Kahn Coming of Age in Verona Romeo and Juliet

Modern Language Studies
Coming of Age in Verona Author(s): Copplia Kahn Source: Modern Language Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter, 1977-1978), pp. 5-22 Published by: Modern Language Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3194631 . Accessed: 06/12/2013 19:47
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ofAgeinVerona Coming
Coppelia Kahn I Romeoand Julietis about a pair ofadolescentstrying to growup. from their themselves that Growing up requires theyseparate parents by bond withone ofthe oppositesex whichsupersedes an intimate forming filialbonds. This, broadly, is an essentialtaskofadolescence,in Renaissance England or Italyas in Americatoday,and the play is particularly concernedwiththe social milieuin whichthese adolescentloversgrow milieuas Englishas it is Italian. I shallargue thatthe up- a patriarchal in theplay- not force feudin a realistic socialsense is theprimary tragic thefeudas agentoffate,1 but thefeudas an extreme and peculiarexpression ofpatriarchal selfwhichShakespeareshowsto be tragically society, The feudis thedeadlyrite-de-passage whichpromotes destructive.2 masthe feudis bound up witha perat the price oflife.Undeniably, culinity in but thatsense finds its objectivecorrelative vasivesense offatedness, the dynamics ofthe feudand ofthe societyin whichit is embedded. As Harold Goddardsays, the Thefathers arethestars arethefathers inthesensethat andthestars ofthepast,for fathers stand for theaccumulated tradition, experience that mold andso for thetwomost forces for andhence authority, potent The to the child'slife.... heredity and training. 'destiny' impart is an inheritance that ofthehostile andJuliet hatred housesinRomeo the into with ofthese is born a truly as heis born member families every orMontague.3 name Capulet That inheritance because it makesRomeo and Juliet tragic figures denies theirnatural needs and desiresas youth.Of course,theyalso disits and recklessextremism, play the faultsof youth;its self-absorption the rash, to eros. But it is the feud which fosters headlong surrender invitation ofyouth a permanent cholericimpulsiveness typical by offering to and outletforviolence. The feudis first and to in the playas "theirparents'strife referred theirparents'rage"and it is clear thatthe fathers, nottheirchildren, are forits continuance.Instead ofproviding social channelsand responsible beneficial can be rendered moralguidancebywhichthe energiesofyouth to themselves and society,the Montaguesand the Capulets make weak in the feudas towardcivilpeace whileparticipating emotionally gestures muchas theirchildrendo. While theyfailto exerciseauthority overthe in it in the wield and streets, they selfishly stubbornly younger generation the home. So manyofthe faults ofcharacter whichcriticshave foundin
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Romeo and Julietare shared by theirparentsthatthe play cannotbe in the Aristotelian of character viewed as a tragedy sense, in whichthe fail to "love results because the hero and heroine moderately."4 tragedy thefeud'sambianceofhottemper Rather, permeates age as well as youth; the standpoint ofPrinceEscalus who embodiesthe law,it is viewedfrom Montagueand Capuletwho are childishly refractory. In thecourseofthe action,Romeoand Juliet createand try to preserve new identitiesas adults apart fromthe feud, but it blocks their it devoursthemin the "detestablemaw" everyattempt.Metaphorically, of the Capulets' monument,a symbolof the patriarchy's destructive of the and the texture power over its children.Thus both the structure a the of the attitudes play suggest critique expressedthrough patriarchal ofRomeo and Juliet.5 feud,whichmakes"tragicscapegoats" forthe sons and daughters ofVeronathe feudconstiSpecifically, tutes socialization into patriarchal roles in two ways. First,it reinforces theiridentities as sonsand daughters themwiththeirpaternal by allying householdagainstanotherpaternalhousehold,thus polarizingall their social relations,particularly theirmaritalchoices, in termsof filialalthemselves in terms of called uponto define legiance.Theyare constantly theirfamilies and to defendtheirfamilies.Second, the feud providesa moratorium" thesons,6an activity inwhichtheyprove for "Psycho-sexual men by phallicviolenceon behalfoftheirfathers, themselves insteadof and sexual experimentation whichwould lead towardmarby courtship the paternalhouse. It fosters in themthe fear from riageand separation and scornofwomen,associating womenwitheffeminacy and emasculawithaggression and violenceagainst tion,whileitlinkssexualintercourse thanpleasureand love. Structurally, the play'sdesignrewomen,rather the prominence flects ofthe feud.It eruptsin threescenes at the beginecho each other, ning,middle,and end (I.1, III. 1, V.3) whichdeliberately and the peripateia,at which Romeo's and Juliet'sfortunes change decisivelyforthe worse, occurs exactlyin the middle when Romeo kills definitions ofmanhood Tybalt,an actionwhichposes the twoconflicting betweenwhichRomeomustmakehis tragic choice. It has been notedthatRomeoand Juliet is a domestictragedy but it notthatits milieuis distinctly well domestic. Much of as as patriarchal takes place withinthe Capulet householdand Capulet's role as paterthe first behave as scene in whichhis servants familiasis apparentfrom membersof his extendedfamily, as famuli rather thanemployees.That householdis a charming withserand spacious,plentiful place: protected and heat,bustling intimate and informal withfestivity, vants,food,light, even on greatoccasions,witha cosyfamiliarity betweenmasterand servant. In nice contrast to it standsthe play'sotherdominant milieu,the the feudare definedas streetsofVerona. It is therethatthosefighting to thosewho would rather who in terms love thanfight, men, in contrast of ofthefeudare less thanmen. Gregory and Sampsonape the machismo theirmasters,seekinginsultson the slightest so that theymay pretext prove their valor. In their blind adherence to a groundless"ancient grudge,"theyare parodies of the feudinggentry.But in Sharespeare's
