Women in Veronese society 13th and 14th centuries are supposed to possess certain mannerisms and behaviors that are expected of them as William Shakespeare demonstrates within the play Romeo and Juliet. Within Romeo and Juliet and the time period it is taking place in there is an expectation that young women are supposed to respect their father’s wishes. Also, within this play women are very rarely allowed to be alone in public. In addition another very common role that appears within the play is that of a woman being a caretaker.
One particular expectation of women that exists in the 13th and 14th centuries when Romeo and Juliet takes place is that when women and girls are young they respect their fathers. In particular what their father
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In order to lift her spirits he arranges for her to marry Paris. When the news is delivered to Juliet however she throws a fit and breaks this particular expectation of respecting one’s father by defying his wishes. She defies her mother’s wishes and her father’s wishes to her mother by saying to her mother “ He shall not make me there a joyful bride. I wonder at this haste, that I must wed... ” (III.v.116-117). Indicating that she doesn’t want to become married to Paris which is a big disrespect to her parents specifically her father because being a young girl Juliet should listen to him and what he wants for her. She should do what her father wants her to do. In this instance she is almost fearful of her father’s reaction to the disobedience she would be committing by not doing what he would want. She begs her mother “I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam, I …show more content…
Although in this story the Capulet family is rich so they do not have to do the cooking and the cleaning and they have someone to take care of Juliet for them. They had people to do that for them such as the Nurse she takes care of Juliet and acts more like a mother figure to her than her actual mother, Lady Capulet. When Juliet is young it is Nurse who takes care of her at all times especially when her parents are away. “And she was weaned-I shall never forget it...My lord and you were then at Mantua.” (I.iii.26-30). This indicates that the Nurse was the one who fed and took care of Juliet and that her parents had virtually no role in raising her when she was young. Particularly within this play the only role Lord Capulet, her father, seems to have as a parent is to secure her a husband. Her mother is kind of a parent to Juliet but it is mostly Nurse who takes care of her. Within the play we only see women in traditional roles within the society and the household, the nurse has a traditional role of taking care of
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
Juliet refuses to marry Paris, saying, “Now, by Saint Peter's Church and Peter too, / He shall not make me there a joyful bride!” (3.5, 121-122). This quote shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable, It is shown because as soon as talk of marrying Paris come up, Juliet breaks down crying and starts raising her voice. A little while after the last scene, the Nurse tries to give Juliet some advice, Juliet’s response is, “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! / ... I'll to the Friar to know his remedy. / If all else fail, myself have power to die.” (3.5, 248, 254-255). This scene also shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable because, Juliet blatantly goes behind her parents back to make a plan that goes against their wishes. Her actions show that Juliet changes for the worse near the end of the story.
Juliet's farther never took to the time to understand his daughter and he presumed that she'd always respect whatever he had to say. When Juliet did not accept her father's idea for her to marry Paris, he became very angry and said, "Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what, get thee to church o'Thusday, Or never after look me in the face." This resulted in Juliet having to take desperate measures to avoid marrying Paris.
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.)
because she has been trying to obey her parents as much as possible. and happily goes along with her fathers advice in the first Act, about considering Paris to marry? We are made to feel sorry for Juliet as nothing is going right for her. and she has no one to turn to. Although her father may have a point in saying that she has not obeyed him, who is to say that she has to.
The Nurse is Capulets servant, and she is a very good servant as she tries her hardest to please the Capulets and Juliet at the same time. She is also a very important character in the play and in the Capulets lives. Through out the play The Nurse is Juliet’s confidant. The Nurse is a crucial character who strongly influences Juliet’s thoughts and actions. The main reason why the Capulet employed her was to breast feed Juliet. The Nurse was perfect for the job because she had just lost her little baby Susan, and The Nurse will now have unwanted breast milk that is ideal for Juliet as Lady Capulet does not want the role of breast feeding. The relationship between The Nurse and Juliet is like a mother daughter relationship, she is like Juliet surrogate mother towards Juliet.
Long before the women’s rights revolutions of the early 1900s, the women of Verona, Italy were restricted by intensive social bounds. Expected to be polite and submissive, girls were married off as young as thirteen, and bore children shortly after. In Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 2 of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Juliet is awaiting her first night with Romeo as his wife. Her parents are unaware of this endeavor, because Juliet has hidden it out of fear of their disapproval. While Juliet followed social law in the earlier acts by showing modesty and tentativeness when meeting Romeo a mere day earlier, she now breaks free but is buried in misconceptions. The personification and symbolism of night, in addition to the words describing it in Juliet’s soliloquy suggest alternate views on women's rights.
In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a quintessential pair of teens fall in love, but their fate ends in misfortune. The pair falls in love in a time where women are seen as unimportant and insignificant. In spite of this, Romeo breaks the boundaries of male dominance and shows a more feminine side. Throughout the play, there is an interesting depiction of gender roles that is contrary to the society of the time period.
