Portia suffers from weariness of “this great world” in Belmont because she bound by her father’s will that decrees she wed only the individual who passes his trial of caskets . This trial requires suitors to solve a riddle that filters out those who want to marry Portia for the wrong reasons. In effect, Portia’s father has bound his daughter by a contract that transcends his own death. 

The father-daughter relationship is formulated in contractual terms and is symbolized by three caskets trial. With contractual relations undergirding the city, Belmont possesses the same advantages as Venice with its welcoming of foreigners to woe for Portia’s hand: Frenchmen, Moroccans, Spaniards, Germans, English .But, like Venice, this contractual foundation of Belmont also has a corrosive effect on the characters’ non-contractual relationships because they perceive all values as commensurate with one another. This moral deterioration is most evident in the marital relationship between Bassanio and Portia, with especially the latter relinquishing his wedding ring so easily. An examination of this marriage will show how contractual Belmont leads both characters to think and act out of self-interest.