Heroic Characters in Romeo and Juliet (Hint: It’s not Romeo)
Romeo, although he is the protagonist in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, is not heroic. You can read why here.
That being said, it’s worth looking at other contenders for hero, or heroine in that play.
Shakespeare copied Aristotles recipe for a tragic hero
- He is the protagonist.
- He had to be be virtuous: In Aristotle’s time, this meant of noble birth, capable, and powerful, and responsible to the rules of honor and morality that guided Greek culture, i.e. “heroic”, even by today’s standards (except for the noble birth and Greek culture part).
- He had to be flawed.
- He had to suffer a reversal of fortune due to a character flaw.
Romeo is clearly the protagonist, of noble birth, flawed, and suffered a reversal of fortune, but virtuous, i.e. capable, powerful, and responsible to the rules of honor and morality, he was not. Juliet was all the things Romeo was not. She is a better choice for tragic hero.
How does Juliet stack up
- She was the main character, ✘ (but the has nearly as many lines as Romeo)
- She was of noble birth, ✔
- She was certainly flawed, (impetuous) ✔
- She suffered a reversal of fortune due to a character flaw, ✔
- Responsible, capable, and powerful? Heroic? ✔
She was brave
Juliet was willing to give up her family in order to be with Romeo. She says, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” In our time, for a woman to deny her family would be a huge step, but the consequences would be mostly emotional, possibly financial. In the 1500’s. a time when women, even daughters of wealthy families, there were few options, so if things didn’t work out with Romeo, she was screwed.
She was responsible
She was the one warning about the danger of Romeo being caught in the Capulet compound. Her kinsmen wouldn’t have politely escorted him to the gate; they would have killed him. Romeo scoffed at that saying, , “…let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate, Than death proroguèd, wanting of thy love.” He’s did not take the danger seriously!
She was capable
She took charge of her life by refusing an arranged marriage with Paris and daringly demanding of Romeo, “If that thy bent of love is honorable, thy propose marriage.” She continued her take-charge attitude by faking her death so that she and Romeo can escape together.
Juliet was ahead of her time
Juliet broke away from the social expectation of a woman in the Elizabethan Era, an era when a woman had little power. Women were taught to be inferior and to wed whomever their parent chose.
In the beginning, she obeyed her mother’s wish for her to gaze at Paris and fall for him. Juliet replied “no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent.” But all that obedient-daughter stuff went out the window when she met Romeo and fell in love, even after discovering he was her family’s enemy. She even proposed to him.
Daughters are usually subordinate in the patriarchal society and were commonly used in arranged marriages to gain social status. Juliet defied this norm by refusing marriage to Paris, a suitor with high status. This was extreme, indeed. She must have understood that an arranged marriage quickly turned into a forced marriage if the bride was unwilling. The choices were disinheritance or life in a nunnery if her father didn’t beat her into agreeing.
