The Nurse’s attitude towards arranged marriage isn’t the issue the Nurse doesn’t care really who Juliet marries she just want to see her married and happy, this desire to see Juliet married make her foolish, and treats her as he own daughter as is mentioned in Act 1 Scene 3. She helps in the secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet but then in Act 3 Scene 5 she agrees with the arranged marriage to Paris.
I am now going to look at act 3 scene 5 in detail, I’m looking at this specific scene because it is where the attitudes towards arranged marriages come in out in the characters this is triggered by the death of Tybalt and it is the pinnacle scene. At the start of the scene Romeo and Juliet have just consummated their marriage and Romeo has got to leave because if he doesn’t he will be killed. Juliet is then told about the arranged marriage to Paris she then argues with her father, the scene finishes with Juliet discussing the situation with the Nurse and coming to a decision on what she is going to do. At the beginning of the scene Juliet is in bed with Romeo after their night together, they are clearly in love “believe me, love” and “Look, love”. Romeo needs to leave because he knows that he can not be caught in that room otherwise he will certainly be executed, Romeo has been banished from Verona for murdering Tybalt a member of the Capulet family (after Tybalt killed Romeo’s friend Mercutio). Romeo has to be gone at dawn, Juliet is trying to persuade him to stay a little bit longer be saying that it isn’t morning yet by saying “it was the nightingale, and not the lark” which they both heard. Romeo wants to stay however he wants to live they are both upset and want to be together they also both know that when Romeo leave they don’t know when they will see each other again. Eventually Romeo guilt’s his wife into letting him leave “Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so”. Romeo is ironic in saying “more light and light, more dark and dark our woes” this is ironic because it goes against the saying everything will look better in the morning. The Nurse then enters the bedroom she knows about the marriage of Romeo and Juliet and assisted it. She quickens the departure of Romeo by notifying them “lady mother is coming” and she goes to the window as though she is ushering him out. Romeo and Juliet have one last kiss at the windows ledge and Romeo leaves, not knowing when he is going to see his true love again. Juliet is now upset and is talking to her love who is now outside and departing. There is an element of prophecy and dramatic irony in the line “As one dead in the bottom of a tomb” as this will happen later on in the play and he “look’st pale” the next time she will see him. Lady Capulet then enters the bedroom and Juliet is upset and crying. Lady Capulet thinks that she is crying over the death of her cousin Tybalt, Lady Capulet has no idea about Romeo and that this is the true reason she is crying. She tells Juliet to stop crying and that isn’t going to bring him back “What, wilt thou wash him from his grave”. They carry on the conversation Juliet tells her mother to let her cry “let me weep” and then the conversation turns to Romeo and Lady Capulet being angry that he is still alive “the villain lives that slaughtered him” Juliet then has to act as though she hates Romeo and agrees with her mother, this would have been extremely difficult for Juliet who loves him and was just with him, this would just be making Juliet more upset and also maybe slightly angry that someone is talking so harshly about her husband. Juliet however covers for herself very well and says that she would kill Romeo if she saw him “to wreak the love upon the body that hath slaughtered him!” Lady Capulet then goes on to mention the marriage thinking that it may cheer up her grief stricken daughter. She informs her that her “careful father” meaning caring father, Lord Capulet has “put thee from thy heaviness” meaning cheers her up has “sorted out a sudden day of joy” the marriage to Paris she finishes off by her tone of voice starting to sound empathetic or sympathetic towards Juliet by saying, that it had nothing to do with her, and that she, Lady Capulet, didn’t arrange it. She feels empathetic because she was involved in the same thing and was in an arranged marriage at that age and wasn’t happy. Lady Capulet then tells Juliet that Paris will make her a “joyful bride” Juliet replies with “he shall not make me there a joyful bride” she disagrees with her mother and doesn’t want to marry Paris and basically says it isn’t going to make her happy and that she would rather marry someone who she hates Romeo than Paris. Lady Capulet wants to stay out of the whole situation of the marriage, perhaps because of her own or she doesn’t want to take sides between her daughter and her husband, she also can’t take sides in these times she couldn’t disobey her husband. Lady Capulet basically says well there is no good telling me tell your father “tell him so yourself”. Capulet