What was Shakespeare trying to say about the role of women, and how does he say it?

  Lady Capulet is younger than her husband which was the norm in that time and it is also probable that she married very young to Capulet. From this we can understand that Lady Capulet would sympathise with Juliet with her feelings. Lady Capulet is now ‘owned’ by her husband as was common at the time. Lady Capulet is also very compliant with her husband. In Act 3 Scene 5, Capulet is filled with rage from Juliet for not wanting to marry Paris – “Out on her, hilding! (meaning Out with the worthless creature!)”. Modern day, we would expect the mother to have sympathy with Juliet and calm her, but being afraid, Lady Capulet decides to simply leave the situation and take neither her daughter or husband’s side – “Do as thou wilt”.
The nurse also plays one of the main women characters in Romeo and Juliet. Her role in the family is to care for Juliet (like a modern day nanny) and Juliet may see her as the second, contrasting mother. Contrasting because she is in the opposite class to Lady Capulet – the lower class. The nurse also adds slight humour – In Act 2 Scene 4 she says “What saucy merchant was this that full of ropery?” - to the play, in which only her and Mercutio do this. It is a comedic role that a woman plays as well as a male counterpart. In the play it clearly shows that the nurse has a closer relationship with Juliet than her actual mother. An example of this is when we notice that Lady Capulet is finding it awkward talking to Juliet on her own in Act 1 Scene 3 and brings in the nurse even after being sent away (“We must talk in secret”) in the first place. However when the mother and daughter do speak, it is very artificial and seems overly formal – using words such as “ladyship” and “madam”. When we compare this with conversations with the nurse we notice they are much more open and honest – Juliet says “Speak’st thou from thy heart?”. It shows that women can be gifted loving people that care for people not of relation – “Good heart! And I’ faith will tell her (Juliet) as much” says the nurse in Act 2 Scene 4. 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 cause the play's actions to move quickly and in a powerful way. The Nurse acts as Shakespeare's pawn to guide the events of the play in a dramatic manner.

 The final main character is Juliet who plays the role of the young inexperienced woman in the upper class and her role is to play the girl that agrees to everything set by the male world around her – i.e. to marry a husband of her father’s choice. This wicked act was common in Elizabethan times. Throughout the play, Shakespeare draws attention to this many times because one of his points was that if Romeo had been allowed to continue a relationship with Juliet, there would be no violence. In the play she is owned by her father, Capulet, who transfers ownership of her to Paris. Juliet says that she can love Paris if her parents like – “I’ll look to like” – and we can see this is logical for her as she was safeguarded from males except the ones in the family.

When we look at Romeo, we can see Shakespeare making the point that men are usually to blame instead of the women. It’s true that the men in the two families started the war, not the women. Romeo falls in love in with a younger girl who he has only just discovered; thoughtlessly sleeps with Juliet (so she is now not a virgin and cannot be married to Paris or any other ‘gentleman’. Shakespeare enforces this point by making the male characters seem idle and have not much to do, and also brawl for the sake of it.