A Female’s Leadership
Romeo and Juliet and Moana.
Romeo and Juliet and Moana both show how women can be in power and break their stereotypes by speaking out and changing things around them. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and Moana, written and directed by Ron Clements, both show femininity. Moana, the main character in the movie ends up saving her family and her island with help from a few people. She puts her mind to something and ends up completing it with great pride. Juliet and other women in the play constantly tell men to do something different. They are also able to change situations by doing things that would not necessarily be done. Women in both stories show how a stereotype can be broken to change the line of the story and bring power to themselves.
Women can change situations for the better or the worse for them or their loved ones by making their own decisions. At the very beginning of the play in Romeo and Juliet there is a small street brawl. The Mother’s both tell their husband to not draw their swords. They prevented a fight, where someone could have gotten killed. Lady Capulet says, “A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?” (1.1. 78). This quote from Romeo and Juliet portrays that a woman’s influence over a man was possible, although not common in the higher reign. Capulet was wanting something to cause harm and violence but Lady Capulet takes the lead on the situation by telling him no which causes no griefs or dispares in the future of the book. Lady C. is controlling the situation by letting anyone get hurt or banished. A while after, Juliet and Romeo get married in private. Juliet started the conversation of getting married by saying, “Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed. / If that thy bent of love be honorable, / Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow ” (2.2.149–151). This passage from Romeo and Juliet explains that Juliet is able to control what a situation would be. She is able to say to Romeo that first, she loves him and second that they should get married. Romeo and Juliet, the classic love story all gets started with Juliet becoming independent, she is taking control of the situation by telling Romeo that they will get married the next day with Friar Laurence. Juliet is taking “power” over Romeo and decides what is right for the both of them. The Women are able to say what they are thinking and change what they want to change and with that, they are given more power and start to become more like the men in the house. In Moana, Moana is changing situations very often with fighting kakamora (little coconut trolls), defeating Te Fiti and trying to go past tekal (the fire monster). When she did not like their situation and almost gave up, she powered through and thought about her people she was doing this for. She turns her boat around and goes straight toward the tekal. In the movie, Moana says to herself, “The follow us under water. We’ll make it pass the barely island. We’ll make it to Te Fiti.” She is able to help her people by powering through and taking control of her boat and the situation. She is given the “steering wheel” of the boat and is able to complete her mission and save her people by making her own decisions and not relying on someone else.
Women can also change men’s minds about an important decision that could be personal, or for another’s life like taking poison to risk meeting the “love of your life”. There are many instances in Romeo and Juliet that women tell men not to do something or do it on their own. One important part in the play is the conversation between Paris and Juliet. Paris refers to her as an item, saying “Thy face is mine, and thou hast slandered it.” (4.1.36), like a possession that once they get marry he owns her. Juliet in defense says to him, “It may be so, for it is not mine own” (4.1.37). She is saying that he does not own her and if anyone did it would be Romeo, who thinks of her as an equal. Juliet is giving herself power and is making Paris feel incapable and helpless next to her. Near the end of the play when Romeo gets banished she goes to Friar’s cell and asks for another option besides suicide or leaving. She wants to be with Romeo and agrees in a plan where she will have a fake death and then end up with Romeo. She convinces Friar by saying, “Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!” (4.1.123), telling him that she will kill herself and in the end Friar gives her the vial of potion. During this time in the play Juliet is holding a knife in her hand, in this situation Friar would do whatever it takes to stop her. Friar Laurence is unable to hold back his love for Juliet (and his people) and always doing the right thing. Even though the Friar was against doing anything, in the end Juliet gets what she wants. In Moana, Moana is able to convince Maui to go on the journey with her. She convinces her by not giving up and talking to him about how he will become a “hero”. Moana goes on the chant, “Save the world. You’d be everyone’s hero. Maui… Maui… Maui…”. She is able to convince him with a chant, like cheerleaders. She goes against what is expected and changes the plot of the movie. Moana and Juliet are able to show that they can sway opinions and men’s minds about what should happen and important decisions that could affect their future.
The young girls, Moana and Juliet go behind their parents backs to do things that they think are right for the situation. The whole part Romeo and Juliet is how they fell in love at first sight. Juliet and Romeo got married soon after meeting each other without consent from the parents. Juliet also goes behind her father’s back when she says that she will marry Paris. She does this to make her father happy and pleased before their lives ended from the potion they received from Friar Laurence. This is showing the Juliet is able to take situations into her own hands and change things from how they were supposed to be. This also makes her father seem more powerful, like the man of the house, although it is completely the opposite and Juliet is controlling him. Juliet says to her father, “To beg your pardon. Pardon, I beseech you. Henceforward I am ever ruled by you” (4.2.23). This shows that she is faking her rule under him and giving him the consent of marrying Paris. In Moana, Moana goes against what her father says and decides what is right for the island, for her to leave and return the heart of Te Fiti. Although in Moana, her mother catches her while packing food to go. This is an important scene because women were known to make food for men. In this scene they are going against the stereotypes and packing food for Moana, a young girl. Moana’s father in the midst of their fight about leaving the island says, “No one goes outside the reef. We’re safe here.” There is power in this scene given to both of them, by going against what her father said and doing it anyway. Both Juliet and Moana show that they can change situations and do what they think is right even though the parents might not think it.
In Romeo and Juliet and in Moana there are scenes of power and femininity. The stereotype that women are supposed to just cook and listen to the men of the house is broken. The women say what they are thinking, they change the situations. Juliet and other women are able to change situations about poison, marriage, and more to gain power over other the other gender. These two texts show us how women can be equal to men or above and break their stereotypes to chance things that they think are right.
