Major Conflicts
– Portia's desire vs. her father's will: she wants to marry a man like Bassanio but is obligated to marry only the first man to pass her father's test
– Antonio and Bassanio vs. Shylock: the situation with the loan (terms and Shylock's tenacious adherence to them) and their inability to repay Shylock
– Shylock vs. Christian society's disdain of Jews (as represented by Antonio and Bassanio's attitudes toward him)
– Jessica/Lorenzo vs. Shylock: this conflict directly leads to Jessica's elopement (Shylock would not allow her to see Lorenzo or any of his friends, thus they hatch a plan to elope together)
– Bassanio/Gratiano and their feelings of obligation to the "lawyers" vs. the promises they made to keep Portia's/Nerissa's rings (a very interesting dynamic in the final scenes of the play)
Obstacles by Character (at various points in the play)
– Antonio: Shylock's vehement adherence to the terms of the loan agreement (the primary obstacle), Bassanio's heterosexuality and love for Portia (if Antonio's love for Bassanio is seen as more than platonic), lack of cash (all his money is tied up in his ships abroad)
– Bassanio: lack of money/social status with which to woo Portia, Portia's father's will, Shylock and the loan
"O my Antonio, had I but the means to hold a rival place with [Portia's suitors]€¦" (Bassanio, 1.1.172-173)
– Portia: her father's will (inability to marry Bassanio straightaway), her own intelligence and rationality coupled with Bassanio giving her ring away (she seems unable to completely trust Bassanio and so devises the ring scheme, only forgiving Bassanio after Antonio vouches for him)
"I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead fther." (Portia, 1.2.19-21)
"Then you shall be his surety. Give him this [ring] and bid him keep it better than the other." (Portia, 5.1.254-255)
– Shylock: anti-Semitism (widespread, general mistrust of Jews in Christian Venice), legal system of Venice (prevents him from easily enacting revenge on those who have wronged him)
"The devil€¦an evil soul€¦a villain€¦a goodly apple with a rotten heart€¦" (Antonio, referring to Shylock, 1.3.90-93)
– Launcelot Gobbo: the dishonor he will incur by abandoning his master (Shylock)
"The Jew my master who€¦is a kind of devil; and to run away from the Jew I should be ruled by the fiend who€¦is the devil himself." (Launcelot, 2.2.17-20)
– Jessica: her father's feud with Antonio et al. (due to which he will not let her see Lorenzo)
"Hear you me, Jessica, lock up my doors€¦nor thrust your head into the public street to gaze on Christian fools€¦" (Shylock, 2.5.27-32)
Implications of Obstacle and Conflict
– It seems to me that a great many of the obstacles and conflicts mentioned come about because of societal norms and/or nonverbal social contracts. Again, this raises the enduring concept of obligation: characters struggle between fulfilling their obligations to society/friends/family and fulfilling their own individual desires. Also, above I mentioned the concept of a social contract, which would gain great importance in the distant future, thanks to the writings of such philosophers as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. This social contract governing how humans interact with one another provides an interesting parallel to the physical, business contract drawn up by Shylock. Clearly, this play is pointing to a distinct gap between the natural inclinations of the characters and the actions they feel obligated to undertake because of these social contracts. In many cases (Launcelot, Portia, and Jessica especially), this conflict boils down to a common decision: follow orders, or follow your heart.