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theywould be regardedas theirmaster's"children"in day, as servants and obedimorethana figurative sense, owingnotjust workbut loyalty ence to theiremployers as legitimate membersofthe householdranking theirpositionresemAs male servants below its children.7 immediately bles that of the sons bound by theirhonorsto fight fortheirfamilies' names. Most importantly, theirobviousphalliccompetitiveness in being and quickto draw quick to angerat an insultto theirstatusor manhood, in sex as well: theirswordsand fight, shadesintophalliccompetitiveness I strike quickly, beingmoved. . . A dog ofthe houseof Montague menfrom thewalland me . . . Therefore I willpushMontague's moves while I amableto hismaids shall feel thrust to thewall.... Me they
stand. (1.1.6,9, 12-14,18-20,30)8
one's In thisscene and elsewhere,the manypuns on "stand"as standing in the demonfeud in that and as erection attest fighting ground fighting also imply thatthey as well as valor.Sampsonand Gregory strates virility as men to take womenby forceas a way of considerit theirprerogative theirsuperiority to the Montagues: demonstrating . . women, to the wall. vessels,are ever thrust beingthe weaker hismaids men from thewallandthrust Therefore I will pushMontague's be civil with the I havefought with I will tothewall... When themen, ortheir heads.... theheadsofthemaids maid I willcutoff their sensethou wilt. Takeitinwhat maidenheads. 24-25, (I.1.16-20, 27-28). beAs the fighting escalates,finally Capulet and Montaguethemselves to effecinfirm wield a sword he is too come involved, for Capulet calling hisblade in spite because Montague,he claims,"flourishes tively, simply the mastersparodythe men who of me." Withthe neat twistof making have been parodying ends as the Princeenters.Atthe them,the fighting the cost ofcivil peace, all have assertedtheirclaimsto manhoodthrough feud. in thisfirst entrance scene. Refusing to Tybaltmakesa memorable thathis swordis drawnonlyto separatethe believe Benvolio'sassertion he immediately dareshimto defendhimself. To Tybalt, servants, fighting a swordcan onlymean a challengeto fight, and peace is just a word: drawn andtalk ofpeace?I hatetheword What, AsI hatehell,all Montagues, andthee. Haveatthee, coward! (1.1.72-74) In the first twoacts, Shakespearecontrasts Tybaltand Romeoin termsof theirresponsesto the feud so as to intensify the conflict Romeo facesin ActIII whenhe mustchoosebetweenbeinga manin the sanctioned public way,by drawing a swordupon an insult, or beinga manin a noveland
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in his secret identity as privateway: by reposingan innerconfidence husband. Juliet's In Act III, the fight baited by beginswhen Tybaltis effectively from Mercutio's Mercutio's insults; openingbadinagewithBenpunning he is content to for a fight, volio,it is evidentthathe toois spoiling though let theweaponsbe words.Butwordson thehotmid-day ofVerona streets thesame as blowswhichmustbe answered are effectively by thedrawing him "a villain," ofa sword.When Romeoarrives, calls man," Tybalt "my and honoras and "boy,"all terms whichsimultaneously hisbirth impugn well as his manhood.Mercutiomade wordsblows,but Romeotriesto do oflove to Tybalt,whichmust just the opposite,by oblique protestations to him if he listens to themat all: "And so, good seem'quite mysterious Capulet, whose name I tender / As dearlyas mine own, be satisfied" fail whereMercutio's (III 1. 72-73). Romeo'spunsofpeacemaking punsof succeeded all too well. Only one kindofrigid,simplelanguage, hostility is understood based on the stark man-boy, polarities Capulet-Montague, in the feud. No wonderMercutiotermsRomeo'sresponsea "calm, disand drawson Tybalt:Romeo has allowed a honorable,vile submission" his manhood,without Capulet to insulthis name, his paternalheritage, forthem. Like Tybalt,Romeo owes a duty to "the stockand fighting honorof his kin." When Mercutioin effect forhim and dies, the fights to answerthe challengewhichaccordshameofhaving allowed hisfriend ing to the code of manlyhonor,he should have answered,overcomes Romeo. He momentarily turns the sourceofhis new idenagainst Juliet, and her sees as Mercutio sees all women: tity, O sweet Juliet, hath mademeeffeminate, Thybeauty steel! Andinmy softened valor's temper (III.1.111-117) In that moment,caught between his radicallynew identity as Juliet'shusband, which has made him responsible(he thinks)forhis friend's as the scion of the death, and his previoustraditional identity house of Montague,he resumesthe latterand murders Tybalt.As Ruth Nevo remarks, . . ofa rashness an instance Romeo's ofTybalt is notmerely challenge itis an action first which flaws hischaracter... on thecontrary, fatally him of anditisentirely then avoided, undertaken, expected deliberately code.9 byhissociety's As muchas we wantthelove ofRomeoand Juliet to prosper, we also want the volatileenmity of Tybaltpunishedand the death of Mercutio,that the feud. spiritof vitalgaiety,revenged,even at the cost ofcontinuing of Romeo'shardchoice is also ours. Thoughthe playis constantly critical the feudas the mediumthrough whichcriteria ofpatriarchally-oriented to the association are voiced, it is just as constantly sensitive masculinity
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to offilialloyalty, withmore humaneprinciples of thosecriteria loyalty friends, courage,and personaldignity. forRomeo,Benvoliorepas foils Amongthe youngbloods serving intopeace-making, ofvirileenergy resentsthetotalsublimation agape ininto and channelled such energy steadoferos;Tybalt, exclusively directly and wit. intofancy sublimation and Mercutio,its attempted aggression; love rather thanthrough fight(Romeo and Parisseek manhoodthrough each other.)That Mering, but are finally impelledby the feudto fight cutio pursues the feud though he is neither Montague nor Capulet for socialpursuit thatfeuding has become thenormal youngmen suggests itspsychological in Verona.Through his abundant risquewit,he suggests of manhood. Love is only manly,he function forthem,as a definition rather and consistsof subjugating, if it and violent is hints, aggressive thanbeing subjugatedby women: with be rough with Iflovebe rough love; yout, andyoubeatlovedown. Prick lovefor pricking (1.4.27-2) wench's with a white he is already dead: stabbed Alas,poorRomeo, thevery a love-song: theearwith black through pinofhisheart eye;run andis he a manto encounter with theblind cleft butt-shaft; bow-boy's Tybalt? (II.4.14-1) The conflict between his conceptionof manhood and the one which in Romeo'sline, "He jests and tellingly Romeo learnsis deftly suggested at scars thatnever felta wound." Julietis a Capulet, and Romeo risks death to love her; the tritemetaphorof