Romeo and Juliet

How humans undermine personal effects of control until something significantly irreversible takes place.

In Romeo and Juliet, the relationship between Juliet and her parents begins to debate how misguided attempts to help the young can influence an innocent adolescent to the point of rebellious acts.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”

What Shakespeare speaks of ties into Romeo and Juliet as it references the constant themes of autonomy, influencing Shakespeare’s contemporary audience and a modern society who even now question the effects of control on personal freedom. 

Shakespeare presents the relationship between Juliet and her father as one of patriarchal control which Juliet fights to defy, implying how the play advocates for a critique of male supremacy.

In clear contrast to Capulet calling Juliet the “hopeful lady” of his earth at the start of the play, Capulet grows to become a stark representation of misogynistic conventions which bestowed itself on fathers of the Elizabethan era and is displayed even today.

In a state of fury at the rejection, Juliet presented him with at refusing his orders, Capulet tells Juliet to “hang, beg, starve” and to “die in the streets.” This violent imagery conveys that he is wrongfully scolding her yet alternatively, is angry with Juliet for taking for granted what she is given in her affluent life. Fathers were commonly viewed as the ‘head of the household,’ bringing together families through the arranged marriage of one’s daughter to establish a share of wealth. 

Similarly, Capulet sought to maintain the family status, relying on marriage as a tool to aid his social standing. This is relevant today in class, religion, race and nationality even with the examples of taking your husband’s name at marriage or the arranged marriages which cause such strife as illustrated in Verona.

As a mouthpiece speaking a truth which I personally agree with, Janet Adelman’s statement that Capulet’s “tyranny arises from his desire to control his daughter’s life and marriage,” yet I believe that his own need for masculine control and desire to show it to the younger generation is what drove him to act so decisively. 

A running theme throughout the play was difference in generational belief within each subject like marriage, manners and other conventions of the period. The older generation, like Capulet and his wife, prioritise family honour and a legacy of tradition and the inability to understand the commitment and passion of Romeo and Juliet is partly what leads to their hasty fate.  

Shakespeare uses the construct of a wet nurse to shape and portray an alternate maternal figure. Nurse is a formed of comedic relief in the play, determined by bawdy remarks and her unsophistication in terms of language and innuendo. She serves as a surrogate mother who exemplifies how influenced the household is by class and patriarchy.

Lady Capulet is depicted as alienated from her daughter, failing to fill the traditional role of a mother. This contrast is emphasised when Lady Capulet declares how she was of the same age as Juliet when she gave birth.  

On the other hand, Nurse is the primary source of advice and comfort for Juliet, claiming that she can “tell her age unto the hour.” Many wealthy Elizabethans frequently employed a wet nurse to raise a child until marriage. As a mere teen, perhaps having a nurturing guardian wasn’t what Juliet desired to abandon. This poses the question of if she wanted to leave the family she counted on.

The proletarian Nurse represents consolation, and a lack of pressure, yet conversely symbolises the path Juliet might go down. Nurse is both a dramatic and a comedic foil to Lady Capulet, and throughout the play it becomes clear that people or concepts come in pairs. Shakespeare was attempting to exhibit the interdependence of constructs and social structures within the play. 

Shakespeare presents the relationship between Juliet and her parents as emotionally distant, identified by an authoritative nature which negatively impacts Juliet. Her mental health is obstructed because of Juliet’s over looming parents which leads to her inner turmoil.

Capulet’s outburst “I would the fool were married to her grave,” emphasises his cold, violent demeanour which Capulet adopts when Juliet defies him. His consistent reaction determines Capulet’s loss of control and objectifiable lens when looking at Juliet.

Shakespeare signifies how conflicts between friends or family usually leads to more tragedy. Comparably, the underlying tensions between Catholics and protestants during Elizabeth’s reign parallels the heavy feud between the Montagues and Capulets.

Just as the religious strife threatened the stability of Elizabethan England, the dispute in the play disrupts Verona.  

Juliet is constantly feeling inferior to her parents who are upholding an obsession with prestigious reputation, for the compliance required of women in the Elizabethan era. This forces them into being submissive, viewed as emotionally and mentally frail.

The personal relationship between Juliet’s parents must have had a poor effect on their daughter who lived in awareness of the marital problems within her family. For when Lady Capulet suggests that her husband has been seeing other women, he argues that she is simply jealous. His response demonstrates how marriages were a transaction, and that love was always going to be second to status. 

To conclude, Shakespeare presents the relationship between Juliet and her parents as one that explores the normalcy of guardianship under male dominance. Additionally, her mother’s absence from Juliet’s life could be interpreted as what caused a domino effect leading to Juliet’s end.

When considering the patriarchal society which governed Verona at the time, was a subtle social commentary by Shakespeare. He highlights the “ancient grudge” fuelling the family feud that controlled the streets and is arguably what prevented Juliet’s pursuit of happiness.

Through the tainted tale in Verona, Shakespeare challenged the role of family duty and honour while presenting them as a damaging force which only became clear at Juliet’s tragic demise.