When we first meet Portia in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, she proves to be a very melancholy individual, despite her vast riches and elite status as an heiress of Belmont. As we get to know Portia better, however, we begin to understand the source of Portia's sadness. Portia is primarily melancholy because she doesn't have any control over her own romantic affairs, as her father decreed any man who wishes to marry her must solve an elaborate riddle. The riddle involves three caskets: one is silver, one is gold, and one is lead. Any man who wishes to marry Portia must pick the correct casket out of the three, a task that proves maddeningly difficult. To make matters worse, it's apparent Portia does not really like most of the men vying for her hand in marriage. Indeed, her descriptions of her primary suitors illustrate her contempt for many of them. As such, it's hardly a surprise that Portia struggles with melancholy when we first meet her, as the obstacles she faces would be enough to frustrate any person.
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