Lord Capulet To Blame For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare's classic play, Romeo and Juliet, tells the tale of two lovers whose

affection for one another ultimately end in their untimely and tragic death. Destined to hate each other since birth, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two children who had the misfortune to be born into feuding families, caught a glimpse of one another from opposite sides of a crowded ballroom and fell in love instantly. This meeting was followed by a whirlwind romance that ultimately ended with most everyone dying, including the fated pair. But really, who was to blame for the deaths of two children, too naive to realise what they were getting into? Most have come to believe that the fault was that of one Friar Lawrence, who against better judgement,

threw himself that was the frenzy of the two lovers tumultuous lives. First, he married Romeo and Juliet, hoping that the love between the two of them would end the century long feud that plagued both houses. Then, when Romeo was banished from Verona for killing Tybalt, the Friar brought up the first of his many plans, in hopes of reuniting the two (and ending the feud). After Juliet was engaged to Paris, Friar Lawrence provided her with guidance, and gave her the sleeping potion. But, he was not the one who chose to plunge the knife into young Juliet's body, nor did he give Romeo the poison. Another clear choice of who to place the blame upon would be Lord and Lady Capulet, parents to Juliet. They did, after all, carry on the feud, hold the party where Romeo and Juliet met, and when it was believed that Juliet was mourning the loss of her cousin, they arranged for her to marry a man they believed she would be happy with, though threatening to disown her in the process. But, in reality, they were simply trying to do what was best for their daughter, no matter how misguided those conquests were. The real culprit, was not in fact a person, but an abstract concept. A concept that forced Juliet Capulet to run into the arms of whatever male figure was waiting in the wings to tell her what to do, a concept which made it okay for the Capulets to marry off their daughter to whatever suitor they deemed fit, a belief that made Juliet so inadequate to make decisions on her own. The thing to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are the dated and restrictive gender rules of the Renaissance Era due to their direct impact on Juliet's life, as well as their influence on the decisions she made throughout her life.
In the Renaissance Era, the amount of power a woman had was located squarely in her womb.

They never got to make their own decisions, and went through their lives in a sort of trance, having no real control whatsoever. Juliet Capulet lived life almost like a puppet, whose strings were pulled at will to make her do, or say, whatever it was that someone else deemed appropriate. She was never really given the chance to walk on her own two feet, and that is why whenever she had an important decision to make, she didn't make it. Her privileged life began at the hands of her father. Though Lord Capulet was often misguided with his affection, it was obvious that he did in fact care about her daughter, or at least her well being. He denied Paris Juliet's hand in marriage, claiming she was too young, and that having children would ruin her. He said, “My child is yet a stranger in the world/ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years/ Let two more summers wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her too ripe to be a bride” (Shakespeare I.ii.7-11). When he finally did agree to let Paris marry his child, it was with hopes that marrying him would encourage Juliet to leave the state of depression that Lord Capulet believed she was in due to Tybalt's death. When she did ultimately refuse the proposal, Lord Capulet was so offended he threatened to cast his own daughter aside due to her refusal to follow his every word. The betrayal sent Juliet running into the arms of Friar Lawrence,

who was ready and waiting to support the young and confused girl, alone and without male guidance for the first time in her life. When Juliet talked of suicide, the friar was quick to jump in saying “Hold, daughter! I do spy a kind of hope/ Which craves as desperate as execution/ As is desperate which we would prevent/ If, rather than to marry county Paris/ Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself/ Then is it likely thou wilt undertake/ A thing like death to chide away this shame/ That cop’st with Death himself to ‘scape from it/ And, if thou dar’st, I’ll give thee remedy” (Shakespeare IV.i.70-78). He then proposed a plan with an inconceivable number of flaws, and with no real thought whatsoever Juliet agreed, which ultimately ended with the death of Romeo. After the plan did fail, and Romeo killed himself, Juliet was once again abandoned, and once again, looked to a male for guidance. She killed herself because that was what Romeo had done, and since there was truly no one left to tell her what to do.
Due to the fact that Juliet spect the majority of her life following, not choosing, she never got the opportunity to learn like everyone else does now how to take care of themselves.

