Significance of Gender in Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, the Montagues and the Capulets have very opposite relationships with their children. A major reason for this, as well(p) as often of the passage of arms in the tale, comes from the gender roles that Romeo and Juliet are expected to routine into. Adding to that conflict is the fact that two Romeo and Juliet push the boundaries of these roles and fight to setting into them. Romeo plays the over ablaze revelr, while Juliet is clever and dominant. end-to-end the play we can see that both Romeo and Juliet have to struggle with the pack around them because they are not playing within their respective gender roles. champion of the first moments in the play w here(predicate) Romeos non-normative attitude towards go to sleep is addressed directly is when Mercutio, in put to work 2 Scene 4, reflects on Romeo and Rosaline. Why, is not this better outright than groaning for love? / now artwork thou sociable, now art thou Romeo now art / thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature (2. 4. 20). Mercutio is excited to have his friend tail end. In the the last two lines of this quote, Mercutio implies that not worrying over love is normal. That, in hanging with the boys and not following his wild emotions, Romeo is macrocosm what Romeo ought to be,art as well as by nature.The implication here is that the way he was reacting before to Rosaline is not natural. This lovelorn that overpowers all else Romeo feels comes derriere more harder with Juliet. Mercutios comment about Rosaline infers the abnormality of Romeo. This seed that is lay in the mind of the audience can then take resolve and be even more noticeable without Mercutio commenting on it directly with Juliet. In the first scene of Act 3, Romeo struggles with his masculinity versus his love. When he chooses not to push Tybalt with Juliet in mind, Romeo open questions his own masculinity.He is after all, a farewell of this society and surely recognizes, to a cert ain extent, the unusualness of his feelings. O sweet Juliet, / Thy ravisher hath made me effeminate / And in my temper softend valours steel (3. 1. 7) To Romeo, it is as if Juliets beauty has him bewitched. He doesnt put the blame on himself or even her, but her beauty. He is giving smell to it, admitting that it subdues him. By attributing Juliets beauty with much(prenominal) a powerful presence, Romeo is only underlining his romantic nature. some(prenominal) separate characters make note of Romeos feminine/emotional nature.The prevail and The Friar are two of the more observant characters in the play. In Act 3, Scene 3, when talking of Romeo, The Nurse says, Stand up, stand up stand, and you be a man / For Juliets sake, for her sake, rise and stand (3. 3. 3). She is saying that Romeo call for to be less emotional, that it is taking away from his manhood. Later on in the same scene, the Friar tells Romeo to stop crying, that it makes him look like a girl. fight thy despera te hand / Art thou a man? thy spurt cries out thou art / Thy tears are womanish (3. 3. 4). Throughout the whole play, Romeo is picked on for his emotional way of lifespan. His unusually demeanor could in like manner be his fatal flaw. Early on in the play, when Romeo and his friends sneak into the Capulet party, Capulet speaks exceedingly of Romeo, and tells Tybalt not to cause trouble. on that point is a kindness in his refinement that cannot help to make atomic number 53 think that perhaps if Romeo approached Capulet and asked to marry Juliet, that Capulet king have said yes. however he doesnt do this, and at that place is no way of really knowing what Capulet would have said.Romeos struggle with people not accepting how he doesnt really fit the mold is not as definitively consequential as Juliets. No sensation is telling Romeo what to do, Lady Montague doesnt want him to be involved in fighting, but no one is trying to determine the rest of his life for him. Juliets st ruggle isnt a social conflict. She isnt being made fun of by her friends, or criticized casually by the people around her. She is being controlled and pushed towards life commitments that she wants no part of. Romeo has a split up at stake, emotionally, but the rest of Juliets life is at stake.In one of her first moments with her mother, this conflict is explicitly shown, LADY CAPULET Marry, that marry is the very floor /I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, / How stands your disposition to be espouse? JULIET It is an honour that I dream not of. (1. 3. 4) Lady Capulet reflects the societal expectations. And although Juliets line has no huge impact on Lady Capulet, it does foretell her relationship with the world. And inevitably, one side will have to give in. There is a distinct change we see in how Juliets tyro treats her during the play.In Act 1, Scene 2, when capital of France asks for Juliets hand in marriage, Capulet says that in the end the determination is hers to make, But woo her, gentle Paris, sign up her heart, / My will to her consent is but a part / An she agree, within her oscilloscope of choice / Lies my consent and fair according voice. (1. 2. 2) He is telling Paris that he has his blessing, but he must woo Juliet because her consent is in-chief(postnominal) to him. This gives the impression that Capulet is a kind, non-restrictive, even detached parent. But later on in the play, when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet really loses his temper at her, How now, how now, chop-logicWhat is this? / Proud, and I thank you, and I thank you not / And yet not proud, mistress minion, you, / convey me no thankings, nor, proud me no prouds, / But fettle your fine joints gainst thorium next, / To go with Paris to Saint Peters Church, / Or I will traverse thee on a hurdle thither. / Out, you green-sickness carrion out, you baggage / You tallow-face (3. 5. 3) What happened to his earlier attitude? One could argue that Capulet is, in fact, not a very thoughtful liberal father, but sees himself as one because his daughter, Juliet, is for the most part a level-headed kid. And she has never really disobeyed him before.This sign of independence and disrespect is too much for him and his true controlling nature is revealed. The parts of Juliets home life that seem supportive and loving only remain as such while she is doing what others want her to do. As soon as she makes a decision for herself, all of that support is taken away. Capulet commands her to marry Paris or be kicked out of his house. If Juliet was a boy, or if she wasnt pushed into the role of the girl than these problems would not come up. Romeo and Juliet defy their families. They put aside the quarrel that takes up so much energy and violence.Romeo ignores his friends in chasing after Juliet, and Juliet battles with her parents. Their marriage is a sedition against both Houses. Both characters do not fit into the gender roles that other characters ex pect of them. It is this shared defiance that holds them together, but also that ruins them. If neither one had expectations put on them, then Juliet wouldnt have had to marry Paris. But the shared deviance and secretive nature to their relationship is a blown-up part of what gave them such passion. Shakespeare is examining the roles men and women are asked to play in society, petition us to think about the consequences.