Instead it is the wife’s duty to inform her child that she must prepare herself for marriage. Lady Capulet was married at an age younger than Juliet is. She says, "By my count I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid" (1.3.73-75). It is time Juliet leaves her nest and adds to the family’s fortune. The mother is the one to tell Juliet this news because she was put into the same situation as her daughter. During the ...
The audience’s first impression of Juliet however, is through her interaction with her mother (Lady Capulet) and the Nurse. From the Nurse’s remarks, the audience learns that Juliet is thirteen and “Come Lammas-eve at night shall [Juliet turn] fourteen” (Act I.3.18-9). As Juliet enters the presence of her mother and the Nurse, Shakespeare portrays Juliet as a very faithful daughter. When summoned by the Nurse, Juliet comes promptly then responds politely to her mother “Madam, I am here, what is your will?” (Act I.3.7). When Juliet refers to her mother as ‘madam” (Act I.3.7), the audience also gets the impression of Juliet being compliant to her elder’s wishes. This can be observed when her mothe...
In Document B, “Think of marriage now”, Juliet tells her mother “ … no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” Juliet is telling Lady Capulet that she will only marry the person that her parents approve of. Juliet acts as if she will do what her parents say,which is why they do not take her seriously when Juliet says she does not want to marry Paris and force her to marry him, which drives Juliet to kill herself. Furthermore, Juliet also does not give her parents a reason to why she suddenly changed her mind about marrying paris. Juliet told her parent “ Delay this marriage for a month, a week…” When Juliet says to delay the marriage she does not tell her parents why she wanted to wait, because she did not give a valid reason her parents though she was just being difficult and thought Juliet would get over it and marry Paris. This resulted in Juliet faking her own death, which lead to Romeo and Juliet to take their own lives. Juliet is to blame because she acted as if she had no voice in the decisions that were made for her , causes her parent to overlook her opinion, Juliet also does not communicate why she does not want to marry Paris, which would have resulted in her parents to at least hear her
Paris is talking with Capulet, and saying that Juliet’s age should not stop her father from being married off, “Younger than she are happy mothers made” (1.2.12). Paris's argument to not wait for his and Juliet’s marriage is that there are many girls who are even younger than Juliet who are married and have already started a family. Juliet’s age puts her in a place where she is expected to contribute a child. This may be why she was in such a rush to get married to Romeo. Marriage of her choosing to Romeo prevents the marriage against her will to Paris. The influence placed on Juliet by her family is itself shaped by expectations of Juliet’s age group. When Juliet tells her father she does not wish to marry Paris, her father replies harshly commenting on her reasoning being due to her age, “A whining mammot, in her fortune’s tender/To answer I’ll not wed, I cannot love,/I am too young, I pray you pardon me” (3.5.185-187). Juliet’s father lacks empathy for Juliet’s position, and so continues to hold the high expectations that are required of her because of her age. Juliet never told her father she would not wed because of her age or her inability to love, so perhaps her father is projecting his guilt as he knows it is unreasonable to expect marriage and children from her when she is still so young and innocent. Juliet’s young age affects her maturity, which consequently influence the drastic and impulsive choices she made. When the Nurse agrees with Juliet’s parents about her marrying Paris, Juliet loses the one confidant she had. She depended heavily on the Nurse’s advice, as she herself lacked such wisdom. Her lack of maturity led her to make hasty decisions-choosing death as the easier way out, “Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain/I’ll too the friar, to know his remedy:/If all else fail, myself have power to die”
This is unfair and unjust for Juliet, If her father really loved her, He wouldn’t force her into such a relationship. This just shows how selfish people are. The only reason he isn’t allowing their marriage is because he doesn’t like the Montagues. Her father has been talking about the marriage to Paris almost the entire play. Even before Juliet tells him that she is in love with
We can see this through the Nurse. The Nurse along with other servants were also supposed to listen to the patriarch of the family. When Juliet refuses to marry Paris, the nurse steps in the conversation. She intends to protect Juliet, or at least help her speak her point. Instead of being thanked she receives an insulting answer from Lord Capulet.
Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris, as well as the ancient feud between Capulets and Montagues, eventually contributed to the deaths of their children. In Act 1 Scene 2, Paris asks Capulet, ‘But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?’ which shows that Capulet and Paris are discussing Juliet’s possible marriage without consulting her, perhaps implying they think she is too nave to decide on her future. They are arranging her marriage for her, which implies that men are very controlling of women’s lives, especially those of their daughters. The scene establishes how Juliet is subject to parental influence, and how she is very constrained since her father can force her to marry whoever he wants. Juliet’s status as a woman leaves her with no power or choice in the decision of whom she should marry.