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and her trickeries. For the suitors that she did not like she simply let them make the wrong
choices, while the suitor she did like she manipulated him into making the correct choice, and by
dressing up as a man she secures Bassanio’s friends future while punishing his tormentor.

Through the characters of Duke Vincentio from Measure for Measure, Don John from
Much Ado About Nothing, Kent from King Lear, and Portia from Merchant of Venice we can see
that Shakespeare's representation of tricks throughout these plays portrays the idea that gender
does not determine the effectiveness of tricks, but that it does affect the characters reasoning
behind their tricks. Duke Vincentio did everything in his power to make himself the center of
attention and to get his way through his tricks. Don John tricked to gain respect. Kent, although
unknowingly, managed to assert himself as trustworthy and capable of leading. The three men
did, indeed, trick in order to bolster their status or gain power. Portia personified the idea that
women are viewed as weak and gullible but proved that her gender did not determine the
effectiveness of her trickery. Palomäki et al. were correct in their assertion that gender does not
determine the effectiveness of tricks, but that it does affect the characters reasoning behind why
characters choose to trick.