The Nurse

The Nurse is one of the funniest characters in the play and one of the most disturbing. She and Juliet have what seems to be a gossiping, pillow-fighting sort of relationship at the beginning of the play. The Nurse, along with Friar Laurence, is one of the facilitators of Juliet's relationship with Romeo. She plays the role of messenger and it is her idea to bring Romeo to Juliet even after he has been banished. But when Juliet needs her most – after her parents order her to marry Paris – the Nurse betrays her. Romeo is as good as dead, the Nurse tells Juliet, and she had better forget him and marry Paris. Is the nurse as responsible for Juliet's death? Maybe. Or, as one oh-so-subtle production suggested, definitely: in this production, at the final scene, when the Prince says that some will be punished, a noose dropped from the ceiling and swung in front of the Nurse.

But why does the Nurse betray Juliet? There are two basic arguments. The first is that the Nurse really believes everything that she says when she tells Juliet:

Romeo is banish'd; and all the world to nothing,
That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you;
Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth.
Then, since the case so stands as now it doth,
I think it best you married with the county.
O, he's a lovely gentleman!
Romeo's a dishclout to him: an eagle, madam,
Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye
As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart,
I think you are happy in this second match,
For it excels your first: or if it did not,
Your first is dead; or 'twere as good he were,
As living here and you no use of him. (3.5.5)

As this argument goes, the Nurse simply does not understand that Juliet's love for Romeo is the real thing, and not some childish infatuation. She thinks Juliet can easily move on. If you're feeling a little judgmental, you could say this attitude is both callous and unperceptive. Her dirty-minded way of looking at love cannot comprehend a love like Juliet's. There's also the possibility that the Nurse doesn't want to lose Juliet to an uncertain future with Romeo in Mantua. Selfishness might play a role in wanting her beloved Juliet to stay in Verona and marry Paris – and doubtlessly bring the Nurse with her when she moves to Paris's house. Regardless, the Nurse's comic character becomes almost monstrous in the way she treats Juliet's love. Telling Juliet that Romeo is as good as dead is pretty mean.

OK, so that's camp #1. Camp #2 is a little more sympathetic. It might be that the Nurse understands Juliet's love for Romeo, but is a wizened woman of the world. She has a pretty good idea of how difficult it would be for a woman to survive alone in the world during this time period. It's important to recognize that the Nurse does try to stand up to Lord Capulet when he is yelling at his daughter, a bold move – he's her boss, after all. "You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so," the Nurse tells him (3.5.3). In response, Lord Capulet attacks her verbally – and perhaps physically as well. So the Nurse just gives up, which may have something to do with Lord Capulet's violent thrashings. The Nurse then decides that Juliet has no choice but to marry Paris. In this interpretation, the Nurse's praise of Paris is not sincere, but helpless. She knows Juliet's love for Romeo is real, but in order to save Juliet from the disastrous consequences of her secret marriage, she tries to make a second marriage to Paris seem acceptable.

Aside from this "Big Question," there are many smaller nuances to explore in the Nurse's character. The first is the complicated relationship between the Nurse, Juliet, and Lady Capulet. The Nurse has essentially been Juliet's mother – she nursed Juliet as a baby and has been with Juliet her whole life (1.3.5). Juliet's bond with the Nurse is clear. At the same time, Lady Capulet is technically Juliet's mother, and she is in charge of her daughter's future. The Nurse is also, for all her importance to Juliet, ultimately a servant, which puts a mighty big class distinction in between the two of them. That can complicate things.

The Nurse's interactions with Mercutio in Act 2, Scene 4 give us a glimpse into her comic potential. Some actresses playing the Nurse act completely offended and prim when Mercutio busts out the sexual innuendoes. What's more comic is when the nurse enjoys Mercutio's dirty language and over-the-top flirtations. It also seems more accurate and in keeping with her character too. The Nurse, after all, makes plenty of dirty jokes in the play. Here's an example:

I must another way,
To fetch a ladder, by the which your love
Must climb a bird's nest soon when its dark. (2.5.9)

Here, she's literally talking about getting a ladder for Romeo to climb up so he can spend the night in Juliet's bedroom. To "climb a bird's nest" is also slang for having sex.