The Nurse contributes to Romeo and Juliet’s suffering because she is a messenger between the two. In Act 2, when the Nurse and Romeo meet in Friar Lawrence’s cell and talk about marriage, she tells Romeo,“ I will tell her, sir, that you do protest. Which, as I take it, is a gentleman like offer.” (2.4.174-175). The Nurse is getting the marriage plans from Romeo and tells them to Juliet. If she never acted as their messenger, the two would not have any communication and would not have been able to discuss their marriage plans. The Nurse acting like a messenger, contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death.
Another reason the Nurse contributes to Romeo and Juliet’s suffering is by keeping Romeo and Juliet’s marriage a secret from Juliet’s parents. During Act 2, in a conversation with Romeo in Friar’s cell she tells Romeo, “Is your man secret? Did you na’er hear say, Two may keep counsel, putting one away?” (2.4.192-193). The Nurse, as a watcher of Juliet, helped her marry Romeo Montague who is the son of Lord Montague, their enemy. She told Romeo that she was going to keep his marriage with Juliet a secret. Instead of keeping this secret she should have notified the Capulet’s because they trusted her enough to let her watch over Juliet. As the parents of Juliet, the Capulets deserved to know about her marriage, instead the Nurse kept it a secret, which led to Lord Capulet arranging a marriage between Juliet and Paris. The Nurse contributed towards Romeo and Juliet’s suffering by keeping their marriage a secret.
Lastly, the Nurse contributes to Romeo and Juliet’s suffering by telling Juliet to marry Paris, after helping her marry Romeo. In Act 3, The Nurse when speaking to an emotional Juliet, who refuses to marry Paris because of her love towards Romeo, tells Juliet, “As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart. I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first; or if did not,” (3.5.223-225). Nurse knows that marrying twice or divorcing is a sin. Instead of helping Juliet out of her mess, she just tells her to marry Paris, which hurts Juliet’s feelings and because of that she loses Juliet’s trust. The Nurse contributed towards Romeo and Juliet’s suffering by advising Juliet to marry Paris after helping her marry Romeo.
In this play, the Nurse is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s suffering because firstly she acts as a messenger, secondly she kept Romeo and Juliet’s marriage a secret and finally she tells Juliet to marry Paris, after helping her marry Romeo. The Nurse should have never talked to Romeo, worse yet deliver his messages to Juliet. As a watcher of Juliet, Nurse should have reported Juliet’s marriage to Romeo, to the Capulets. Finally, instead of helping Juliet out of her messy situation, she just tells her to marry Paris, which Nurse herself knows, is a sin because Juliet is already married. Although, the Nurse may seem like a loving character, her mistakes cost Romeo and Juliet their lives.
