Lady Capulet

Play

Romeo and Juliet

Summary

Juliet's mother, a woman who married young herself and views her daughter primarily through the lens of social advancement. She presents the Paris match to Juliet as a prize and a book to be read rather than a husband to be known, and she is entirely unable to offer her daughter comfort in her crisis — her role as a mother is essentially delegated to the Nurse. Her cold cry for Romeo's death after Tybalt's killing, and her failure to intercede when Capulet rages at Juliet, complete her portrait as a parent defined by social convention rather than maternal warmth.

Notable Quotations

"Verona's summer hath not such a flower." *(I.iii, of Paris)*

"I would the fool were married to her grave!" *(III.v)*

Cross-references

• Romeo and Juliet — the play
• Tragedies
• character_juliet — her daughter whom she cannot reach
• character_capulet — her husband
• character_nurse — the surrogate mother who actually raised Juliet