Dicuss how silencing women in society in the play Romeo and Juliet would be received differently by Elizabethan & contemporary audiences.

Let us remember that we are talking about two very
different time periods in history. Women in Shakespeare's time, especially those born
into high society such as Juliet, were regarded ultimately as an asset to be married to
whom the father chose. Issues such as love were secondary at best, and most often fully
absent from the question of who daughters would marry. Women then were regarded as
property, to be given to whom their fathers chose, in accordance with what marriage
would give them more wealth and connections. This of course explains the treatment of
Juliet by her father in Act III scene 5 when he insists upon her marrying
Paris:

readability="23">

Thursday is near; lay hand on heart,
advise.

And you be mine, I'll give you to my
friend;

And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the
streets,

For, by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge
thee,

Nor what is mine shall never do thee
good.

Whilst modern audiences
would no doubt be shocked by such words and the vehemence of this kind of langauge, in
which Lord Capulet clearly states that Juliet is "his" property and he has every right
to "give" her to his "friend" with or without her permission or acquiesence, we must
remember that this would have been perfectly normal in Elizabethan times. Women had
fewer rights and thus were silenced with impunity. Of course, in our society today, such
lines invite outrage and feminist condemnation.