Thursday, July 7, 2011

Is the nurse's advice that Juliet should marry Paris surprising?

In Act 3, Scene 5, shortly after Juliet has the confrontation with Lord Capulet in which she balks at the idea of marrying Paris, her nurse suggests that she go ahead with the marriage.


On the one hand, this could be surprising to the reader.  After all, the nurse had a hand in setting up Romeo and Juliet's marriage, and she is aware of the strong feelings that Juliet exhibits for her now-banished husband.


Yet, on the other hand, the nurse's advice is not surprising.  After all, the nurse realizes the severity of the situation.  Romeo's banishment means that he and Juliet will not be able to be together.  The nurse's advice is pragmatic -- if Romeo has ruined his chances with Juliet by killing Tybalt, why wouldn't Juliet move forward with Paris?  In that respect, her advice is not surprising at all.

No comments:

Post a Comment

How does author Elie Wiesel use symbolism to contribute to the meaning of Night?

In his book Night , Elie Wiesel uses symbolism throughout to enhance the text. First of all, the title itself is symbolic. The word "ni...