Posted by J.H.P. on May 31, 1998 at 14:43:32:
In Reply to: Does Portia give any hint to Banio? posted by Cecilia on May 30, 1998 at 01:54:28:
At one point Portia says:
"If you do love me, you will find me out.
Nerissa and the rest, stand all aloof."
And later in the same speach, she uses aloof again:
"I stand for sacrifice
The rest aloof are the Dardanian wives,"
By using aloof to refer to othere than herself in the group, she may mean
that she does not stand aloof as the gold and silver caskets do with
their valuable appearance.
At the end of her speech she calls Banio Hercules, and in his speech
as he ponders which casket, he mentions "The beards of Hercules and frowning
Mars..." and from there reasons correctly which casket her visage is in.
However this seems a tad bit week to me to be proof that she hints to the
correct answer. If you ask me, I think she gives the Prince of Arragon a
better hint when she tells him:
"To these injuntions everyone doth swear
That comes to hazard for my worthless self."
If she considers herself worthless, then it would follow that her visage
would be in the lead box; lead of course being the worthless of the three
metals. Perhaps of all her suitors, she really wants the Prince of Arragon
to choose the right casket, but when he fails, she settles for Banio,
and hopes he finds it.
It would help a little more if I knew your position and your reasons, so
that I would have a springboard for making my decision and providing my
reasons; but as of now, this is all I have to say on the subject.