Juliet: From Mouse to Woman
Uploaded by Kayopi on Dec 26, 2000
In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare the two main characters are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Both teenagers matured and changed during the play, but Juliet’s changes stood out the most. Juliet transformed in less then a week, which says she did not change much, but there is a definite difference in her personality from before she met Romeo to after she married him. There are many events in the book that support that idea. Most of which interact with her mother. Many events towards the ending of the play suggest she is very obstinate, which is quite different from the begging of the play before Juliet even thought of marriage or defying her parents and family.
In Juliet’s first scene she is talking to her Mother and the Nurse. Her Mother brought up the topic of marriage and Lord Paris. This is when we first see a young girl who has just begun to grow up. She replies with the fact that she hasn’t considered marriage yet. Most girls of her age would have been wives by now, so it was slightly uncommon that she hadn’t even thought of her marriage. Also in this scene we see in her willingness and obedience, when she does not object to her Mother’s thoughts of her marring Lord Paris soon. When her Mother asks her if she could love Paris she replies, “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly.” (I, iv, 102-105) I interpreted her to mean she will try to love him, but she will not look deeper than her mother wishes. She reminds me of a mouse in a way, meek and a pushover. This scene is right before the ball.
Later when Juliet is at the ball she meets Romeo, and falls in love at first sight. Later Romeo follows her to her balcony where she confesses her love for Romeo to herself. Overhearing her, Romeo shows himself and also confesses his love for her. Taken over by her first feelings of love and lust, she defies her parents just by speaking to him in that manner. Before this, which was only about five or six hours ago, she would not have spoken to him at all, let alone that time of night. Romeo soon proposes to Juliet and...