In Shakepeare's play Romeo and
Juliet, Juliet and Romeo fall instantly in
love.
Though they are each a member of feuding families in
Verona (the Capulets and the Montagues), they meet without knowing the other's last
name. Their relationship, then, is based upon the character and qualities of the other,
and not on some age-old feud in which they have little
involvement.
By the time the two sweethearts realize the
identity of the other, it is too late. They plan to defy convention and their family
connections, and they marry secretly.
I don't get the sense
that Juliet changes: she seems far removed from the politics that divide the two
families. She loves Romeo, and he is devoted to her. She will do anything to avoid being
wed to Paris, as her father plans, especially in that she is already married to
Romeo.
When Romeo kills Juliet's cousin Tybalt, because he
murders Romeo's dear friend Mercutio, Juliet is at first beside herself. She is angry
with what Romeo has done. But upon reflection, she realizes that Romeo is not a part of
the fighting, and that they are married: he is her husband, and Tybalt, though related,
was a hothead. In the Biblical manner, she turns her back on her family and "cleaves" to
her husband.
The change that I notice in Juliet with regard
to those closest to her occurs with the Nurse. When the Nurse suggests that Juliet
should turn her back on Romeo, Juliet's love for her husband is clearly defined once
again: she is steadfast and loyal to him, and from this point, hides her plans from the
other woman.
If it is a change that Juliet turns away from
her family, then, yes, it is because of Romeo: Juliet loves him with all of her heart.
And when the Nurse suggests she should abandon him, Juliet cuts off her relationship
with the Nurse. Romeo is at the center of her existence, from the day Juliet meets and
falls in love with him.
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