Are the Capulets Good Parents: the Impact of Parental Influence

Introduction

Everyone has opinions about something; however, some opinions may not be their own. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet there are two families: The rich Capulets and the passionate Montagues, who have a burning rivalry, boarding along gang wars. However, it is later made clear that some members of the families have never even met each other and would only treat them differently if they knew of their lineage. Montagues and Capulets would treat each other differently if their heritage was not a rivalry Because The older family members have taught the younger generation to hate the other family.

Body

The Power of Parental Conditioning

Romeo tried to make friends with the Capulets but was not given a chance to talk to them. Romeo wanted to talk to Tybalt and Paris but had to fight both of them. Tybalt was convinced that the Montagues were worse than hell itself and all members shall be slaughtered. Paris thought Romeo was there to ruin or defile the dead bodies and immediately fought him without question. He was only able to talk to Juliet and, despite knowing she was a Capulet, fell in love with her instantly. She shared the same feelings when they were talking in the garden. After marrying her, he set out to make amends with the Capulets and end the feud between the two families. However, he was stopped by Tybalt which eventually led to his death and Romeo’s banishment.

The Role of Misinformation

Juliet was eager to disobey her parents and find a way to leave them. Juliet had authoritarian parents that rarely let her do anything and never let her leave the house. She was told she was to marry Paris and have a child by her father. She was also only allowed to leave the house to go to mass because in act 4 she was asked if she had permission to leave to go to church. After falling in love with Romeo and finding out that he was a Montague, she still was wanting to talk to him and held nothing against him. She kissed him at the party, learned he was an enemy of her family, then proceeded to get married to him the next day. She was told her entire life that the Montagues were the worst people on the planet and was astonished to find someone as “pure and kindhearted” as Romeo. She disobeyed her parents without question because she had very Authoritarian parents which led to her resenting them.

Some Capulets have never met the other sides member before. People like Tybalt and Peter have never even met Romeo and only knew he was a Montague. In Act 1, Scene 2, Peter meets Romeo and does even bat an eye when asking for his help, then proceeds to preach about how much richer and grander his master is than Montagues. (Shakespeare) At the party in Act 1, Scene 5, Tybalt recognizes Romeo and starts to go fight him, but Is luckily stopped by Capulet for he has heard of what a gentlemen Romeo is. (Shakespeare) The Capulets are also portrayed as very stubborn and headstrong in their hate for the Montagues. Juliet however is in love with a Montague and lies to her parents and family multiple times to avoid being caught. This was most likely because she was used to lying to get out of her distant parent’s punishments. She never even knew that Romeo was a Montague until asking the nurse.

The Complexity of Personal Motivations

Both Romeo and Juliet are impatient to marry each other because they are both young teenagers. Romeo Kissed Juliet the first time they met because he did not want to wait until later to build a relationship. The Teenage brain is very impatient and is not willing to wait for something it wants when It can have it right now. (Osborne) Juliet was under the same effect and also wanted to move quickly through the relationship. They were addicted to each other and got very emotional without each other. The Teen Brain uses the Amygdala, a very emotion- based sensitive part of the brain responsible for “gut” feelings. Both Romeo AND Juliet were crying because they could not see each other even though they talk just hours before. (Shakespeare) This was pushed to the point where both lovers threatened to end their life because they were separated.

Characters like Tybalt, Mercutio, and Paris are very hot headed and may have a natural burning hate for their respective enemies. Tybalt was Always looking for a fight and wished to end the lives of the Montagues. Thus, he was given his nickname, “King of Cats” to signify his rash and aggressive nature. (Shakespeare) However, if his Hate for Montagues and lust for fighting as seen in Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 1 was natural, then he would have mentioned it at some point about WHY he hates the Montagues so. Mercutio and Paris are also very extravagant. However, Mercutio may side with the Montagues because Romeo is his closest friend. Paris’s relationship is unclear with the Capulets, but he seems like he knows them quite well and would be willing to defend his love from the Montagues. Most characters that show hatred for the opposing family were just supporting their side.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the younger generation of the families would probably have treated each other differently and may have even become friends, but this was prevented by the older members feeding rumors and lies about each other to the kids when they were young. This helped pass on the malice to the next generation so the fight would go on. Romeo and Juliet were rebellious though and wanted to stop the fight between the families. They both wanted to do their own things for separate reasons. Therefore, the two families tried to convince their kin to hate someone they have never met before.

References

1. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Public domain text

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