Do you think Romeo had feelings for Juliet, or was he simply an opportunist?
Created: 09/13/23
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I think Romeo did have feelings for Juliet - at least feelings of lust. I suspect he would have abandoned her pretty quickly, but it appears she's the only one he actually married. Of course, perhaps that's because she was the only one of the women we know about that could have provided him with money and status, since she was the sole heir of her parents.
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No feelings other than selfish promotion in society! Even the author's note explains: "Romeo has a pattern, a predilection for young girls, and Juliet is the youngest of them all. He chooses girls who are vulnerable and desperate for an escape, and then fills their need with sex, empty promises, and ultimately violence." Quite a different perspective from the romantic Romeos in contemporary writing and by reputation.
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Perhaps the following quote describes this particular Romeo.
"What good is looking at a lovely thing when you can take it inside of you? The same instinct drives compulsive shoppers, promiscuous lovers, and petty thieves.
It may be that vice, depravity, and crime are nearly always attempts, in their essence, to eat, steal, or consume that which should only be looked at.''
Join Date: 07/24/11
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I think Romeo had feelings of lust for Juliet. He didn't seem terribly capable of real feelings for anyone. But he did return when he thought Juliet was dead, but it seemed even that was to retrieve something of value. I'm not sure he would have stayed married to Juliet if they had both lived. But sometimes I question how much of the girls dying was Romeo and how much was the friar acting on his own.
Join Date: 02/06/17
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I've been thinking a lot about what I thought I knew about the story of Romeo and Juliet, especially now, reading about Romeo's behavior with Rosaline. I think it is interesting that the original play is considered by many to be a love story, when it is actually a tragedy. I see Solomons' writing as an effort to draw more attention to the tragedy part-Rosaline questions a lot of Romeo's words and actions, even as she seems to be falling for him. And his words and actions don't seem to be genuine or motivated by love. I am also question what I would highlight as the real "tragedy" of the Rosaline/Romeo/Juliet story.
The name "Romeo" is sometimes used negatively to describe a man based on his bad behavior, Romeo=Player. I think a participant in another question wondered if Romeo was a flirt. Yes, a loving couple can be flirtatious with one another, but it isn't a means to an end. Romeo wanted something: sex, money, away from his father who was angry with him...
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