The Capulet Nurse: A Protective Shield

One of the most interesting and important characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is the nurse. She is a vital communication point between Romeo and Juliet, and she is the first person Juliet tells about being in love with Romeo. The nurse is trustworthy, because Juliet can tell her anything. But the nurse's best trait is her protection. She protects Juliet from heartbreak, and I think that Juliet is incredibly lucky to have her. 

In the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet informs Juliet that Paris has proposed to her, praising Paris for being a supposedly great man to marry. Lady Capulet says, "Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face, And find delight writ there with beauty's pen." Lady Capulet claims that Paris' attractive looks will cause Juliet delight. Juliet hesitates by saying, "It is an honor that I dream not of." The nurse thinks that Juliet is far too young to be married, and talks for a long time about how she remembers Juliet's childhood. In this nostalgic monologue, the nurse implies that she thinks that Juliet shouldn't be married so soon. I personally think that Juliet, at fourteen, is far too young to be married, because she has a whole life ahead of her that she won't live if she is held down by marriage. Juliet is my age. I have so much I'm looking forward to (college, work, and so much more) in my future, and it's so sad that Juliet doesn't get to appreciate it. The nurse is protecting Juliet from a marriage that she may regret.

In Act 2, Scene 4, Romeo is with his friends when the nurse comes along. The nurse asks to talk to Romeo by himself. She does not tell Romeo what Juliet has asked her to tell, but instead she says to Romeo, "But first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fool’s paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behavior, as they say. For the gentlewoman is young, and therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing." By a fool's paradise, the nurse means a trick or a trap. She is saying that if Romeo is to trick Juliet into loving him, it will be cruel. Juliet is young, and tricking anyone into love is cruel, but it would be especially awful to trick youthful Juliet into loving him. Romeo has the power to trick Juliet into loving him and then leaving her; she is deeply in love with him and  believes every word he says. The nurse takes necessary precautions to shield Juliet from heartbreak. This is another example of the Capulet nurse protecting Juliet. It shows how much she cares about her.

Protection is a vital ingredient of happy teenagers. I definitely see, in my peers, that when kids have friends that will stand up for them if they get hurt or bullied, the victim feels better because they know that somebody  is on their side. Even one person caring about their friend shows the friend that they are not alone, and that somebody is rooting for them. When people have caring friends and family members to serve as a personal shield, protecting them from whatever the outside world may challenge them left, self-confidence is boosted adolescence becomes so much easier. Everybody needs a protector as loyal as Juliet's nurse.