Women's Roles In Romeo And Juliet

Everyone in the world of literature knows about the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Men in the story find power in sexual domination and violence. Women are treated as a belonging, and such as a property. Any person who was a female was expected to do as the men wished, and had no power over it at all. The women of this play are hampered by conventions, but many of the women still show great strength. The poor treatment acts upon major characters in the play such as, the nurse, Lady Capulet, and Juliet. In the play Lady Capulet shows strength by her tremendous personality of demand. The nurse, also shows an immense amount of strength by her ability to stay seriously involved with her work. Finally, Juliet shows her monumental strength by staying independent to herself.The women of this play are hampered by conventions, but many of the women still show great strength.

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time where the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing into the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love and values social position rather than men themselves.

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time when the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing up within the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love, and values social position rather than men themselves.

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.

Even though Lord Capulet, from the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, is trying to do what he thinks is best for Juliet, Lord Capulet starts off as a loving and caring father but slowly graduates into an ignorant and insensitive father because when confronted by Paris, Lord Capulet tells him that Juliet is too young to marry and that in a few years, if she says yes, then it is possible. When Tybalt dies, Capulet moves up the wedding to the upcoming Thursday without Juliet's consent. Lord Capulet loves his daughter but does not know much about her true thoughts or feelings. Because of his ignorance towards her feelings, Juliet starts to resent her father and becomes a disobedient and dishonest daughter. Capulet

Lady Capulet felt that Juliet was coming to the age where she should be married. Lady Capulet is a powerful person and has an inconsistent personality, similar to Lord Capulet. She is cold hearted, and is distant from her daughter and husband. She is very selfish and rarely sees other people's point of views, she is not close to her daughter

Lord Capulet wants Juliet to be happy and choose her own husband, while Lady Capulet wants her daughter to marry a man who has a lot of knowledge and who is older and wiser even if it not really what is wants. We can tell that the Capulets have to different approaches to how they are going to Juliet to marry. Paris comes to Lord Capulet asking about her hand in marriage, though Capulet replied with " ... woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart ; ... she agreed, within her scope of choice lies my consent and fair-according voice. " (I.ii. 16-19).

Lord Capulet is forcing Juliet to get married and doesn’t take into consideration that Juliet doesn’t desire to get married. Lord Capulet conversed to Paris, “ . . . Thursday tell her, she shall be married to this noble earl” (Shakespeare 198). Lord Capulet is indubitable for wanting Juliet ot get married, and arranges the wedding, as she is unaware of this. He plans the wedding thinking it will assist her from her grief of Tybalt dying, but he doesn’t know that for certain, and is planning something that will greatly affect her future, without her consent. Furthermore, this quote shows that when Juliet gave an ixnay on why she did not aspire to marry Paris, Capulet belabored her until she was on the ground crying asking for the nurses aid. Lord Capulet explains to Juliet, “But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next, go with Paris to Saint Peters Church or I will drag thee on a hurdle*” (Shakespeare 214). This proves Capulet wants nothing more for his daughter than to get married to Paris, and it shows the extent he will go to, to receive his wish. Overall, Lord and Lady Capulet want Juliet to get married to Paris more than she wants to. This shows they don’t mind if she’s happy or not, as long as they get what they want. This goes deeper into the accusation that Juliet’s parents are at fault for the adolescents

Throughout the course of Romeo and Juliet, another important character, Lord Capulet, undergoes significant change. Towards the beginning of the play, Lord Capulet is introduced as being very caring and looking out for the best interests of Juliet - his daughter. In fact, after Paris - a wealthy kinsman -  asks for his daughter’s hand in marriage, Lord Capulet states, “she hath not seen the change of fourteen years./ Let two more summers wither in their pride.” This demonstrates Lord Capulet’s affection and concern for his daughter and her well-being. He wishes for her to be more mature before marriage, and as a result does not accept to her marrying Paris.

As the birth mother of Juliet, Lady Capulet doesn’t genuinely care about what Juliet wants. Concentration is more on Juliet’s social standing than most anything else. When confronted Lady Capulet quickly asserts, “Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn/ the gallant, young, and noble gentleman,/ the County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church/ shall happily make thee there a joyful bride” without even asking Juliet’s

Paris knows Juliet does not wish to marry him, yet this only makes him more determined to marry her as he sees Juliet as a prize, to show his superiority over everyone else. In today’s society, we would view Lord Capulet as a cold, unfeeling father because of the way he treats his daughter, but Lord Capulet is a prime example of Shakespearian fathers. His only wish is to make a good marriage for his daughter, but she rejects his help. Capulet doesn’t know Juliet has fallen for Romeo and so cannot be expected to understand why she doesn’t wish to marry Paris.

Juliet, along with the other women in the story, struggle to assert themselves in a world where men held all the power. Elizabethan men treated women

A woman during the 16th century did not have the freedoms that a woman today enjoys. During Shakespeare’s life wives were not allowed the independence they take pleasure in today. Therefore, the role of the mother for Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is not commanding or authoritative because of the time period Shakespeare lived.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was a popular play in the sixteenth century, and remains a modern classic read by millions. But what might not be clear to readers of Romeo and Juliet is its representation of patriarchal oppression and the female resistance. Through the major male characters in Romeo and Juliet, Old Capulet and Romeo, William Shakespeare explores the objectification of women, suggesting that they are merely property, with no free will or rights of their own. However, Juliet fights against the concept of the patriarchy by taking her own life, showing the power and control that she desires and eventually achieves. Old Capulet, Juliet’s father, acts as her main oppressor throughout Romeo and Juliet.

In the story of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, women contain a different role than men that sets up conflict between Juliet and Juliet's parents. Romeo and Juliet love each other however due to the role of women and the feud between the Capulets and the Monologues they will be forced to separate. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, women are treated as toys for men, financial and social gain, and are disrespected as if women are nothing. Women in Romeo and Juliet contain the role of a toy or prize. Juliet's father, Capulet, is forcing Juliet to marry Paris however, when Juliet claims she doesn't want to he yells,"Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!"(3.5.116).