In Romeo and Juliet, by William
Shakespeare, Juliet's parents are seemingly concerned for Juliet's welfare at
the start of the play. Capulet specifically tells Paris, who is vying for
Juliet's hand, to wait two years to pursue her, and then, that
Paris must also win Juliet's consent.
Juliet secretly
marries Romeo, and then Romeo kills Tybalt. At this point, Capulet completely changes is
mind (perhaps thinking Juliet grieves too much for her cousin…while she is secretly
grieving more for Romeo's banishment), quickly sets a wedding date with Paris
without Juliet's consent, and demands that Juliet marry Paris.
Juliet href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/demur">demurs. Lady Capulet
tells Capulet this, and he comes into the room raging. He first tells Juliet that he
doesn't want to hear her polite refusals: if she doesn't agree, Capulet promises Juliet
he will drag her to the church. Then he says that if she refuses, he will kick her out
into the street. Lady Capulet stands up for Juliet, questioning her husband's harshness
and sanity, accusing him of going too far.
readability="7">LADY:
Fie,
fie! what, are you mad?
(III.v.161)Lady Capulet
tries
again.LADY:
You
are too hot. (183)The Nurse
tries to defend Juliet, who is beside herself. Capulet basically tells her to shut her
mouth.readability="10">CAP:
And
why, my Lady Wisdom? Hold your tongue,Good Prudence.
Smatter with your gossips, go!
(175-176)Capulet refuses to
back down, and in an instant, Lady Capulet completely changes her tune. When Capulet
leaves, Juliet's mother tells her daughter that she is finished with Juliet from here
on, out.readability="9">LADY:
Talk
not to me, for I'll not speak a word.Do as thou wilt, for
I have done with thee.
(211-212)As quickly as
Capulet can leave the room, Lady Capulet turns her back on her only child. We
might assume Lady Capulet stood up to her husband in order to
appear the "concerned mother," perhaps knowing as she did so that Capulet would
still have his way—he is after all, the
patriarch, and Lady Capulet would realistically have little (or nothing) to say in this
marital arrangement. We have, however, also seen the less than gentle side of Lady
Capulet. In Act One, when fighting breaks out in the streets, Capulet calls for a sword,
while Lady Capulet insults him by telling him that he should be
asking for a crutch. Perhaps she simply likes to defy her husband whenever possible, and
does so here. Either way, we know now that she is inconstant, and will not stand behind
her child.Regardless of the reason that she decides to
remove her support of Juliet, Lady Capulet contributes—in albeit a small way—to the
tragedy of Romeo and her daughter, Juliet.
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