Silence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Munro also uses the silence around Juliet’s husband’s death as a way to explore the impact that it had on Penelope. Eric’s death is a subject that is not discussed between mother and daughter. Penelope receives the news of her father’s death in a silent manner “with an expression of fright” (Munro 7). Penelope’s silence indicates a refusal to show her sorrow at her father’s death, “well I hardly knew him, really” (Munro 7). Penelope dismissal of her father’s death shows her lack of emotional reaction. As Juliet is impacted by Penelope’s silence, so too is Penelope by her father’s death, although she will not or cannot express her feelings. Juliet indicates how odd it is for Juliet to dismiss Eric: “[Eric] who had filled [Penelope’s] life.

Juliet examines memories of important events in her life as a way to find an answer to Penelope’s mysterious absence, “to break this silence with some epiphany still hidden from view,” however, at the end of the short story Juliet seems to accept that she cannot find answers from the past (Burszta 34). Juliet realizes that Penelope does not exist at least not the way she remembers her, “the Penelope that Juliet sought was gone. The woman Heather had spotted in Edmonton … was nobody Juliet knew” (Munro 13). The short story ends without reconciliation; however, Juliet is able to grudgingly accept Penelope’s absence: “we always have the idea that there is this reason for that reason and we keep trying to find out reasons. And I could tell you plenty about what I’ve done wrong. But I think the reason may be something not so easily dug out” (Munro 13). In an interview, the author Munro, echoes this same sentiment saying that Penelope’s silence does not necessarily mean anything. Munro explains: “Some things that seem tragic can also just be things people do […] the daughter has a choice – she can live quite honestly, which means just ditching her mother. Or she can choose to live within her given conventions and to live with very mixed emotions” (Godfrey 6). Munro explains further that Penelope’s silence is not because “her mother is a terrible person” instead she simply chooses to go “on to a different life” (Godfrey 7). Moreover, interestingly “Silence” has many echoes of Munro’s personal life: “I did not look after my mother [who was ill] […] I just left [my family]” (Godfrey 13). Similar to Penelope, Munro recognizes that if she “had stayed and become a housekeeper, [her] life would have ended” and instead she chose to go out into the world despite familial obligations (Godfrey 13). Munro’s personal background reveals that