the wound of love has real of a forhim. Mercutioconsiderslove mere follyunworthy significance in combat. Ironically, real man, and respectsonly the wounds suffered Mercutiowill die of a real wound occasioned partlyby Romeo's love, while Romeo,no less a man,willdie notofa woundbut ofthe poisonhe takesforlove. voluntarily Mercutiomocks not merelythe futile,enfeeblingkind of love Romeo feelsforRosaline,but all love. Moreover,his volleyof sexualinand love.In its playful nuendo servesas the equivalentof both fighting while and as as his is speech establishes way, speech aggressive fighting, women. his distancefrom his claim to virility, at the same timeit marks . . . thatloves to hear himself As Romeo says,Mercutiois "A gentleman talkand will speak more in a minutethanhe will stand to in a month" wouldrather thantalk,buthe wouldrather (II.4.153-155). Mercutio fight the Queen talkthanlove, whichbringsus to hisjustlyfamedutterance, Mab speech. Like so muchin thisplay,it incorporates opposites.Whileit of Mercutio, characteristic is surelya set-pieceset apart,it is also highly While itpurin itsluxuriant of and mockery. rippling repleteness images ofthe wishestheirdreams forthe shallowness portsto belittledreamers dreamwithlovingacit sketches the worldofwhichthe dreamers fulfill, tithepigs, horses'manes and all. In serviceto the curacy,sweetmeats,
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it portrays Mab's coach and accoutrements withworkmanpurestfancy, likeprecision.It pretends to tellus dreamsare "nothing but vainfantasy" butthispose is belied by the speaker'sintenseawarenessthatrealpeople In short,Mercutio'sdefenseagainstdreams do dream of real things.10 givesevidenceofhis ownurgeto dream,but italso revealshisfearofgivworldofunconscious desiresassociated ing in to the seethingnighttime withthe feminine; he prefers the broad daylight worldof men fighting andjesting.Significantly, ends witha reference his catalogueofdreamers to the feminine of an and birth, impliedanalogybetween the mystery birthof childrenfrom the womb and the birthofdreamsfrom "an idle brain." He would like to thinkthat women's powers, and desires for as the dreamsto whichthey women,are as bodilessand inconsequential think and to make he us so too concludes hiswhole speechwith rise, give the mock-drama ofa courtship betweenthe winds. For him the perfect is unresponsive and inconstant love between two image of nothingness bodies of air. But Mercutioprotests too much; the same defensiveness underlieshis fancy as his bawdy. Puns and wordplay, the staple of his in dreams,as Freud so amplyshows;relying bawdy,figure prominently on an accidentalsimilarity of sound, theydisguisea repressedimpulse whilegiving voice to it.11
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and alIn the feud names, the signs of patriarchal authority Romeo and blows. As to and words are are calls arms, Juliet legiance, at first takes the fromthe feud,theireffort to freethemselves struggle theirnew identities. themselves to reflect ofcreating new namesfor form When they learn each other's names, they attend only to surnames, under which theirlove must exist. the social constraints which signify Romeosays,"Is she a Capulet?/O dear account!Mylifeis myfoe'sdebt" (1.5.119-120),and the Nurse tells Juliet,"His name is Romeo, and a exJuliet's Montague,/The onlyson ofyourgreatenemy"(1.5.138-139). on Romeo'snamein thebalconyscene beginswithher tendedmeditation from his name- to separatehimself thatforRomeoto refuse recognition the feud- he would have to deny his father (II.233-4), and movesfrom to detachthe manfrom effort to her own fanciful alternative thisunlikely in whichit is embedded: the socialreality the name,and theirlove from "'Tis but thyname thatis my enemy./Thou art thyself, thoughnot a Montague"(II.1. 38-39). Throughthe ironyof Juliet'scasual "but thy forRomeoto sepaboththatitis impossible name,"Shakespeare suggests as a Montague,and thathis public from his public identity rate himself is nonethelessextraneousand accidental,no part of what he identity is a differJuliet by his love for reallyis. The Romeoalreadytransfigured whichJuliet it. The exchange ent personand his name shouldreflect proposes hintsat this:
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doff Romeo, name, thy Andfor which is no part ofthee, name, thy Takeall myself. (II.2.47-49) In fact, his new identity as a manis to be based on his allegianceto heras her husband, and not on his allegiance to his father.In the wedding "It is enoughI maybut call scene, Romeo sayswithhis desperatefaith, her mine"(11.6.8.),an ironicallusionto the factthatthoughshe now has in marriage, takenhis surname the all he really can do is "call" herhis,for feudwill not allow theirnew identities as husbandand wifeto become when Romeo'sveiled references to as is all too apparent known, publicly Tybalt's name as one which he tenders as dearly as his go uncomprehendedin ActIII. in FriarLawrence'scell, Romeo hisbanishment Later,bemoaning curses his name and offers to it out of his body as thoughit cut literally were merelyphysicaland its hateful consequencescould be amputated. he is trying to castrate as a consequenceofthefeud himself; Symbolically, he cannothappily be a man eitherby fighting forhis name and family or her, he feels,he will have no by lovingJuliet.Banishedand apartfrom to livefor.His obsessionwithhis nameat thispoint and nothing identity, recalls Juliet's" 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy." In the early moments of theirlove, both of themseek to mold social reality to their and desiresby manipulating the verbalsignifiers of changedperceptions that reality.But between Romeo's banishment and theirdeaths, both learnin different can changereality. waysthatnotthewordbut the spirit a name becomes a womanand Romeoa man notthrough Juliet changing but by action undertaken in a transformed sense of the self requiring courageand independence. Unmannedin the friar's cell by the thought oflifewithout Juliet, to the floorin tearsand petulantly Romeo hurlshimself refuses to rise. The significance ofthispostureis emphasizedbytheNurse'sexclamation, "O, he is even in my mistress' case, / Justin her case!" (III.3.84-85). the difsexual innuendo of the scene in a significantly Echoing play'sfirst ferent the Nurseurgeshimvigorously, context, ForJuliet's for hersake,riseandstand! sake,
Stand up, standup! Stand,and you be a man.
