In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, set in Verona, Italy, Juliet’s own happiness is put on hold due to her parents authority and the lack of control children had in the sixteenth century. John W. Draper’s excerpt “Shakespeare’s Star-Crossed Lovers” also supports my outlook on how Juliet’s life is being controlled by her parents. Juliet is a thirteen year old Capulet who’s family is in a lifelong feud with her love interest’s family, Romeo, a Montague.
In Act three, Scene five, Juliet is forced with a dilemma. Her parents have arranged for her to partake in the marriage of Country Paris. They told Juliet that she shall be wed on Thursday. “I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris” said Juliet to Lady Capulet (her mother). What her parents didn’t know was that she was secretly married to Romeo already. In her bedroom they argue about marriage. The Capulet’s don’t let her live her own life the way she wants. It’s like they are living through her or for her. Her opinion and happiness doesn’t seem to mean anything to her family. They are forcing her into a marriage with a man she has no affection towards whatsoever. She claims to love Romeo. Weather it’s real or not, we will never know, but if it’s what she wants and it will make her happy, I think they should back off of their daughter and let her live her life. If she makes a mistake it would be considered her mistake and misfortune. NOT her parents.
Draper explains how Juliet feels about her and Romeo’s fate of being together. “Nevertheless, over the play hangs a tragic fate....her ‘all-diving soul’ sees Romeo ‘As one dead in the bottom of a tomb.’ She described her case as ‘past hope, past cure, past help’ says Draper. He further explains in greater detail how Juliet feels about being put into this situation. He thoroughly explains how Juliet feels she has no control over her own life In this sixteenth century way of life. Although in Juliet’s decision since it is in fact her life, but considering the circumstances she was stuck with the awful fate her parents were controlling. Just think if Juliet’s parents only listened and didn’t push her, maybe Romeo and Juliet’s lives could have been spared.
Act 1 Scene 3, is the scene where we are introduced to Juliet when her Nurse and mother, Lady Capulet are introducing the idea of marriage and love. Juliet is portrayed as youthful, innocent and obedient, this is further emphasised when the Nurse makes constant references to Juliet’s childhood. When her mother bring up the idea of marriage, Juliet replies “It is an honour that I dream not of” when she states that she has given no thought to the idea of marriage, means even though she does not love Paris, if told to fall in love with Paris she would because she obeying her parents and only should care about their opinion on matter. This would have related to the Elizabethan audience because she was being loyal to her parents and at that time loyalty to your family was the most important agenda. Shakespeare uses the predictable behaviour at
In Romeo and Juliet, there are many guilty parties that contribute to the deaths and demise of Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt, Count Paris and the many other victims of the bitterness and grudge between the Capulets and the Montagues. However, the three most culpable parties are the set of opposing parents; the Montagues and Capulets, the prince; Escalus of Verona and ultimately the lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The blame lies mostly on these three parties because their decisions greatly influenced the outcome of this Shakespearean tragedy. In this essay, I will prove and condemn the prince, parents and lovers for the losses of life and the confusion in Romeo and Juliet.
Portrayal of Juliet’s Relationship With Her Parents. The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was written by Shakespeare in 1595. The play is about two teenagers attempting to peruse their love regardless of the fact that their families are in the midst of a feud that has been going on for decades. This essay will describe how Juliet’s Relationship with her parents is portrayed throughout different scenes.
Many parents feel as if their job is to protect their children from any harm or difficult decisions that may come their way. In the screen write Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the parents are in control of almost every aspect of their own child’s life. Romeo and Juliet takes place in the fourteenth century in Verona, Italy. Romeo is a Montague, Juliet is a thirteen-year-old Capulet, and Paris is related to Prince Escalus. Also, the Montague and Capulet families despise each other. Consequently, Romeo and Juliet fall in love when they first meet each other at a party. Because of the family feud, they cannot let their parents know about their love, so Juliet and Romeo marry in secret. Also, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, promises Juliet’s
Lady Capulet has just announced that Capulet has made a decision for Juliet and Paris to get married in a few days. Juliet speaking to Lady Capulet says fiercely, “Now, by Saint Peter’s Church and Peter too,/ He shall not make me there a joyful bride” (3.5.116 and 117). This supports the claim because she is not letting her parents tell her what to do, she wants to make her own decisions of who to marry. She demands angrily that she will not marry Paris, no matter who tells her too. Capulet knows that Juliet has been at the Friar’s cell but doesn’t know what for. He thinks that she’s going for some common sense and to tell the Friar what happened. But what he doesn’t know is that their creating a plan. Juliet apologizes to Capulet by, “Where I have learned me to repent the sin, Of disobedient opposition/ To you and your behavests,... Pardon, I beseech you!/ Henceforward I am ruled by you” (4.2.18-20, 24 and 25). This supports the claim because she realized what she said and has done to her family, she feels bad and wants to apologize. But this is all part of her plan to not marry Paris, but make her family think she will. I am sorry I disobeyed you and I want your forgiveness. Juliet not listening to her parents and her apology shows how she’s becoming mature and doesn’t want her parents advice anymore which directly impacts her parents and
