“Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or; if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.1.76-78).
This passage is particularly powerful because Juliet is unaware that Romeo can hear what she is saying. She isn’t promising these acts of love to Romeo, she is confessing these feelings to herself and is confident in the words she is speaking. She is standing strong in knowing what she wants and doesn’t think twice about risking it all to earn that. She continues:
“What’s ‘Montague’? It is nor hand, not foot, nor arm, not face, nor any other part belonging to a man” (2.1.7 82-84). …show more content…
Despite this belief, Juliet makes many bold claims within this passage. She tells Romeo that she would love to have good manners with her words but she does not care about that, she tells him that she will make herself “less available” if she is “too quickly won,” she is too fond of him to hide her feelings despite her assertive behavior and she is the first person in the relationship to explicitly ask “Do you love me?” Although some of these lines can be interpreted as conforming to societal norms, it was typical for women to think these thoughts; however, it was uncommon to express their true feelings in a sense that is so raw, dominant and straightforward to the point with the man they are seeking to be with. On the contrary, it was typically a man’s place to take control of the relationship and be the first the explicitly convey their love. At this time in the story, Juliet makes the first move and proves that she is willing to go against her family to be with Romeo. Her assertive behavior puts her in control of her life and makes her realize she is not willing to risk her happiness to do right by her society. She decides that it isn’t worth it and continues this changed behavior even when events begin to spiral