When Bassanio made his entry he
gave his own reaction to the comment made by Salerio on the nature of Antonio’s
melancholy. Antonio wanted to know about the lady whom he intended to meet
privately and reminded him that he had made a promise to tell him about her.
Instead of giving a straight reply to the question asked by Antonio, he told
him about the nature of his present financial crisis on account of the
extravagant manner of his lifestyle and his determination to wriggle out of it.
He said that he had led his life in a lavish manner, going beyond the limits of
his resources and the inevitable outcome of it was that he had to incur huge
debts. Now after being enmeshed in the debts, his chief concern was to pull out
of it by hook or crook. He emphasized the fact that it was Antonio to whom owed
the most in terms of love and money and therefore he should tell him about the
plans and plots he had contrived to overcome his financial crisis.
Antonio told Bassanio in his
characteristic manner that he had always stood by his friend and would again do
the same provided the purpose of his plans was as much honourable as he had
always regarded him. He assured him that if it was really as much honourable as
he was in his estimate, he would not hesitate to offer him his unstinted help
such as his money, his physique and his resources.
Bassanio told him that in the
days of his school life he was in the habit of shooting arrows. When he shot
the first arrow and lost it, he would shoot a second arrow of the same length
and size with the same speed for flying through the air. At the time he shot
the second arrow he kept a keen watch over its direction, locating the place
where it landed. As a result he was able to find the second arrow together with
the first one he had lost. Giving this practice of archery as an example he
told him that he needed a second loan from him to recover from his present
financial crisis and to fulfill the plan he had. He made a candid confession to
him saying that he was giving this proof of his childhood days as he had
already squandered away everything he had borrowed from him. Then he urged him
to give him another installment of a loan like he would shoot the second arrow
so that he would spend the money in a judicious manner and would be able to
realize the worth of the second loan and even the first one he had lost.
Antonio told Bassanio that
despite knowing him well, he was wasting his time in trying to win his love in
a roundabout manner without coming down to the crux of the matter he wanted to
convey to him. With a feeling of hurt he told him that he was doing him a greater
injustice by being suspicious of his willingness to help him than he would by
squandering away all of his resources. (This statement by Antonio gives us an
idea of the profoundness of his love for Bassanio.) Then he told him in a
generous manner that he would not think of any constraints and only have to
tell him about what he should do to help him to fulfill his plan.
Encouraged by Antonio, Bassanio
told him that a fair woman by the name of Portia had inherited a fortune in
Italy. Talking about her beauty he said that she was more beautiful than the
word beauty could convey. He informed him that sometimes she with her glances
had given him to understand that she loved him. Talking about the beautiful
woman Portia, he said that she was too qualified to be inferior to Portia who
was Cato’s daughter and the wife of Marcus Brutas. The entire world was not
ignorant of her worth and suitors willing to marry her came crowding from all
the four corners of the world. According to him, they came from every coast of
the world to marry the very woman whose temples were adorned by sunny locks.
Speaking in a rhetorical manner, he said that the suitors coming to court
Portia could be compared to adventurers like Jason who set out for the coast of
Colchos to get hold of the Golden Fleece. He told Antonio in a tone of
confidence that if he had adequate resources to be on the same footing as that
of the suitors of Portia, he could hope to win her. He further said that his
mind told him that if he had enough money, he could surely prove to be the
successful suitor. In response to Bassanio’s speech, Antonio made him aware of
the reality of the situation facing him. He told him that all his money was
invested in the cargos of the ships sailing on the seas and as a result he was
not in a position to produce any amount of liquid cash nor had any commodities
with which to raise money from any source. Therefore he urged him to go into
the city of Venice and explore the possibility of raising money from some
source on the strength of his reputation as a merchant. He wanted him to raise this amount of money
so that he could go all the way to Belmont in Italy to win the hand of Portia
in marriage. He further urged him to go
and find out the person who was willing to lend money to him and assured him
that he would do the same. He expressed his confidence that he had no doubt
about the fact that he would be able to raise the required sum of money on
credit or by using his friendly contacts with the merchants of Venice. (This is
yet another example of the way Antonio was willing to go out of his way to help
his friend Bassanio to go to Belmont and win over Portia. His intention to help
Bassanio was so great that he was not in the least deterred by the limitations
of the situation. T though he had no
ready cash to help his friend with, he was not to be discouraged in the
least. He banked on his reputation as a
merchant and waned to raise the required sum of money on credit without
thinking of the future consequences.)
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