Whyshouldyou fallintoso deep an O? (111.3.88-90)
FriarLawrence'sensuingphilosophical speech is reallyonlyan elaboration of the Nurse's simple, earthyrebuke. The well-meaning friarremindshimthathe mustnow base his sense ofhimself as a mannoton his as a son of Montague,but on his love for sociallysanctionedidentity - a situation in directconflict whichthe friar withthatidentity Juliet, sees as onlytemporary. But thisconflict betweenmanhoodas aggression on behalfofthe father, and manhoodas lovinga woman,is at the bottom 11
ofthe tragedy, and notto be overcome. In patriarchal for Verona,menbear namesand standto fight them; and "fallbackward" to conwomen,"the weakervessels," bear children ceive them,as the Nurse's husbandonce told the youngJuliet. It is apthat is hastened and to intensified propriate Juliet's growing up by having resistthe marriage for her her while Romeo's is father, arranged by preforthe honorofhis father's house. Unlikeits cipitated by havingto fight no adolescence, no sanctioned sons, Verona'sdaughters have, in effect, withadultidentities or activities. periodofexperiment Lady Capulet reas the propertermination of childhoodfora girl,for gardsmotherhood she saysto Juliet, Herein Verona, ladiesofesteem Arealready mademothers.
Youngerthanyou, (1.3.69-71)
and recallsthatshe herself was a mother when she was about herdaughter'sage. Capulet is morecautiousat first: "Too soon marred are thoseso thatpregnancies are more earlymade" (1.2.13),he says,perhapsmeaning forwomanin earlyadolescencethanforthoseeven likelyto be difficult older. But the pun in the succeedinglines revealsanotherconslightly cernbesides thisone: Earth hath swallowed all myhopesbutshe; Sheis thehopeful ofmyearth. lady
(1.2.14-15)
Fille de terreis the Frenchtermfor heiress,and Capuletwantsto be sure thathis daughter but producehealthy will notonlysurvivemotherhood, heirsforhimas well. to marry Capulet's sudden determination Julietto Paris comes a sense of from whenit is introduced which, partly heightened mortality in the first act, mellowshis character attractively: I haveseentheday Welcome, gentlemen! a visor tell ThatI haveworn andcould A whispering taleina fair ear, lady's
Such as would please. 'Tis gone, 'tis gone, 'tis gone. (1.5.23-26)
But he cannotgive up claim on youthso easily as these words imply. When he meetswithParisagainafter death,it is he who callsthe Tybalt's that youngman back,witha "desperatetender"inspiredby the thought to insurethe he, no less thanhisyoungnephew,was "bornto die." Better safepassage ofhis property to an heirnow,while he lives,thanin an uncertainfuture. Even though decorumsuggests but "halfa dozen friends" as weddingguestsso hardupon a kinsman's cundeath,he hires"twenty
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and staysup all night himself"to ningcooks"to preparea feast, playthe housewife forthisonce," insisting againsthis wife'sbetter judgmentthat the weddingbe celebratednota day later. For him,the weddingconstitutesthe promisethathis line will continue,thoughhis own time end soon. Shakespearedepicts Capulet's motivesforforcing the hastymarin thisregard,but he sparesthe anxiousold riagewithbroad sympathy man no tolerance in the scene in whichJuliet to marry refuses Paris. In Shakespeare's Brooke'sversification ofan Italian source,Arthur novella, the idea of marriagewith Paris isn't introduceduntil after Romeo'sbanishment. In the play, Parisbroacheshis suit(evidently, not forthe first answer time)in the second scene, and receivesa temperate from and contenderness Capulet,who at thispointis a modeloffatherly cern: intheworld is yeta stranger Mychild Shehath notseenthechange offourteen years; intheir Lettwomore wither summers pride Erewe may think herripetobe a bride. Butwooher, gentle Paris, getherheart; is buta part. Mywilltoherconsent
And she agreed,within herscope ofchoice
Liesmy consent andfair voice. according 16-19) (1.2.8-11,
thisscene beginswithCapulet actingnotonlyas a though, Significantly, but also as the head ofa clan; alluding father to the recenteruption ofthe ". .. 'tisnothard,I think, feudand the Prince'swarning, he sayslightly, to exert /For men so old as we to keep thepeace." Onlywhenhis failure over the inflammatory authority effectively Tybalt results in Tybalt's to theclan,does Capuletdecide toexertitoverhisdaughdeath,an insult strictness. Thus Shakespeare, the ter,withcompensatoiy by introducing at the beginning and by makingCapulet change his arrangedmarriage mindabout it, showsus howcapricious rulecan be, and how patriarchal thefeudchangesfatherly mildness to whatHartley Coleridgecalled "paternal despotism."12 After whichbeforereTybalt'sdeath, the marriage quired her consentis now his "decree," and his angerat her opposition mounts from an astonished testiness to brutalthreats: steadily
And you 1be mine,I'll give votlto myfiriend;
And you b)e not, lanlg, beg, starle, die in the streets,
For, by mysoti, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee, Norwhatis mineshallever do thee good. (III.5.193-196)
Perhaps Shakespeare got the inspiration for these lines from Brooke's poem, where Capulet cites Roman law allowing fathersto "pledge, alien13
and even to killthemiftheyrebel.13 At any ate, and sell" theirchildren, as rate, it is clear that Capulet's anger is as violent and unreflective he draws no sword and that the emotional Tybalt'sthough against Juliet, likenessbetweenage and youthin thisinstanceis fostered by different ofpatriarchal order. aspectsofthe same system Romeofinds a surrogate father outsidethatsystem, in FriarLawin and fact never on the rence, appears onstagewithhis parents.Juliet otherhand, alwaysappears withinher father's householduntilthe last scene in the tomb. Lodged in the bosom of the family, she has two the Nurse as well as her real one. With regardto Juliet, the mothers, Nurseis theoppositeofwhatthe Friaris forRomeo- a surrogate mother within the patriarchal but one who is, finally, oflittlehelp in asfamily, sistingJulietin her passage fromchild to woman. She embodies the femaleselfmoldeddevotedly to the female's role. The onlyhistory family she knows is that of birth,suckling,weaning,and marriage;forher, are less cataclysmic thantheseturning She earthquakes pointsofgrowth. and Juliet enterthe play simultaneously in a scene in whichshe has almostall the linesand Juliet less thanten,a disproportion whichmight be considered representative of the force of traditionweighingon the heroine. The Nurse's longestspeech ends withthe tellingof an anecdote in character: (35-48)whichshe subsequently repeatstwice.It is perfectly fullof good humorbut lackingin wit. And yet it trivial,conventional, the wayin whichwoman'ssubjugation to her role masterfully epitomizes as wifeand mother, in the patriarchal is to made seem setting, integral withnatureitself: Andthen hissoul! myhusband (Godbe with 'A wasa merry took man) up thechild. fall face? "Yea,"quoth he,"dost uponthy Thouwiltfall backward whenthouhastmore wit; Wilt thou andbymy Jule?" not, holidam, Thepretty wretch left andsaid,"Ay." crying
