Romeo and Juliet: Fate, Feud, and Blindness
...rst meet, and decide to risk being secretely wed. It is only kept a secret because both, Romeo and Juliet, know their parents would be angered by this marriage. Had Romeo and Juliet announced they were to be wed, they may still be alive since Juliet would not have had to fake her death to get out of the arranged marriage with Count Paris. But still, her father had pushed Juliet to marry Count Paris, and if this was not the case it may have given the two young lovers time to settle and find a way to eventually tell their parents. Tragic events and untimely deaths are the cause of this secret. Lord Capulet is an aggressive character and in many cases we see him get ill-tempered with his family members. Juliet had no choice but to run to the Friar when Lord Capulet announced that he had given his permission to Count Paris for his only daughters hand in marriage. “I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face”. Did Juliet really have a choice? Would you tell your father you were already wed in holy matrimony when he gets angered so easily? So it’s not like Romeo and Juliet could come out and tell their parents when obviously, they had anger issues. Especially since they had married into the name their own families hate. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet are not to be blamed on only their parents, but also themselves, and the Friar Lawrence. We know that in ways, Romeo and Juliet have themselves to blame for their deaths because they were so foolish as to think they could get away with a secret marriage. Of course, things will go wrong! “The courses of love never did run smooth.” (William Shakespeare). The last major character we find played a part in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is The Friar. Some do not see how, but, I believe he plays one of the most vital roles in the tragedy. The Friar is good intentioned, being a religious and holy man. He believes in the good side of things. He says the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is because he hopes that the marriage will end the grudge between the two households. Friar Lawrence believes that the families will stop hating each other and be peaceful if these two young lovers join in holy matrimony. But, he neglects to see that if he goes ahead and marries them in secret, their families would not know to stop fighting anyway. This brings me to say, the Friar has also portrayed and is shortsighted as well. We find the Friar Lawrence shortsighted because some of his actions or ideas just seem as if he isn’t thinking at all. For example, he decides he will perform the marriage yet, the two young lovers have...