Do you think Romeo had feelings for Juliet, or was he simply an opportunist?

Do you think Romeo had feelings for Juliet, or was he simply an opportunist?

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.

I think he was an opportunist. He had a history of treating women/girls badly and I think he wanted to be in control and show that he could have Juliet when he could no longer have Rosaline.

I agree with kimk. He certainly describes each of them with the same flowery words. But her wealth seems to be Romeo’s main attraction to Juliet.

I feel that Romeo saw the prize that Juliet represented but had no feelings for her.

I think Romeo was in lust and not love for all the women he became enamored of. If a pretty girl caught his eye, he was moved in that direction. He tired of them pretty quickly either because they realized what he was like or because they became pregnant.

I agree with terriej. I think he wanted her money.

I agree with Kimk. Juliet had what he wanted - money and status. I think that he was focused on the goal of having security and could not get it otherwise.

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.

As mentioned earlier Lust and social Mobility where opportunities Romeo was enamored with, not true Romance.

Romeo was definitely an opportunist and a predator - he saw Juliet as vulnerable/young/naïve and went for her. Just hours after he stated his love for Rosaline. In his mind, Romeo likely justified his actions by saying and perhaps thinking he was in love.

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.''

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.

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...

Romeo was strictly an opportunist. I believe he was more in love with the pursuit and conquest than any of the women (girls) he wooed. To have gotten over his love for Rosaline the very night she rejected him was very telling