Quote 13
PORTIA
You see me, Lord Bassanio, where I stand,
Such as I am. Though for myself alone
I would not be ambitious in my wish
To wish myself much better, yet for you
I would be trebled twenty times myself,
A thousand times more fair, ten thousand times more rich,
That only to stand high in your account
I might in virtues, beauties, livings, friends,
Exceed account. But the full sum of me
Is sum of something which, to term in gross,
Is an unlesson'd girl, unschool'd, unpractis'd;
Happy in this, she is not yet so old
But she may learn; happier than this,
She is not bred so dull but she can learn; (3.2.7)
Love makes us want to be better than we are. We don't like the fact Bassanio didn't come to woo Portia purely out of love, or that Portia wasn't able to choose her lover freely. But Portia's earnest sentiments here sway us to consider that love (at least hers) is real, not counterfeit.
Quote 14
PORTIA
If I live to be as old as Sibylla, I will die as chaste as
Diana, unless I be obtained by the manner of my father's will. (1.2.15)
Portia would prefer a life of isolation over disobeying her father's will. Still, given the guys she's looking at, it's no great loss not to marry. Portia is strong-willed and doesn't seem like a romantic; she bravely faces the possibility of dying old and alone.
Quote 15
PORTIA
I am glad this parcel of wooers are so reasonable; for there is not
one among them but I dote on his very absence, and I pray God
grant them a fair departure. (1.2.15)
Portia has a ton of choices, but she doesn't like any of them. Her plight is similar to that of Penelope in the Odyssey. Like Portia, Penelope's suitors wanted her for all the wrong reasons. We do wonder, though, at the fact that Portia seems to hate all of the men for their character flaws, when the obvious reason to hate them is that they're trying to use her.
Does she not realize they're all after her money? Does she just not care? This will be important for whether she can love Bassanio, because he's also after her money.