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Romeo and juliet nurse and juliets relationship
The nurses character in romeo and juliet
Romeo and juliet nurse and juliets relationship
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Anna Sewell once said, “Now I say that with cruelty and oppression it is everybody’s business to interfere when they see it.” Both Nurse and Friar Laurence had a great love for Romeo and Juliet. They interfered with Romeo and Juliet’s love thinking they could create a stronger love. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare warns readers that interference may cause more harm than righteousness through the motivations of the Nurse and Friar Laurence.
First, Nurse interfered with Romeo and Juliet’s love, causing more harm than righteousness. Juliet and Nurse have been very close since they were first united at Juliet’s birth. Although Lady Capulet is Juliet’s biological mother, Nurse is more of a motherly figure to Juliet. Because of this,
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Juliet takes Nurse’s advice quite seriously and her opinions matter to Juliet. For instance, in the beginning of the play, Lady Capulet says to Nurse, “Nurse, give leave awhile/We must talk in secret. Nurse, come back again” (I.iii.7-8). Even though Lady Capulet is Juliet’s biological mother, neither of them have made a connection with one another. The two feel uncomfortable opening up and sharing their feelings with the other. Nurse acts as a mediator between the two by communicating for them. At first, Lady Capulet shoos Nurse away because she wants to experience a one-on-one conversation with her daughter, Juliet.
When Lady Capulet realizes she does not connect well with Juliet, she instructs Nurse to come back. Nurse provides a sense of comfort in Lady Capulet because without her, Lady Capulet would not be able to communicate well with Juliet. Therefore, Nurse acts as a motherly figure for Juliet even though Lady Capulet is Juliet’s biological mother. Also, it …show more content…
is common for parents to have an influence on their childrens’ actions.
Because Nurse acts as a mother for Juliet, her opinions matters to Juliet. The opinions belonging to Nurse influence Juliet’s opinions. Since Nurse works for the Capulets, she must be careful about what she says to Juliet. Sharing opinions with Juliet that contradict what the Capulets would want could get Nurse fired. Thus Juliet’s opinions are biased towards what the Capulets want. For example, when Juliet’s parents are reluctant to marry Juliet off to Paris, Nurse is reluctant, too. However, when Juliet’s parents decide they want to marry Juliet off to Paris as soon as possible, Nurse wants to marry Juliet off to Paris as well. Unlike her parents, Juliet never wants to marry Paris. She wants to have the freedom to choose whom she marries. When Juliet refuses to listen to her parents telling her to marry Paris, Nurse takes things into her own hands. Nurse decides she needs to side with the Capulets, so she tries to influence Juliet to marry Paris. By doing so, she is interfering with Juliet’s opinion. In Nurse’s (and the Capulet’s) opinion, it is “best you [Juliet] married with the County/O, he’s a lovely gentleman!/Romeo’s a dishclout to him” (III.v.219-221). Towards the end of the play, Nurse
decided that Paris was better for Juliet, and not Romeo. Her opinion on the subject of whom Juliet marries leads to Juliet’s thought of committing suicide. If Nurse had stuck with Juliet and considered her opinion, then Juliet may have acquired enough confidence to stand up to her parents. The truth could’ve gotten out about Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. As a result of Nurse’s interference with Juliet’s opinions, more tragedy and death occurred. In addition, Friar Laurence is very similar to Nurse because his interference in Romeo and Juliet’s love life caused more harm than righteousness. Like Nurse, Friar acts as a parental figure. Friar acts as a fatherly figure to both Romeo and Juliet. As a fatherly figure, Romeo and Juliet look up to Friar and his opinions matter to them. Back in the late 1590’s when the play was written, children needed to respect the opinions and decisions of their father. If they didn’t, major consequences would be put in place such as not being supported by their family or banishment from ever seeing their family again. By doing so, children were taught to respect their father and honor the opinions of their father. Not only is Friar a fatherly figure to Romeo and Juliet; but he is a spiritual guide as well.
