It’s interesting how something like a ring takes on an entirely different meaning in this play. Originally, a ring was given to a woman before and or during the wedding ceremony as a symbol of her devotion and, frankly, her bond to her husband. Sometimes the custom of mothers passing their wedding rings to their daughters or daughter-in-laws came about also as a symbol of their familial love and a non- verbal promise to continue the family tradition. However, we see anything but this occurring in The Merchant of Venice.
Upon declaring that Bassiano has earned the right to marry her, Portia immediately presents him with a ring signifying his promise to be true to her. Her servant, Nerrissa, does a similar deed with her would be husband, Gratiano. This could be seen as merely a way of these women showing affection to their men. It could, until not only do they force them to part with the rings but then they use the rings’ absence as an excuse to not sleep with them. How crafty! Essentially, if this were not a Shakespearean comedy, one could speculate that this ploy could be Portia’s method of rebelling against her father’s will and maintaining a firm grip on her life. Realistically, Portia has most likely accepted her fate to marry some random guy that happens to value anything but his wallet. Convincing Bassanio to give her the ring in the guise of her cousin had to be her personal test of his character. The is reminiscent of Penelope asking Odyseus to move their bed to see if he still loved her on his return as much as he did on his departure.
The other time the loss of a ring gets highlighted is in Tubal’s story to Shylock. The first time I read that Jessica gave away her mother’s ring to buy A MONKEY, I was appalled. I don’t care how much you hate your mother, family, etc.; I found that inconceivably cold hearted. But, because we are reading a play, there’s a reason for it. The significance of the ring has very little to do with her mother. The first and last time we ever hear about the woman is when Shylock relates to Tubal when he gave her the ring years ago. She gave it away because it symbolized a responsibility that she has forsaken. One would imagine that Jessica’s Jewish mother would want her to pass on the culture and traditions of her heritage to any and all of her children. Her presence in Genoa at the time of the exchange meant that she wanted nothing to do with her heritage. I don’t know if there was any reason why Shakespeare specifically chose a monkey, or if it could have been any other animal or object. Regardless of whether she bought a monkey or a monocle wearing unicorn, Jessica made it verbally clear that she desired to be a Christian in Act 3 scene 5.
It’s rather ironic that in a play that begins with very strong willed men, we meet three equally strong women that seize the power to govern their lives. Though we as modern readers may have expected at least one woman to put up some sort of fight against the social norms of the day, it is still surprising to actually see it occur not once or twice, but thrice.
4 comments:
I really liked how you brought up the ring. It plays such a key role in this play, and is essential in the plot line. It is interesting how you bring up that typically a man gives a ring to a woman, but it is reversed in The Merchant of Venice. Even though the ring may not be a character in this play, it does serves as something that is very important, and I like your attention to it in you blog post.
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts about the final act, where "rings" come into the play again. There's a lot of punning in there, too, I think.
I'm a little puzzled about the ring as a masculine symbol, though--aren't rings exchanged in the marriage ceremony? Why do you say it is only a tool of male control over women?
When I wrote this, I was under the impression that only men gave women rings prior to the ceremony, which Portia does. I also thought that the idea of both men and women wearing wedding rings was a more modern idea.
You may be right, Jazzi. I don't know enough about the tradition to say what the standards were in Shakespeare's time. It would also make sense here in playing off the larger issue of gender reversals in the play.
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