| Popis: |
This chapter examines the casket scenes in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice against the background of changing attitudes toward randomness and chance. Whereas these phenomena had previously been viewed largely in terms of providential forces, the growing prevalence of lotteries in early modern England brought new attention to their rules, procedures, and outcomes in commercial circles and, as a result, renewed theological discussions of their efficacy. The caskets in Merchant are shown to participate within a carefully constructed contest, in which suitors must venture high stakes in the hope of winning Portia’s hand. But importantly, and contrary to previous readings, Portia is revealed not to be a passive prize but a skilful gamer in her own right, capable of manipulating the outcome to suit her marital preferences. |
