59.
“Mr. Judas, if I……” Portia
was halted by the other. They are still in the court where the magistrate
presides over the case.
“Ms. Belmont, may I ask for
your credentials to hold the defence besides the ……. Backing of the other
‘jury’ member here?” Shylock asked.
“Which I will ask back, what
is your capacity here? Are you an educated ‘jury’ like my peer here? Or are you
a man and hence qualified to do the task here, and I am a lady who should
remain at home?” Portia Belmont looked at Shylock and then at the magistrate.
“Does gender predetermine their roles?”
“I ……” Shylock was to defend
his question, but Portia was to continue.
“For the record, and in the
presence of the esteemed traders here who had dealt with my father many times, and
of the money lenders here, I stand before you not as a shadow but as an equal
partner with my father when we negotiate the terms of trade and financing.
Since I was younger, my father had taught me the art of the trades and the
intricacies involved. Was it not the avenue of man, as those of you seated here
are men?”
“I ……” Shylock tried to
intervene with nods from his community.
“Well, I am not any lady. I
am Portia Belmont, and I had stood tall with many of you at the negotiations. I
am versed in the terms and conditions of the contractual documents, the banking
caveat on the loan, the procedures at the wharf, and the storage. And the
arbitration process of the trades, which is why I am here today.”
‘Tell me, Mr. Judas. You
mentioned the default term on the loan was a pound of flesh.” Portia went for
the matter on hand.
“Yes, I do. As the wares did
not support the full amount I loaned out, I hold the right to the terms of
default, or in this case, the short weight of the repayment.” Shylock took the
edge to press his claim. “Andre Bassanio Tito signed the documents.”
“Acknowledged.” Portia
Belmont nodded. “We are in the field of trading, and compliance is needed to
ensure fair trade, and if there is any failure to respect that, would you not
say we are being …… malicious in our approach?”
Shylock was taken aback by
the statement made by the lady. The gallery was murmuring, with some in
agreement, but there were some questioning her approach.
“Obviously, I learned from
the years of being with my father; there were moments we had to enforce our
terms.” Portia Belmont looked at Bassanio. “We cannot live with lies or
deceits.”
“Therefore…” Shylock was
about to interject but was halted by Portia.
“Mr. Judas, did you verify
the contents beforehand? Or did you accept the contents by the description in
the documents? Did you raise any doubts to the officer of the "giovani dei
calcolatori?"
“No, you did not, I presume.
We had our faith with the officer of the "giovani dei calcolatori,"
am I right?" Portia snapped at her arguments. “Why else would we have them
to ensure the valuation was done…correctly?”
“Did… we err in the trust?
Unlikely, but maybe the error was on the journey and in the storage, then when
it was… confiscated.”
“Ms. Belmont, if you are
implying that my officers had pilfered the wares while in our custody, you are
……” Magistrate Javier roared out his protest.
“I did not say that,
Magistrate, but we have to consider the journey of the wares and its possible…
shall I say, losses, which were not foreseen when it was loaded.” Ms. Belmont
smiled. “A risk all traders took with them on every shipment of wares. Piracy
may happen at times. Thereafter, we the traders have what we term as insurance
coverage supported by the banks or influential members of society.”
In 15th-century Genoa,
marine insurance was a well-established practice where local businessmen formed
a "risk community" to share maritime perils, with contracts becoming
openly written for the first time. The contracts covered risks like loss
of cargo due to shipwrecks, piracy, and storms, with premiums paid to
underwriters. Genoa was a key financial market in Europe, alongside Florence
and Venice, helping to reduce the financial risk of long, perilous sea voyages
by spreading the costs among multiple parties.
“Ms. Belmont, I stand ……”
Magistrate Javier raised his voice, but Portia had seen that argument flowing
towards her.
“I held the magistrate, and
his officers have held onto their duties well. The losses are, as mentioned,
the expected losses, which is why we hold insurance coverage. However, was this
shipment covered? I stand to question Andre Bassanio Tito on this.”
Bassanio shook his head, and
then Portia added for him.
“He did not, for he is new
to Genoa and could not find the right parties to take the coverage. It was a
risk he took, which some of us do at ……. of desperation. More to it, the
conflict in Hungary and Wallachia was over with its battles, and such risk of
losses was minimized. Traders do gamble on margins of losses, and Andre
Bassanio Tito took that gamble.”
“Viola, he then failed.”
Shylock gleefully said. “I am entitled to my claim then.”
“Expressly affirmative.”
Portia looked at Shylock. What was it? A pound of flesh? Am I right?”
“It was stated …….” Shylock
was to affirm that, but Portia diverted the attention of the magistrate to call
on her witness.