(1.3.39-44)
ofJuliet's The story is placed betweenthe Nurse'srecollections weaning and Lady Capulet's statements thatgirlsyounger thanJuliet are already as she herself was at Juliet's mothers, givesthe image. This collocation carriedon pressionof an uninterrupted cycle of birthand nurturance and husfrom mother to daughter, underthe approving eyes offathers bands. The Nurse'shusband,harmlessly witha slightly amusinghimself risque joke at Juliet'sexpense, gets more than he bargainsforin the in the idea child'sinnocent the pointofthe story reply.The Nursefinds thateven as a child,Juliet had the "wit"to assentto her sexual"fall;"she ofJuliet's for"falling" takes her "Ay" as confirmation precociousfitness and "bearing."Butin a larger sense thantheNurseis meantto see, "bearwill and the fateto "bear" her father's ing" impliesthatit will be Juliet's it. Andin a larger sense to circumvent tragic consequencesofherattempt
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all women,byvirtue oftheir as mysate regarded still, powersofbearing, the close to Friar is Earth Lawrence as "Nature's which, teriously says whilemen,lacking thesepowers,and intendedto ruleoverthe mother", earth,rule overwomenalso. As the Nurse says,"Women growby men" (1.3.95). thisconception offemininity, in whichwomenare married Against too youngto understand theirsexuality as anything but passiveparticipation in a vast biologicalcycle through childbearing, Shakespeareplaces Juliet'sunconventional, fullyconsciousand willed givingof herselfto Romeo. Harry Levin has pointed out how the lovers move fromconventionalformality to a simple, organicexpressiveness which is contrastedwiththe rigid,arbitrary oflanguageand lifein Verpolarization ona.14Julietinitiates this departurein the balconyscene by answering Romeo's conceits,"love's lightwings,""night's cloak,"witha directness in the context: highly original Dostthouloveme?I know thou wiltsay"Ay"; AndI willtake word. thy (II.2.90-91) Free from the accepted forms in morethana stylistic sense, she pledges her love, discourages Romeo from and spurshim love-vows, stereotyped to makearrangements fortheirwedding.As she awaitstheirconsummation, the termsin which she envisionslosing her virginity parodythe termsof male competition, the sense oflove as a contestin whichmen mustbeat downwomenor be beaten by them: Come,civilnight, Thousober-suited all inblack, matron Andlearnme howto losea winning match, for a pairofstainless maidenhoods. Play'd (III.210-13) She knowsand values her "affections and warmyouthful blood" but she has yetto learnthecostofsuchblitheindividuality in thetradition-bound worldofVerona.When the Nurse tellsher thatRomeohas killedTybalt, she fallssuddenlyintoa rantcondemning him,in the same kindoftrite characteristic of Romeo's speech beforetheymet (see espeoxymorons the automatic cially 1.1.178-186);such languagein this contextreflects of the feud, which puts everything in terms of a Capuletthinking But she drops thisthemewhen a word from the Montaguedichotomy. Nurse reminds herthatshe now owes herloyalty to Romeorather thanto the house ofCapulet: Nurse: Willyouspeak wellofhim that killed cousin? your that is myhusband? JULIET: ShallI speakillofhim what shallsmooth Ah,poormylord, name, tongue thy When three-hours' havemangled it? I, thy wife, (III.2.96-99)
15
now Romeo's"name" in the sense ofhis identity as well as his reputation to himand to the Montagues but on Juliet's restsnoton hisloyalty loyalty eitherhouse. theirreciprocal identities as husbandand wifeapartfrom in whichshe no soonerbids farewell to nextscene (111.5), Juliet's Romeo thanlearnsthatshe is expected to marry another Paris, depicts in her abilityto use languagecreatively to support crucialdevelopment who would her increasing independence.As the scene opens, it is Juliet the lark a use words as a prettyrefugefromharshreality,re-naming wordscould stoptimefrom the sunrisea meteor,as though nightingale, insists thattheyaccepttheirpainful seppassing,and Romeowho gently for aration whatit is. Butwhen her mother enterswithbitter expressions ofhatredtowardRomeo,Juliet whichala skillful practices equivocation lows her to appear a loyal Capulet while also speakingher heartabout Romeo. When her father's is later,however,Juliet rage eruptsmoments unable to say morethana fewwordson her own behalf.Seekingcomfort the Nurse, the onlyadvice she receivesis expediency. and counselfrom to her masterthatshe cannot subservient The Nurse is so traditionally to which would involveopposingCapulet, a Romeo comprehend loyalty and and she has no idea ofJuliet's growing independenceof her father to Romeo. Juliet'sdisbelieving"Speak'st thou fromthy commitment the differheart?,"and the Nurse's assurancethatshe does, underscore ence betweenthemas women.The Nursehas no "heart"in the sense that ofwho she is or to whomshe owes her she has no self-defined conception have alwaysbeen one. As Colforher, affection and submission fidelity; under."15 by a "happy,humbleducking eridgesaid, she is characterized to Romeoabove obedience now inwardly WhereasJuliet, placingfidelity and the all thatfamily, to her father and thusimplicitly society, denying calm to end herconversation a lie in perfect feudhave taught her,utters ofher heartin withthe Nurse. There is no wayforherto speakthe truth her father's household,so she mayas well lie. Thoughshe will againemwith Paris conversation ploy equivocationin her stilted,stichomythic have power to die," belater,her closingline, "If all else fails,myself no longerdependenton speaks a self-confidence, courage,and strength verbalmanipulations.
