Although Nurse is a servant she does have privileges herself. She is included in family discussions which other servants wouldn’t be.
“Nurse, give leave awhile.
We must talk in secret. Nurse come back again,
I have remembered me, thou’s hear our counsel.”
Using this quotation again, we can see that Lady Capulet perhaps realises that it’s the nurse that raised Juliet, and possibly wants Nurse’s opinion on what the subject she will proceed on to talk about.
Another privilege of the Nurse shown in the play is that she has a servant of her own.
“My fan Peter.”
This is an example of one of the orders Nurse gives to her servant, showing that she is privileged. In the play we can see that the nurse is at times, thought of more than just a servant. She has opinions that is heard by the Capulet’s and she also says what’s on her mind when it is perhaps not needed, but the Capulet’s don’t seem to mind her speaking out of line, or when they do tell her to be quiet she sometimes just ignores what was said.
“Lady Capulet: Enough of this, I prithee hold
thy peace.
Nurse: Yes madam, yet I cannot choose but laugh,
To think it should leave crying and say ‘Ay’.”
In this instance, Lady Capulet has just told Nurse to be quiet, the nurse acknowledges this but then continues to carry on with her memories.
All of this therefore shows us that the Nurse is something more than a servant, but more like part of the family.
The nurse is almost like part of the family and has a special relationship with Juliet. The nurse had a child of her own which died at a very young age.
“Well, Susan is with God
She was too good for me.”
Her child would have been about the same age as Juliet and this is how the nurse was able to breast feed Juliet. Also, because of this loss of her own child, Juliet would have seemed a child of her own now.
“Thou wast the prettiest babe that e’er I nursed.
And I might live to see thee married once,
I have my wish.”
This shows how the nurse thinks of Juliet as a daughter and has hope for her future. It also shows the affection between the nurse and Juliet. At the start of this scene, the nurse calls Juliet “lamb” and “Ladybird”. These are pet names and show how fond the nurse is of Juliet.
Not only from this, but the affection between the two is shown through the trust in each other. Juliet clearly trusts Nurse as she is sent to arrange the marriage with Romeo, and the same with the nurse. She knows that if she is found out, it would be the end of her job and most significantly to the nurse, the end of her seeing Juliet.
“The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse;
In half an hour she promised to return.”
This is showing that the nurse was sent by Juliet to arrange the marriage. More affection is shown after, when Nurse returns to give Juliet the news.
“Juliet: I' faith, I am sorry that thou art not well.
Sweet, sweet, sweet nurse, tell me, what says my love?
Nurse: Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a
courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and, I
warrant, a virtuous,--Where is your mother?
Juliet: Where is my mother! why, she is within
Here we can see that Nurse is teasing Juliet, delaying the good news she returned to give to Juliet, clearly showing she is enjoying it and happy for Juliet.
In this essay I have looked at the roles of the nurse as a servant and also the magnitude of her to Juliet and how she is almost a family member. I feel that the nurse has the usual duties as a nurse, but Shakespeare shows that the nurse is more important than a servant, by the amount of speech and playing a vital role in the plot. The nurse is treated throughout the story as someone more than a servant.
