His characterization is later reinforced when he is shown spying on Miranda and Ferdinand’s encounter and eavesdropping on their conversation in Act 3 Scene 1. This emphasizes the fact that he is the authoritative father and likes to have control over his daughter because of the powerful man that he is or simply because he cares for his daughter and wishes well for her.
In Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet is portrayed as a father who doesn’t really show his love for his daughter because he is not a person who likes to share his feelings or there just are no feelings. However, when he is talking to Paris in Act 1 Scene 2 he says that, ‘Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she; she’s the hopeful lady of my earth.’ This suggests that Capulet had children before Juliet but none of them survived and so he lost hope. Because Juliet was the only child that survived he regained his hope from Juliet and thus she is valuable to him. Correspondingly, Prospero says that he found hope in Miranda’s smile when he was usurped by his own brother and that’s what kept him going. This validates the fact that Lord Capulet and Prospero really do love their daughters a lot and would be devastated when they are ripped apart from them.
Shakespeare wrote in the Elizabethan age, so naturally he based most of his plays on the morals and social standards of the time. During the Elizabethan period noble women were expected to be married off to rich, socially-acceptable men. Fathers choose the men they considered ‘suitable’ for their daughters, aiming to marry them off to higher social circles to levitate their own. Men were considered the bread-winners of the family and women inferior to them. It was thought unconventional for women to make important decisions for themselves, they were incapable and therefore men where to make their decisions for them, not just regarding their marriage. Women could refuse to marry but would be disowned by their families; it was a silent threat that was hidden underneath every happy Elizabethan family. Lord Capulet chose a ‘suitor’ for Juliet but did not confirm the wedding before telling Paris to ‘woo her.’ This makes it seem like Capulet does give her a ‘scope of choice’ and is a caring and loving father who will agree with his daughter if she refuses the proposal. Ironically, in the face of her refusal to marry Paris, Capulet’s rage at Juliet asserts itself violently.
When it comes to the subject of Miranda’s marriage, all goes well between Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand. The audience finds out at this point that Prospero really will not just give away his daughter to any ‘noble, rich and gallant’ man because of his status but to anyone who will prove themselves to be worthy of winning Miranda’s heart. In fact, he tests Ferdinand, by making him carry logs in Act 3 Scene 1 and speaks violently to him. This shows the audience that Prospero possibly cares more about his daughter’s feelings than Lord Capulet as he doesn’t only want Miranda to get married to him because he is a prince.
Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris affects her father is a variety of ways. On his first encounter with her Capulet asks why she is ‘evermore weeping’, showing compassion for his daughter. Yet when he hears of her refusal he becomes angry and insulting. ‘Disobedient wretch’ suggests he not only feels betrayed by his daughter but his compassion and love for his daughter was merely superficial and has evaporated along with the marriage proposal. Juliet still shows respect and submissiveness towards her father, ‘beseeching’ him on her knees and ‘thankful even for hate’. This symbolises how dependent Juliet is on her father, and the different levels of power they have. In Act 3 scene 5 Capulet proceeds to call his daughter a ‘Tallow faced green sickness’ implying she is a plague and therefore a burden on the Capulet family. He also tells her to ‘fettle your fine joints’ which means to get ready, however it is an expression that comes from grooming a horse. This suggests that for Lord Capulet, Juliet is merely a possession that might help in levitating his status, as horses in the Elizabethan era were considered something to show off for things like hunting events. Lord Capulet probably thought Juliet was something he could show off because she was so beautiful. And the more beautiful the horse, the more respect he would get. Further in the scene he then proclaims that ‘one is one too much, we have a curse in having her’ and addresses her as ‘hilding’ which means ‘useless person.’ This suggests that Juliet is now useless to him because she refused to marry Paris and that means it wouldn’t levitate his status. This reinforces the fact that Lord Capulet only wants Juliet to get married to Paris because he was noble, gallant and rich.
Likewise, when Miranda rebels against her father in Act 1 Scene 2 of the play, Prospero scolds her for supporting Ferdinand. Although his words are not as harsh as Lord Capulet’s, it is unusual to see him scolding Miranda as we have never seen him speak so harshly to Miranda before. She also proves this when she says, ‘Never till this day, Saw I him touch’d with anger, so distempered.’ This therefore increases the effect of his anger at Miranda.
Act 3 scene 5 contains a number of features of tragedy, not only as Capulet cruelly abandons his daughter, but when Juliet proclaims her future and therefore her death. She curses that ‘If all else fail, myself have the power to die’ suggesting not only her willingness to die but personalizing the phrase with “myself”, indicating suicide. A lot of Shakespeare’s plays display some sense of tragedy, always involving the eponymous heroes, who repetitively perish after titling the play such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra and King Lear. Although the Capulet’s circumstances were not at all stereotypical, Lord Capulet's bond with Juliet demonstrates the conventional relationship between Elizabethan parents and their children. The father figure of Capulet is portrayed to the audience as a man of wilful pride, with an air of arrogance that was customary for a gentleman of his social status. He enforces his authority on Juliet to emphasize this pride, which is why when Juliet speaks out against him he reacts in such an abusive manor; reinforcing his control over her with threats. Despite Juliet’s rebellious behaviour in marrying Romeo, she still obtains a submissive personality around Capulet, ‘beseeching’ him on her knees for forgiveness. Throughout the play it is clear of Juliet and Capulet’s conventional relationship, but Act 3 scene 5 enforces this as even through one act of rebellious behaviour Juliet is not able to undermine her father and retreats back into passiveness.
In conclusion, Shakespeare is trying to portray the conventional relationship of the father and daughter in the Elizabethan age. As a member of the audience, one would think that Prospero and Miranda’s relationship is stronger than Lord Capulet’s and Juliet’s as they show their love more. However, this is because there is no one else to share their love with; Miranda has not been exposed to the world and has not seen any humans except for her father. So, we could then say that if Miranda and her father were living back in Italy, they would not share the same bond as they do on the island. This is proven when, as soon as Ferdinand arrives on the island, and Miranda falls in love with him, she turns against her father to support someone who she just met in Act 1 Scene 2. Juliet hardly has anything to do with her parents as she was raised by the Nurse, which on its own says a lot about the father and daughter’s relationship. In fact, we cannot really compare their relationship and draw conclusions from it stating who Shakespeare is saying has a closer relationship because they are in different situations as a result of tragic consequences.