The Nurse: Act V
Oh what woe! Such painful agony! Both Juliet and Romeo are dead! How will Verona be able to make it through this terrible loss!! Oh! I can't help but feel guilty, as if the deaths of these two precious children are related to my mistakes, my actions! If only I hadn't suggested to Juliet that it would be a good idea to marry Paris... The day after
Romeo fled for Mantua, Lord Capulet approached Juliet, telling her that she was to marry Paris. Although he is a fine man, Juliet told her father that she refused to marry him, understandably so. Oh, but my Lord went into a fury after that! He screamed at Juliet, threatening to throw her out onto the streets if she refused to marry Paris. My Lady wasn't much help either, for she refused to help Juliet in any way. OH it was awful! Juliet crying in a helpless heap on the floor! I wanted so dearly to help her. So I tried comforting her, telling her that everything was going to be alright. After a minute, I even suggested that Juliet should go ahead, follow her father's wishes and marry Paris. I know, I knew that she was already married to Romeo and that she loved him more than life itself. But it may have been the smart thing to marry Paris. It may not have been the right thing, but at least I thought it would be the smartest. Juliet would be able to continue to live a comfortable, and who knows, if it was written in the stars for the two to be together, it may have been that Romeo whisked her away to Mantua one day. Life would have just been easier if Juliet had obeyed her parents. It broke my heart the way Juliet looked at me after I spoke my ind. Looking into her eyes, you could tell that she thought I was nothing more than a heartless traitor. I just wish she could have known that all I wanted for her was the best.
She fled from my sight, and it wasn't until a few hours later that she came back, returned home from Friar Lawrence's council. I was surprised, for all her previous rebellion had abated. One of the servants told me that she had gone to her father and had agreed to marry Paris. I was relieved when I heard this. Finally, the girl had obtained some sense. All throughout the day the Capulet house was busy preparing for the wedding. That is, until I went to wake Juliet from her bed. I bustled in, minding my own business, and pulled back the curtains. I remember seeing her cold hands, her face as pale and as beautiful as cold marble. I screamed, for Juliet was (or appeared to be) dead! Due to the death, all of the wedding preparations were switched to those of a funeral, and my dear, dear Juliet was laid with her ancient relatives under the cold, cold earth. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment. It was as if all of the sun had been buried, all that I had cared for for thirteen years, gone! And now, learning the truth that Juliet was not actually dead is too much to bear! I haven't had the chance to speak with my Lord or my Lady, so all I know is that Juliet awoke in the tomb to find a poisoned Romeo lying next to her. She then was so stricken with grief that she took her own life with a dagger! Oh! What sadness!!! Why must the fates be so cruel?
