Portia ( the Merchant of Venice ) - wikipedia Portia ( the Merchant of Venice ) Portia The Merchant of Venice character Kate Dolan as Portia, painted by John Everett Millais ( 1829 -- 1896 ) Created by William Shakespeare Source The Merchant of Venice Portia is the heroine of William Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice. A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father 's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and lead. If they choose the right casket -- the casket containing Portia 's portrait and a scroll -- they win Portia 's hand in marriage. If they choose the wrong casket, they must leave and never seek another woman in marriage. Portia is glad when two suitors, one driven by greed and another by vanity, fail to choose correctly. She favours Bassanio, a young Venetian noble, but is not allowed to give him any clues to assist in his choice. Later in the play, she disguises herself as a man, then assumes the role of a lawyer 's apprentice ( named Balthazar ) whereby she saves the life of Bassanio 's friend, Antonio, in court. Portia is one of the most prominent and appealing of the heroines in Shakespeare 's mature romantic comedies. She is beautiful, gracious, rich, intelligent, and quick - witted, with high standards for her potential romantic partners. She obeys her father 's will, while steadfastly seeking to obtain Bassanio. She demonstrates tact to the Princes of Morocco and Aragon, who unsuccessfully seek her hand. In the court scenes, Portia finds a technicality in the bond, thereby outwitting Shylock and saving Antonio 's life when everyone else fails. It is Portia who delivers one of the most famous speeches in The Merchant of Venice : `` The quality of mercy is not strain 'd. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest : It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. '' The strength of the role of Portia has made it attractive to many notable actresses. Frances Abington, Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Whitlock all played Portia in the 18th century when actresses first started appearing on stage in performances of the play. More recently, the role has been depicted in the cinema and on television by a number of notable actresses such as Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom, Sybil Thorndike, Joan Plowright, Caroline John and Gemma Jones. Despite Portia 's lack of formal legal training, she wins her case by referring to the details of the exact language of the law. Her success involves prevailing on technicalities rather than the merits of the situation. She uses the tactics of what is sometimes called a Philadelphia lawyer. However, the concept of rhetoric and its abuse is also brought to light by Portia -- highlighting the idea that an unjust argument may win through eloquence, loopholes and technicalities, regardless of the moral question at hand -- and thus provoking the audience to consider that issue. Portia and Shylock, by Thomas Sully Portia ( 1888 ) by Henry Woods Contents 1 Progenitor 2 Cultural references 3 References 4 External links Progenitor The original Portia Shakespeare drew from was Porcia Catonis, the wife of the Roman statesman Brutus. She was also compared to the wife of Brutus within the play. Cultural references The character of Portia has had a considerable and long - lived cultural impact. `` Portia '' is the name John Adams used to address his wife Abigail in his letters, presumably after Shakespeare 's character. ( Abigail addressed her husband as `` Lysander '' in letters a reference to a Shakespearean character appearing in A Midsummer Night 's Dream. ) The New England School of Law was originally known as the Portia Law School when it was established in 1908 as a women - only law school, and was known by that name until 1969. In his Rumpole novels ( filmed for the ITV series ), author John Mortimer has Rumpole call Phyllida Erskine - Brown ( née Trant ) the `` Portia of our Chambers ''. In 1986, a moon of Uranus was named after Portia ( see Uranus ' natural satellites ). Portia de Rossi ( born Amanda Lee Rogers ), married to Ellen DeGeneres, adopted the name Portia to reinvent herself after becoming a model and actress References Jump up ^ `` Law School History ''. New England Law. Retrieved 19 August 2015. Jump up ^ Kort, Michele ( 29 August 2005 ). `` Portia heart & soul ''. The Advocate. Here Media. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015. External links Shakespeare Resource Centre on the Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice Characters Shylock Antonio Portia Jessica Sources The Jew of Malta On screen 1914 1916 1923 Shylock ( 1941 ) 1961 1969 1980 ( TV ) One Man Band ( unfinished ) Adaptations Le marchand de Venise ( 1935, opera ) Shylock ( 1987, musical ) The Merchant of Venice ( 1982, opera ) Derivative works Serenade to Music ( 1938 ) Shylock ( 1996 ) Yasser ( 2001 ) The Maori Merchant of Venice ( 2002 ) Related `` All that glitters is not gold '' `` All the world 's a stage '' `` Between you and I '' Quibble Letter and spirit of the law `` Ding Dong Bell '' `` The quality of mercy '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portia_(The_Merchant_of_Venice)&oldid=800534144 '' Categories : The Merchant of Venice Fictional characters introduced in 1590 Female Shakespearean characters Fictional Italian people in literature Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Edit links This page was last edited on 14 September 2017, at 03 : 47. 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Question: where is portia from in merchant of venice
Answer: Venice