This reserved address of her mother shows us two things: Juliet is very respectful of her mother and their relationship is not what we would now consider a typical mother/daughter relationship. They are distant towards each other and this indicates that Juliet was probably raised more by her Nurse than her actual mother, although this was common during the time period.
Juliet’s innocence is demonstrated when Lady Capulet introduces the idea of marriage to Juliet. When asked if she was consent to Paris as a husband, she responds
‘I’ll look to like, if looking liking move’
This shows both Juliet’s eagerness to please her mother; she will try and like him for her family’s sake, and her youthful ideas of love, which shows how experienced she is of the world and that she cannot have already experienced love.
As we enter Act I Scene V, Juliet is still the meek and quiet girl we saw in the first scene, but as the act finishes, she has changed and appears cunning and devious.
When a mystery young man, Romeo, approaches her, she does not stop his advances; she participates with the flirtation, continuing with Romeo’s religious speech. By doing this, Juliet is accentuating her innocence for the first time in the tragedy. She pretends to object to Romeo kissing her,
‘Lips that they must use in prayer’
She noticeably changes once the couple have kissed. Instead of the juvenile submissive daughter, she transforms into an ardent young woman. The wish to please her parents and her nurse has been overtaken by her desire of Romeo. Juliet’s priories have changed.
When Juliet wants to find the identity of her mystery admirer, she does so in such a way that does not reveal her newfound love. She enquires to Nurse first of ‘yond gentleman’ and then of another man before asking about Romeo. This shows that instead of bursting to tell her confidante about her experience, she displays a manipulative restraint. She is deceitful, a trait unseen in the Juliet of Act I Scene III.
Whereas Juliet’s new love had made her devious and practical in Act I Scene III, in Act II Scene II Juliet is swept up in her new sense of freedom.
This is the first point in the play that Juliet announces she will denounce her family for Romeo.
‘Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but my sworn love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet’
This statement shows that Juliet is in the throes of passion; she is willing to give up everything for her love of Romeo. However, Juliet is still maturing fast. This is demonstrated by her caution. Although elated by her engagement to Romeo, she warns him that
‘It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden; too like the lightening,’
This reveals that although honest and frank about her feelings, she does not want to be controlled by them. This is an indicator of the practical mind that will deceive her father in Act III Scene V.
Act III Scene V is the second time we see Juliet with her mother, and although at the beginning of the scene she shows the same sort of respectful manners exhibited in Act I Scene III, by the end of the scene she has disobeyed both her mother and her father, in addition to losing all assurance in the close camaraderie she had with Nurse.
When her mother presents her with the proposals of marriage, she loses all of the poise and calm shown earlier. She shouts,
‘I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, who you know I hate, rather than Paris’.
Not only is this a contrast to the tranquil Juliet of the first scene, but also she is deftly slighting her mother, because she is already married to Romeo.
As first her father, then her mother deserts her, Juliet falls more and more into determinism to ‘go it alone’. The final blow strikes when her confidante, Nurse, tells her to marry Paris. This leaves Juliet totally alone and ever more resolute,
‘I’ll go to the friar, to know his remedy: if all else fail, myself have the power to die’.
When Juliet makes this astounding revelation, it shows not only her determinism but also her newly found devious mind. She doesn’t panic, instead lying to her parents about her attitude towards Paris’s proposal.
Juliet prepares to take the sleeping draught, but shows her resolve when despite many fears, she takes the draught. She is extremely apprehensive, disturbed by fears of ‘ the horrible conceit of death and night’ and Tybalt ‘festering in his shroud. Despite this Juliet takes the draught, showing her indisputable change from the nervous teenager to a strong woman.
Through the course of the play, Juliet Capulet has displayed a remarkable yet believable change from a young and immature girl to a resolute and self-reliant tragic heroine.