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
Jessica Merchant Jessica Merchant Jessica Merchant (born 1983) is an American softball coach and former softball player. She is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Golden Gophers softball team. She previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts. She played professional softball in the National Pro Fastpitch league (NPF) for the New England Riptide (2005, 2007-2008) and Connecticut Brakettes (2006). In 2006, she was named NPF Offensive Player of the Year. Merchant also played college softball for the Michigan Wolverines softball team from 2002 to 2005. She was the captain of the 2005 Michigan Wolverines softball team that