Joanna Faucett Mrs. Spence English 1H 31 March 2023 Who is at Fault? Romeo and Juliet If wishes came true this would be a fairytale instead of a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is definitely not that sought after fairytale. In the play set in the 1800’s, Romeo and Juliet were born into two feuding families, the Capulets and Montagues. Their love story ends in tragedy and death, which sends a powerful message to the mourning families. In the end, Juliet was at fault for her and Romeo’s death because she was already threatening suicide in Friar Lawrence’s cell and she weighed the outcomes of taking the potion and still chose to take it. Juliet consciously chose to drink the potion knowing the risks. After meeting with Friar Lawrence in his cell, the Friar tells her the outcomes and risks for taking the potion: “You can wrestle with death to escape from shame. And if you dare to do it, I’ll give you the solution” (Shakespeare 215). The Friar tells Juliet directly that she would be toying with death. Toying with death is inherently dangerous. Moreover, Juliet understood the consequences of her actions: “Hide me everynight in a …show more content…
While in Friar Lawrence's cell, Juliet admits that she would rather end her own life before betraying Romeo: “Please be kind enough to call my solution wise. And I’ll solve the problem with this knife” (Shakespeare 213). It typically is not normal for a first-thought solution to be suicide. This indicates that Juliet already had mental illness before she even had to be forcibly married to Count Paris. Furthermore, Juliet is still seeking suicide after being served a solution to her problems: “Will I be married tomorrow morning? No, no this knife will stop it” (Shakespeare 227). Juliet’s mind keeps defaulting to suicide. A mentally healthy response to an avoidable problem is never suicide. Juliet has pre-existing unhappiness that is projected onto her and Romeo’s