Nurse has betrayed Juliet, she and Friar Lawrence were the two who knew and believed in Romeo and Juliet's love, and Nurse abandons Juliet in a way in this scene, telling her to marry Paris, and forget Romeo. I think that when she is saying this that she is thinking of herself, and of what she could lose if they were discovered, but at the same time she was thinking of Juliet's well-being, and that she would be safe in Verona, with Paris: "I think that you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first; or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were As living here and you no use of him. " Lady Capulet shows a very different love for her daughter to the love which Nurse shows her, she has hardly looked after Juliet for much of her life, and is distanced from her. Around the period of time when the play was set there was a social tradition for the upper classes to have a 'wet nurse'. It would not have been accepted in soc... ...
but then again she is like a surrogate mother. The nurse is still a servant and she is n no position to argue against him, because she is sticking up for Juliet would have made Lord Capulet more angry. Although Lord Capulet should not speak to the nurse like he does he should ask her to leave, but this shows how angry and violent Lord Capulet
Conversely, Juliet's mother is stiff and cold towards, and uses Juliet as a tool to make the family name look good. As we learn in towards the beginning of the story Juliet is the last child of the Capulet line, and as a result her mother also puts pressure on Juliet for having a two year engagement with the Prince. Nurse obviously seems to be closer to Juliet, than her biological mother. Hence, this is yet another character foil present in Shakespeare’s play involves Juliet’s nurse and Lady Capulet (Juliet’s mother.)
In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse, by her thoughtless support of the affair between the lovers and fickle counsel, is partly to blame for the tragedy. However, it is not one factor alone that brings about the death of Romeo and Juliet, but a combination of significant actions and underlying forces.
The Nurse was a go between the two lovers so therefore was helping and encouraging the relationship. The nurse however was very careful in her encouragement and made sure that it was as secretive as it could be ‘I am the drudge, and toil in your delight’ here the nurse feels that she is doing right by being Juliet’s messenger but as we learnt at the beginning of the play in the prologue the lovers will end in disaster. ‘a pair of star crossed lovers take their lives’ this provides dramatic irony as we are aware that once they in love it will end in disaster.
She always wanted to keep Juliet happy. As Juliet fell in love with Romeo The Nurse went behind the backs of Juliet’s parents and was sending messages between the two. “By my troth, it is well said. “For himself to mar,”/ Quoth he? Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I/ May find the young Romeo?” (2.4.60). The Nurse was someone Juliet went to whenever she needed help, and The Nurse always delivered, but this time The Nurse helped her do something that was never thought about in the house of a Capulet, to marry a Montague. Furthermore, Juliet’s actions were very childish, but the person that was supposed to guide her did not do anything to stop her. Instead of going to Juliet’s parents and telling them what was going on between the two, The Nurse helped them get married. “Then hei you hence to Friar Lawrence's cell./ There stays a husband waiting to make you his wife.”(2.5. 60-65) She could have put it to a stop by telling Juliet she was not allowed to get married. Instead The Nurse gave Juliet her blessing and was helping her get married. By the time The Nurse realized she should not have been helping Juliet it was already too late. All in all, The Nurse failed as a God Teacher because she had the power to stop all of this, but instead she put Juliet's happiness before her best interest and that did not end well resulting in the death of Juliet
Throughout the play the relationship between Juliet and The Nurse always shows. The Nurse has a playful as well as a caring relationship with Juliet. Even though The Nurse maybe a servant in the Capulet household, The Nurse has a far more superior role to an ordinary servant. This is seen in Act 1 Scene 3 when Lady Capulet sent The Nurse out and them immediately calls her back in as The Nurse knows Juliet so well. “Nurse come back again'; The relationship between The Nurse and Juliet is so strong that The Nurse knows Juliet better than her own mother; this is shown in Act 1 scene 3 when Lady Capulet does not know the age of her daughter.
This shows that the Nurse is following orders from Juliet, because she thinks it will make Juliet happy. Although she does, she does not seem to be bothered about the damage she could cause in the future. This is one reason why the Nurse could be to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Another point in the play where the Nurse contributes to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is when the proposal of Paris comes along. At this stage in the play, Romeo has been banished.
