The main theme of The Merchant of Venice is appearence vs. reality. If you look hard enough you can find an endless amount of examples of this. You are introduced to it at the beginning of the play. Bassanio had borrowed, and is borrowing more, money from Antonio so he can look and live on a higher level than his own income can sustain.
Later, in Belmont, Bassanio must choose between a casket of gold, silver, or lead to win Portia, who he wants to marry. It turns out that lead is the correct choice. This shows that what may appear to be unvaluable, can yield the best results, another example of appearence vs. reality.
Yet another example of this theme is when Shylock is lending money to Antonio without interest, but if Antonio fails to pay back on time, he loses a pound of flesh. Shylock offers this in a way that seems generous and jokingly, but really wants to use the situation to get back at Antonio for past humilitations.
This theme reoccurs throughout the play. Once you know what to look for, you'd be surprised how many times you see it.
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