She did not possess the ability to make good decisions on her own, nor did she think logically about any situation she was put in. When Romeo and Juliet originally met, she proposed marriage first, without thinking of any of the consequences. Briefly, it was brought up that the twos parents hated each other, but was promptly passed aside to seemingly more important matters when Juliet said, “Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love/ And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (Shakespeare II.ii.36-37). The fact that Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, hated Montagues and would jump at the opportunity to kill Romeo, something he had mentioned he would do earlier that night. Nor was the fact that Juliet was engaged to be engaged to Paris, or that marrying for love was an absolutely insane concept. It was decided that the only way for Romeo to prove his love for Juliet, who he had met LESS THAN TWELVE HOURS BEFORE, would be to marry her in secret. This complete lack of decision making skills was proved to be true when Juliet informed Romeo of this notion, saying “If that thy bent of love honourable/ Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow/ By one I’ll procure to thee.” (Shakespeare II.ii.149-151). This complete lack of life skills was once again demonstrated when Juliet got it into her head that pretending to be

dead was a good idea. With no thought to all that could go wrong, for instance Romeo not receiving notice that she was actually dead, she promptly decided to go through with the plan no matter what it took, telling Friar Lawrence “Or bid me go into a new-made grave/ And hide me with a with a dead man in his shroud/ Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble/ And I will do them without fear or doubt” (Shakespeare IV.i.86-89). She was ready to do all of these things instead of just leaving. Thank you parents of the Renaissance Era for not teaching your daughters how to think for themselves.
In the Renaissance Era, marriage seemed to have two conflicting spectrums. On one side, the was the “holy” perspective. The idea that marriage was, in fact, a working under the lord, a sacred and impenetrable vow between man and woman. Yet, another largely impactful perception was that marriage was not in fact so sacred, but rather a way of strengthening one's power, be that politically or financially. In this scenario, daughters were used a pawns in a chess game, powerless over their own lives. Lord Capulet said himself that he was in control of his daughter, telling Paris “Sir, I will make a desperate tender/ Of my child's love. I think she will be rul’d/ by me; hay, more I doubt it not.” (Shakespeare III.iv.12-14). He sent Lady Capulet to tell her, saying “Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed; Acquaint her here of my son Paris’ love… O’ Thursday let it be- o’ Thursday tell her, she shall be married to this noble earl...Go you to Juliet ere you go to bed; Prepare her, wife, against this wedding-day.” (Shakespeare III.iv.15-16.20-22.32-33). When Juliet did in fact refuse the arrangement, Lord Capulet absolutely lost it, the facade of his perfect daughter shattering before his eyes, telling her and his wife, “Soft! Take me with you, take me with you wife/ How! Will she none? Doth she not give us thanks?/ Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blest/ Unworthy as she is, that her have wrought /So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?” (Shakespeare III.v.145-149). This preconceived notion of marriage was one of the larger pieces in the road that brings Romeo and Juliet to their demise. If Juliet had not been engaged to Paris, then there would not have been a need for her to take a sleeping potion to escape Paris. The letter informing Romeo of the fact that Juliet was not dead would not have been stopped, for there would have been no letter. Romeo would not have been lead to believe that Juliet was dead by Balthasar, he would not have drank the poison, Juliet would not wake to find him dead, and she would not stab herself. But, Lord Capulet did in fact subscribe to the idea that she could be pushed around, and he did in fact arrange for Juliet to marry Paris.
The blame for the deaths of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet can be placed squarely on the absurd and undeniable effect Renaissance gender roles had on the lives of both Romeo and Juliet due to their influence on the decisions that Juliet made as well as the direct impact it had on both of their lives. The two died because of mistakes made by the people around them as well as mistakes made by the two themselves. The young lovers described in this tragic tale were misguided fools desperate to catch a break that was never given. Romeo and Juliet somehow manages to relate to everyone, and is without a doubt one of the greatest and most heart-wrenching love stories of all time.