To add to the issue, the Nurse later betrays Juliet when Juliet begs her for help. “I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first, or, if it did not, Your first is dead, or 'twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him.” (3.5.226-238). The Nurse goes against her previous actions and expects Juliet to forget about Romeo by dispraising him. Juliet wants to remain faithful to her husband and this betrayal, along with Capulet’s ultimatum, causes Juliet to act hastily and want to die if she wasn’t with Romeo.
Friar Lawrence finally had enough of Romeo crying and said, “Fie,fie,thou shamest thy shape, thy love,thy wit/ Which, like a unsurer, abound’st in all,/ And usest none in that true use indeed (4.3.122-124).” This is how Friar Lawrence helped married Romeo and Juliet and got Romeo back on his feet. Juliet attitude to the Nurse change when she learned of the Nurse’s different opinion about Romeo and her being married. When Juliet found out her being forced to marry Paris, Juliet believed Nurse would be on her side about not marrying Paris but she was wrong. Because the Nurse knew that there was no other option, she advised “ I think it best you married with the County./ O, he’s a lovely gentleman!/ Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, (3.5.219-221)” Nurse was trying to tell Juliet that Romeo isn’t here Paris is and he way better looking than Romeo. Juliet felt betrayed and hurt for what the nurse said and yelled “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend (3.5.237)!” After finding out the nurse opinion on this matter decided she will go to the Friar to find an answer to her dire situation. Romeo and Juliet has tried to find a way to be with each other but it seems fate could not have that who know’s maybe Romeo and Juliet could have live if they thought this out and told everyone about their secret relationship it would of turned out
The Nurse was another ally to Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse loved Juliet and wanted what was best for her.
The Nurse was also responsible for the tragic ending of the play. When Romeo and Juliet met, the Nurse became their messenger. She helped them be together even though she knew Romeo was a Montague and that Juliet's family would disapprove. The Nurse brought news to Juliet from Romeo telling her to sneak out so they could get married. She helped Juliet get out of her house by bringing her a rope ladder to climb off her balcony with and telling her parents that she went to shrift. The Nurse kept Romeo and Juliet's marriage a secret from the families. When Juliet's parents said she should marry Paris, the Nurse agreed and said that Juliet should forget about Romeo because he was in Mantua. With the Nurse no longer on her side she had no one to help her and back her up but the Friar. In this way she had a large impact on the terrible ending of Romeo and Juliet.
One reason why the nurse is responsible for this is because she enables Juliet to experience passionate feelings for Romeo. She complimented Romeo when she knew it was wrong. “Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and courteous, and a kind handsome, and I warrant, and a virtuous,” (2.5.40). Instead of saying negative things about Romeo, the nurse says compliments about him. She should be saying bad things to discourage Juliet from falling in love with him. One of the reasons that the nurse is responsible for the deaths is because of all the good things the nurse said about Romeo, therefore causing Juliet to fall in love with him. This causes them to have a relationship which later lead to their
This shows that the nurse is really more like a maternal figure in Juliet’s life. Juliet trusts the Nurse and turns to her for support in times of need, especially after the dispute with her father about marriage. Juliet was upset about the arranged marriage, and she was already married to Romeo, so after her parents left she turned to the nurse for guidance. “O God!-O Nurse, how shall this be prevented?/ My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven…”(Ⅲ,ⅴ,205-206). Juliet asked the Nurse how she can prevent the arranged marriage from happening. She stated that her husband, Romeo, is on earth, but she loves her parents and doesn't want to disappoint them. Juliet had the opportunity to talk to her mother at this part, because her father left giving her the opportunity, however she waited for her mother to leave so
Firstly, Juliet is misguided by the Nurse – a bawdy woman who is too caught up in her own sentimental feelings to support and direct Juliet through hers. She is responsible for encouraging Juliet’s marriage with Romeo (her lover) shortly after they meet, despite knowing that