All My Fortunes At Thy Foot I’ll Lay

Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague are the protagonists, star-crossed lovers (Prologue:6) and heirs to their households (Prologue:1) in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Juliet occupies a space of liminality between girlhood and womanhood — [s]he hath not seen the change of fourteen years (1:2:9). She is a girl of the Elizabethan era where females are oppressed, marginalised and their voices are often silenced. However, the audience in this play knows what Juliet is thinking and planning through soliloquies. Shakespeare gives the audience a glimpse inside the mind of young Juliet who transcends patriarchal and social norms when she fractures the relationship with her father and follows her heart.

Romeo and Juliet can be considered as a warning allegory for the time. Elizabethan audiences saw Juliet’s father make a good match that would strengthen the political future of the Capulet family, a move that would reform their position in their increasingly desperate struggle against their foes (Prologue:5), the Montagues. When Count Paris asked Lord Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage audiences learnt that the [e]arth hath swallowed all [of Capulet’s] hopes but she / [s]he is the hopeful lady of [his] earth (1:2:15); the world took everything of value from him and his daughter was the only thing he had left. She was his last hope and the heir to the Capulet family.

Juliet possesses an inner strength that enables her to have maturity beyond her years. When her mother suggests that she marry the Count Paris because of his wealth and good looks, she understands what is expected of her but questions social conformity when she suggests to look to like, if looking liking move (1:3:100). In many respects, Juliet again rejects the oppressive expectation of social norms and the patriarchy. In Act 2 Scene 2, the balcony scene, audiences see Juliet take control in her relationship with Romeo, defying the patriarchal order, so much so, that she suggests marriage: Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed. / If that thy bent of love be honourable, / Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow (2:2:148–150).

Juliet takes the ultimate stand against conventions of patriarchy when she is willing to sacrifice her life for what she believes in — the right to choose whom she will marry. In Act 2 Scene 6, Juliet enters as Friar Laurence says that she will never wear out the everlasting flint (2:6:17), foreshadowing that Juliet will have eternal youth, ultimately dying before she grows old. The lover (2:6:18) herself understands and accepts this when she refers to the Friar as her ghostly confessor (2:6:21). It was a common belief in the Elizabethan era that Holy ghosts could anticipate the future. It is here that Romeo and Juliet’s love transcends social norms and conventions.

Juliet’s marriage to Paris would have been a politically honourable (1:2:4) decision that strengthened the Capulet household. It was also an arrangement steeped in patriarchal order. Juliet becomes entrapped by her father’s wishes and societal expectations when, in Act 3, it is decided for her that she shall be married to this noble earl (3:4:22), Paris. However, Juliet tries to break free from the shackles of patriarchy when she refuses his command, thereby shaming her family. Not to be defied, her father wields his oppressive power and promises to not be foresworn (3:4:205) when he threatens that [she] shall not house with [him] (3:4:118) rather she will hang, beg, starve, die in the streets (3:4:122) and that for, by [his] soul, [he’ll] never acknowledge [Juliet] (3:4:123). Modern day audiences are likely to pity Juliet because of her father’s cruelty, however, Elizabethan audiences are more likely to support her father’s promise because in their era, that would be considered a liable response to his daughter’s rebellion and defiance of patriarchal expectations.

Ultimately, it is open to interpretation whether Juliet really did break free from the oppressive society and patriarchal hierarchy under which she lived her life. It may have been these norms that killed Juliet. However, in the afterworld, a place of liminality, where patriarchy and normativity are non-existent, Juliet is now free from such constraints.

Romeo and Juliet, Juliet Character Analysis ~ Bronte Mullane