excellent assertiveness in her ability to not take her “forced” marriage lying down. She decides to assertively test her new husband’s loyalty. When Bassanio first wins her, she gives him a ring and makes him swear to never give it up to anyone, saying, “This house, these servants, and this same myself are yours, my lord’s. I give them with this ring, which when you part from, lose, or give away, let it presage the ruin of your love, and be my vantage to exclaim on you.” (3.2.170-174). Portia later catches Bassanio without the ring and scolds him saying, “You were to blame, I must be plain with you, to part so slightly with your wife’s gift a thing so slightly with your wife’s first gift, a thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger, and so riveted with faith unto your flesh. I gave my love a ring, and made him swear never to part with it; and here he stands.” (5.1.165-170). Portia now has something to hold over Bassanio’s head for the rest of their days, and has gained an edge over him through her excellent exemplification of assertiveness.
Viola on the other hand, clearly lacks assertiveness, in her inability to express her love for Orsino. She sits back and waits until she is practically forced to do so, due to the unplanned unveiling of her disguise, caused by the mutual appearance of herself and her brother at the same time; as well as the fact that Orsino can’t have Olivia because of her new marriage to Sebastian. It is not until then, that Viola puts forth herself to Orsino saying, “If nothing lets to make us happy both but this my masculine usurped attire, do not embrace me till each circumstance of place, time, fortune do cohere and jump that I am Viola” (5.1.242-246). Viola has only waited for no other option to be available before she actually decides to speak up. Due to Viola’s clear lack of assertiveness and Portia’s overabundance of it, Portia wins literally almost by no contest, leaving the score now tied at 1:1.
Courage is the final characteristic to be addressed. Viola as previously stated shipwrecked at the beginning of the play and is left on her own to fend for herself. Not only does this show her great strength in being independent, but also shows her great courage, in her ability to move on so quickly from not only the apparent death of her brother, but also the emotional and frightful trauma of a shipwreck. On top of her courage to move on so quickly, she also shows great courage by dressing up as a man to work for Orsino. The risk Viola is undertaking is extremely high due to the fact that she is planning to work this job for months. It takes great courage and resolve to be able to keep an act like that going for so long with the possibility of severe punishment from the Duke for deceiving the ruler of the land.
Portia meanwhile also dresses as a man, again exemplifying courage like Viola but to a lesser extent. Viola must keep her act going for exponentially longer than Portia. Portia dresses as a male lawyer at Antonio’s trial, saying to Nerissa, “When we are both accoutered like young men I’ll prove the prettier fellow of the two” (3.5.63-64) joking about it showing more of her assertiveness than courage, and actually looking forward to her chance to pretend to be a macho man. Portia’s time she must spend in disguise is at most a day for the trial, creating the environmental circumstance that limits her amount of courage. However, regardless of environmental circumstance limiting the time she must courageously disguise herself, she is looking forward to doing so, clearly showing that she is not afraid, possibly because she might not face nearly the penalty of Viola, due to her known status of nobility. With this final characteristic, Viola sticks out yet again as a clear winner, leaving the final score at 2:1 Viola.
Between the two women, Viola stands slightly taller than Portia in her ability to fit the characteristics of a strong woman. Through the rigorous contrast and comparison of Portia and Viola, Portia beat out Viola with her assertiveness, but Viola buried Portia with two wins in both her independence and courage, making Viola the stronger woman. Both women are defiantly strong women, especially in a time where it was clearly not the social norm. But in the end, Viola most fits the definition of a strong woman.
Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997, 1090-1144.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997, 1768-1821.
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