 Feminist literary critics argue that the blame for the family feud lies in Verona 's patriarchal society . For Coppélia Kahn , for example , the strict , masculine code of violence imposed on Romeo is the main force driving the tragedy to its end . When Tybalt kills Mercutio , Romeo shifts into this violent mode , regretting that Juliet has made him so " effeminate " . In this view , the younger males " become men " by engaging in violence on behalf of their fathers , or in the case of the servants , their masters . The feud is also linked to male virility , as the numerous jokes about maidenheads aptly demonstrate . Juliet also submits to a female code of docility by allowing others , such as the Friar , to solve her problems for her . Other critics , such as Dympna Callaghan , look at the play 's feminism from a historicist angle , stressing that when the play was written the feudal order was being challenged by increasingly centralised government and the advent of capitalism . At the same time , emerging Puritan ideas about marriage were less concerned with the " evils of female sexuality " than those of earlier eras , and more sympathetic towards love @-@ matches : when Juliet dodges her father 's attempt to force her to marry a man she has no feeling for , she is challenging the patriarchal order in a way that would not have been possible at an earlier time . 