enters with the nurse, who would be standing behind him at his shoulder obeying and escorting her master. I believe the actor would be a tall man and would have good posture he would also have a big smile across his face because he will be very pleased with himself and knows that his daughter has just got the news of his great kindness and caring. However he sees his daughter crying and come to the same assumption as his wife, that Juliet is crying because of the death of Tybalt because he too has no clue that Juliet has married the enemy and has just spent the night with him. The first lines by Capulet I think would have been delivered with power but yet comforting towards his daughter and the line “have you delivered to her our decree?” would have been said in an excitable tone because he is talking about the wedding that he has arranged, and I believe he will feel that he has made a very kind gesture. Lady Capulet’s next line after her husbands opening, I believe will be delivered in a nervous tone of voice, she is preparing herself for the reaction to the disobedience and knows that her husband is not a man who is challenged or used to people telling him no. Capulet will reply to his wife’s news of his daughter’s displeasure with him with a firm commanding almost disbelieving tone, he is almost in shock he is not used to this at all. He will ask the questions to his daughter, turning to face her and as though daring her to give an answer and pause a little after each one “Is she not proud” small pause. Juliet is upset and in no mood for this she does answer her father I believe she would have stepped in a little and raised her voice for the confrontation, to deliver her first response “Not proud you have,” she then, I believe, will realise what she is doing after a very short pause and a stern angry look from her father and a shocked and fearful expression on her mothers face, lower her tone of voice and thank her father for the thoughtful offer and arrangement. Then she attempts to explain herself and says she will not marry someone who she hates “I never be of what I hate,” Capulet doesn’t take this well, he has already promised Paris there will be a wedding and is never spoken to as he is now and in his own house. He will then step forward slightly and this is where the confrontation starts to get heated and voices begin to rise. He will emphasise the words that she has said which he repeats with a sarcastic and elongated tone “proud” “I thank you not”. He then tells his daughter that she will be married to Paris and that he will drag her to the church if he has to “I will drag thee on a hurdle hither.” Or if she refuses she can get out of his house and leave the family, “Out, you baggage!” I think Lord Capulet when saying these emotional lines will lean in and be close to his daughters face bending slightly he will also be pointing at Juliet and then to the door when he says out to emphasise what he is saying. Lady Capulet will then speak from the background just to try and feebly stick up for her daughter. Juliet then reaches a state of desperation fearing that her secret love will come out and from what and how her father has spoke, she sees no way out of this arranged marriage she lowers to her knees while begging for him to listen to her. Lord Capulet will then give Juliet a filthy look to say what are you doing, he then insults her “disobedient wretch” he then repeats that Juliet will be marring Paris again or he will never speak to her again “Speak not, reply not” and that he wishes he never had this daughter and if she refuses she can get out “Out on her, hiding!” He will say these lines to Lady Capulet whilst given flickering filthy looks and his daughter who will still be on her knees. Juliet being on her knees gives the audience an impression of the superiority Lord Capulet has, also showing this is the position she is in pleading, also the nurse and Lady Capulet will be at Lord Capulet’s shoulders showing their support for him and their obedience. However both the Nurse and Lady Capulet feel awkward and sorry for Juliet and after the insulting remarks and the threats of Lord Capulet’s last attack it is too much for the Nurse to hear against what is as much her daughter as his, in her mind and she speaks up “God in heaven bless her!” this is partly aimed at Lord Capulet and partly just thinking aloud by Nurse. Her next line however after saying the first is said with more confidence and directly at Lord Capulet “You are to blame, my Lord, to rate her so.” Lord Capulet has jus been tipped over the edge I think there would be a reasonably long dramatic pause as he turns to look into the face of his long time loyal servant. The first thing he says to Nurse is to make her feel unwelcome in this conversation, and then to shut her up “hold your tongue” then tells her to leave “go.” I believe he would be pointing once again at the door. She then I think realise what she has done and starts to plead “I speak no treason” in an apologetic voice. He tells her just to