Ill In this play ordered by antitheseson so many levels, the allembracingoppositionof Eros and Thanatos seems to drive the plot feudopposes along.16 The loverswantto live in union;the death-dealing a completeturnatheirdesire. The tragicconclusion,however,effects in the lovers' betweenlove and death,for bout in thisclearcutopposition die as an act oflove, in a suicideslove and deathmerge.Romeoand Juliet the finalscene actingout ofthe ancientpun. Furthermore, spiritualized
16
playsoff againsteach othertwo opposingviews ofthe lovers'death: that theyare consumedand destroyed by thefeud,and thattheyriseabove it, unitedin death. I shallnowexplorethe ambivalence ofthisconclusion in an attempt to showhowitreflects theplay'sconcern withcoming ofage in the patriarchal family. It cannot be denied that,through the manyreferences to fate, of a mysterious Shakespearewished to create a feelingof inevitability, forcestronger than individualsshapingtheircourses even againsttheir will and culminating in the lovers'deaths.Yet it is also truethat,as Gordon Ross Smithsays,the playemploysfatenotas an external power,but as a subjective on the of the two lovers.17 this And feeling parts subjective from the objectivesocialconditions oflife feeling springs understandably in Verona.The first mention offate, in the Prologue'sphrase"fatal loins," connectsfatewithfeudand anticipates the rhyme utteredby punningly FriarLawrence,whichmight standas a summary ofthe play'saction: The Earth, that's Nature's is hertomb; mother, Thatwhich we callherburying that is herwomb. grave,
(II.3.9-10)
The loins of the Montaguesand the Capulets are fatalbecause the two familieshave establisheda state of affairs wherebytheirchildrenare necesbound, forthe sake offamily honor,to killeach other.It is hardly is accompaniedby Tybalt's saryto recallhow Romeo'sfirst sightofJuliet "Fetch me myrapier,boy!," or how (as I have shown)theirverynames risktheytakein lovingeach other.Romeo'spremonition, denotethefatal as he setsoff for the Capulets'ball, thathe willhave "an untimely death," orJuliet's, as his banishment begins,thatshe willsee himnextin a tomb, are nothintsfrom the beyond,but expressions offeareminently realistic in the circumstances. The setting and actionofthe final scene are meantto remindus of the hostilesocialclimatein whichthe lovershave had to act. It beginson a bittersweet noteas the dull and properParisapproachesto perform his withtheflowers so easily mangledrites,recapitulating weddingin funeral of her exmaiden, and reminiscent symbolicof a youngand beautiful in marriage. the successive of entrances pected defloration By parallelling Parisand Romeo,one who has had no partin thefeud,the otherwho has paid so much forresistingit, both of whom love Juliet,Shakespeare thefeud'sindifferent comesin suggests poweroveryouth.Each character withthe properties to and the his servant actask, appropriate enjoins himto "standaloof."Theirensuingsword-fight is subtly decompanying ofthe feudand to suggest thatit is signedto recallthepreviouseruptions of a man-made recurrent violence. Paris'challengeto Romeo, cycle unhallowed vileMontague! toil, Stopthy Can vengeance be pursued than farther death? Condemned I do apprehend thee. villain, die. thoumust me;for Obey,andgo with
(V.3.54-57)
17
recallsTybalt's behaviorat the Capulets'ball, whenhe assumedRomeo's to and in ActIII, whenhe deliberately verypresence be an insult, sought forthatinsult.Romeo respondsto Parisas Romeo out to get satisfaction he did to Tybalt, first at his truepurposein phrases by hinting cryptically echoingthosehe spokein ActIII: I lovetheebetter than myself, Byheaven, .... ForI comehither armed myself against (V.3.64-65) Then once more he gives in to "fire-eyed when Pariscontinuesto fury" provokehim,and in a gestureall too familiar by now,drawshis sword. Shakespearepreparesus well beforethisfinalscene forits grim variations on the Friar'sassociationofwomb and tomb. Juliet's moving monument amplifies soliloquyon her fearsofwakingalone in the family its fitness as a symbolofthe powerofthe family, and tradiinheritance, tionoverher and Romeo. She ponders"the terror ofthe place " . . a vault, an ancient receptacle Where for thebones hundred many years ancestors arepacked; Ofall myburied (IV.3.38-41) In a "dismalscene" indeed, she envisions first herself drivenmadbyfear, withthem,and thenusingthe bones thesebones by playing desecrating againstherselfto dash her brainsout. This wakingdream, like all the dreams recountedin this play, holds psychological truth;it bespeaks in that Romeo she broken has a tabooas forceful Juliet's knowledge loving as thatagainstharming the sacredrelicsofher ancestors, and herfearof being punishedforthe offense by the ancestorsthemselves-withtheir verybones. As Romeoforces itbothas hiswayintothemonument, he pictures a montrous mouthdevouring a and himself and as womb: Juliet
Thou detestablemaw,thouwombofdeath,
Thus I enforce thyrotten jaws to open, And in despite I'll cramthee withmorefood. (V.3.45-49)
with thedearest morsel oftheearth, Gorged
When the Friar hastenstowardthe monument a fewminuteslater,his exclamation fiurther extendsthe meanings connectedwithit:
Alack,alack, whatblood is this,whichstains The stony entranceto thissepulchre? (V.3.140-141)
The blood-spattered as a entranceto the tombwhichhas been figured

18
