The Consequences Of Forbidden Relationships In Romeo And Juliet And Cement Garden

Spanning from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century the theme that reoccur throughout history is forbidden love, as each century passes, the forbidden relation becomes more malignant, however, the consequences of it are equally life changing. Forbidden relationships are a prominent theme throughout the play Romeo and Juliet: Highsmith's novel, Carol and McEwan's’ novel Cement Garden. Each explores the relationships between a couple and ultimately how the love brings forth destruction or a form of loss. Shakespeare predominantly presents the forbidden relationship in Romeo and Juliet as romantic yet tragic in the ways they cannot be together. Highsmith explores the relationship between two women in a compelling narrative of lesbian love. It explores the hardships of love whilst living in a heteronormative society in the nineteen fifties. McEwan portrays an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister and explores the environment of a dysfunctional family, which gives reasons for the vulgar behavior of the siblings.

The presentation of forbidden relationships throughout the three texts all begin with an event that brings forth their feelings for one another, with Shakespeare’s play and the novel, Carol being the more romantic of the three when compared to that of the relationship portrayed in the Cement Garden.

In Act 1
In Carol, the relationship to nineteen fifties readers would have offered the novel with a range of opinions for lesbianism was considered a sexual deviancy against social normalcy, yet it was the first lesbian novel/first forbidden love story with an ending that leaves the readers hopeful that the characters can be together. However, it is Cement Garden that is still considered a forbidden love in present day