William Shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, (Romeo and Juliet) includes two very rash, passionate characters who refuse to listen to the demands of their families. This ends with them paying the ultimate penalty, death. In Pamela Berkman’s story, “Duty”, there is a grieving mother who is not grieving as much as one usually would over the circumstances involving the death of their child. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and "Duty" by Pamela Berkman, there are two main female roles that are progressively changing along with the plot and as they interact with other characters and are thus labeled as "complex characters". These characters would be Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Capulet, from "Duty".
In Shakespeare
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In Berkman 's story, "Duty", the interaction between Lady Capulet and Juliet’s Nurse in the catacombs causes Lady Capulet to unveil the actual emotions, feelings, and personality of her character. Lady Capulet 's disgust and sadness at the feelings of Lord Montague towards the death of his son is an example of how Berkman creates the image of Lady Capulet being complex female character. Lady Capulet starts off in this story simply as a mother who must, whether it be because of herself or another, stay strong and not falter under the pressures of life that most other women would. She does not show remorse towards the death of her daughter. According to her, she does not “succumb to the female weakness of fear of blood, or of the dead.” (Berkman 290). Lady Capulet herself is not sure as to whether or not her emotions are the valid ones in this case. She mentions that she would wonder if she “were heartless” (Berkman 290). As the story progresses, she is constantly reminded of her youth. However, according to her, she was not foolish enough to do the things that Juliet did. Starting out, Lady Capulet is strong and she will not falter due to the death of her daughter. However, Berkman, similarly to Shakespeare, develops Lady Capulet into a harsh yet understanding character. This is shown when Lady Capulet states that her …show more content…
Lady Capulet walked into the catacombs as a dispossessed parent. She believed that her daughter, Juliet, died two days previously. Lady Capulets made a choice to remain unaffected by this event. This further advances the plotline of the story, "Duty”, by revealing exposing personal events in her past and revealing the complexity of her character. When Lady Capulet realizes that her daughter had fallen for a boy she had not approved off, she was furious. She says that she “did not succumb to such foolishness” (Berkman 291). Lady Capulet is influenced by this event in which her daughter died for her love and responds with harsh thoughts that support her pride that she did nothing of the sort when she was young. The plot is drastically increased with a further look into the character of Lady Capulet by Friar Laurence. He accuses her of being an “unnatural creature” and asks if she is even a women (Berkman 204). Lady Capulet responds unfazed by this event that she is done with talking with him. She goes onto thinking about how Juliet should have just gone through with the marriage like her. According to her, to make it through the marriage with an unfavorable man, one should clear their mind of any stray thoughts that are not necessary. This shows that Lady Capulet is not exactly happy with her marriage, however,
Instead of making sure Juliet is out of harm's way she pushes her onto the path. Lady Capulet shows no caring towards Juliet such as being uncertain of Juliet's precise age (Chang 1). Lady Capulet also insisted on Juliet marrying Paris because he is wealthy even though Juliet does not have any interest in him (Fabry 66). Throughout the play Lady Capulet was presented by only wanting money and not caring what she does to reach her goal. It is obvious that she married Lord Capulet for his wealth because clues are shown in the play about her being scornful of his age. Such as when her husband wants to fight Lord Montague and asks for his sword, but she suggests a crutch instead (Fabry 10). Lady Capulet is distant from Juliet and always sides with her husband. Even when Lord Capulet is threatening Juliet that he is going to hit her and throw her out of the house if she does not obey him, Lady Capulet still supports her husband's decision. Lady Capulet shows no emotion to her daughter, but when Juliet is dead, she is filled with sorrow (Fabry 10). The Prince isn't all innocent either. Yes, he does threaten the two families if there was any sort of fighting with each other the punishment will be death, but he never follows through with his orders, which continues the quarrel of the Capulets and Montagues. When Romeo kills Tybalt he is only exiled from the city, but when a crime such as murder has occurred the punishment is to be
Gender Roles are norms set by society that dictate what types of behavior would be deemed appropriate and desirable for a person based solely upon their actual or perceived gender. Gender roles have been placed on society since the beginning of humanity and we can find examples of gender roles even in holy texts, such as the Holy Bible. Examples of gender roles found in the Bible are, I Corinthians, 11:14 and 15 which states “Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?”, this quote states the obvious long hair is feminine, you are a man,short hair is masculine, it is wrong to do anything feminine because
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.
When there is a fight in the market place, Capulet rushes to fight for his honor, “my sword I say, old Montague is come...” Capulet denies Paris’ request to marry Juliet “ and too soon marred are those so early made,” acting for his own good because he wants Juliet to produce many offspring to carry on the Capulets bloodline, since she is his only surviving child. When at the ball Capulet demands Tybalt to let Romeo be,” content thee, gentle coz, let him alone,” but this just fuels Tybalts anger towards Romeo, which eventually ends up in Tybalt causing his own death. Capulet believes he is giving his child the best when he announces her engagement to Paris” she shall be married to this noble earl,” and believes Paris will make a good husband for Juliet. When Juliet refuses Capulet thinks it best to threaten her, “I will drag thee,” but this just makes Juliet turn to more drastic measures.