womb recallsboth a defloration or initiation into sexuality, and a birth. bed is her warned as had her, and Juliet's wedding grave, premonitions threeyoungmen, two of themher bridegrooms, all killedas a resultof the feud,shareit withher. The birth whichtakesplace in this"womb"is return a birthintodeath,a stifling to the tombofthe fathers, perversely not the second birth ofadolescence,the birthofan adult self,whichthe 18 loversstrove for. But the second part of the scene, comprising Romeo's deathspeech, the Friar's entranceand hastydeparture,and Juliet'sdeatha different speech, offers interpretation. Imageryand actioncombineto ofsexualconsummation, and furassertthatdeathis a transcendent form intoa higher of existence the of ther,thatitis rebirth stage counterpart an-adulthood never fully achieved in life. That Shakespearewill have it bothwaysat once is perfectly in keepingwitha playaboutadolescencein ofthatperiod,whichBrunoBettelheim conflict the typical thatit reflects forindependenceand self-assertion, and the describesas "the striving It is to remainsafely at home, tied to the parents."19 oppositetendency, work also similar to the ambivalent endingofVenusand Adonis,another about youth and love, in which Venus' long-striven-for possession of ofthe totalabsorption ofeach personin the other, Adonistakesthe form at the priceofAdonis'death.20 It might in be arguedthatRomeo and Juliet willtheirlove-deaths to reach failure caused by themerechanceofBrother simpleerror, John's RomeowiththenewsofJuliet's death,and thatchanceis fate'sinfeigned But the poeticconsistency withwhichtheirbeliefin strument. and force death as consummation is carriedout, by means ofthe extendedplay of wordsand actionson dying as orgasm, thesense ofchanceor of outweighs fate.The equationofloving withdying is introduced and mostoften early, to graveand reference dyingis linkedto the feud,forinstancein Juliet's in in bed Act Romeo's scene re-stated the scene. I, 5, wedding wedding banishment producesan explosionof remarks linking weddingbed with tomband Romeoas bridegroom withdeath.21 The Friar'spotioninducing a simulated deathon thedayofJuliet's us furweddingwithParistitillates therwithironic of But death and when Romeo deconjunctions marriage. he learnsofJuliet's after clares,the instant supposeddeath,"Is ite'en so? Then I defy in whichwe have been led (V.1.24),22thecontext you,stars!" to understand and expect the lovers' death is transformed. Romeo no conceives his of a of course action as the feud, longer way circumventing which now has no importance forhim. Rather,he wills his death as a unionwithJuliet. meansto permanent When he says,in the same toneof I will lie withthee todesperatebut unshakableresolve,"Well, Juliet, as her lover and he assumes his role in thelove-death night," bridegroom so amply foreshadowed, but that love-deathis not merelyfated;it is willed. It is the lovers'triumphant over the impoverished assertion and worldwhichhas keptthemapart.Romeo'sensuingconversadestructive tionwiththe apothecary is fullofcontempt fora merelymaterial world, in deathis so serenethat thathe alone possessesJuliet and his confidence he indulgesin the mordantly eroticfantasy thatamorousDeath keeps
19
in the tomb"to be his paramour" and dis(V.3.102-105),recalling Juliet the earlierconception ofdeathas Juliet's missing bridegroom. ShakespearefillsRomeo's last speech with the imageryof life's thegloomy vaultis "a feasting richness: oflight," and Juliet's presencefull "0 and with true cheeks are crimson His last lines, lips apothvitality. toecary! /Thydrugsare quick.Thus witha kissI die." (V.3.120),bring theidea ofdeathas sexualconsummation and as rebirth. gether Similarly, kissesthe poison on his lips and calls it "a restorative." Juliet They have come ofage bya different meansthantheritesofpassage,phallicviolence and adolescentmotherhood, foryouthin Verona. Romeo's death typical in the Capulets' (nothis own fathers')tombreverses the traditional passhis reand betokens age ofthe femaleoverto the male house in marriage fusalto follow the code ofhis fathers, while it is Juliet, not Romeo,who
boldly uses his dagger, against herself.23
WesleyanUniversity
FOOTNOTES 1. A long-standing of ofRomeoand Juliet holdsthatit is a tragedy interpretation fate. F.S. Boas, Shakespeareand His Predessors(New York,1896), p. 214; E.K. Chambers,Shakespeare:A Survey (London, 1929), pp. 70-71; E.E. Stoll, Shakespeare'sYoung Lovers (Oxford,1937), pp. 4-5; and G.L. Kittredge,ed., SixteenPlays of Shakespeare(New York,1948), p.674 are the of the manycriticswho have shared this view. Stopford most prominent Brooke,On Ten Plays of Shakespeare(London, 1905, pp. 36, 65) held the but saw the quarquarrelbetweenthe housesto be thecause ofthe tragedy, ofany"long-continued rel in moralrather thansocialtermsas an expression evil". More recently, H.B. Charlton, "Shakespeare's Experimental Tragedy,"in his ShakespearianTragedy(Cambridge,England, 1948), pp. 49-63,calls thefeudthe meansbywhichfateacts,but objectsto itas suchon in theplay.For an thegrounds thatitlacksconvincing force and implacability of the feud as a regressiveintrafamilial, orthodoxFreudian interpretation forcewhich preventsRomeo and Julietfromseekingproperly narcissistic non-incestuous love objects, see M.D. Faber, "The AdolescentSuicides of Romeo and Juliet," Review,59 (1971), 169-182. Psychoanalytic 2. As usual, Shakespeareportrays the milieuofhis sourcein termswithwhich the Italian he and his audience are familiar; he is not at pains to distinguish of the from the English. Here I accept Lawrence Stone's definition family family: patriarchal aristocratic family was patrilinear, This sixteenth-century in thatitwas the male and patriarchal: patrilinear primogenitural, and linewhoseancestry was tracedso diligently bythegenealogists heralds,and in almostall cases via the male line thattitleswere wentto the in thatmostofthe property inherited; primogenitural brothers eldest son, the younger beingdispatchedintothe world in a smallesor lifeinterest withlittlemorethana modestannuity in thatthe husbandand and patriarchal tate to keep themafloat, withthe quasi-absolute lordedit over his wifeand children father ofa despot. authority
20
3. 4.
5. 6.
