The Agency of Shakespeare’s Juliet

A feminist reading of ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Shakespeare presents an uncharacteristic outlier to the patriarchal literature of his time in the titular Juliet of Romeo and Juliet. Although Juliet is considered by many readers to be nothing more than a foolish, love-struck girl, further examination suggests that her role in her hasty union with Romeo can indicate her desire to live a life unruled by oppressive patriarchal figures and retain some autonomy in a society where very few women experienced that right.

At Juliet’s age of thirteen, her mother instructs her to “think of marriage now; younger than you / …ladies of esteem / are already made mothers” (1.3.71–73), which promises an uninspiring fate in any case, but especially when her father has arranged a marriage for her with a man she detests.

Upon Juliet’s protest to marrying Paris, her father gives her an ultimatum to follow through with the union “or never after look [him] in the face” (3.5.162). To make matters worse, her mother complies with her husband’s harshness, Romeo has been exiled at this point, and even Nurse, who has been like a mother as well as a friend to Juliet since her birth, cannot sympathize with her unwillingness to marry Paris, effectively eradicating almost all her options.

Juliet’s dissatisfaction with these confined circumstances, both mentally in her inability to choose her own future as well as physically in her inability to even freely leave her family’s house as a woman, is obvious as she compares Romeo to a bird and herself to a prisoner who is “so loving-jealous of his liberty” (2.2.184) in the balcony scene.

This curious compounding of “loving” and “jealous” implies that while Juliet ostensibly has affection towards Romeo, these feelings are inextricably tied to her envy of the many freedoms that he enjoys due to his being a man.

Even the setting is symbolic of their varying degrees of autonomy; he visits her because she cannot go farther than her balcony. Thus, Juliet’s resentment toward feeling trapped within patriarchal confines indicates a will to gain independence in some way.

Accordingly, in an environment where a dissatisfied yet determined young girl’s every decision is decided by her father and then, according to her family’s wishes, by her much-older fiancé, the opportunity to marry Romeo presents a way to claim some independence for herself.

Romeo is so love-struck that he is easily influenced by her desires and would prove quite useful to a woman seeking to gain independence. Juliet knows this; she calls out to him and wishes “for a falconer’s voice, / to lure this tassel-gentle back again” (2.2.161–162), boldly indicating how she sees herself with the power in the relationship.

Even if gender roles restrict her, she can nevertheless employ Romeo to help her achieve some freedom. Romeo either does not mind this implication that she controls him or otherwise is oblivious, declaring that he wishes “[he] were [her] bird” (2.2.185) to be closer to her.

Moreover, it is she who proposes marriage to Romeo, despite only having known him for a few hours. While this can be attributed to head-over-heels love, this bold move could also stem from a desire to choose her own husband before her parents finalize their plans to marry her to Paris.

Even today, a woman proposing is rare, but Romeo does not seem bothered by her taking on the stereotypically masculine role of proposing marriage. Instead, he seems willing to surrender everything for Juliet, such as his identity, as Juliet can “call [him] but love, and [he]’ll be new baptized” (2.2.50); his allegiance to his family (2.2.60–62); and even his life, evident from his suicide upon hearing of Juliet’s alleged death.

While his affection seems more infatuation than true love, having been in love with Rosaline immediately preceding his falling in love with Juliet’s beauty at first sight, his malleable devotion, albeit shallow, nevertheless provides Juliet with a comfortable life ungoverned by strict paternal figures, especially given Romeo’s presumably young age.

The ability to assert some autonomy for herself is made possible through eloping with Romeo, not by an impending arranged marriage with the controlling man she loathes, and therefore Juliet has it in her best interest to use Romeo’s doting love to her advantage as quickly as possible.

Perhaps most revelatory of Juliet’s strong-willed nature, however, is her readiness to commit suicide upon her inability to be with Romeo. After Romeo is exiled, she tells Friar Lawrence to “bid [her] leap, rather than marry Paris, / from off the battlements of yonder tower” (4.1.79–80), demonstrating how a future with Paris is out of the question for her.

This mindset continues as she agrees to take Friar Lawrence’s drug, despite her worries that it may be poison, and then finally, when she actually does commit suicide at the sight of her lover’s dead body.

Traditional readings indicate that she cannot bear to live without Romeo, yet she barely registers her discontent with Romeo’s death. While Romeo gave an iconic and lengthy monologue lauding her beauty even in death and bemoaning the loss of his wife before his suicide, she takes a methodical approach devoid of emotion. She only kisses him in a vain attempt to extract poison for herself and her last lines focus solely on her own suicide, not mourning over him.

While she ostensibly cares for him, the typical love-struck characterization of Juliet seems at odds with this colder response, especially in juxtaposition with Romeo’s passionate reaction.

Her lack of freedom, previous suicidal ideation, and apparent indifference to Romeo’s corpse indicates that her suicide is not some spur-of-the-moment decision of a desperate and impulsive lover but rather a very strategic effort to combat threats to the already-little autonomy she has.

Although femininity seemed to be her escape as she wooed the adoring and easily captivated Romeo, her status as a woman and the rights, or lack thereof, that come with her gender attribute ensure her demise. While she cannot change her circumstances, she can end them, even if it means plunging a knife into her chest.

While she never did achieve freedom or live past the age of thirteen, she still deserves recognition for her strategic scheming and yearning to obtain more out of life than a confining marriage.

In fact, the play’s last line concludes with lamenting the tragedy of “Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.326), echoing a sort of possessiveness seen in the metaphorical bond of the aforementioned falconer and her falcon and indicating Juliet’s upper hand in the relationship until the very end.

Different readings are inevitable and beneficial, and Romeo is often regarded as foolish as well, although his character arguably warrants more criticism given how immediately his affections waver from Rosaline toward Juliet. Yet it still seems too simplistic to dismiss Juliet as merely hormone-crazed or her restrictive circumstances as inconsequential, too rooted in ideas from the play’s bygone time period.

Thank you for reading.