Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, is a story about two young kids from feuding families who fall in love, and then they both commit suicide. While I think there are multiple people who could be to blame, I think Juliet is the most to blame for both of their deaths.
One of the main reasons I blame Juliet is because of her emotions. She is a young girl going through puberty which normally means emotions are everywhere. An example of this irrational behavior is when Juliet meets Romeo at the Capulet party and falls in love with him almost immediately, despite the fact that their families are sworn enemies. “The only man I love is the son of the only man I hate...Love is a monster for making me fall in love with my worst enemy.” (I, v, pg. 24).
Another reason I blame her for their deaths is that she never once told her parents that she was married to Romeo. I feel like if she were to say ‘I can’t marry Paris, for I am already a bride to Romeo’ the Capulets would be mad for a day or two and then accept it and hope that the marriage would bring the families together; however, when she refuses to marry Paris without telling her father the reason why he becomes angry and says “Thursday is coming. Put your hand on your heart and listen to my advice. If you act like my daughter, I’ll marry you to my friend. If you don’t act like my daughter, you can beg, starve, and die in the streets. I swear I will never take you back or do anything for you.” (III, v, pg. 67). Knowing that she had no options made Juliet even more emotional and prone to poor decision-making.
Now though I blame Juliet for their deaths, I could very well blame the Nurse. The Nurse has told Juliet to marry Romeo “Do you have permission to go out and take confession today?... Then hurry up and rush over to Friar Lawrence’s cell. There’s a husband there who’s willing to make you his wife.” (II, vi, pp. 43-44) which causes her to fall even more in love with Romeo. After Romeo is exiled, the Nurse even asks Romeo to “Stand up if you’re really a man. For Juliet’s sake, rise and stand up” and go comfort his new bride comfort her for the night. But after Juliet fights with her father, the Nurse then changes her opinion of Romeo and tells Juliet “Curse my very heart, but I think you should be happy in this second marriage because it’s better than your first. Even if it’s not better, your first marriage is over.” (III, v, pg. 68), which makes Juliet feel as if she really doesn’t have any choice about what to do.
She goes to the last person she feels can help, Friar Lawrence, and when he offers her the potion to make her appear dead, saying, “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilled liquor drink thou off; when presently through all thy veins shall run a cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse” (IV, i), she takes it feeling that this is her only chance and the result is disaster.
In conclusion, I still blame Juliet for her and Romeo's death. She was not smart with her choices and really shouldn’t have married Romeo hours later from her first meeting him. Even though it could be the Nurses fault, I will keep blaming Juliet Capulet.
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