By indirectly offering to pay more than triple the amount Bassiano borrowed from Shylock, Portia’s act symbolizes the cornucopia in Fortuna’s left hand. Portia, true to her allegorical figure, jumps at the opportunity to rescue Antonio from Shylock during the trial scene, spotting it as a situation where she can spin her metaphorical wheel and dramatically alter the fates of the people involved. La Rota Fortunae – notice the position of the individuals at the top and bottom of the wheel as Fortuna in spins the wheel. Someone at the bottom hoped that Fortuna would eventually spin her wheel often enough for the individual to come back on top, both metaphorically and financially.

However, the wheel would eventually rotate and the person would begin to endure a miserable existence, full of pain and tragedy. A individual at this level would live like a king.

At the top of the wheel, a person’s lifestyle was full of happiness and leisure. By using both objects, she was able to either bring happiness to the person’s life, or completely destroy the individual’s life instead.Īssociated with Fortuna was her Rota Fortunae (Latin for “wheel of fortune”), which was a medieval concept that involved the use of a wheel that a person symbolically rode during his or her life. In the other hand, Fortuna held a ship’s rudder, which implied her power to steer the delicate lives of mortals. In her left hand, Fortuna usually held a cornucopia, a symbol of all good things flowing in abundance. She watched over the fate of the individual as well as the state. In Roman mythology, Fortuna was the goddess of Luck, Fate, and Fortune. In order to compare Portia and Fortuna, we need a little background on this mythical figure and her famous wheel. The Roman Goddess Fortuna, with a cornucopia in one hand and a rudder in the other.

The fortune