Friar Lawrence's Failure In Romeo And Juliet

An Exploration of Parental Failure Within Romeo & Juliet

The concept of a moral compass is derived from the potent lessons that one should learn throughout their childhood and adolescence from parental figures; when one lacks this sense of guidance it can dramatically affect one’s ability to form a sound sense of judgement which could expose one to unfavourable consequences. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the theme that when young people are faced with a lack of parental guidance the effects can be detrimental their futures is demonstrated thoroughly. The first reason for the tragic outcome of the play can be traced back to the selfishness of several supporting characters that bear significant roles in the coming of age of both

Romeo and Juliet that display a lack of consideration for their opinions and sentiments. Secondly, the negligence that Capulet displays is another element that substantially contributes to the consequences that Romeo and Juliet face throughout their tragic downfall. Thirdly, Romeo and Juliet are ill-advised from the poorly developed guidance and support that they receive from flawed characters that play vital roles in determining the future of their relationship.
Firstly, the selfishness of Friar Laurence, Lady Capulet and the Nurse leads to the tragic demise of the title characters as they disregard the effects that their actions may have on the young lovers.

To begin, the setting is used to demonstrate what little regard Friar Laurence h44as for Juliet’s safety. The use of the death stained tomb represents the extent of Friar Laurence's self-centeredness when he leaves Juliet to face her husband’s death alone in a place of which his first judgement is “Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains/ The stony entrance of this sepulchre?” (Shakespeare, V, iii,140-141). A selfish act is demonstrated when the Friar flees the tomb to avoid facing potential consequences. This influences Juliet’s short-sighted decision to end her own life as she is left without guidance in the most devastating time of her life in a setting tainted by Paris’ bloody death and Romeo’s suicide. Furthermore, in Elizabethan times, society praised patriarchy in the respect that a women’s significance was only in relation to the men in her life, such as her husband or father; Lady Capulet disregards Juliet’s wishes as she attempts to force society’s sexist notions on to her daughter in a bid to remain as a prominent family. Lady Capulet’s selfishness contributes to the irrational decisions Juliet makes as she is more concerned for her daughter to marry high upon societies ranks rather than assuring her daughter is content in life. This is demonstrated when she says “The County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church,/ shall happily make thee a joyful bride” (Shakespeare, III, v, 115-116). Lady Capulet’s shallow perspective of Juliet is demonstrated as she is so invested in ensuring her daughter marry Paris, relative of the prince, that she overlooks how Juliet does not reflect her feelings that marriage should be about social stature, and she foolishly believes that Juliet could be made content by marrying a man simply because of his rank in society. This

