In his paper on this theme, Freud argues that the three caskets of folklore are three women and, more surprisingly, that the leaden one which Bassanio had to choose in order to win Portia is the Goddess of Death. On a recent re-reading of his fascinating essay, it occurred to me that the following postscript might have been acceptable to him: The three caskets can represent, not only three women, as Freud showed from parallels with the Three Graces, the Three Fates, the Three Seasons (the fourth was a later addition) etc., but also - particularly in association with the Seasons - three phases in the life of one woman. Then Bassanio shows by his choice that he will most cherish Portia, not when she is young and golden headed, nor middle-aged and silver haired, but in extreme old age and leaden death. In other words, he will not, like the others, seek to evade the ‘depressive position’ inevitably repeated in the end phase of their marriage by infidelities with younger women, but will be faithful beyond death. So he alone deserves the bride.