She never seems far from Juliet, which shows that she has a close relationship with Juliet. She has been Juliet’s nurse since Juliet was born, and was employed initially as her ‘wet nurse’; a term used for a servant hired to breastfeed a child born of a high-class family. She remembers this is Act1 Scene3,
‘And she was weaned – I never shall forget it -... For I had then laid wormwood to my dug.’
The nurse seems to treat Juliet as more of an adult than the other embers of her family do. She is the only one who considers Juliet’s thoughts and feelings on marriage. When Lord Capulet uses extreme and offensive language against her, the nurse protests against him, even though he is her superior,
‘You are to blame my Lord to rate her so.’
Their relationship is based mainly around trust, Juliet trusts the nurse with her most intimate problems, and believes that the nurse will agree with her and help her. Because of this, she sees the nurses advice to commit bigamy and marry Paris in Act 3 Scene 5, as unforgivable treachery,
‘Ancient Damnation! O most wicked fiend! ... Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain.’ Here she verbally cuts the link between herself and the nurse forever, which seems unfair and extreme.
There is a contrast between Juliet and the Nurse regarding their moral views, their views on love and on marriage. Juliet sees marriage as a confirmation of love, whereas the nurse sees it as an importance that defines ones future happiness and social status. She plays with the phrase,
‘women grow by men,’ taking it in two meanings, that women grow by means of social status, a woman becomes more honourable once she is married, and women physically growing, in pregnancy.
The nurse’s character is one of the humorous aspects of the play. Shakespeare uses humour to lift the ominous atmosphere. The nurse’s character, and especially Mercutio’s character, uses crudeness in their jokes.
‘I am the drudge, and toil in your delight/ but you shall bear the burden soon at night.’ This refers to the consummation of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage.
The nurse focuses mainly on herself in most of her long speeches. In Act 1 Scene 3, the nurse makes a series of long speeches recalling the events of her life as Juliet’s nurse. Her sentences are broken up into short phrases,
‘But as I said/ On Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen/ That shall she, marry, I remember it well/ Tis since the earthquake now eleven years/ And she was weaned – I shall never forget it,’ suggesting she is talking incoherently. Her style of speech tells us that she is a merry character, who is lively, jaunty, unconcerned and light - hearted.
The nurse’s character is a lot more down to earth than the characters of Romeo and Juliet. In Act 2 Scene 5 there is a lot of focus on the nurses old age,
‘Fie how my bones ache, what joint have I.’ I think that this is to contrast with the youth of Juliet to emphasise the forthcoming tragedy at the loss of young lives. Many of the nurse’s long speeches refer to her, and are detailed accounts of events of her life. We learn a lot about her,
‘And then my husband – God be with his soul, /A’ was a merry man – took up the child.’ As the nurse has no soliloquy speeches, which Shakespeare used to reveal a character’s true feelings, she comes across as a very basic character, with no secrets or problems to hide. We do not see her expressing emotions suggesting that she is a minor character, and that there is nothing special about her.
I think that Shakespeare introduced the Nurse to liven up the play, and bring it down to Earth, and easier for an audience to relate to. She is a comic character, in contrast to the characters of Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Benvolio, Tybalt, the Capulets and the Montagues, and so her scenes bring humour to the ominous atmosphere.
