Portia (The Merchant of Venice) 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. In the court scenes, Portia finds a technicality in the bond, thereby outwitting Shylock and saving Antonio's life when everyone else including Antonio fails. It is Portia who delivers one of the most famous speeches in "The Merchant of Venice": 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
Reputation of William Shakespeare of justice and fairness in life, with the character of Portia being especially popular as she seen as standing for as one critic wrote for "the humanist spirit of the Renaissance" with its striving for "individuality, human rights and freedom". The theme of a religious conflict between a Jewish merchant vs. a Christian merchant in "The Merchant of Venice" is generally ignored in Chinese productions of "The Merchant of Venice" as most Chinese find do not find the theme of Jewish-Christian conflict relevant., Unlike in Western productions, the character of Shylock is very much an unnuanced villain in Chinese productions