1558-1660(London: Oxford Lawrence Stone, The Crisis of theAristocracy: Press, 1971),abridgededition,p.271. University Harold Goddard,The Meaningof Shakespeare(2 vols.), Chicago: The UniofChicago Press, 1951,I, 119. versity This is a morerecentcritical thanthatreferred to in note 1, and is tendency representedby Donald A. Stauffer, Shakespeare'sWorld of Images (New York, 1949) pp. 55-57; FranklinM. Dickey,Not WiselyBut Too Well (San Marino, 1957), pp. 63-117; and Roy W. Battenhouse, Shakespearean and London, 1969), Tragedy:Its Art and ChristianPremises(Bloomington and the Repp. 102-129.However,Dickeyand Paul N. Siegel, "Christianity ligionof Love in Romeo and Juliet,"ShakespeareQuarterlyXII (1961), p. it is, as themeansbywhichdivine 383, see thelovers'passion,flawedthough orderbased on love is restored to Verona. Paul N. Siegel (citedin note4) uses thisphrase,but in a moralrather thansocial context; he sees themas scapegoatsthrough whomtheirparentsexpiate theirsinsofhate and vengefulness. The termis Erik Erikson's,as used in "The ProblemofEgo Identity," Psya dechologicalIssues I, no. 1 (1959), 103-105.He definesit partly through ofGeorgeBernardShaw'sself-imposed oftheinterval scription "prolongation betweenyouthand adullthood" in his earlytwenties.His comments on "the socialplayofadolescents" further explainthe purposeofsucha moratorium, and raise the questionsI am raising withregardto the social function ofthe feud: Children and adolescents in theirpresocietiesprovide forone anothera sanctionedmoratorium and joint supportforfreeexwith inner and outer dangers (includingthose perimentation from adultworld).Whetheror nota givenadolescent's emanating conflict newlyacquired capacitiesare drawn back into infantile extent on the qualityofthe opportunities depends to a significant and rewardsavailableto himin his peer clique, as well as on the moreformal at largeinvites a transition from waysin whichsociety social play to workexperimentation, and from ritualsoftransit to final . . . . (p. 118) commitments
7. See GordonSchochet, and Mass Attitudes in Stuart "Patriarchalism, Politics, XII, 3 (1969), 413-441. England,"The Historical Journal 8. This and all subsequentquotations are takenfrom The CompleteSignetClassic Shakespeare,ed. SylvanBaret (New York:Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, I have notedvariant 1963, 1972). Where relevant readings. SEL IXX, 241-258. 9. RuthNevo, "TragicFormin Romeoand Juliet," 10. RobertO. Evans, The Osier Cage: RhetoricalDevices in Romeoand Juliet ofKentucky (Lexington, Press, 1966), arguesthatthe Queen Ky: University Mab speech deals withthe real subjectsofthe play- moneyand place, the - and in the extendedtreatment main reasonsformarriage ofthe soldier whichconcludesits catalogueof Mab's victims, whatin the milieu "presents - violence"(p. 79). ofRomeo and Juliet was a principal destructive force 11. Norman Holland, "Mercutio, Mine Own Son the Dentist," in Essays on Shakespeare,ed. Gordon Ross Smith, University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University on the conPress, 1965, pp. 3-14, commentssuggestively trast betweenMercutioand Romeoin thisrespect: 21
He jests at scars thatfearsto feel a wound - a certainkind of wouldlayhimlow, real love that comesfrom wound,thekindthat makehimundergoa submission like Romeo's. Mercutio's bawdry servesto keep hima non-combatant in thewarsoflove .... Not for Mercutiois that entranceinto the tomb or womb or maw whichis Romeo'sdark,sexualfate.(p. 12) 12. Romeo and Juliet: A New VariorumEdition, ed. Horace Howard Furness, and Co., 1871,p. 200. Philadelphia:Lippincott 13. Arthur in Narrative and Brooke,The TragicallHistorye ofRomeusand Juliet Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare,ed. Geoffrey Bullough,London: Routledge, Kegan and Paul, 1966,I, p. 336, 1951-1960. 14. HarryLevin, "Form and Formality in RomeoandJuliet,"in Twentieth CenturyInterpretations of Romeo and Juliet,ed. Douglas Cole, Englewood 1970,85-96. Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 15. Coleridge'sWritings on Shakespeare,ed. Terence Hawkes, New York:CapricornBooks, 1959, p. 118, Coleridge adds to thisphrase "yet resurgence in the first to the Nurse's garrulity againstthe check," but he is referring scene, when she persists in repeatingher storyagainst Lady Capulet's wishes. 16. Levin, p. 90. He does notdevelop thispoint. 17. GordonRoss Smith, "The BalanceofThemesinRomeoand Juliet," Essays on Park, Pa.: The PennsylShakespeare,ed. Gordon Ross Smith,University vania State University Press, 1965,p. 39. 18. In "The 'Uncanny,'" Freud remarks of being buried alive thatthe fantasy existence while appearingto be dead is a fantasy ofintra-uterine (Standard of womb and tomb,birthand Edition, Vol. XVII, p. 244). The conflation deaththroughout theplaylendsweight ofthedeathsand to thisinterpretation theirsetting. 19. BrunoBettelheim, The UTses The Meaningand Importance of Enchantment: of FairyTales, New York:Knopf,1976,p.91. 20. See myarticle, "Selfand Eros inVenusand Adonis,"The Centennial Review, XX, 4 (Fall, 1976),351-371. 21. See 111.2.136-137; III. 5.94-96; 141; 201-203. 22. The secondquartoprints it of". . . thenI denie you starres," which,though fersa different shade of meaning,stillexpressesRomeo'sbeliefthathe acts offate. independently 23. In an illuminating essay which stresses the importanceof the family, and Romeoand Juliet," "Shakespeare'sEarliestTragedies:TitusAndronicus a different though ShakespeareSurvey27 (1974),pp. 1-9,G.K. Hunteroffers relatedinterpretation: It is entirely thatthe 'public' weddingbed ofRomeo appropriate and Juliet(as againsttheirprivatebedding) should be placed in the Capulet family tomb,forit is therethatRomeo maymostefbe seen to havejoined hiswife's corpoclan,wheretheir fectively is mostunequivocally rateidentity established.(p.8)
22

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Modern Language Studies

Whyshouldyou fallintoso deep an O? (111.3.88-90)

And she agreed,within herscope ofchoice

Liesmy consent andfair voice. according 16-19) (1.2.8-11,

with thedearest morsel oftheearth, Gorged

The blood-spattered as a entranceto the tombwhichhas been figured

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