Over the years, women have risen in the amount of power they possess, but even now, women are still often seen to have less power than men, and sometimes suffer because of this unbalance in power. As shown in Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease and in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the main female characters suffer because of the little power they have over their life and destinies. First, in Cue for Treason, Kit pretends to be someone she is not to ensure the safety of her escape from the marriage that is forced upon her. In addition, Juliet from Romeo and Juliet has to deal with her problems in secret because it is not what her parents planned for her. Similar to Kit, Juliet is also being forced into a marriage she does not want. In these two stories, it is evident that the female characters of the Elizabethan era suffer because of the little power they have over their lives and destinies. In Cue for Treason, Katherine “Kit” Kirkstone has very little power over her life and suffers as a result. …show more content…
Out you green sickness, carrion! Out you baggage! You tallow face! (Shakespeare 3.5.153-157) Juliet kindly turns down the offer to marry Paris, but her father will not have it. He is not giving her a choice. She is forced to do as her father instructs, even if it will cause her to suffer in an unhappy relationship, because if she defies him, she will receive more than verbal insults. Juliet knows her destiny has been set by her parents and she has no power to change it. She has to live in the relationship of their choice, even if it will mean suffering in an unhappy relationship. Evidently, Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet, suffers greatly because of the little power she has over her life and destiny, she is not used to making her own choices when she can, and with no control over her destiny she is whisked off to marry someone
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 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.
because she has been trying to obey her parents as much as possible. and happily goes along with her fathers advice in the first Act, about considering Paris to marry? We are made to feel sorry for Juliet as nothing is going right for her. and she has no one to turn to. Although her father may have a point in saying that she has not obeyed him, who is to say that she has to.
Juliet's farther never took to the time to understand his daughter and he presumed that she'd always respect whatever he had to say. When Juliet did not accept her father's idea for her to marry Paris, he became very angry and said, "Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what, get thee to church o'Thusday, Or never after look me in the face." This resulted in Juliet having to take desperate measures to avoid marrying Paris.
First and foremost, following Juliet's refusal of the marriage with Paris, her father tells her that she is “one too much and that “ {he has} a curse in having her”(III. V. 166-167). Juliet considers her father's reaction as a form of abandonment. This strengthens her isolation from her parents. Juliet is also affected by the nurse's advice to marry Paris and thinks “it is more sin to wish {her} thus forsworn” (III. V. 237). Juliet is hurt by the unsettling advice the nurse gives her at difficult circumstances. This causes Juliet to isolate herself from the nurse and does not confide in her anymore. Besides the nurse, Friar Laurence also betrays Juliet at a critical moment by saying that “stay is not to question, for the watch is coming…{and he} dare{s} no longer stay”(V. III. 158-159) and leaves her. This abandonment influences Juliet's isolation from the friar. Since the Friar is one of her most trusted advisors, this heavily impacts Juliet. The betrayal of her trusted friends results in Juliet’s isolation from them.
Paris is talking with Capulet, and saying that Juliet’s age should not stop her father from being married off, “Younger than she are happy mothers made” (1.2.12). Paris's argument to not wait for his and Juliet’s marriage is that there are many girls who are even younger than Juliet who are married and have already started a family. Juliet’s age puts her in a place where she is expected to contribute a child. This may be why she was in such a rush to get married to Romeo. Marriage of her choosing to Romeo prevents the marriage against her will to Paris. The influence placed on Juliet by her family is itself shaped by expectations of Juliet’s age group. When Juliet tells her father she does not wish to marry Paris, her father replies harshly commenting on her reasoning being due to her age, “A whining mammot, in her fortune’s tender/To answer I’ll not wed, I cannot love,/I am too young, I pray you pardon me” (3.5.185-187). Juliet’s father lacks empathy for Juliet’s position, and so continues to hold the high expectations that are required of her because of her age. Juliet never told her father she would not wed because of her age or her inability to love, so perhaps her father is projecting his guilt as he knows it is unreasonable to expect marriage and children from her when she is still so young and innocent. Juliet’s young age affects her maturity, which consequently influence the drastic and impulsive choices she made. When the Nurse agrees with Juliet’s parents about her marrying Paris, Juliet loses the one confidant she had. She depended heavily on the Nurse’s advice, as she herself lacked such wisdom. Her lack of maturity led her to make hasty decisions-choosing death as the easier way out, “Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain/I’ll too the friar, to know his remedy:/If all else fail, myself have power to die”
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
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.
Juliet’s weakness to be controlled by love leads her to make unadvised and irresponsible decisions that contribute to her choice of ending her life. Characterized as a young and rash teenager, with no interest in love and marriage at first, Juliet wants to be independent. However, after she first lays eyes on Romeo, Juliet’s perception of love is quick to change. Their strong love easily manipulates and clouds her judgment. Even if she is cautious and realizes their love is too fast, the rush of feelings from having a first love overcomes her.
Juliet refuses to marry Paris, saying, “Now, by Saint Peter's Church and Peter too, / He shall not make me there a joyful bride!” (3.5, 121-122). This quote shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable, It is shown because as soon as talk of marrying Paris come up, Juliet breaks down crying and starts raising her voice. A little while after the last scene, the Nurse tries to give Juliet some advice, Juliet’s response is, “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! / ... I'll to the Friar to know his remedy. / If all else fail, myself have power to die.” (3.5, 248, 254-255). This scene also shows that Juliet is disobedient and unreasonable because, Juliet blatantly goes behind her parents back to make a plan that goes against their wishes. Her actions show that Juliet changes for the worse near the end of the story.
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.
“And therefore women, being weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall; therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall” are the words spoken by a Capulet servant at the beginning of the play (I.i.14-17). He illustrated right off the bat that the women characters had a completely different place in society than men did and were thought to be weaker compared to them. Although there are only three main female characters in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, it’s easy to interpret what the roles of women were in Verona during the Renaissance time period. Based on the female characters in Romeo and Juliet, it seems they matured more quickly than women do today, portrayed a subservient role in society, and were seen as an object to possess.
In the beginning of the play, Juliet is unable to make her own decisions. However, after her meeting with Romeo, Juliet becomes more assertive and defends her love for Romeo. In conclusion, individuals cannot be forced to love; love is nurtured and nourished but is also always put to
I shall endeavour to explore and analyse how women are presented in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Duffy’s “Human Interest”.
Pleasing their husbands, parents, and families were all things women should aspire to do. At the beginning of the play, Juliet follows gender conventions. She always obeyed her parents and did what they wanted her to do. After Juliet meets Romeo, things change dramatically. Juliet breaks gender conventions by denying her parents request for her to marry her suitor Paris, something that was unheard of in Elizabethan times. It is said that “Marriages were usually arranged by the families of the bride and the groom in order for both sides to benefit from one another” (Women's Rights in Romeo and Juliet 1). When Juliet's father finds out she does not want to marry Paris, her father says “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!