Portia in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is an heiress. She is a Christian and from a wealthy and prominent family. Her father is worried that men will court her simply in order to obtain her fortune, and so he devises a scheme to help her choose a lover who values her for herself rather than just her money. He creates three caskets: one silver, one gold, and one lead. Only one of these contains her portrait and the other two contain short writings of advice to the failing suitors. Only a suitor who chooses the correct casket that contains her portrait will be able to marry her. There are inscriptions giving the suitors hints about the nature of the contents of the caskets.
Portia is in love with Bassanio, who chooses the correct casket.
Portia is a wealthy, beautiful, and intelligent heiress. Her father has died. In his will, he has stipulated that she not choose her own husband. Instead, he has set up a "test" for her prospective suitors.
To win Portia's hand in marriage, the man who wishes to be her husband must first choose one of three caskets. One casket is gold, one silver, and one lead. If the suitor chooses correctly, he has the right to marry Portia, whether she likes it or not.
Portia complains about having no control over one of the most important decisions in her life. Shakespeare, who understood how women were tyrannized in his culture, later shows how capable of judgment and decision-making Portia is, when she disguises herself as a man and successfully pleads Antonio's case in court.
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