Question

What does Portia think about the conditions her father has imposed upon her in The Merchant of Venice?

Accepted Answer

Portia's father has insisted that all suitors to her must choose one of the caskets, gold, silver or lead. If they find her picture inside, they get to marry her. If they don't find her picture, they have to leave her alone, never to see her again.
Her father came up with this idea on his deathbed, Nerissa tells us:

Your father was ever virtuous; and holy men at their death have good inspirations; therefore, the lottery that he hath devised in these three chests, of gold, silver, and lead, (whereof who chooses his meaning chooses you) will, no doubt, never be chosen by any rightly, but one who you shall rightly love.

Does it necessarily follow though, that that will be the case! Well, I don't think so. And Portia doesn't think so either - she finds it frustrating and ridiculous that she isn't allowed to make her own choice:

But this reasoning is not in the fashion to choose me a husband:—O me, the word choose! I may neither choose whom I would, nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father:—Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot choose one, nor refuse none?

Portia doesn't find it easy to cope with her father's control: her will is "curbed" (limited or restried) by what he wants. And she finds it "hard" (difficult to bear) that she cannot make her own choice. I'd feel the same,  I think!
Hope it helps!

Answer

In act 1, scene 2, of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, the audience learns that Portia's father has decreed in his will that, in order for Portia to inherit his money and property, Portia must agree to marry the man who correctly chooses one of three small caskets of gold, silver, and lead.
Later in the play, when the Prince of Morocco appears as a suitor to Portia and he's given an opportunity to view the caskets and to make his choice, the audience learns more about these caskets:

MOROCCO. The first, of gold, who this inscription bears:Who chooseth me, shall gain what many men desire.The second, silver, which this promise carries:Who chooseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.This third, dull lead, with warning all as blunt:Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath.How shall I know if I do choose the right?
PORTIA. The one of them contains my picture, prince;If you choose that, then I am yours withal. (2.7.4–12)

As Portia explains to the Prince, her father has imposed a harsh condition on any man who decides to make a choice of the three caskets in order to win her hand in marriage:

PORTIA. You must take your chance;And either not attempt to choose at all,Or swear, before you choose,—if you choose wrong,Never to speak to lady afterwardIn way of marriage; therefore be advis'd. (2.1.40–44)

In act 2, scene 9, the audience learns about another set of conditions from another of Portia's suitors, the Prince of Arragon.

ARRAGON. I am enjoin'd by oath to observe three things:First, never to unfold to any one,Which casket 'twas I chose; next, if I failOf the right casket, never in my lifeTo woo a maid in way of marriage; Lastly,If I do fail in fortune of my choice,Immediately to leave you, and be gone. (2.9.9–15)

To complicate matters, Portia prefers to marry Bassanio, and she's concerned that another suitor will chose the correct casket before Bassanio has an opportunity to make a choice, and she's also concerned that Bassanio might choose the wrong casket.
Back in act 1, scene 2, however, the audience doesn't yet know any of this. What they know is that Portia is unhappy about the fact that due to her father's, will her choice of husband is not her own:

PORTIA. I mayneither choose whom I would, nor refuse whom I dislike;so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of adead father:—Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot chooseone, nor refuse none? (1.2.20–24)

Nerissa reminds Portia that she'll lose her inheritance if she refuses to offer her suitors a choice of the three caskets or if she refuses to marry the man who chooses the correct casket:

NERISSA. If he [a suitor] should offer to choose, and choose the rightcasket, you should refuse to perform your father's will, ifyou should refuse to accept him. (1.2.81–83)

Nevertheless, Portia is resigned to abide by the terms of her father's will, and even though Portia prefers to marry Bassanio, it remains to be seen who will choose the correct casket.

Answer

Notice how Portia's rhyming song to Bassanio hints that the lead casket is the one that ought to be chosen. Many of the words in her song rhyme with "lead." In singing her song, Portia finds a way to circumvent her father's authority without being boldly disobedient.

Through Portia, Shakespeare sends a message that the strongest women are those who find their feminine strength within the context of the Renaissance hierarchy, which positioned fathers and then husbands as superiors to daughters and wives.  Portia accepts her role as dutiful daughter and obediently follows out the will of her father who wished for Portia to choose her husband through a game of riddles that he devised before his death.  Portia expresses frustration with the level of control her father has over her life, as shown when she says to her waiting-gentlewoman, “…so is the / will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead/ father.  Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot choose one / nor refuse none?” (I.ii.23-26).  Despite her displeasure, Portia is obedient.   Daughterly obedience-- a value of high importance during the Renaissance—is explored throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays, most notably through Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello.  Portia remains obedient to her father but is still able to find a sense of individual strength within the context of her duties as daughter and wife.  Portia does not boldly defy her father's authority as do some of Shakespeare's other heroines such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

The Merchant of Venice

What does Portia think about the conditions her father has imposed upon her in The Merchant of Venice?

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