The play starts off with Romeo whining that he met this girl and she's the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and realizes that they can't be together because he's from one family and she's from another. Juliet realizes the same thing and then dramatically stares out into the abyss, complaining that she wants to be with Romeo. If I was dramatically standing out on a balcony talking to myself, I would hope someone would be like "What are you doing, why are you talking to yourself? Get down" Also, if I knew that being with someone that my parents made BLATANTLY CLEAR that they didn't like, I would probably find someone else to marry so that 1. My parents respected me and my spouse. 2. I could keep close ties with my family and my spouses, and 3. Oh yeah, no one would die.
The amount of total disregard that Romeo and Juliet have for their parents and the people around them is completely mind boggling. Did it ever occur to them that maybe they aren't supposed to be together for a reason? Did it ever occur to them that maybe their parents might actually know what's best for them? Juliet's like thirteen! I brought home a boy that my parents didn't like at like sixteen and my parents were like "nah man that kid's bad news" and guess what, no one died (and my parents still like me). They both knew that they weren't supposed to be together but instead decided to rebel against the people closest to them for their own selfish reasons and surprise! It doesn't end well. Go figure.
I agree that they probably just should have listened to their parents and then they would probably just go on with their lives. Maybe Juliet would have ended up actually liking Paris! I guess they were just at that age where they didn't understand that their parents have already have many of the same experiences and that they probably have good advice to offer.
ReplyDelete