It is expected of her to do as her father declares, as the good obedient daughter she is. In this day in age, it was unheard of for the woman to choose the man they wanted to marry. These strict gender roles inhibit Juliet from choosing her own path, and holds an influence in her rebellion against her family. Juliet understands what is unfairly expected of her as a female, but continues to fight a losing battle of breaking free from those stereotypical duties. In a conversation with her mother, she inquires what Juliet’s position is on marriage, “Lady Capulet: Tell me, daughter Juliet,/How stands your disposition to be married? Juliet: It is an honour that I dream not of” (I.iii.64-66). This is one of the first and only times where anyone considered that Juliet may have a say in signing away her future. Perhaps it is Lady Capulet who asks as she too was expected to marry at a young age, so she can best understand what Juliet is going through and the pressures put on her. Juliet realizes that an arranged marriage into a good family is an honour, but it does not seem to be something that she is looking for in life. She does not want to marry a man simply because it is expected of her. Later in the play, Juliet is the
He did not give much thought on how Juliet feels about the marriage and agrees to marry the two even though Juliet had not given him consent. For example, when Paris asks Capulet if Juliet would love him; Capulet responds, "Of my child 's love: I think she will be ruled. In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not." (4.3.13-14). Capulet’s relationship with Juliet is superficial; he does not understand or know his daughter well. By creating the wedding, he causes Juliet to become desperate as she would be marrying someone she doesn’t love. To add to the matter, instead of trying to understand his daughter’s perspective, he becomes aggressive and gives her with an ultimatum. Capulet shouts, “Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o 'Thursday, Or never after look me in the face.” (3.5.160-163). By forcing Juliet into marriage, she becomes desperate and causes her to begin considering death as a way out. "I 'll to the friar, to know his remedy; If all else fail, myself have power to die." (3.5.241-242). Capulet’s controlling and aggressive parenting forces Juliet to marry someone she does not love. Furthermore, this causes Juliet to starts considering suicide as a way out. Capulet’s actions to forcefully marry Juliet to Paris brings her death because it results in the Friar’s potion plan which would cause the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If Capulet did not
While Juliet is not as overzealous with love as Romeo is, his effect on her expresses a different side about herself even she did not know. Romeo’s influence on her takes a completely different direction in which she was raised. ‘O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore are thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.’/ ‘or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet’ – (Act 2, Scene 2 L. 33-36). Juliet grows up in a very patriarchal society and that means the father is the head of the house. What he says, go. When Capulet, Juliet’s father, hears of her refusing to marry Paris he retorts ‘How, will she none? Doth she not give us thanks?’/ ‘Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blessed,’/ ‘Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought’/ ‘So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?’ – (Act 3, Scene 5 L.142-145).
Because of miscommunication, Romeo and Juliet’s parents are not informed of their teenager’s conflicts, therefore making them useless. An example of miscommunication between the adults and adolescents is when Romeo locks himself in his room depressed. Lord Montague is deeply concerned about Romeo’s seclusive ways, saying he is “to himself, so secret”. Lord and Lady Montague want to “learn from whence his sorrows grow” so they can help him with his troubles (I.i.155-163). Because Romeo alienates himself from his parents, not telling them he is heartbroken from Rosaline, his parents do not know why he is upset. If he would have had told his parents of his recent heartbreak, the Montague’s could have helped him resolve this issue. However, this does not happen and the parents end up being futile. While it is not the Montague’s fault that Romeo does not ...
Parenting is a process of encouraging and aiding the aspects of development of a child from infancy to adulthood. But the style of parenting also a reflection of culture, and its expectations in a role as a parent, the person who raises and cares for a relatively inexperienced being. Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse and Friar Laurence are similar characters, as they are both confidants and surrogate parents to Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They provide advice to guide the star-crossed lovers, and relieve obstacles in Romeo and Juliet’s path in becoming a couple. However, their styles of parenting often do not comply with the laws and expectations of Marriage and Parenting of Shakespeare’s time period. The
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
In a world dictated by societal norms, the characters in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are forced to navigate these constraints with little help from their parents. Set in Verona, this timeless tragedy tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers from feuding families. Alongside the underlying theme of parental support, the play highlights how parental influence can drive one to extreme actions. In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, playwright William Shakespeare uses foils to highlight the differences in how Lady Capulet and the Nurse act as mother figures to Juliet. In the play, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony with Juliet’s mother Lady Capulet, to display how she and the Nurse are foils of one another, emphasizing on the emotional distance between
Nowadays, teenagers are blissfully ignorant of the real world. Now imagine what would happen if the modern day teen was considered an adult. This is exactly what is going on in Romeo and Juliet. In the City of Verona reside two feuding families: the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo, a Capulet crashes a Montague part and falls in love with Montague’s daughter Juliet.
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.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a drama about the controversial role of authority that children have over their own lives. Juliet, at the beginning of the play is willing to concede anything for her parents. Romeo and Juliet’s progression from obedient to independent is a major factor in the play. If Romeo and Juliet had obeyed their parents, they would not be dead. Juliet would have been married to Paris and Romeo wasting his days looking for love. However, no family feud would have been ended, and no resolution obtained. In Romeo and Juliet, there are three reasons why children shouldn’t always listen to their parents; parents don’t always make you happy, finding your own voice can result in self -confidence, and sometimes children are more willing to forget and forgive.