Bassanio is the main connecting link between the bond story and casket story explain.....☺
Answers
Bassanio does not have enough money to go to seek Portia’s hand. His friend Antonio also does not have money to spare. Antonio signs a bond with the Jewish moneylender Shylock and borrows the money to lend Bassanio. He is a prospective suitor with just as much possibility of winning her hand like other suitors.
At Portia’s palace, like other suitors, Bassanio has to select the right casket among the gold, silver and lead caskets that her father had thought of and designed. He manages to choose the right casket and win her hand.
The bond story and the casket story are the main pillars on which the play rests. In fact, Bassanio plays a crucial in both these stories.
Bassanio is responsible for the bond story because Antonio had to borrow money for Bassanio’s needs. He needed the money to be able to go to Belmont and impress Portia. Since Antonio did not have funds available at that time, he decided to sign the bond, for Bassanio. Eventually, when Antonio is unable to pay Shylock, it is the bond that drags him to court.
The casket scene is included in the play only because Bassanio is a part of it. Therefore it is safe to say that Bassanio is responsible for the casket scene as well. In this scene, he goes to Belmont, to woo Portia. Portia’s father had devised a test to ensure that only the right man could marry his daughter. So, like all other suitors, Bassanio needed to choose one casket, which would decide his fate. Fortunately, he choose the right casket and won Portia’s hand in marriage.
The other main character in the casket scene is Portia. She is a learned lady, who saved Antonio’s life. In order to get her to the courtroom, it was important to have a strong link between the two scenes. This link, thus, is Bassanio. His desire to marry Portia took him to the caskets in Belmont, while Portia’s love for her husband took her to the courtroom.