Juliet’s mother is also keen to familiarise her daughter with the idea of soon getting married to Paris. Lady Capulet, who herself married at a young age, offers complete support for her husband’s plans for their daughter, and puts pressure on Juliet to think about Paris as a husband before Juliet has begun to think about marriage at all. When her mother first broaches the subject of a marriage to Paris in Act 1 scene 3, Juliet makes an obliging reply, though she is not really interested in getting married. She doesn't want to contradict her mother, so she doesn't say no. She admits just how powerful the influence of her parents is when she says of Paris: “I’ll look to like, looking liking move; but no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly”. We can tell from the uneasiness of the atmosphere, when Lady Capulet is trying to introduce this topic into their conversation, that she obviously does not find it easy or comfortable to speak alone and on a personal level with her daughter. It is almost as though they barely know each other, and the fact that she sends her nurse away, and then beckons her back when she immediately feels uncomfortable really shows the extent of the fear she has of being alone with her daughter. She waits for the nurse to bring up the subject of marriage and then enters into the conversation at full speed. From this, again, we can see how uncomfortable she finds the whole situation, and it appears as though she is eager to have the conversation over as quickly as possible.
The Nurse plays a critical role in Romeo and Juliet. Her relationship with major characters and her part in the secretive romance of the two lovers causes the play's action to move quickly and in a powerful way. She is first introduced to the play in Act 1 Scene 3 and is a trusted family servant to Lord Capulet in and maintains an active voice in their family affairs. The Nurse has been with the Capulet family for at least fourteen years, the entirety of Juliet's life, and ever since the death of her own daughter, born on the same day as Juliet, she has taken care of Juliet and become more like a mother to her than Lady Capulet. Juliet and the Nurse share a very close bond, one that surpasses one of a girl and her servant. She was essentially Juliet's wet nurse, and the relationship between a baby and one who feeds it is very strong, which is one of the main reasons why they continued to be so close. Since being her wet nurse the Nurse has become over the years Juliet's close companion, confidant, friend, and later on in the play, her co-conspirator. Juliet is comfortable with and at ease speaking to the Nurse. This allows Juliet to take her into her confidence when she decides to defy the family feud and marry . The Nurse holds Juliet's happiness so high that she betrays her employer and arranges Juliet's marriage and last night with Romeo.
She tends to use many terms of endearment; when calling on Juliet in Act 1 scene 3, she says: "What, lamb? What, ladybird?", however when spoken to by her Mother, she speaks very formally, calling her "madam." The conversation between Juliet and her mother is stilted and proper, whereas the Nurse is very open with her opinions, advice, and feelings with Juliet, and when talking about Paris, she talks like a fellow teenage girl gossiping about Paris' looks: "A man, young lady! Lady, such a man as all the world - why, he's a man of wax." She is constantly chattering, making bawdy comments and putting in her two cents, casting a light-hearted and easy spirit over the play's tragic themes.
An Elizabethan audience would have been aghast at the portrayal of the relationship between Juliet and her parents. This was because that the relationship was based around the factors of defiance, betrayal and conflict. Most girls in a typical well-off family would have been obedient and modest. Juliet contradicted this by appearing confident and rebellious as a consequence of meeting Romeo. The Elizabethan era prided itself upon its reputation of conducting pride, status and upholding honour. Juliet defying her parents was definitely not expected of a typical Elizabethan woman as woman were made to appear more weak and were expected to be dependent on their family before they were married. Therefore, all the conflict between Juliet and her family would have shocked the typical Elizabethan audience, which made the play all the more appealing to watch and the greater success to which it is today. In contrast to this, a more contemporary audience wouldn’t react in such a shocked manner. It is far more common nowadays to be rebellious and disobedient as a teenager, and I think Juliet’s secret meetings with Romeo can represent modern teenage behaviour, and it is definitely not uncommon. I think this is the biggest difference in the two sorts of reactions, and it is purely down to the era of which they come.
In the confrontation with her parents after Romeo’s departure in Act 3 Scene 5, Juliet shows her full maturity. She dominates the conversation with her mother, who cannot keep up with Juliet’s intelligence, and therefore has no idea that Juliet is proclaiming her love for Romeo under the guise of saying just the opposite. Also, Lady Capulet is under the impression that Juliet’s tears are for the loss of her Cousin, Tybalt, when actually she is crying about the fact that her lover, Romeo, has just left, and she fears for his life. The supporting character, Tybalt, is essential to every aspect of the story. Through his challenge to Romeo, Tybalt increases the conflict and suspense in the plot; the tension between the Montagues and Capulets is "brought to light," and Tybalt's death reveals Juliet's resolve to be true to her husband.
Lady Capulet tells Juliet about her Father’s plan for her to marry Paris on Thursday, explaining that he wishes to make her happy, and Juliet is appalled. She rejects the match, saying “I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris”. Her refusal to marry Paris meets with anger, not understanding. Her Mother sees no reason why such a match would not "happily make thee a joyful bride," but when Juliet protests, Lady Capulet exasperatedly tells her that she'd better take it up with her father: "Here comes your father now, tell him so yourself, and see how he will take it at your hands". Following this outburst, Capulet enters the chamber. When he learns of Juliet’s determination to defy him he becomes enraged and threatens to disown Juliet if she refuses to obey him. When Juliet entreats her mother to intervene, her mother denies her help.
Since her marriage to Romeo, Juliet feels so strong and confident as a woman, who has just lost her virginity to her lover, that she defies her father, however in that action she learns the limit of her power. Strong as she might be, Juliet is still a woman in a male-dominated world. One from a contemporary audience might think that Juliet should just take her father up on his offer to disown her and go to live with Romeo in Mantua, but that is not an option. Juliet, as a woman, cannot leave society. An Elizabethan audience would not struggle to accept and understand this concept, whereas a more modern audience may not be so settled with the notion.
At first, the relationship between Juliet and her parents appears to be strong, as Capulet persuades Paris to 'woo' her daughter rather than them force her to marry him. He shows that he has concern for her, especially as she is quite young, even though this would not have been the shared opinion of society in general (her mother had already given birth to Juliet at a younger age than Juliet's current age). However, this relationship is mostly based on the fact that Juliet is very obedient and does not oppose her parents openly, which obviously changes when Romeo and Juliet fall in love, and Juliet is told that she must marry Paris. The shock of his daughter's stubbornness and refusal to obey her parents' wish of her marrying Paris literally destroys the relationship between Juliet and her parents.
