“All that glistens in not gold” Explore the theme of deception in the Merchant of Venice
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... king he is rich. This is quite an important deception as it is linked directly to the main deception of the loan from Shylock. Bassanio needs money so he can borrow a ship and sail to Portia to ask if she will marry him. He also needs money to buy expensive gifts, again to deceive Portia. Bassanio brings "Gifts of rich value" and, although he is in debt, arrives as Portia's suitor as if a rich man. Secondly, Bassanio also deceives Portia because he doesn't love her but only wants to marry her for her money. Bassanio describes to his close friend Antonio his reason for marrying Portia: "to get clear of all the debts I owe". He describes Portia to Antonio: "Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued… Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth". Worth here implies being rich. It is not important to Bassanio that he knows little about Portia. The one thing that he does know is that she is wealthy and therefore marriage to her would solve his money problems. "In Belmont is a lady richly left". Bassanio is to borrow money on Antonio's credit and this brings about problems later in the play because Antonio cannot pay off the debt.
The final deception that I have classified as cruel is the deception of the rings by Portia and Nerissa. This is a particularly cruel deception as Portia and Nerissa are deceiving people they are supposed to love. They are not deceiving their enemies as in some of the past deceptions, but their husbands. After successfully saving Antonio from Shylock, Portia (still disguised) requests Bassanio's ring that she has given him as a token of loyalty, "And for your love I'll take this ring from you". When Bassanio claims he cannot part with the ring, Portia mocks him, "That excuse serves many men to save their gifts." After Po ...
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