‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by the great man William Shakespeare is a title that everyone knows about. It’s a story that talks about both love and conflict in different types of relationships. Parental relationships are an eternal issue which often involves tensions even conflict. Relationships differ even today between parent and child, and the way it may be interpreted is affected by women’s role in society in Elizabethan England. In Elizabethan England, women were expected to adjust social restrictions by showing obedience and respect to the men in their lives. We describe this as being a patriarchal society, where men are more dominant. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the effects of being part of a patriarchal society. In this assessment, I will examine just how the way Shakespeare presents the relationship from the literary heritage between Juliet and Lord/Lady Capulet with backed evidence.
Lord Capulet: the very wealthy patriarch of the Capulet family, he is the character who is as rightfully dominant and says the final word; he is the man of the house, stronger than his wife and Juliet. What the alpha male of the house said was certain and not arguable; any argument against his word would suffer drastic consequence, as we later discover in Juliet’s revolt and rebellion to marrying Paris. In Act One, Scene 2, Capulet and Paris are discussing whether Juliet can be married; Lord Capulet is uncertain and persuasive in allowing his daughter to cherish her childhood before getting married too young. Furthermore, Capulet says: ‘My child is yet a stranger in the world’. From the moment I read it, the word that catches my attention is ‘stranger’. This suggests that she hasn’t experienced much in her life. In addition, Capulet says: ‘And too soon marred are those so early made’. The word ‘marred’ means