In the play of Romeo and Juliet, the reader is introduced to two young star-crossed lovers who hope to fall in love and have the happily ever after. However, through the twists and turns of the play, the reader finds the story has a twisted ending. For the project, my group chose Juliet as our portrayed character. In our portrayal of Juliet, the character is well summarized as well as the characters role in the play. Beginning at her head, we summarize Juliet’s family life in a discrete but well thought out way. Upon Juliet’s head sits a golden headband to represent being of a higher family. While Juliet is no princess, she is the only child of Lord and Lady Capulet. “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me. My fingers itch.—Wife, we scarce thought us blest That God had lent us but this only child, But now I see this one is one too much And that we have a curse in having her. Out on her, hilding!”(3.5.160-168). Because she is the only daughter of the Lord and Lady, one can suspect a life filled with pressure for young Juliet.
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 ...
Considerable expectations are placed on Juliet due to her gender. As a female, Juliet was expected to marry the man of her family’s choosing, granting her no control over her future. Capulet and County Paris discuss whether Juliet is fit to be a bride. Although age plays a factor in this decision, Capulet is deciding his daughter’s fate based on the expected gender roles of her being the sole female daughter of the family, “ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;/Let two more summers wither in their pride/
Romeo and Juliet has different roles for different genders. During the Shakespearean period, when Shakespeare writes, most women had to marry when they were teen, when they were in adolescence or even before. However, the men who they were marrying were in their early to late twenties. In the household that the women lived in, the men basically owned them. The women always followed men’s word, which says that the male was the dominant gender of the society. Romeo and Juliet reflects this in a number of ways. Juliet was forced to marry Paris, by the word of her father, who said that if she did not marry Paris, she would go to the streets(Shakespeare, 3.5.154-62). Women were thought to be weaker and less important than men in Romeo and Juliet because men are trying to be the strongest out of everyone, women have a lower social status, and men think they owned women in Romeo and Juliet.
Lady Capulet is known to be a foil character to the nurse. As the nurse is portrayed as a loving character and mother-like figure towards Juliet. Alternatively, Lady Capulet is stiff and inconsiderate towards Juliet. She seems to only care about how Juliet will make the family reputation appear to others, constantly treating her like a tool for status by marrying her to Paris.
Tybalt’s death, according to the thoughts of Capulet, left Juliet struck with grief. Therefore, he agreed to allow Paris to marry his daughter, in order to supposedly restore her cheer. Juliet’s and Friar Lawrence’s ingenious, yet lethal, intentions spawned after Juliet decided to be independent and not trust the principles of her own family. While her parents strived for her happiness, the words, “I will drag thee on a hurdle thither” (III.v.160), brought too much agony for her to manage, as she knew that her only choice was to marry Paris. Conclusively, Tybalt’s death was the foremost influence of Lord Capulet’s desire to marry Juliet in Paris, intending to bring joy to her.
Lord Capulet is a loving father who deeply cares for Juliet. When he arranges the marriage between her and Paris, he is just trying to do what he feels is best for her. He knows Paris, being handsome and rich, will make a good husband to Juliet. When she refuses to marry Paris he goes into a violent rage, saying things he doesn’t mean. “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch! / I tell thee what: get thee to church o’Thursday, / Or never after look me in the face.”(3.5.166-168). He feels that the marriage of the two will be beneficial for Juliet and he loves her so much that he doesn’t mean to hurt her feelings. When Juliet “dies” he laments. “Despised, distressed, hated, martyred, killed! / Uncomfortable time, why cam’st thou now/ To murder, murder our solemnity? / O child! O child! My soul and not my child! / Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead, / And with my child my joys are buried.” (4.5.65-70). He cries out in a pain and anguish for his lost daughter Juliet. By showing emotion on account of her death and for her disobedience, Capulet shows that he really does care for Juliet and that he is a good father, wanting the best for her.
Act 1 Scene 3, shows to be the best initiation point. In this scene we can see right away that Lady Capulet is distant from Juliet. In line 1 of the scene, Lady Capulet says to the nurse “ Nurse, Where is my daughter? Call her forth to me.” In this small line it is easy to tell a lot about the relationship between Lady Capulet and her daughter. When she says “Nurse, where is my daughter?” means that she relies more on the nurse to know where her daughter is as oppose to herself. By saying “call her forth to me.” she is also passing the responsibility of getting the daughter to the nurse. By passing responsibilities of her daughter to the nurse; Lady Capulet is increasing the distance between her and her daughter. Another place where Lady Capulet shows to be distant is in Act 3 Scene 5. In this scene, in lines 69-73 she says “ Evermore Weeping for your cousin’s death? What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears? An if thou couldst, thou couldst not make him live. Therefore have done. Some grief shows much of love; but much grief shows still some want of wit.” In these lines Lady Capulet making an assumption as to what Juliet is feeling. Not only that, but she is also telling her not to cry instead of trying to understand what was really wrong with her daughter showing some distance among them. In these lines, the distance is clear, but this is only the inition of what the theme that Lady Capulet
Capulet is shown to be very authoritative over his wife, asking her to ‘Go you to Juliet’ and ‘Prepare her’ for the wedding. This shows us that Capulet has no doubt his wife will do what she tells her, and the use the imperative verbs such as ‘go’ and ‘prepare’ imply that women were forced to obey their husband’s instructions. We are also shown that the role of the mother was to prepare her daughter for her wedding day.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.
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