Is Love Really Present?
Gandhi once said, “Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.” Love has the power to control people. However, the power of love can be easily mistaken for fear. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about two families who have a fued so troublesome that it leads to the death of many supporting characters. Romeo finds love for juliet, after seeing her at a party. They find out that they are from the opposite family. Regardless of the fued, they decide to get married in secret, even though they have only known each other for hours. Shakespeare uses Romeo and Juliet
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Lady Capulet asks Juliet, “How stands your disposition to be married?” Juliet responds, “It is an honor that I dream not of,” (I, iii, 65-66). Juliet dreams not of marrying someone she does love. She feels if she marries someone she doesn't love, then she will live a life of sadness and misery. She has seen her parents go through life like that so she has linked marriage with unhappiness. This shows that Juliet is a very obedient child. She has been obedient for all her life, but when Romeo comes around she realizes that she is going to have to marry Paris. She fears ending up like her parents, so she takes her life into her own hands. Fear is the power that is driving Juliet to avoid marrying Paris by loving Romeo. When she says, “If that thy bent of love be honorable, Thy purpose marriage,” (II, i, 143-144). Juliet said that she didn't dream of marriage, however hours later she asked Romeo to marry her. It could be said that Romeo was the first guy that showed her the slightest bit of interest, but Paris did nothing but show interest in her, so that is not the reason of her believing she loves Romeo. She did not want to marry Paris in fear of ending up like her parents. So she saw Romeo as a way to escape that fate. Fear was the driving force of