How would the plays be different if Portia took Desdemona's place, and Desdemona took Portia's?

Question

Portia is in the Merchant of Venice and Desdemona is in the Tragedy of Othello (by Shakespeare).

I am going to compare and contrast Portia and Desdemona for my research paper and your answers would be one part of my research( as a questioner) ,so,

1. I want to find out that how the plays would be different if Portia took Desdemona's place and Desdemona took Portia's. Therefore I think I have to know a lot about their characteristics.

2.what's your answer to this question?

Answer 1

Desdemona and Portia are both presented as loving and virtuous women, deeply in love with their husbands.
Portia in the Merchant of Venice is quite a resourceful character. Outwardly she gives the impression of following the rules, but she makes sure she gets what she wants. Her father's will determines the choice of her husband, for instance, but she is outspoken about the suitors she doesn't like, and finds a way to give clues to the one she likes, so he makes the right choice to win her hand.
Further, when she finds that her new husband's benefactor is in danger, Portia not only puts her wealth at his disposal (Desdemona would have done that); she uses her personal connections and disguises herself as a judge, in order to make things turn out just the way she wants. (Desdemona would never have thought of this.) Then Portia torments her husband with a practical joke, humorously accusing him of infidelity, before finally taking him to bed!
Desdemona's main character trait is simple compassion. This is what attracts Othello to her. (As a military leader, perhaps he is accustomed to obedience and amazed by compassion.) She is not clever enough to challenge his mistaken jealousy. If Portia had been in her place, she would have recognized Iago's evil character and SHE would have set a trap for HIM. The play would have ended with a touching reconciliation between her and Othello, after she had given him a bad time about his baseless suspicions.
If Desdemona had been in Portia's place, her father's will might have protected her from the worst suitors, but she would have had no real choice in her husband. In fact, the will seems to have been written on the presumption that she wouldn't have any more brains or sense of self-preservation than Desdemona.

Answer 2

Start here: The women have similarities, but Portia is much more assertive, and this attribute/characteristic would have changed the entire course of the action in Othello; she would have demanded answers, set about seeking them herself...