What Are The Roles Of Parents In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Anne Frank once said, “Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” Here she is trying to say that parents can only help guide their children in life to some small extent, but the children are the ones who have to change despite themselves in order to get anywhere. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, although Juliet’s parents tried their best to put their daughter on the right path of success and happiness, they could not do much because Juliet wouldn’t allow them to do so. Although the plot itself may seem unrealistic, Shakespeare truly captured the human aspects of his characters, their actions and responses seeming as though they were plucked straight …show more content…
Because Juliet had not uttered a single word as to why she was so upset, Lord and Lady Capulet had both naturally assumed the situation and acted out of love for their daughter. The one who had resolved to arrange the marriage was Capulet, deciding that this was necessary in order “to put [Juliet] from [her] heaviness,” (Shakespeare 64). Parents only want the best for their children and would do virtually anything to please them, which is why the Capulets were certain that their thoughtfulness would comfort their daughter. More importantly, during this time period, there was a widespread cultural fear of melancholy. Back then, melancholy was looked down upon and social status was lost due to the fact that it could be passed down through generations (Bierman 68). If Juliet was imprisoned by melancholy, Capulet would lose his last living child and neither he nor Juliet would be able to live a normal, happy life. She would lose her social status and be rejected by wealthy families and Capulet would have to live knowing that there is no saving his daughter from her depression. Clearly, this shows that Capulet’s actions and reactions were indeed fairly