contributes to the tragic decisions Juliet makes that lead to her and Romeo’s demise, as she is forced to face the the tragic turns of her and Romeo’s naive relationship without the support of yet another adult in her life. In addition, Friar Laurence egotistically takes it upon himself to resolve Verona’s conflicts and will stop at no cost, even manipulating the people who seek his help. Friar Laurence is seen as a holy man to the citizens of Verona, and when Romeo and Juliet are forced to hide their relationship from their parents due to their ongoing feud, the young lovers confide in Friar Laurence believing he can wed them in order to advance their relationship, but the Friar has an ulterior motive. He senses the potential consequences of marrying the two, but he puts their lives at risk in order to be the man to resolve the Montague-Capulet feud. This is demonstrated when the Friar says “These violent delights have violent ends,/ . . . The sweetest honey is loathsome in its own deliciousness,/ And in the taste confounds the appetite” (Shakespeare, II, vi, 9-13). Friar Laurence’s expression of insight for the pairs relationship confirms that he is aware of the potentially fatal consequences that Romeo and Juliet would face once wedded, as he expresses that relationships that develop as impulsively as theirs will inevitably lead to a tragic demise.He overlooks the loss of life and remains confident in his decision to marry the two. Also displaying the Friar’s selfishness as he omits the teenagers death is his use of a metaphor when he compares Romeo and Juliet's love to the “sweetest honey”, which even in all of it’s light still bears many negative elements which will eventually destroy the love that they each possess. Friar Laurence encourages the eventually fatal decision of the two lovers to wed for reasons contrary to blossoming the young teenagers’ love. Additionally, the Nurse, who is portrayed as a maternal figure to Juliet; fails her as she behaves in a selfish manner as she values the respect of her superiors more than Juliet’s safety. The nurse, in every way except biologically is Juliet’s mother; supporting her and Romeo’s relationship and encouraging them to get married, but a conflict between Capulet and Juliet regarding her arranged marriage to County Paris results in the Nurse betraying Juliet with her hypocritical opinion, “I think it best you married with the county. /Oh, he’s a lovely gentleman./ Romeo’s a dishclout to him/ . . . I think you are happy in this second match,/ For it excels your first” (III.v. 230-236). The Nurse abandoning Juliet in her pursuit of a future with Romeo motivates the decisions that Juliet makes that lead to the catastrophic end to the young lovers’ relationship is an act of selfishness as she changes her advice to Juliet in an attempt to save herself. All throughout Romeo and Juliet’s relationship the Nurse has acted as Juliet’s sole confidant, and without her support in the wake of Romeo’s banishment Juliet is forced to utilize and guidance she can get, even if it may be from an untrustworthy source. To recapitulate, Friar Laurence selfishly leaving Juliet on her own in the darkest of times and places, her mother placing the families rank in society as a higher priority than Juliet’s happiness, Friar Laurence agreeing to wed the two lovers and The Nurse betraying Juliet in her time of need are all prominent elements that lead to Romeo and Juliet lacking the fundamental judgement they need to make logical decisions.
Secondly, Juliet’s father displays negligence towards her emotional well being as he fails to recognize the roots of her rebellions, which forces Juliet make irrational decisions without her father’s advice on the matter. First of all, Capulet is negligent towards Juliet’s emotional well being as he underestimates her opinions and sentiments. Juliet’s father demonstrates this negligence when he thinks that the cause of Juliet’s distress is simply from Tybalt's death, when in reality, it has much deeper roots. Capulet says “Aquaint her here, of my son Paris’ love;/ and bid her, mark you me, on wednesday next” (Shakespeare, III, iv,16-17). Capulet is already referring to Paris as his son because he is unaware of the reason Juliet is upset and insists on having the wedding promptly because he believes that it would cheer Juliet up. This has a detrimental effect on Juliet's future as her father neglects to delve deeper into the cause of her sadness, which results in him placing Juliet in a situation where she is forced to choose from marrying a man whom she has no romantic interest in, or going along with Friar Laurence's senseless plan to fake her own death. Likewise, Capulet’s insensitivity to Juliet’s emotions plays a major role in the negligence that Juliet is faced with that leads to her illogical further decisions. Capulet’s anger towards Juliet when she refuses to marry Paris displays how he underestimates the effects that his harsh words could cause when he says, “ Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!/ I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday,/Or never after look me in the face” (Shakespeare, III, v, 160-162). Capulet’s harsh and inconsiderate words prove his negligence towards Juliet’s emotions because Capulet telling her that she would mean nothing to him if she does not marry Paris encourages Juliet to make a series of unsound and harmful decisions that lead to her demise. In summary, the negligence displayed by Capulet through his shallow understanding of Juliet’s emotions, and his misuse of authority over Juliet demonstrates that without Capulets devotion to her progression into adulthood Juliet is unprepared to make life altering decisions.
Finally, Romeo and Juliet receive limited support throughout their rebellious endeavors, and the support and guidance that they do obtain is predominantly damaging to the outcome of their short-lived relationship. First of all, the Nurse supports Juliet throughout the majority if the play, but her unsound advice is a prominent reason for the young lovers’ downfall. Juliet appreciates the Nurse’s help during the beginning of her and Romeo’s relationship, but what Juliet is blind to is the damage that the Nurse is doing when unintentionally leading Juliet to her death when she says “Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence’ cell;/There stays a husband to make you a wife” (Shakespeare, II,v, 68-69). The wedding that the nurse encourages Romeo and \Juliet to secretly hold reflects her negative influence on their relationship as Juliet is left increasingly vulnerable to a hamartia in Romeo’s character, his impulsivity which is the predominant cause of Juliet’s eventual demise. Likewise, both Romeo and Juliet are significantly impacted by the immature behavior of their kin. Romeo and Juliet’s ability to form rational decisions is severely altered because of the foolish behavior demonstrated by their parents in the midst of the Capulet and Montague feud. When Juliet says “My only love sprung from my only hate!/Too early seen unknown, and known too late!/Prodigious birth of love it is to me/ That I must love a loathèd enemy” (I, v,138-141) she demonstrates an internal conflict that she is faced because she is raised to detest the Montague family. This conflict that arises when Juliet discovers Romeo to be a Montague is of significance as it demonstrates that the young lovers are raised to detest each other. This supposed hatred for one and other that is passed on to each generation of both the Montague and Capulet households is a factor that dooms their relationship from the beginning because this family feud forces them to maintain their relationship in secrecy from their parents. In addition, Friar Laurence, the adult with the most eminent role in the teenagers’ rebellious relationship is seen as the voice of reason to both Romeo and Juliet, but in reality his unwise guidance does more harm than good. Friar Laurence guides Romeo and Juliet to their death when he presents Juliet with an impulsive and ill-devised plan; “ Thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault/ Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie./ . . . Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift,/ . . . And this shall free thee from this present shame” (Shakespeare, IV, i, 114-121). Friar Laurence's ill-conceived plan is a prominent cause for the catastrophic end to the young lovers’ relationship because it reflects such naivety. The Friar encourages Juliet to partake in his hasty scheme by assuring her of the plans undoubtable success, but in reality the Friar’s impractical instructions lead Juliet to her and Romeo’s demise. In summary, the harmful guidance that Romeo and Juliet receive from the nurse, their parents, and Friar Laurence significantly contributes to the adolescents’ illogical decisions that each play monumental roles in the lovers’ downfall.