At Capulet’s feasts Romeo and Juliet see each other for the first time and immediately fall in love. This love helps Juliet in becoming more independent as she takes the first important decision for herself by deciding to marry Romeo. He is no longer lost in self-pity and sorrow but is much more outgoing and happy, which is an important change in his character. For the first time the two see real love and Romeo no longer has to be in love with the idea of love only. The love that develops between the two matures both of them as Juliet becomes much more independent and Romeo’s eyes seem to be opened again, no longer wanting to be sorrow. Their strong love however also results in hasty actions.
Never having felt such strong feelings before, Romeo and Juliet take impetuous decisions. Small actions such as Romeo turning back after the feast to see Juliet once more can be explained through the blindness of love or Romeo’s lack of experience of true love. Both of them however take hasty decisions such as the one of their marriage. Even though the decision of marriage might be called rash it does testify to a higher level of maturity and independence. This bond between them causes Romeo to become more careful and not take many more overhasty decisions. When Tybalt challenges him he stays rather calm trying to stay out of a fight and trouble. Only the murder of Mercutio and the desire for revenge cause him to loose his composure and kill Tybalt. This may be interpreted in a way that Romeo still acts rather rash and does not think about what his action could cause. On the contrary however Romeo shows a lot of patience, which is a rather mature characteristic. Through the responsibilities which come with the marriage especially Romeo matures a lot.
The situation seems to be very confusing for Juliet; her cousin killed by her husband. She however deals with it rather well. Her parents think she is in deep sorrow about her cousin’s death while in reality she is crying about Romeo’s banishment. Exactly this shows how much she has matured; she no longer seeks for help as much but deals with it herself. For the first time she actually opposes her parents by rejecting to marry Paris, which is just another sign of independence. In her misery she turns to Friar Lawrence and together they plan to fake her death to enable her to live away from her parents together with Romeo. She might not be fully aware of the consequences of this decision and it is legitimate to say that it might be a little bit rash. In many ways Juliet has now matured through her love, her experiences and previous actions. She more and more isolates herself from her parents and takes her own decisions. On the other hand she still is rather unbridled and makes rather rash decisions.
As Romeo gets the wrong information and hears that Juliet is dead once again his old hot-headedness comes out. He is rather reckless, returns to Verona from his banishment and buys poison. These are signs that he only controlled himself out of love to Juliet and was rather considered, but the thought of loss of his love returns him to his old self. The sight of the apparently dead Juliet causes Romeo to take his last decision. When Juliet then awakes and sees him dying she kills herself to. They are both willing to take their lives out of love for each other. The braveness of the decision to commit suicide shows a certain degree of maturity. However they would have displayed an even higher level of braveness and maturity with the decision not to kill themselves.
Both Romeo and Juliet are rather young and immature characters to the beginning of the play. Romeo has lost himself in a love that is hopeless, while Juliet is completely dependant on her parents. Through the love that they experience amongst each other they grow and reach a certain level of maturity. Juliet becomes more and more independent and takes her own decisions, isolating herself from her parents and at last the Nurse as well. Meanwhile Romeo is no longer lost and becomes more considered. The love has developed them so far that they are willing to give their lives for it. “These violent delights have violent ends“(Act 2, Scene 6) and thus they die after only three days.
