My First Impression of Portia- Act 1

Portia is introduced by Bassanio who is talking to his dear friend: Antonio:

In Belmont is a lady richly left,

And she is fair, and fairer than the word,

Of wondrous virtues- sometimes from her eyes

I did receive fair speechless messages.

Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued.

He describes her as a beautiful, rich, and just lady. He also knows that she has inherited great riches. She offers the means to clear Bassanio’s debts if he is able to choose the right casket.

Not much is revealed about Portia in the first Act itself, besides the fact that she is polite, like mocking others, and a prisoner of her own house. Her father said that she must marry a man who chooses one of three caskets which carries gold, silver, and lead. This in return is hard for Portia in which she has no say in whom she can marry. 

Portia and Nerissa have a conversation about the suitors who came to pick a casket. Portia thinks that the Neapolitan Prince is a colt; he is too obsessed with horses. The County Palatine is too sad and melancholy. The French lord has no distinct original character of his own; and is every man in no man. She thinks that the Falconbridge (Englishman) is uneducated, dressed oddly, and behaves badly. Her opinion of the Scotsman is a fighter, and the Duke of Saxony’s nephew is a sponge, as he is a drunkard.

In my opinion, Portia is a very just a fair character who is very judgmental and has a dual personality at times; and that is what I dislike about Portia at times.