gender roles

• Gender is an important theme in "Romeo and Juliet" as it contributes to character development and can be a source of conflict
• The play is set in a patriarchal society oppressive to women, where men also had social rules to follow
• Masculinity is a key theme in the play, dictating male behavior towards each other and female characters
• The feud between the Montagues and Capulets is based on male pride, with neither side willing to back down to create peace
• Male conflict and violence pervade the play, as shown in Act 1 Scene 1, where a fight starts due to men's unwillingness to lose face
• Sampson in the play represents hegemonic masculinity, where male dominance is established through the submission of women and aggression
• Sampson's crude language and actions towards women reflect the violent and aggressive nature of masculinity in Elizabethan times
• Romeo's character is presented as effeminate, lacking a natural disposition free of emotional attachments
• Shakespeare juxtaposes hypermasculinity in the play with Romeo's more emotional and wounded character, subverting traditional masculinity
• Romeo takes an early morning walk "underneath the grove of sycamore" in the opening scene
• Romeo is acting like a Petrarchan lover, suffering from unrequited love, which is not reciprocated, and often melodramatic about rejection
• Romeo struggles with his masculinity throughout the play, influenced by external factors and his relationships with women
• Shakespeare shows how affected Romeo is by his love for women, with societal attitudes towards masculinity being encapsulated by the Friar's statement to Romeo
• Romeo transforms from a Petrarchan lover to someone who allows "rage to guide (his) actions" after his friend Mercutio is killed by Tybalt
• Romeo becomes consumed with a murderous rage which leads to him fighting Tybalt and causing Tybalt's death
• Before Mercutio’s death, he puts a curse on the families, possibly responsible for Romeo’s transformation
• Romeo blames his femininity on Juliet, feeling she has softened his bravery, leading him to seek revenge for Mercutio's death
• While male characters struggle with masculinity, women are also restricted by their societal roles, as seen in the expectations surrounding marriage during the Elizabethan period
• During the Elizabethan period, marriage was often used by important families to make alliances and spread their power and influence
• Lord Capulet initially allows Juliet a choice in marriage, but after Tybalt's death, he changes his mind and asserts his authority over her choice
• Lord Capulet's authoritarian demeanor is revealed when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, leading to an explosive response from him
• A woman's role in the play was often to become a wife and mother, as seen through Lady Capulet's character in Act 1
• In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," attachment is a strong reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and a primary caregiver
• Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study aimed to identify stages of attachment and find a pattern in the development of an attachment between infants and parents
• Participants in the study were 60 babies from Glasgow, and the procedure involved analyzing interactions between infants and carers
• Findings showed that babies of parents with 'sensitive responsiveness' were more likely to have formed an attachment
• In "Romeo and Juliet," women are not only seen as wives and mothers but also as sexual objects perceived by men
• Mercutio in Act 2 Scene 1 sexualizes Rosaline's body by listing her body parts, viewing her purely as an object for sexual gratification
• The Friar notes that young men's love lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes
• Juliet's nurse in "Romeo and Juliet" makes many sexual jokes and mocks women's sexual subservience
• The nurse retells a joke about a baby falling backward when older, making fun of a woman's sexual subordination
• Juliet's nurse also comments that Juliet will "rest but little" when Romeo visits, filled with dramatic irony as the audience knows Juliet will soon be dead
• Despite being constrained by patriarchal society, Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" is given power within the play, showing agency and standing up to male figures
• Juliet actively pursues her relationship with Romeo, breaking conventions by proposing to him and demanding that he shows his devotion to her
• Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" reclaims her agency by embracing her sexuality, which was not common for women of the time who were expected to be conservative
• Juliet's death in "Romeo and Juliet" raises questions about the message Shakespeare is sending to the audience regarding women's agency and choices
• Juliet's death can be seen as her affirming her freedom by choosing to die, taking back her autonomy by committing suicide instead of being constrained by her marriage to Paris
• Shakespeare's portrayal of Juliet's death in "Romeo and Juliet" can be interpreted in different ways, questioning whether her suicide truly represents liberation or submission to male possession