Posted by Bill Dashfield on August 25, 2020 at 17:53:49 user BillD.
In Reply to: Re: AR puts in lines to read between. posted by John Nichols on August 25, 2020 at 14:56:11:
Interesting: I read it in BS as Dr.D calling her Portia because Portia was intelligent, articulate and strong woman who assumed the role of a lawyer's apprentice to save a friend. I don't see her & the Coots argument as a technical one or seeking loopholes, but rather a moral one (innocent until proven guilty), character based (D&Gs always pro-boat - rescuing & building boats not wrecking them).
(Nor do I think she, or Dr.D, or AR were considered or being anti-semitic in referring to the Merchant of Venice. It's a debatable point whether Shakespeare was being anti-semitic or not, but that's a whole non-Tarboard discussion.)
One thing that Tedder, River Patrol and Farland never really address is what motive the D&Gs would have for casting boats off. The 'following Tom's example' motive is weak - it might explain one or two, but not them casting more off when they knew they'd be taken off the river. Whereas Owdon's motives - profit from eggs, revenge for humiliation in egg cases and being laughed at widely in CC - are much stronger.
Of course, if the D&Gs had rescued more drifting boats, THAT itself could have been seen as a motive, for possible acclaim and salvage fees (as in Yarmouth sharks).
I see that the Wikipedia article on Portia also says she was "fond of wordplay and proverbs, frequently quoting and coining them, which was considered a sign of wisdom and sharp wit" (and so like Queen Elizabeth the First). I've been noticing in SW that Roger was very fond of puns and wordplay; but that's another post...
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