Page 101 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

What treason there° is mingled with your love? 19 / What heresy

—Bassanio
20 21
None but that ugly treason of mistrust,° / unrest
+Where I am sure about my love for you , 22 / the love I hold
23 24
Yet still in doubt° if I’ll ever° enjoy it. / unsure //I am to
There is more kinship and affinity° / and likeness of kind
25 26
‘Tween snow and fire, as° treason and my love. > as there is between
—Portia
Ay, but I fear you speak upon the rack,
27
Where men enforcèd do speak° anything. / will say
—Bassanio
28
Promise me life and I’ll confess the truth.

—Portia

19. Portia is using this light banter—this accusation of treason—to test Bassanio, and to have him ‘confess’ what is
true. Her real question is: Is your love true—is what you show (outwardly) a true reflection of what you feel? (Are
your motivations based on love for me or personal gain?)
Is there some aspect of yourself that goes against, that belies (i.e., is treasonous to) your show of love? In other
words, do your outer actions of apparent love go against what your truly feel inside? Are you putting on the outer
show of loving me yet do not truly love me?
20. {None but that ugly treason of mistrust | Which makes me fear th’enjoying of my love}
What does Bassanio mistrust? And how does such treason make him fearful of the future and uncertain
(mistrusting) whether there will come a time when he can enjoy the fruits and expression of his love (for Portia).
A) Bassanio’s treason could be his mistrust the wisdom of Portia’s father and the lottery he devised—which was
supposed to determine one who truly loves Portia. Bassanio truly loves Portia, and wants to enjoy the fullness of that
love (the same way that Portia wants to enjoy it)—and he mistrusts whether the lottery (which is supposed to
determine one who truly loves Portia) will, in fact, do so. B) Perhaps Bassanio does not trust himself. His love is
true, his love is certain, but his own doubts whether he will be able to rise to the occasion (and choose the right
chest) are in doubt. C) Previously Portia accuses Bassanio of treason (of putting on an outward show of loving her
but not truly loving in his heart). Bassanio’s reply could then be a reference to Portia’s mistrust (of Bassanio’s true
motivations) but this is unlikely, since such a mistrust would not make Bassanio fear the enjoying of his love. [See
Additional Notes, 3.2.29]
21. / None but the dark heresy of mistrust / None but the heresy found in mistrust
22. / +Where I am certain about my love’s truth,
23. / But not about my fortune to enjoy it / Yet still unsure if I’ll enjoy its fruit
24. {Which makes me fear th’enjoying of my love}
25. Bas: ‘Tween snow and fire as there is between treason
And my love.
Portia: Yet, you speak upon the rack
26. {There may as well be amity and life | ‘Tween snow and fire, as treason and my love}
There is as much kinship and similarity between snow and fire (which are opposites) as there is between
treason and my love. In other words, there is no treason mixed with my love—it is pure and singular. There is doubt
as to whether I will ever enjoy that love (because there is some lack of certainty in the outcome of the lottery) but no
doubt as to my love.
27. / Where men compelled do confess anything
Again Portia is teasingly testing Bassanio, saying that his admission of love may not be sincere since he is
like someone who is upon the rack and will make a confession (and say anything) just so he can get off the rack.
Such a confession, forcibly induced, therefore, cannot be trusted and taken as true.
28. promise me life: > promise me that I will have you; promise me that you will end this torture (of being apart
from you). It is unclear what Bassanio is asking of Portia, since she cannot, by her own wits or power, deliver
Bassanio to freedom (i.e. from the torturous death of being separate from her).