In the book Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, the characters make many difficult decisions. These decisions often result in the occurrence of major events which shape the plot. Juliet has to make many difficult decisions early on in the story.
She must choose between marrying Paris, the person her father wants her to marry, or Romeo, the person she wants to marry. Both choices have different consequences, and Juliet must decide which choice she deems the better one. Although Lord Capulet thinks that Paris should marry Juliet, I believe that Juliet should marry Romeo because Juliet does not love Paris, Romeo wants to live with Juliet, and because Juliet does not know Paris well (and vice versa).
Juliet should marry Romeo because she does not love Paris. She would rather leap “from off the battlements of any tower” than marry Paris (Shakespeare 183). This implies that Juliet would commit suicide if forced to marry Paris. This would devastate the whole family, and should be avoided at all costs. Since Juliet does not love Paris, their marriage would result in many fights because Juliet does not get along with Paris. The marriage would detriment both parties; Paris would end up unhappy as well as Juliet. All these harsh consequences would not occur if Juliet were to marry Romeo. No thought of suicide would arise nor would any fights occur, because the marriage would have a much more powerful base.
Juliet should also marry Romeo because Romeo wants to live with Juliet. Romeo’s heart “is set on the fair daughter of rich Capulet” (Shakespeare 87). If Juliet were to marry Romeo, both parties would benefit because both parties love each other. This is essentially what Juliet wants. Juliet’s marriage to Romeo would also create a bond between both the families and may result in the end of the feud between them. Both families would combine into one. If Juliet were to marry Paris, the feud would continue and neither family would be safe from the other. The Montagues would still hate the Capulets.
Juliet should also marry Romeo because Juliet knows Romeo much better than she knows Paris. Juliet only meets Paris two days before it is proposed that Paris should marry Juliet. Juliet does not know anything about Paris, and vice versa. This may cause a rift between the two because of reasons unknown until they have gotten to know each other better. Juliet tries to deter Paris upon meeting him with witty remarks such as: “that may be, sir, when I may be a wife” (Shakespeare 179). This shows that the two do not know each other well enough that a mutual desire exists. Both may possess qualities the other does not approve of.
It can be argued that Juliet would benefit more from marrying Paris. Since Lord Capulet wants Juliet to marry Paris, he would gain happiness from her consent. Although this is true, Juliet’s consent contains much more value since she is the one who must spend the rest of her life with him if the marriage occurs. Another argument could come from the fact that arranged marriages have a higher success rate than love marriages. This is mainly because both parties do not have high expectations entering the marriage, and therefore do not vie for a divorce. It does not have any correlation with the satisfaction of either party. The benefits of a marriage to Romeo outweigh the benefits of a marriage to Paris.
Juliet should marry Romeo because she does not love Paris, she wants to live with Romeo, and because she does not know Paris. She would experience a much happier life this way and many advantages would spur from this. Overall, the gains of marrying Romeo would outweigh the losses and would make for the best choice. No option could enrich Juliet’s life more than marrying Romeo.
