Capulet then has a sudden change in his decision to agreeing for Juliet and Paris’ arranged marriage even though he was against it before. He agrees to their marriage because he believes this is the right choice for Juliet, that she will not be upset by his decision and that it will cheer her up after the death of her cousin Tybalt. Capulet feels that Juliet will be well suited to Paris because he thinks Paris is pleasant and the right man for her. Paris is known to be a wealthy and popular young man, perfect for Juliet. “Among fresh female buds shall you this night inherit at my house. Hear all, all see, And like her most whose merit most shall be.” Here, Capulet invites Paris to the ball and even suggests that he may be even too good for Juliet so he asks Paris to seek other women who may be suitable for him. If not, then he shall marry Juliet.
Part of his decision for this arranged marriage is that he does not expect Juliet to rebel against him therefore he believes Juliet will accept his decision and marry Paris. He was also proud of his choice as he thought it would have been right for Juliet and will make her happy.
Like Capulet, Lady Capulet agrees with the marriage and believes it is appropriate for Juliet. Lady Capulet even pressurises her by suggesting that she was Juliet’s age when she got married, therefore Juliet must do the same. She also persuades Juliet by telling her how Lord Capulet wants the best for Juliet: “Well, well, thou hast a careful father, child – One who, to put thee from thy heaviness.” Capulet is arranging this marriage considering Juliet’s happiness and what is right for her.
Lady Capulet lead a great life so she believed this decision for Juliet would be a good thing for her as she would be able to have a good life like her mother.
Another major reason why Lady Capulet might be supporting her husband with the decision is that they lived in a patriarchal society. Women were hardly ever allowed to speak their mind or disobey their father/husband. Otherwise, they would receive a cruel and harsh punishment.
After Lady Capulet gave the news to Juliet of the marriage, Capulet initially approaches Juliet and he finds her crying over the death of Tybalt and also secretly for the banishment of her husband Romeo which her parents know nothing of. He consoles her comfortably and sympathises for her. However, when he discovers Juliet is refusing the proposal of the marriage, he is extremely surprised and reacts violently as he believes she is not doing as she is told. He has always expected Juliet to abide by the rules he gave her so this had shocked him. This gives us more information about the society at the time on how men would generally react when women would disobey them.
Capulet aims many violent remarks towards Juliet, insulting her with many violent phrases including; “Out, you green-sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow-face!” Capulet insults and threatens Juliet saying that he will disown her if she does not get married. Capulet is furious and insulted during this point and he also ignores Lady Capulet and the Nurse’s attempt to tell him to settle down.
Juliet does appreciate Capulet’s effort in arranging her marriage with Paris but she does not want to go ahead with it. “Not proud you have, but thankful you have.” As Capulet is acting violently, Juliet threatens to kill herself if the marriage is not delayed.
Throughout this scene, Capulet’s anger increases rapidly. We can see this as he expresses his anger through verbal abuse and threats towards Juliet. He calls her such names as “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!” and “You green sickness carrion!” He also threatens her if she disobeys him. ”But, and you will not wed, I’ll pardon you! Graze where you will – you shall not house with me!” He states to Juliet that if she does not marry Paris, she will be banned from living under the same roof as Capulet. Capulet gets insulted from Juliet’s reply as she is defying him and is offended because he cannot see why Juliet is objecting to marry Paris especially as Capulet thought this was the right choice for her.
This obviously affects Juliet’s relationship between Capulet as they were once close as father and daughter but now are distant. Her choices are to either marry Count Paris and be unhappy or not marry him and leave the house and alone. Either way, Juliet will be left unhappy and her relationship with her father is certainly ruined.
This scene is a feature of tragedy and how it hints that Juliet will die. We know that Juliet’s future is fated as she talks about Romeo. “I will not marry yet. And when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris.”
This comment shows how Juliet would rather marry Romeo who is the family’s rival than get married to Paris, the comment is ironic as Juliet is married to Romeo however, her family does not know.
Capulet also says that if she will die if she does not get married. This is ironic as her marriage is actually what leads to her death.
Capulet is eager for Juliet to marry Count Paris; he does this by highlighting all the positive points he has done for her since she was born from protecting and caring for her, “God’s bread! It makes me mad! Day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play, Alone, in company – still my care hath been to have her matched! And having now provided a gentleman of noble parentage.” This pressurises Juliet into thinking how he has helped her all her life for her most important day of her life – her wedding and finding a good husband. She feels that she must now repay him by doing what he wants and marrying Paris.
He also believes that he has made the right choice in finding a husband like Paris for his daughter. “A gentleman of noble parentage, of fair demesnes, youthful and nobly trained, Stuffed, as they say, with honourable parts, Proportioned as one’s thought would wish a man.” Paris would have been considered to be a perfect choice and Capulet felt that he could replace him in Juliet’s life.
However, if Juliet refuses to obey her father then she will be disowned by Capulet and she will be banished from the Capulet household. Juliet cannot marry Count Paris as she is already married to Romeo and the fact that she does not want to get married to Paris.
When Juliet does agree to marry Paris, Capulet’s personality again changes immediately to happy and joyful. Before, when Juliet refused to get married, his personality quickly transformed into anger and now that Juliet does decide to marry Paris, Capulet quickly turns into a cheerful man. He shows this from his organising of the wedding; “Send for the County! Go tell him of this. I’ll have this knot knit up tomorrow morning!” Capulet is preparing for the wedding as quick as possible partly because he may think Juliet will refuse to get married again so he is more careful.
He is then also so happy about the marriage, “My heart is wondrous light since this same wayward girl is so reclaimed.” He is suddenly joyful and ecstatic for the wedding to go ahead so it suggests his love is conditional on Juliet’s obedience.
In conclusion, the relationship between Juliet and Capulet has varied throughout the play. At the beginning of the story, Juliet looked up to her father and saw him as her hero. Like all fathers and daughters, their relationship was generally close, they loved each other like all fathers and daughters did.
When Count Paris asked Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet was against the decision at first as he thought she was too young and not yet ready for marriage. He then changes his mind and promises Paris to marry Juliet because he thought Paris was the perfect man as he was known to be wealthy, popular and handsome. Although Capulet was looking out for Juliet, she refused to get married as she was secretly married to Romeo whom her family had hated. She was thankful for what her father had done but she did not wish for it. As Capulet found out Juliet refused, he felt he had been betrayed as he did not expect her to defy against him. From this, he reacted violently and aggressively against Juliet and threatening to disown her if she would not do as she is told. I learnt from this that it is what generally happened within the society at the time; I know that this would absolutely destroy their relationship. Obviously, Juliet does not want to marry Paris but if she refuses, she will be banished from her family.
Eventually, Juliet appeased her father to prevent being disowned by him, she informs him by saying that she will marry Paris which made him suddenly delighted instead of being furious at her and arranges the wedding to be held immediately. When she commits suicide, I learn that Capulet is deeply saddened and that he really does care and love for her.
Overall, I believe the play can teach us on what father and daughter relationships were basically like. Such as when Juliet had a marriage arranged, she was expected to agree her father. This meant that the society at the time were similar, daughters were expected to obey their fathers and do exactly as they were told.
If a daughter was to defy her father, she would have to face serious consequences such as disownment from her father and family and to be banished from their household. This is what Juliet would have been forced to do if she did not marry Count Paris.