go again this time not as loud but just that he is serious. She then from the lowering of the voice gets her confidence again and questions him “May not one speak?” He is furious again and really gets aggressive and makes the Nurse feel inadequate and extremely unwanted “you mumbling fool!” “For here we need it not” Lady Capulet is even shocked by this and feels for the nurse and says from the background not wanting the same treatment “You are too hot.” Capulet now is so incensed he gives a long speech on everything he has done for Juliet and the Family and the trouble he went through to arrange the marriage. He then repeats what he has already said that if she doesn’t he will kick her out and that she will die on the streets. He also goes on to say that she will inherited nothing and therefore not be a member of his family. This last speech is just to finalise everything he has said and as about to leave he will emphasise dramatic bits and point slightly. His voice won’t be as angry and be loud and commanding but no as aggressive. Juliet has her final say standing having got to her feet during her fathers last speech, she will then turn her back on her father and tell him, that she will kill herself if she has to, just to reinforce how adamant she is. Then a final look for support will be given by Juliet at the end her small speech to her mother. Lady Capulet says to Juliet as Lord Capulet has already turned and is on his way out, that she can’t help and that she is a little disappointed, there would be no menace in her voice however, more empathy and sympathy for what she is going through. Lord and Lady Capulet leave. The final part of this dramatic scene is between the Juliet and Nurse. Juliet as she always has done all her life looks to the one person she knows she can rely on for comfort “Comfort me”, support “O Nurse” and advice “”What say’st thou” The Nurse however has just had time to reflect on what she has said to her boss, Lord Capulet, and what she has done in assisting Juliet and the repercussions she might face if someone found out, which would mean she would be jobless and homeless, so for the first time she doesn’t support Juliet she instead says exactly what Juliet doesn’t want to here and pleads with her to re-consider marring the County Paris, and insults Romeo Juliet’s love “best you married the County” “Romeo’s a dishclout to him” she is trying to persuade the best she can that Romeo isn’t coming back and this would be the best option but who is she thinking for? Juliet already extremely upset because of everything that has happened already that morning, her husband and lover leaving, her argument with her father, the news of the marriage and not knowing when she will see Romeo again, has now been told by the only person she had left that she should do what she doesn’t want to. She has been pushed so far and is so upset that the rest of her lines after a long pause of contemplation of what the Nurse has said, are delivered with a scary coldness and a tone that she has no emotion left and that she has decided already what she will do. She tells the Nurse to tell her parents she has gone and that she is going to the church for forgiveness for her disobedience earlier. The nurse leaves looking confused and worried. She does as she is told though and heads to tell Lady and Lord Capulet. The final speech from Juliet has a purpose to send a chill up your spine and is delivered to the audience alone and is a small soliloquy. This speech informs the audience that she is going to go to the Friar Lawrence and find a way to kill herself because that is her only option.
In the 1500s-1600s, Shakespeare’s time the audiences would have felt a sympathy towards the Lord Capulet and would have thought of Juliet as a trouble making disobedient wretch as the Lord did, they would expect her to do as she is told. The audiences of today would despise Lord Capulet and think good for Juliet for standing up for herself and feel that Juliet is doing the right thing, they would also maybe want Juliet to stand up for herself even more than she does. They now would also think very poorly of Lady Capulet and ask themselves why doesn’t she say something. Disowning your daughter back then was the ultimate insult and disapproval of an action these days this doesn’t happen and if it does it isn’t to the degree it was back then. Also there is no Nurses in modern times except with some rich families and then they are nannies who are around up to a age of 8 at maximum and this would be highly irregular for a family in modern times to have a nanny for a girl of 14-15. Arranged marriages are still very common within the Asian countries of the world and within some Asian communities in this country; these would receive the same disapproval if not respected maybe not quite as extreme however on the whole. Romeo and Juliet is still a popular and widely known play today and this is because it is relatable within many parts of today’s society today in things such as love are never going to change.
