How is the theme of fathers and daughters explored in The Merchant of Venice?

Let us remember that in this excellent play we have two
main father-daughter relationships: Portia and her dead father, who, nonetheless, still
manages to exert massive influence over her life, and then Jessica and
Shylock.

If we think about both of these relationships, we
might be led to believe that the similarities between them outweigh the disadvantages,
as both relationships seem to be characterised by the way in which the father restricts
the freedom of the daughter. Note Portia's complaint to Nerissa concerning her father's
will and the "test" he has devised to ensure that Portia marries
suitably:

O,
me, the word "choose"! 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 father. Is it not hard,
Nerissa that I cannot choose one nor refuse
none?

In the same way, if we
examine Jessica's comments to Launcelot in Act II scene 3, she points towards the way in
which her father oppresses her:

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I am sorry thou wilt leave my father
so.

Our house is hell, and thou, a merry
devil,

Didst rob it of some taste of
tediousness.

The way in which
Shylock locks Jessica up while he goes out, and Jessica's description of it as "hell" is
strongly indicative of the way that this relationship restricts her
freedom.

However, a closer examination of Portia's
relationship with her father reveals the loving kindness behind his plan to ensure
Portia does not marry a fortune hunter. Note how Nerissa counsels
her:

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.

We can see the wisdom
and the love behind Portia's father's plan, whilst the relationship between Jessica and
Shylock is characterised in merely negative terms. The outcome of both of these
relationships is likewise different. Portia follows her father's commands to find love
and happiness, whereas Jessica must break free from her father's rule to gain her love
and happiness.