Individual readers might feel differently about the depiction of love (or lack of it) in the first acts of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Personally, I do not feel that there is a strong thematic presence of love. Yes, it is true that Bassanio desperately wants to marry Portia, but I do not think that is because he is in actual, romantic love with her. I believe that Bassanio is more likely in love with the idea of being able to call Portia his wife. He's not the only man to be actively pursuing her either. This is because Portia has two very immediate selling points for men like Bassanio: Portia is described as an exceptionally beautiful woman, and she comes from a wealthy family. She's rich and pretty; therefore, she is a definite prize to be won. Additionally, Bassanio is in massive debt. A woman with Portia's wealth could easily fix that problem of his. Portia being attractive is essentially an extra bonus for Bassanio.
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