Merchant of Venice Reflection Question Two

13. Why do you think Shakespeare includes the sub-plot concerning Jessica and Lorenzo?

One reason that I think Shakespeare includes the sup-plot of Lorenzo and Jessica is to serve as a contrast to the relationship between Bassanio and Portia, especially a contrast between Jessica and Portia. Although Jessica chose to cross dress as man, similar to Portia, Jessica did it for very different reasons. Portia chose to cross-dress entirely of her own accord, and in doing so gained power and control over her marriage to Bassanio; Portia gained strength and the ability to be lawyer and save Antonio by cross-dressing. When Jessica chose to cross-dress, she felt weak and like it was a mere necessity, and she felt like she was ugly when dressed as a man. Jessica's reasons for cross-dressing were also fundamentally different from Portia's because Jessica chose to cross-dress specifically in order to be married to Lorenzo and as an escape, whereas Portia never seemed to lose her identity when dressed as a man and chose to cross-dress of her own accord.

Jessica also did not have the same respect for her father that Portia had for her father. Even after his death, Portia still respected her father, his will, and his casket test. Although Portia did not always agree with her father's actions and the constraint he put on her, but she always respected the rules of the casket test, even if she sometimes tried to manipulate the suitors within those rules. Jessica, however, outright disobeyed her father and ran away from him. Jessica not only ran away from her father, but she also eloped with Lorenzo, a Christian, spent all of Shylock's money, and converted to Christianity. Jessica seems to have seriously resented her father, and worked against all of his ideals and did everything he hates the most. Even though Portia may have disagreed with her father's methods, she still obeyed his wishes even after death, while Jessica made a point to disobey her father in every way she could when she ran away and eloped with Lorenzo.

I think Jessica and Lorenzo were also included to expand upon the Jewish-Christian dichotomy. Jessica converted to Christianity almost immediately after she eloped with Lorenzo, however she still faced discrimination for having been Jewish. This is specifically seen from Lancelet, who expresses his belief to Jessica that she will still end up in hell even though she converted to Christianity due to the "sins" of her father. Jessica and Lorenzo also serve as another relationship in the play, but one that had quite different origins. Jessica is fairly young, and Lorenzo and Jessica eloped without the permission of her father, so this is much different from the relationship of Portia and Bassanio, and even Nerissa and Gratiano. Both Portia and Nerissa seem to be older than Jessica, and their relationships seem to be less rushed and spur of the moment. Jessica and Lorenzo eloped suddenly, escaping from her father, so the relationship had a different beginning and may have a different ending as well.