“Send in Mr. Silva Dupree.
He is a butcher.”
“I wish to call for a recess
now.” The Chief Magistrate called out. “We will continue after lunch.
“Portia, what are you
doing?” Enrico Moet stepped up to her. “We had a strategy planned.”
“Hush, cousin. I will win
this case.” Portia looked at Enrico. “In your name it will carry the credit.”
“Or my license to practice…”
Enrico sighed. He then muttered, "Why would not the womenfolk leave the
legal duties to the male?" He had regretted acting there, and if not for
Portia calling on the favours owed to the father, he would have declined.
At that time, Lady Sofia
approached the friar and inquired about the action they had agreed on.
“It is done. The ship is
ready to sail tonight.” Friar Lawrence whispered back. “And to your earlier
question, I found Lorenzo’s father.”
“You found him? Good.” Lady
Sofia looked away. “It is only right that he meets his father or be told of
this father.”
“It is not that simple. He
may not like to know of this now.” The friar looked away towards the man who
was the father.
“I suggest you tell him
before he leaves. When he boards the ship, I may not see him… if he ever
forgives me for not telling him now.” Lady Sofia sighed. “Any news on Romeo?”
“None, my lady.” Friar
Lawrence looked at Abram.
Outside the court, Lord
Dante Montague walked towards the carriage with his lover, Lady Angeline.
“Why are we here? That case
has nothing to do with me. I……”
“I came because of Portia
Belmont. She needs our support. You saw how the magistrate had treated Juliet.”
Lady Angeline looked at the other. “Are we not compassionating anymore?”
“I ……” Lord Dante Montague
was about to reply when Julier approached him.
“Father, I must go. I have
another friend to meet.” Juliet looked from her father to her mother.
“Is it Romeo Capulet? If so,
then you are not allowed.” Lord Dante Montague stated his stand.
“No, I am to go with the
friar to see someone. That is unwell.” Juliet stammered.
“I ……” Lord Dante Montague
was to protest, but the friar had stepped in.
“My Lord, with your
permission, may I take Juliet to see a dear friend of ours who is unwell?”
Friar Lawrence looked at the lord.
“I ……” Lord Dante Montague’s
reply was cut off by the lady’s mother.
“Please take heed here.
Juliet needs to learn more on compassion.” Lady Angeline interjected. “My dear,
please let us convene for lunch and return here later?”
Lady Angeline pulled the man
into the carriage, leaving the young lady with the friar.
“Juliet, we need to talk,
but not here. Come with me.” Friar Lawrence led the lady from the court.
“Romeo is…… missing. I
cannot find him.” Friar Lawrence told the lady. “You must…”
“I must find him. I cannot
live without him.” Juliet begged the friar.
“Please do not say that. He
is around… maybe restrained from… I meant unable to leave just yet.”
“Friar, do find him. Help
him. Is there any ransom to be paid here?”
“Why do you say that? He is
…… may not be held against his will.” Friar Lawrence thought hard for words. “I
will find him.”
“I would rather die than be
away from him. Perhaps at death, we can meet one day.” Juliet cried out.
“Do not be silly, my lady.
Death does not solve the issue. It will only…….” The friar held his words.
“Maybe, if I tell the …… No, it may not work.”
“What may not work, Friar?”
Juliet pressed on.
“If you are dead, I can… no,
you will be told to the others. And the words will spread, and soon they ……
Romeo may know, and he will come out.” Friar Lawrence spoke out his words when
the thoughts made it up. “But I am silly. If you are dead, how else will you
meet?”
“If I were to pretend to
die, maybe it would work?” Juliet looked at the friar. “You told me of others
who have risen from the death … …. The ……”
“The Lazarus … Lazarus of
Bethany, whose life was restored by Jesus four days after his death, as told in
the Gospel of John. The resurrection is considered one of the miracles of
Jesus. But it was ……. It was claimed that Jesus could change death to
life, physically and spiritually. When it looked like the end, when the facts
said it was over, he brought new life. I suppose we are to trust this in our
own lives. During our journey of life, we could change our life to be better.”
Friar Lawrence sighed. “What am I talking about here?”
“We are to save Romeo.”
Juliet cut in. “Could you make me look dead? Not truly dead, but seen dead. I
could then be revived when Romeo arrives to see me. He would if he ever knew I
am dead … or appear dead.”
“Silly of you. No one can be
dead and not dead.” Friar Lawrence said. He then looked at the lady. “Maybe
there is a way. I need to get ready for it… or give it some thought?”
“You are a dear man, Friar.”
Juliet hugged the other.
“Are you sure?” Friar
Lawrence asked.
No comments:
Post a Comment