Juliet once again turns to the Nurse for help – ‘Oh God! Nurse, how shall this be prevented?’ – but this time the Nurse advises Juliet to do as her parents’ wish - ‘I think it best you married with the county.’ The Nurse cares very much about Juliet’s well being and is trying to be realistic because women of that era could not be employed as they relied on their husbands for financial security. When Juliet asks ‘Speak’st thou from thy heart?’ the Nurse replies ‘and from my soul too.’ This shows that the Nurse knows that going against her parent’s wishes will lead to a terrible end – and she is absolutely right, so she tries to persuade Juliet to forget about Romeo because it was a safer option. When the Nurse sides with Juliet’s parents, it badly damages the status of their relationship from this point onward because Juliet feels betrayed and does not trust the Nurse any longer. Even towards the end of the play, Juliet does not let the Nurse know of their plan and lets her think that Juliet is dead. It seems that since meeting Romeo, Juliet’s bond with her Nurse is damaged as well as the relationship she has with Lady Capulet.
Juliet’s relationship with her Nurse is very much in contrast to the relationship she has with her mother. The very first time we see Juliet speak to her mother, she says “Madam, I am here. What is your will?” Already it is possible for the audience to see the contrast between the two relationships. Juliet uses a very deferential and formal tone towards her mother – almost like a servant to her master. On stage, this would probably be acted out with a curtsy or a bow to show respect.
In Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet is upset because she has just spent her last night with Romeo, before he is banished. There is a sense of dramatic irony here because Lady Capulet thinks Juliet is grieving for her cousin Tybalt, however, the audience knows that she is really crying over her loss of Romeo.
Lady Capulet does not show much sympathy for Juliet’s grief. She acts rather insensitively and callously towards Juliet when she says ‘So shall you feel the loss, but not the friend which you weep for.’ This indicates that the relationship between Juliet and her parents is unloving and unrepentant. Juliet then says: “Feeling so the loss, I cannot choose but ever weep the friend.” The sense of dramatic irony within the audience continues. At this point, Juliet is not actually lying – she says what she feels is the truth, yet she knows her mother is interpreting it in another way. This shows that after meeting Romeo, Juliet’s relationship with her mother has become deceitful and fraudulent. Juliet then goes onto say, “Indeed I never shall be satisfied with Romeo, till I behold him – dead”. This speech also has a double meaning – Juliet appears to agree with her mother’s attack on Romeo, but uses words which can also mean that she loves him. By now, Juliet is directly lying to Lady Capulet. She has become deceitful and manipulative. The relationship between Juliet and Lady Capulet has made a clear change from this point onward – it started out as deferential, courteous and respectful, whereas it is now simply manipulative and dishonest.
Unlike the Nurse, Lady Capulet does not regard Juliet’s happiness as a main priority. However, she does seem to have Juliet’s best interests at heart. The Capulets insist that Juliet should marry the County Paris because he is wealthy and her marriage to him would be a definite way of confirming Juliet’s financial security for the future. Shakespeare proves this in Act 3 Scene 5 when Juliet’s parents tell her that her wedding has been arranged for “early next Thursday morn”. Juliet is clear of her feelings towards the proposal as she says “He may not make me therefore a joyful bride”. This is going directly against what her parents are telling her to do. Juliet even gets down on her knees and begs her father – “Good Father, I beseech you on my knees, Hear me with patience, but to speak a word.” Capulet loses his temper and even insults Juliet by calling her a “disobedient wretch”. The audience is forced to believe that Juliet is regarded as a possession more than a daughter to the Capulets when her father threatens to disown her if she refuses to marry Paris. Earlier in the scene, Capulet asks Lady Capulet, “Have you delivered to her our decree?” It seems that they do not even care about Juliet’s opinion towards the matter as they simply talk among themselves. By doing this, Shakespeare forces the audience to notice the immense difference between the two relationships and even creates sympathy for Juliet.
Similarly, Romeo’s relationship with his parents is quite the opposite of the relationship he has with Friar Lawrence. Act 2 Scene 3 is the very first time we meet the Friar and by the end of the scene, it is clear that the Friar appears to be like a surrogate father to Romeo.
As soon as Romeo enters the scene, he says, “Good morrow, Father”. Some may interpret this to mean “Father” as in vicar or priest; however Shakespeare intends to make Friar Lawrence to look like a father figure to Romeo. The fact that the Friar also refers to Romeo as “son” also backs up this point.
Romeo immediately tells Friar Lawrence about his new love for Juliet and asks him to marry them the next day. At first, the Friar is quite shocked by Romeo’s fickleness. “Is Rosaline… so soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes.” The audience gets the impression that the Friar is telling Romeo off like a father would to a son as the Friar notices Romeo’s frequent change in love.
Similar to the nurse, Friar Lawrence always seems to have Romeo’s best interests at heart and wants Romeo to be happy. Being a wise old man, he also often gives Romeo advice. Unlike Romeo, the Friar also thinks about consequences of present actions. He later agrees to marry the young lovers as he believes that it may end the feud between the Capulets and Montagues – “For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households’ rancour to pure love.”
In contrast to this, Romeo has a very distant relationship with his father. Romeo and Montague are not once seen speaking to each other which in itself is quite self-explanatory to the status of their relationship. Montague seems aware of their distant relationship, yet does not seem eager to do anything to change this. In Act 1 Scene 1, he talks to Benvolio about Romeo’s grief – “My noble uncle, do you know the cause?” Montague simply replies, “I neither know it, nor can learn from him.” They decide to depart and let Benvolio find out the cause of Romeo’s unhappiness. When Shakespeare does this, the audience can be forced to believe that Montague is in some ways abdicating his role as a father; however this could also mean that Montague knows his son well and is aware that Romeo is more likely to tell Benvolio what is wrong because he is of a closer age.
This is the only time we see a glimpse of Romeo’s relationship with his parents, whereas Romeo spends a lot more time with Friar Lawrence who is more of a father to Romeo.
Shakespeare presents the relationships between Juliet and the Nurse and Romeo and Friar Lawrence by using significant language that implies a father-son or mother-daughter relationship. He also portrays the lovers’ behaviour towards their parents in a contrasting way to the Nurse and the Friar so that the audience is able to see the differences.
